Invictus Nursery: Detailed Business Plan for Early Education Venture

The assignment is a detailed business plan for Invictus Nursery, a venture dedicated to providing early childhood education through a unique sensory learning approach. The plan outlines the owners' experience, the nursery's focus on holistic development, and the services offered, including cla...Read More

Invictus Nursery
Sho’na Borg
Christina Badea
JanielleDuncan
Andrea
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Invictus Nursery thrives upon a wholesome growth of the children for them to lead a better
future, physically and mentally. The business is developed to incorporate essential skills into the
children's mindset when they are most fit to grasp on to such a healthy life routine. The classes,
ranging from yoga to wildlife, fruits and vegetables to music, help students to learn about our
ecosystem while keeping their mind open to the diversity in nature and learning about the
emotions within, simultaneously. The business venture requires an initial investment of £25,000
to meet the need for various resources such as premises, a competent staff and patents will be
requried for the launch of the business venture. Our foremost aim is to instil comprehensive life
habits into children right at the growing age to make them capable of managing their life with
utmost perfection.
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Contents
Owners Experience/Background.....................................................................................................4
Explain what the New Venture focuses on and how this will be provided, for..............................4
example in the form of products or services....................................................................................4
Market Research..............................................................................................................................4
Market Segmentation...................................................................................................................5
Marketing strategy and competitors............................................................................................6
Unique Selling Point....................................................................................................................6
Operational Requirements...............................................................................................................6
Tangible Resources......................................................................................................................6
Intangible Resources....................................................................................................................7
Legal Requirements.....................................................................................................................7
Cost and Pricing Strategy................................................................................................................7
Financial Forecasting.......................................................................................................................8
Influence of Seasonal Trends:.....................................................................................................8
Contingency Plan / Exit Plan.........................................................................................................10
Short-term..................................................................................................................................10
Medium-term.............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11
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Owners Experience/Background
Shona Borg has worked in nursery and schools and has a great experience of many years which
allows the person to guide and take control of the business venture. The experience of Shona is
definitely helpful in designing and developing a program which fulfils the aim of the business
venture (Kirzner, 2015).
Explain what the New Venture focuses on and how this will be provided, for
example in the form of products or services.
Over the years, early education and development of small children has gained massive popularity
and is being recognised as the stepping stones in the future success of a child. This creates a need
for a comprehensive development and learning program for children which focuses on
development of the interactive ability of the children and making constant efforts as an integral
part of the learning program to nurture the spirit and soul of the children and focusing on their
interests in the early period. The proposed business venture translates into the need of
encouraging children for development of their sensory learning with the help of models which
teaches them life skills in a free environment. It can be done through a series of classes for
glorifying and exploring human life with respect to the world on the outside which includes yoga
classes, growing fruits and vegetables, wildlife and more interaction with our ecosystem. The
objective of Invictus Nursery is to develop a new trend of teaching with the help of enrapturing
the beauty of nature and planet earth. The aim of the teachers at Invictus Nursery is to constantly
influence and encourage the child and support the overall developmental process of children.
Invictus Nursery also has the objective of inculcating healthy habits into its children which helps
them in learning how to handle emotions and day-to-day life calmly with the help of elements
such as entertainments, art, music and yoga which are utmost important and relevant for their
future and success.
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Market Research
Market research was conducted to ascertain the potential viability and the prospect of the
business venture by the owners of the Invictus Nursery. Survey method of collecting primary
data for research was used which went through an online platform where parents and tutors could
sign-up and fill the survey form which was formulated along the lines of satisfaction in the
mindset of parents with respect to sending their children in primary schools and existing
nursery’s. Research was primarily qualitative which had the objective of finding answers to
questions like what role does a nursery has to play in overall future growth and development of
the children. Survey was also conducted with the existing nursery’s and schools to determine the
kind of learning system which is currently being followed for children who are being enrolled in
these systems. Most of the research which was conducted was based on online surveys and some
sort of questionnaire were also distributed to the parents on roads and streets who don’t have
access to internet or not familiar with the concept of online surveys. It was observed on the basis
of outcomes of the survey that there existed a gap between the kind of education and learning
which was required in the initial period of a child’s life and what was currently being offered. It
was observed that Invictus Nursery is the only nursery with such unique approach to learning
and education of the children during initial days. Here are some of the conclusions drawn on the
basis of market research:
Market Segmentation
Market Segmentation can be defined as the process which involves categorisation of the group of
potential customers into small segments on the basis of shared traits or characteristics. It helps in
devising different market strategy for different segments of the customer group (Wedel and
Kamakura, 2012). In the context of children education, parents are the primary decision makers
and hence every approach of marketing and segmentation is concerned with parents dimension.
