Business Plan for ApplyDirect: International Student Services

This business plan outlines the strategy for ApplyDirect, an admissions and visa services company targeting international students seeking education in Australia and New Zealand. The plan includes a business overview, market analysis, competitive assessment, and sales and marketing strategies. ApplyDirect aims to disrupt the industry by providing a user-friendly online portal offering comprehensive admission and visa services. The plan details the company's products and services, pricing model, market trends, and risk factors. It also covers the competitive landscape, emphasizing ApplyDirect's advantages and planned responses to market challenges. The human resources plan, operational details, and financial projections are also provided, demonstrating the company's potential for growth and innovation in the international student recruitment market. The core of the business model is to create a platform for students and agents, streamlining the admission and visa processes and providing efficient communication and updates, ultimately aiming to become a market leader by offering a competitive edge through its unique, innovative approach.

Running head: BUSINESS PLAN OF APPLYDIRECT
Business Plan of ApplyDirect
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Business Overview.......................................................................................................................7
Description of the business..........................................................................................................7
Major demographic, economic, social and cultural factors.........................................................7
Major Players...............................................................................................................................8
Nature of the industry..................................................................................................................8
Trends in the Industry..................................................................................................................8
Government Regulations..............................................................................................................9
THE MARKET................................................................................................................................9
Market Segment...........................................................................................................................9
Products & Services.....................................................................................................................9
Pricing and Distribution...............................................................................................................9
Market Trends..............................................................................................................................9
Implications of Risk Factors......................................................................................................10
Planned Response......................................................................................................................10
THE COMPETITION...................................................................................................................11
Section 1 Business Overview.....................................................................................................11
Competitors and type of Competition........................................................................................11
Competitors’ Strengths and Weakness......................................................................................11
Competitive Advantage..............................................................................................................11

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Section 2 Sales and Marketing Plan...........................................................................................12
Advertising and Promotion........................................................................................................12
Customer Policy.........................................................................................................................13
Section 3 Operating Plan............................................................................................................13
Location.....................................................................................................................................13
Size and Capacity.......................................................................................................................13
Advantages or Disadvantages....................................................................................................14
Equipment and Freehold Property.............................................................................................14
Freehold Property Expenditures/ Technology Requirements....................................................14
Research and Development........................................................................................................14
Environmental Compliance........................................................................................................14
Additional Information..............................................................................................................15
Section 4 Human Resources Plan..............................................................................................15
POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.............................................................................................16
Training and Development.........................................................................................................17
Remuneration and Benefits........................................................................................................17
Action Plan.................................................................................................................................17
Section 6 Executive Summary...................................................................................................18
Objectives/ Description of the Project.......................................................................................18
Business/ Nature of Operations..................................................................................................18

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Products and Services................................................................................................................18
Project Financing.......................................................................................................................18
Management/ Advisors..............................................................................................................19
Risk Assessment and Contingency Plan....................................................................................19

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Business Overview
Description of the business
ApplyDirect is an admissions and visa services company providing information about
admissions and visa related services to various students looking to study in Australia and New
Zealand. The services are provided to students from various Asian countries who are looking to
study in Australia and New Zealand and want information about admission and visa related
services. The company was established in 2006 and is involved in the area of International
Student Market. It has 450 staff members in more than 9 countries with 27 offices across 3
continents. The company also has a global representation of more than 300 global universities
from 5 countries. However, due to changing conditions across the world, the company now plans
to become a market leader in the area of providing a user friendly user portal which provides all
admission and visa related services at one place.
Major demographic, economic, social and cultural factors
Our services fit the overall pattern of changing social and economic trends. Investment is
being made on a continuous basis as globalisation continues to increase on a daily basis. There
was an increase of 12% students in March 2019 to the students who had visited Australia in
March 2018. A total of 595363 students had come to Australia as a part of their studies. This is
to develop the new AI system which is aimed at increasing the ease in providing students with
admission and visa related information. Currently, there is an increasing flow of students coming
from China, India and other Asian countries to study in the Australian universities. Due to the
dynamic nature of the business environment and changing preferences of the younger
population, there is a need to provide faster and less complicated services to be able to sustain in
the market.

