Business Project Proposal: Currency Consulting Company Analysis

This business project proposal outlines the formation of a currency consulting firm, addressing the increasing fluctuations in the currency market, particularly the GBP against the USD. The report provides a detailed executive summary, introduction, business concept, literature review, feasibility study, business model analysis, and evaluation of the business plan. It covers services like daily FX advisory, live screens, customized hedging strategies, portfolio management, and research reports. The proposal includes market research, competitive analysis, and financial feasibility, aiming to assist importers and exporters in mitigating currency risks and enhancing profitability. The business model emphasizes a partnership structure, with a focus on providing expert advice and customized solutions to clients. The report also details the target market, positioning strategy, value added, and the overall assessment of the business plan, including a schedule and assessment of business viability. The aim of the company is to ensure that no business in the United Kingdom faces any losses due to fluctuating currency.

Running Head: Business Project Proposal
Business Project Proposal
Currency Consulting Company

Business Project Proposal 1
Executive Summary
Formation of new businesses is very important to every economy across the world. They help in
the growth of industry and provide a platform for innovation to foster. In this era of
Globalization, foreign trade is gaining ground. This has led to increasing fluctuations in the
currency market. The movement of GDP against the USD has been catastrophic and has been
deeply impacting exporters and importers across the nation.
This report is introducing a new business of a currency consulting firm. The idea is to make
clients aware of the movements in the currency market and help them to hedge their currency to
avoid risks and increase profits. The details of the target market, business models, competition
and industry analysis has been elaborated in the report. Formation of a business is a complicated
task and requires attention to minute details. We have attempted through this report to throw
light on those intricacies of the new business.

Business Project Proposal 2
Table of Contents
Executive Summary.........................................................................................................................1
Chapter 1: Introduction....................................................................................................................5
Rationale of the business opportunity..........................................................................................5
Scenario Chosen...........................................................................................................................5
The Mission..................................................................................................................................6
The Vision....................................................................................................................................6
The Aim.......................................................................................................................................6
The Objectives.............................................................................................................................7
Structure of the business..............................................................................................................7
Chapter 2: The Business Concept....................................................................................................8
Service Description......................................................................................................................8
1. Daily FX Advisory............................................................................................................8
2. Live screen........................................................................................................................8
3. Customized hedging strategy............................................................................................8
4. Portfolio management.......................................................................................................9
5. Research reports................................................................................................................9
Target Market...............................................................................................................................9
Positioning Strategy...................................................................................................................10
Value Added..............................................................................................................................10

Business Project Proposal 3
Who is involved.........................................................................................................................11
Window of Opportunity.............................................................................................................12
Chapter summary.......................................................................................................................12
Chapter 3: Literature Review.........................................................................................................13
Industry Feasibility Analysis.....................................................................................................13
Chapter Summary......................................................................................................................15
Chapter 4: Feasibility/ Methodology.............................................................................................17
Market Research........................................................................................................................17
Market Analysis.........................................................................................................................18
UK Consulting market............................................................................................................18
Size of the target market.........................................................................................................18
Major Competitors.................................................................................................................19
Product/Service Feasibility........................................................................................................20
Organizational Feasibility..........................................................................................................21
Organization Structure...........................................................................................................21
Organizational Culture...........................................................................................................22
Financial Feasibility...................................................................................................................24
Technical Feasibility..................................................................................................................24
Chapter Summary......................................................................................................................25
Chapter 5: Analysis of the Business Model...................................................................................27

Business Project Proposal 4
Strategic Analysis......................................................................................................................27
PEST.......................................................................................................................................27
SWOT.....................................................................................................................................27
Competitive Advantage..............................................................................................................28
Selection of Strategies................................................................................................................29
Business Model..........................................................................................................................32
Business Model Canvas.............................................................................................................33
Chapter Summary......................................................................................................................34
Chapter 6: Evaluation of the Business Plan...................................................................................35
Overall assessment of business plan..........................................................................................35
Business plan schedule...............................................................................................................35
Business Viability......................................................................................................................38
References:....................................................................................................................................40