On the basis of market segmentation which was conducted for Invictus Nursery, the following
segments or group of parents with similar characteristics were identified:
Early adopters: This segment of market for Invictus Nursery corresponds to the group of
parents who are aware about the concept of holistic learning and education and just require an
access to the services which are being provided by the business venture and just creating brand
awareness is enough to target this segment of the potential customers.
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Quick Learners: This group belongs to the parents who are not yet aware about the
concept but feel the need of such existence and minimum branding along with communication of
potential benefits is enough to attract these customers.
Evaluators: This group or segment of potential customers of Invictus Nursery is the most
difficult to target and requires a constant effort in terms of marketing and product placement.
Parents which belong in this group are only expected to make a buying decision after a complete
evaluation of the service which is being offered by Invictus Nursery in comparison with existing
pre-schools and nursery’s.
Marketing strategy and competitors
Although there are many pre-schools and nursery’s which are providing child education services
in the market in United Kingdom but on the basis of market research, it was identified that there
is no such nursery which follows a holistic approach for sensory learning and development of
children with the help of increasing the interaction with the ecosystem and mother nature. It
removes the competition to a great extent. When it comes to marketing strategy, posters and
banners along with the use of digital media is a strategy which will be used to create brand
awareness and get more leads to sign-up for the programs which are being offered by Invictus
Nursery. Selecting crowded places where children and parents are most likely to be found such
as public parks and demonstrating the module of teaching being adopted by Invictus Nursery and
communicating its need is another strategy for marketing.
Unique Selling Point
Unique Selling Point for the business venture of Invictus Nursery is the approach being followed
which aims to create a new era of teaching with the help of captivating the glory and the
mesmerising beauty of nature and planet earth. It focuses on development of healthy habits in
children which helps them to handle emotions and day-to-day life in a better way. The ability
and potential to comprehend with the existing need for child education and learning is the unique
selling point for Invictus Nursery.
Operational Requirements
Before launching a new business venture, there are many requirements with respect to the need
for tangible resources, intangible resources and legal complexities which need to be fulfilled
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(Stanwyck, Kolasa and Shaw, 2004). The various operational requirements for Invictus Nursery
are as follows:
Tangible Resources
The resources which are physically present and can be touched are known as tangible resources
(Schriber and Löwstedt, 2015). The various tangible resources which are required by Invictus
Nursery for launching the business venture are as follows:
 Financial resources and funds for acquisition of various other resources
 Land and building for development of premises
 Tools & Equipment’s for facilitating learning programs
 Furnitures & Fixtures
 Human resources and a competent staff of employees for assisting in child care and
development plans
Intangible Resources
Intangible resources are not physically present in the business environment of an organisation
but are important in ensuring smooth operational activities. It includes elements such as patents,
copyrights, trademarks etcetera. It is important for a business to create a copyright on its idea to
ensure that no other firm can duplicate its idea or business venture. The major intangible
resources required by Invictus Nursery are:
 Patents
 Goodwill in the market
 Customer Relationship
 Copyrights
Legal Requirements
Opening a nursery is subject to many legal requirements and compliance to different laws and
frameworks. Early Years Statuary Framework requires all early childcare providers to safeguard
children and ensure a healthy and sake environment for their teaching and learning purposes.
Local Safeguarding Children’s Board requires providers to be able to devise a policy and
required procedures for safeguarding the children with respect to the guidelines issued
(Jovanovic, 2013). It is also important to note that the people who are coming in contact with the
children and facilitating the learning program are suitable people and proper background check
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and criminal check is done before getting them on-board. Any food and drink which is being
provided to children at the centre should be according to the health and safety standards for
consumption by children.