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Major Players
The admission and student visa market in Australia is limited in terms of innovation and
is highly complex in the present day. There are two major companies, IDP and OzTrekk, which
are the major players in terms of providing visa related information and application opportunities
to students. However, both of them follow the business to consumer model. In case of OzTrekk,
it is a Canadian organisation with an online business model. It provides services only to
Canadian students looking to pursue post-graduation or professional courses. ApplyBoard is
another Canadian organisation which partners with US and Canadian schools, vocational and
teritary institutes. Its focus is on conducting a large number of consultancies by providing
generous commissions to agents. Open Universities Australia follows a business to consumer
business model. All the online course providers across Australia use this website for business
purposes. Its marketing and majority students are limited to domestic students.
Nature of the industry
Even though the industry has been running successfully for more than 3 decades, it has
been bereft of innovation and has also failed to reduce the complexities involved in the
procedures. There are a chain of dependencies and a lot of agents involved in the industry. It
takes a lot of time to obtain a legal visa and majority of the revenue earned is shared among the
existing players.
Trends in the Industry
The industry follows is very stable and concentrated. As has been mentioned already,
there are no significant innovations that are taking place in the industry over the past few years.
The recent changes occurring in terms of technology in various industries are yet to catch up

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with respect to the visa application industry in Australia. Hence, there is a significant opportunity
to disrupt the existing practices being followed in the industry and create a new business models
which overcomes all the shortcomings in the current processes. The industry is dependent on the
regulations imposed by the Australian government with respect to international students. In case
of any measures to counter the inflow of students, the business tends to decline. Other than these,
it is also dependent on the availability of student loans and favourable terms to students.
Otherwise, the industry is generally stable.
Government Regulations
There are no significant direct regulations by the government in this industry. However,
there is always an option with the government to regulate the current business procedures which
are being implemented by various agents and organisations providing information.
THE MARKET
Market Segment
In the present scenario, there is no competition in the area in which the company is
looking to provide its services. The existing players are yet to catch up in terms of using online
portals to provide students with information at a much faster pace. They are also lacking in terms
of building customer trust in the processes that are being implemented by them. All the services
provided are in the old manner and there are no significant players in the Australian market.
Products & Services
In the existing business scenario, international education is acquired through four ways.
They are higher education, vocational education, TAFE and School. ApplyDirect intends to
create a platform which has the information of all courses and education providers and allows the

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agents to make sub-direct applications to various universities. Universities will be required to
deal with minimum number of agencies and also expand their number of students globally. The
services offered by us will result in a streamlined process and removing sub-agents. It will also
involve faster student updates through online portals and emails/sms notifications. It will help the
universities in following the same procedures for people from all countries. Agents will be able
to apply to multiple universities in a direct manner. University information from across the world
will be available in a single platform.
Pricing and Distribution
There will be no prices charged from students or agents for utilising the services provided
by our platform. This is to ensure that they do not hesitate in using our website and proving to
them that we believe in providing quality services to them. It will also help in getting a
competitive edge over the middle agents providing services that are similar to us in nature. Any
revenue will be generated from recruitment commissions received from the universities. It is
expected that these revenues would be sufficient for the business to thrive in the long run.
Market Trends
In 2019 (as per latest statistics available), there has been a 12% increase in the number of
international students coming to Australia for educational purposes. This figure has fairly been
on an increase for the past few years because of the increasing awareness among the population
to pursue better quality of education and the better reputation of Australia and New Zealand as
favourable destinations for educational purposes. This demand is likely to continue for the next
few years and increase even further as the reputation of universities continues to grow.

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Implications of Risk Factors
In the present scenario, students prefer to obtain information about universities and
admission procedures from first hand sources. This may cause problems to the business in the
near future. In the initial days, the business will continue to rely on its strengths which are as
follows:
 Absence of competition directly in Australia and New Zealand
 Experience and established in the industry
 Lack of complexity in the procedure to grow university partnerships and study
destination
Planned Response
Our approach has shifted from expanding and competing in the market to disrupting the
entire industry with our new innovative product. We have increased the emphasis on creating a
robust platform which is able to reduce the time currently taken by our existing procedures.
The emphasis will be on providing quality services to students and agents at lower costs
and at a reduced time span. Our price advantage over the US and Canada markets and the lack of
competition at home makes it extremely favourable for us to establish our business in the market
and to consolidate and expand in a favourable manner.
THE COMPETITION
Section 1 Business Overview
Competitors and type of Competition
There are a few prominent companies, IDP and OzTrekk,, in terms of providing visa
related information and application opportunities to students. However, both of them follow the