Business Project Proposal 5
Chapter 1: Introduction
The entire procedure of launching a new business is referred to as entrepreneurship (Schaper,
2014). Starting a new business is accompanied by various challenges along the road. It requires
immense research before starting the business. A Clear understanding of target market, product
positioning, competitors, sources of finance, profit analysis and growth opportunities etc. is
imperative.
Entrepreneurship is an important aspect of any economy because it provides a platform for
innovative businesses to flourish eventually leading do the growth of an economy (Chell, 2014).
This report throws light on a new business ‘Currency consulting’. The business involves
tracking, critically analyzing and forecasting the movements of the currency markets and
providing consultancy about the same to concerned customers.
Rationale of the business opportunity
GBP is one of the G7 (group of seven) currencies which dominate the world. As we know, the
value of our currency GBP (Great Britain Pound) fluctuates against the USD (United States
Dollar) on a daily basis (Kenourgios, 2017). These currency movements do not directly impact
individuals on a day to day basis but there are lot of business which get directly impacted by the
movements in the currency markets. They predominantly include export and import businesses
(BBC News, 2017).
Scenario Chosen
In the current era of globalization, enough light has been thrown on the world being flat. This
implies that every country is connected to every country. Transfer of labor, goods or services
from one part of the world to another is an everyday occurrence (Hong, 2014). Hence, emerges
the need and the frequency of import and export transactions of the country. This process is
known as Trade of goods and services. These trade transactions take place in foreign currencies
and hence a detailed knowledge of currency movements becomes critical for efficient trade.

Business Project Proposal 6
The Mission
Over the last one year, GBP has touched a low of 1.2023 and a high of 1.3589 against USD (XE,
2017). There are various factors that affect the movement in the currency on a daily basis
(Boateng, 2014). Export and import businesses cannot solely analyze and forecast these
movements and hence they end up facing immense risk with respect to currency fluctuations.
Unlike local businesses, export and import businesses transact in foreign currency as a mode of
payment to and from their buyers and suppliers.
Mission of this report is to analyze the market by conducting a primary as well as secondary
research, understanding the need and preparing a business model of a consultancy specializing in
currency fluctuations affecting trade.
The mission of the firm involves critically analyzing the currency markets, understanding the
factors involved in currency movements, accurately forecasting the future of the currency against
USD and guiding importers and exporters in order to protect them from unwanted risks due to
currency fluctuations. The firm aims to bring profit to every client associated with it by reducing
risks caused due to unforeseen fluctuations in the pound.
The Vision
The company’s vision is to build a strong team with detailed FX knowledge and to become
market leaders in the currency consulting industry. The long term vision is to increase TOMA
(Top of mind awareness) that ensures that every time an individual or a company takes an FX
decision, they can think of no better option.
The Aim
The aim of the company is to ensure that no business in the United Kingdom faces any losses
due to fluctuating currency. Every exporter and importer of the country should have sufficient
knowledge on the movement of the currency market and should be able to increase its profit
margins by taking advantage of efficient forecasting of currency movements on a daily basis.

Business Project Proposal 7
The Objectives
1. To gain a detailed insight on currency movements specifically the GBP and USD.
2. To understand how this currency movement impacts various businesses and defining our
target market based on that analysis
3. To critically evaluate the pros and cons of this industry and learn how we can
differentiate our products.
4. To perform a competitive analysis and understand how to position the product in order to
gain competitive advantage against other players in the business.
5. To elaborate on the need and benefits of a currency consultant company.
6. To critically understand the feasibility of this product and how it can be launched in the
market
7. To define various processes and key resources involved in establishing this business.
8. To provide for a market plan and future performance of the business.
Structure of the business
This business will be based on a partnership model with two key partners involved. This business
model has been chosen because the firm requires at least two key personnel to lead the business.
Both the partners will be co-owners and will share the income and hold equal responsibility of
decision making (Galbraith, 2014). Both the partners will have their own areas of expertise in the
business. They would have divided and specific responsibilities and both will aim and work for
the longer term growth of the business. It is important the both the partners aim for the same goal
and work towards it efficiently. There must be complete transparency and shared responsibility
between the two (Hammerness, 2017).

Business Project Proposal 8
Objective 1: Understanding the Business Concept
Service Description
FX knowledge and efficient currency analysis is the domain upon which this currency consulting
firm is formed. The services offered by the currency consulting firm includes:
1. Daily FX Advisory: Every client would be advised about the fluctuations of the currency
market on a daily basis. A dedicated team of two advisors would be provided to every
client who would be available at all time to guide them on every detail of their FX
transactions. It would be the job of the advisor to ensure that the clients are aware of what
is happening in the currency markets across the globe. They should be provided guidance
on how the can hedge their currency in order to maximize profit.
2. Live screen: At present, most exporters and importers are either referring to new channels
or financial websites in order to get an idea about what is currently going on in the
currency market. These are lagged rates and the banks do not accept these rates. There
are only two terminals which show the exact rate accepted by the banks which are
provided by Reuter and Bloomberg. These terminals are expensive and hence most
businesses do not have them. We aim to buy a common terminal and provide a live
screen to all our clients which will show accurate exchange rates as compared to new
channels and hence will provide the clients with a tool to negotiate with the banks. Every
client would be given an ID and password to access this screen.
3. Customized hedging strategy: There are various tools used for currency hedging. The
idea of using these tools is to reduce the effects of the volatility in the currency market
and limiting the exposure to risk. There are three important techniques which are used by
exporters and importers which are as below:
a. Forwards – A Forward contract enables an exporter or importer to lock a currency rate
for a transaction to be made in the future by paying a premium. Forward contracts are
signed between banks and businesses (Jacobs, 2016).
b. Futures – Similar to a forward contract, a Futures contract is between the London stock
exchange and the business. Here again, the client locks a particular rate for a specific
time in the future by paying a premium to the LSE (Yin, 2016).