Cost and Pricing Strategy
A pricing strategy can be defined as the model or framework which is used to determine the
market price for a product or service after taking into consideration various aspects such as
income of the target market, type of product or service, price sensitivity of potential customers
and customers worth of the product (Dasgupta and Titman, 1998). Invictus Nursery is following
value-based pricing strategy for determining the cost of its services and products. Value-based
pricing is being determined by the business venture by comparing the existing services being
provided by other pre-schools and nursery’s and prices being charged by them with the value
proposition of the service being offered by Invictus Nursery and trying to determine the value or
worth of their products in the minds of potential customers. Demonstrating and communicating
the justification of the price or the value of the service is an important aspect which needs to be
followed by Invictus Nursery in value-based strategy for pricing.
Financial Forecasting
Sales and Cost Forecasts:
1st Jan 2020 – 31st Mar 2020 (£)
Revenue from sales: 10,000
Cost of Goods Sold: 3,000
Gross profit: 7,000
Fixed Costs:
Rent:
Salaries:
Telephone Bill:
Electricity Bill:
Tools & Equipment:
Miscellaneous:
1,000
1,500
250
250
1200
800
Net Profit: 2,000
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Influence of Seasonal Trends:
The business venture of Invictus Nursery is not affected by seasonal changes or trends in seasons
and even sales and revenue is expected throughout the year without any impact of changes or
variations in seasons.
Overall Business Running Costs:
1st Jan 2020 – 31st Dec 2020 (£)
Revenue from sales: 1,80,000
Cost of Goods Sold: 70,000
Gross profit: 1,10,000
Fixed Costs: 40,000
Selling & Distribution Expenses 20,000
Administration Expenses 23,000
Operating Profit: 27,000
Finance costs: 4000
Depreciation: 2500
Profit Before Tax: 20,500
Tax: 4,500
Net Profit to Shareholders: 16,000
Cash Flow Forecasts:
PARTICULARS JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH APRIL MAY JUNE
Cash Inflows:
Investment: 25,000
Sales: 3000 3,500 3,500 5,000 6,800 7,500
Total Inflow: 28,500 3,500 3,500 5,000 6,800 7,500
Cash Outflows:
Fixed Cost 1,500 1800 1700 1000 1700 1500
Variable Cost 1,000 800 1200 2400 1900 1600
Total Outflow: 2,500 2,600 2,900 3400 3600 3100
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Net cash flow: 26,500 900 600 1600 3200 4400
Opening
Balance:
0 26,500 27,400 28,000 29,600 32,800
Closing
Balance:
26,500 27,400 28,000 29,600 32,800 37,200
Amount asked from Investors:
The amount which has been asked from investors for initial investment is £25,000.
Contingency Plan / Exit Plan
Contingency plan refers to the plan which is prepared for handling future events which are
contingent or unpredictable. Every business venture prepares a plan for contingency for both
medium-term as well as long-term. Contingency plans for Invictus Nursery for both short-term
and medium-term are as follows:
Short-term
In context of short-term up to a period of five years, contingency plan which has been prepared
by Invictus Nursery related to the merger and acquisition. Merger and acquisition is a business
scenario in which two or more than two companies are consolidated or merged to continue
business operations under one entity with an objective of increased resources for market growth
and high revenue. In short-term, Invictus Nursery has the contingency plan to merge with a big
reputed company in the same industry to implement the ideas of the company at a large scale
with more opportunities for growth as a result of combined resources.
Medium-term
In medium-term, the exit strategy or contingency plan for the company is to offer Initial Public
Offerings as a way of procuring additional funds for business growth and increased operational
extent. However, it might result into dilution of control and decision-making which might not be
a suitable situation for Invictus Nursery. Although, it has the potential of providing the company
with a lot of additional funds which may be utilised to increase operations of the company
beyond national and geographic boundaries as well.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Dasgupta, S. and Titman, S., 1998. Pricing strategy and financial policy. The Review of
Financial Studies. 11(4). pp.705-737.
Jovanovic, J., 2013. Retaining early childcare educators. Gender, Work & Organization. 20(5).
pp.528-544.
Kirzner, I.M., 2015. Competition and entrepreneurship. University of Chicago press.
Schriber, S. and Löwstedt, J., 2015. Tangible resources and the development of organizational
capabilities. Scandinavian Journal of Management. 31(1). pp.54-68.
Stanwyck, C.A., Kolasa, M.S. and Shaw, K.M., 2004. Immunization requirements for childcare
programs: Are they enough?. American journal of preventive medicine. 27(2). pp.161-
163.
Wedel, M. and Kamakura, W.A., 2012. Market segmentation: Conceptual and methodological
foundations (Vol. 8). Springer Science & Business Media.
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