Foundation Business Essentials: Pet House Business Plan Introduction

This report presents a business plan for a pet sitting service called "Pet House" in the UK. It includes market research indicating a high demand for pet sitting services, particularly in Liverpool, where the business is planned to launch. The report identifies competitors and outlines the business's objectives, such as providing a safe and comfortable environment for pets and hassle-free service for owners. A sole trader ownership structure is deemed most suitable. A PESTLE analysis assesses the external business environment, considering political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental factors. The report also details a launching event with planned pet activities and a budget of £9400. Finally, it defines marketing objectives, target markets (young working couples and elderly travelers), and marketing strategies, emphasizing online communication and social media promotion. Desklib provides access to similar past papers and solved assignments for students.

Foundation Business Essentials - Introduction
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Table of Contents
Introduction........................................................................................................................3
Task 1................................................................................................................................4
Task 2................................................................................................................................7
Task 3................................................................................................................................9
Task 4..............................................................................................................................11
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................14
Reference List..................................................................................................................15
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Introduction
While setting up a business in UK, different factors have to be considered. The business
idea has to be chosen taking into consideration the needs and wants of the target
customers. The macro and micro environmental factors have to be figured out in order
to set up the business hassle free. Launching and budgeting of the business are also a
vital part of opening a business. It must be made sure people are aware about the
business and its activities. Determining marketing objectives, target markets, marketing
mix and marketing strategies needs to be figured out in order to have a clear view about
the business, its objectives and goals. This task will include all aspects mentioned
above. The business that has been chosen is pet sitting named “Pet House”.
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Task 1
The chosen business idea is a pet sitting business named “Pet House”. The business is
simply a pet sitting business where pets will be taken care of when their owners are
away. A market research has been done and found out that there is a heavy demand of
the pet sitting business in UK. The daily activities of any individual has become so
hectic and busy that people do not have time to take care of their pets. It is also very
difficult for professionals to take care of their poets while they are away. Further
research has also helped in identifying that there are 8.5 million dogs and 8 million cats
in UK (Pfma.org.uk, 2018). People spend about 1200 pounds on their pets per year.
This is seen as an opportunity and the potentiality of the business.
The business plans is to work both online and offline. People can book appointments for
their pets through online. They can set the time and date they want their pet to be
picked up. The business idea has been chosen, as setting up the business does not
require huge investment. The market demand is also high and potential in the business
is huge. There is little pet sitting business in UK, but to compete them this business has
some unique and creative ideas. The business has decided to incorporate activity-
tracking system for the pet owners. This idea is to let the owners know about the activity
of their pets. Microchipping is a process of inserting a chip in the pets to determine
various health factors of the pet (McGrath, 2011). This activity will also be done to keep
a check on the health of the pets. The business has been decided to set up in Liverpool,
as there are not many pet cares in Liverpool. The existing pet care centres that have
been noted are the Liverpool’s finest-Dog walking and pet sitting service and Petpals
Wirral West
Competitors Reason for competition
Liverpool’s finest-Dog walking and pet care Situated in Liverpool. This is considered to be
a competition mainly because of its location as
they have been running the business in th
elocation for a long time and have loyal
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customer base.
Petpals Wirral West The location and the coverage area of this pet
care is the main reason this has been
considered as a competition. It also has an
effective pricing strategy, so people would
prefer to go to a old place with effective pricing
strategy rather than a new place.
Table 1: Competition for the chosen business
(Source: Created by the learner)
Part B
In order to run the business successfully, Pet House has set the following objectives-
 To create the best pet care environment– Pets are to be cared in the best way
possible so that they feel comfortable and happy.
 To provide homely care to the pets – In any pet sitting centre, homely
atmosphere is required so that the pets would willingly like to come to the place
again. This will allow the owners to gain a confidence that they are taken care
well enough.
 To provide hassle free service for the benefit of the owners – The pick and
drop service has to be efficient so that the owners do not have to panic and work
according to scheduled time.
 To improve the health and discipline of the pets – Health is major concern of
the owners of the pets. They do not get time to visit veterinary for regular check
up of the dogs. Pet House provides free check up and if necessary in house
doctors will have a look at the pet. This service is very essential as it not only
helps the pet but also saves a lot of time of the owners.
Sole trader is the best-suited form of ownership for the chosen for Pet House. There are
various advantages for sole trader ownership which have been listed below-
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Control – Sole trader has the full control of the business. They have the full liberty in
driving the business according to their wish (Craig and Campbell, 2012).
Profit retention – The profit earned from the business remains entirely with the owner
(Best, 2010).
Data protection – The information of Pet House remains private. No other third party
has to know about any of the information of the company.
Kurt Geiger is a perfect example of sole trader type of ownership in the shoe industry. It
sells about five hundred million pair of shoes each year. The value of the business is
about 5.6 billion pounds.
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Task 2
In order to analyse the external business environment of Pet House, the framework of
PESTLE Analysis has been taken and discussed below-
Political The government policies must be paid
attention to avoid any kind of legal
consequences. The change of government
also affects the company in a negative way
as their will be change in regulations and the
company has to adapt to the changes and
function accordingly (Team, 2013).