Business Project Proposal 9
c. Options – Options are complex and advanced hedging tools where the buyer of the
option has a right to buy/sell a particular currency at a specified rate by paying a
premium.
Most exporters and importers use plain vanilla forward contracts with the banks and hedge
their currency without a thorough understanding of the currency market. In this process,
firstly the banks charge a higher rate and there is an opportunity loss involved (Stein, 2015).
Our firm would have a team of experts who would make customized hedging strategies for
all the clients on a daily basis based on their upcoming FX transactions. These strategies
would be explained to clients over the phone and emailed to them in the form of a report.
4. Portfolio management: Every advisor allocated to the client will keep a proper track of
the client’s FX portfolio and help the client in increasing profits based on the same. Every
time the client makes an FX transaction, it would be recorded by the company and
advised upon the same. This would help solve two purposes. Firstly, both the parties
would have crisp and concrete knowledge on the client’s upcoming transactions and will
help in efficient data management (Michalsky, 2013). Secondly, it would be easy for the
company to track how much have the clients benefitted from their advice about the
markets.
5. Research reports: A dedicated research team would be working on gathering research
material all day. They would keep a track of all the G7 currencies and keep a tab on what
happens in the currency markets throughout the globe. There will be four research reports
released by the company every day and sent to all the clients. This would firstly give
clients detailed information about the currency market which they can read at their will
and secondly this would help to create a strong library of extensive reports which will be
beneficial in the long term for the firm.
Target Market
The process of target market involves profiling customers, understanding their needs and
specifically identifying the set of consumers that can be served by the firm. This is an important
process because no company can serve all the customers and it is more viable for the company to

Business Project Proposal 10
understand the needs of a particular target segment and aim to fulfil the same by their products
and services (Armstrong, 2014).
The target market of the currency consulting firm would predominantly include exporters and
importers all over the United Kingdom with an annual trade turnover of £20,000. Primary target
would be firms exporting oil, machinery, transport equipment and chemicals and companies
importing gems, medical, technical and optical apparatus.
Positioning Strategy
Positioning of any organization refers to the image that the company holds in the minds of its
consumers. Before starting any business it is important that the owners and founders define and
decide how they wish to position their product and service. This is important because then it
helps define the target market of the organization and also helps the firm organize their services
and deliver them in an efficient manner (Sair, 2014).
The currency consulting firm in the picture is positioned as a niche service provided to clients.
This is so because most of the currency brokers in the United Kingdom do not provide dedicated
research and advisory. The firm is positioned across UK with an agenda to overall increase the
industry wide knowledge of the currency movements.
Since the company is selling a knowledge service, it is important that the firm positions itself
differently from its competitors. The diversified services offered by the firm including daily
advisory, dedicated advisors, portfolio management, live screens and research reports are an
attempt to position the firm as a one stop shop for every FX need of the client.
Value Added
The value addition offered by any organization is what makes the organization worthwhile. This
value can be in terms of enhancing knowledge, increasing profits, reducing costs, saving time or
enhancing customer experience (Hubbard, 2014). The value added by the currency consulting
firm includes the following:
1. Increasing knowledge: This currency consulting firm aims to educate exporters and
importers of the country with respect to the currency markets and hedging strategies.

Business Project Proposal 11
2. Reducing risk: The continued advisory and hedging strategies of the firm help the clients
reduce risk faced by currency market volatilities.
3. Increasing profits: Once the clients gain an understanding of the currency markets, they
can work to increase profits by taking advantage of the forecast offered by the
consultants.
Who is involved
Stakeholders involve everyone that is associated with the business. This includes the
organizational team, partners, clients, customers, vendors, suppliers etc. (Lawrence, 2014).
Employees Every employee of the organization including
freelancers
Clients Exporters and importers
Partners Two key partners
Vendors Reuter and Bloomberg Vendors
Public Relations Media partners and new channels
Banks and Exchange Client’s banks and London stock exchange
Competitors All competitors like International foreign
exchange, central FX, New change FX, Clear
treasury etc.