Economic Economic factors such as inflation, exchange
rate, economic growth and other factors can
affect an organisation both ways (Newton,
2014). The economic factors need to be kept
in mind before opening the business.
Inflation can raise the cost of the services;
economic growth will allow the company in
getting more customers.
Social The social factor such as demography,
cultural limitation, education and behaviour
of the people are some of the social factors
(Ho, 2014). These factors have to be kept in
mind by the company. It must be ensured
that there is no harm done to these factors
and get a bad reputation. Contribution in
social factors also helps in earning a good
reputation. Understanding the demography
and cultural limitation will help the business
in acting accordingly
Technological Technological advancement and changes
must be looked into in order to compete with
the competitor and gain a competitive
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advantage. If Pet House fails in adapting to
the changes then their competitors will
perform better than them in a certain way.
Legal Discrimination laws, Health and safety laws,
Consumer protection laws, Copyright, patent
laws and other laws must be followed by the
company (Yüksel, 2012). As the business
deals with animals, animal rights must be
strongly adhered to avoid any
consequences. Any non-compliance will lead
to legal consequences, which will not be
good for the company.
Environmental The company must look into waste
management and other environment factors.
It must be ensured that the company’s
business operation must not harm the
environment in any way.
Table 1: PESTLE analysis of Pet House
(Source: Created by the learner)
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Task 3
Launching an Event
In respect of the launching event of the business, a pet activity will be organised in the
desired location. To make people aware about the activity leaflet distribution and social
media will be used. The pet activity event will consist of different activities like pet race,
performance, discipline activities and others. Prizes will be organised for the winners.
The event will have foods available for the pets as well as owners.
The event will help in the pet owners in the locality and surroundings about the opening
of the business. A business presentation will also be provided to make the people
aware about the activities that will be taking place in the business. The activity will be
conducted in daytime at a weekend so that most people can have spare time to visit the
event.
Promoting the event online will also help in promoting the business. People who are not
pet owners can also get the information about the business and its new event and
activities. This event of Pet House can also be promoted through word of mouth
publicity.. Online promotional practice is cost efficient as well (Veeneman et al., 2012).
Leaflet distribution is also cost efficient and helps in cutting cost in advertisement and
promotion (Bondar et al., 2012).
Part B
Producing a budget
Costs Amount (£)
Venue 0
Staffing Cost 100
Food 50*100 = 5000
Drinks 3500
Music 500
Prizes 200
Leaflets 500
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Total 9400
Table 2: Budget of the launching event of Pet House
(Source: Created by the learner)
The venue has been selected at the owner’s place where the business is planned to
establish. The venue of the event would not have any cost. The staffs required for the
event have been hired for a package of 100 pounds for one day. Foods cost is taken as
50 pounds per plate. Expected guest to attend the event is taken to be 100 so, 5000
pounds is the total cost in food. Other variables that are required in the event are cost
friendly and necessary to make the event interesting. The total investment in the event
is 9400 pounds, which is believed to be pocket friendly and cost efficient.
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Task 4
Marketing Objectives
The marketing objectives can be found to as follows:
 Increasing brand awareness amongst the local community
The hallmark of a good business is the reach that it has in the community. By
establishing links with prominent community members, the company will be able to
improve and increase awareness about its brand in the immediate vicinity.
 Send a consistent message about quality services
The customer must essentially believe in the business and the value that it offers. This
can be achieved by consolidated marketing efforts, which promotes positive messages
and pet friendly facts. This will give the customer the impression that the business is a
knowledgeable and respected institution.
 Increase website traffic by 15 per cent at the end of the financial year
By setting a definite target for the website, customer acquisition becomes a more direct
and purposeful effort. Translating this 15 per cent from interest viewers to active
customers is essential for the business.
Target Markets
Target markets are the particular types of customers whom the business will aim their
products and services at. Given below are the two major target markets for Pet House-
 Young working couples who are busy throughout the day
 Elderly couples who extensively travel and take holidays
Marketing strategies
As the younger working couples are an important customer segment that the company
will attend to, the marketing strategies will be developed with this segment in mind.
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Communication- Online communication is the most apt form of connecting with these
customers as they spend larger parts of their day on their mobile phone and the
internet. Email newsletters and text message updates would provide clear updates to
these customers.
Promotion and advertising- Market promotion for these customers would include
online advertisements and videos on other social media platforms that can indicate the
types and numbers of services that are provided. Social media marketing would also
constitute a part of their market promotion. Advertising through the distribution of
leaflets would also provide the customer with the required awareness.
The above factors have been implicitly considered to develop the marketing mix, which
would allow the business to reach out to the target market appropriately. The marketing
mix that has been developed below has been justified as per the market requirements
and customer demands.
Marketing Mix of Pet House
The marketing mix elements will help the business to develop effective marketing plan
and promote its business among the target market.
Element Description Justification
Price 6 x 10 pounds/visit = 60
pounds/day
60 pounds/day x 5
days/week = 300
pounds/week
300 pounds x 52 weeks =
15,600 pounds/year
The cost has been kept to
10 pounds/visit at the
initial stage. The price has
been kept low to compete
with the competitors.
There are other players in
this sector and they have
a effective pricing strategy
and a strong customer
base. To attract the
customers it has been
kept low.
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