Business Plan and Reflective Report: Waterfall Restaurant Concept

This research reflective report presents a comprehensive business plan for a waterfall restaurant, detailing the process of its creation. The student conducted extensive secondary research, analyzing industry trends, market gaps, and consumer behavior. The report includes a thorough evaluation of the business plan, highlighting both positive and negative aspects, and analyzes the challenges faced during market research and financial modeling, including the application of SWOT, PESTEL, and Porter's Five Forces models. The student reflects on the development of financial modeling skills and the application of theoretical knowledge in a practical setting, including project evaluation methods. The conclusion emphasizes the increased knowledge and enhanced skills gained throughout the project. The report concludes with an action plan for further skill development in financial modeling and market research.

RESEARCH REFLECTIVE
REPORT

TABLE OF CONTENTS
RESEARCH REFLECTIVE REPORT...........................................................................................1
Description..................................................................................................................................3
Feelings.......................................................................................................................................3
Evaluation...................................................................................................................................4
Analysis.......................................................................................................................................5
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................6
Action plan..................................................................................................................................7

Gibbs Reflective Cycle
Description
The business plan that is prepared shows the viability of the new business idea for
opening of waterfall restaurant. Throughout the entire process that I followed to prepare a
business plan learn lots of things that I does not know before. My existing knowledge base also
help in completing project in systematic way. When business idea comes in my mind I think that
it will be easy to carry out required work but when I really start work on preparation of the
business plan I face many difficulties. In order to prepare a business plan in proper way I decided
to conduct secondary analysis and under this I collect lots of data from books, journals and
magazines. This increase my knowledge level about restaurant business to great extent. From
review of these publications I get an information about trends that are in the restaurant business.
This help me in increasing my forecast capability. During the time when I was reviewing
literature I get an information about the gap that exists in the industry. On this basis I identified
the opportunists that exist in the market which I can explored in order to get good return in the
business. In this business plan I mentioned the opportunities that can be capitalized to earn super
normal profit in the business. In the business plan I identified the actual things that need to be
done in order to set the restaurant business. It was very important to understand the requirement
of the people and in this regard I review various articles that were related to the consumer
behavior of the people. This business plan helps me in understanding the complexity that exist
in restaurant business. During preparation of the business plan, I feel that there is need to think
critically on each and every thing that is related to the restaurant business. It can be said that
collection and analysis of secondary data help me in preparing this business plan in better way.
Feelings
Feeling is the one of the most important thing that one needs to consider while doing
anything. It is feeling that helps us in deciding that in what direction we needs to go in order to
do specific task. I feel many things when business plan preparation process was carried out in
relation to opening of new restaurant. There were mixed feelings while carrying out the whole
business plan. In simple words I can said that there was totally different feeling before business
plan preparation process was commenced. When I start developing business plan I feel different.

This is because before preparation of business plan I was thinking that it will be easy to do same
but when I actually start business plan I get entangled in lots of confusions. In order to
understand business in better way I make many efforts in comprehending things like nature of
industry and competencies required to operate business in better way. I get lots of benefit from
such kind of hard work and my knowledge base about industry get increase.
During the time I was carrying deep analysis I felt that people specially youngsters like to
visit restaurants and they make good amount of money in taking lunch or dinner in restaurants.
Youngsters wants to visit new places or intends to see some unique features. This thing applied
on all things whether it is mobile or laptop or any other thing. Same thing applied in case of
restaurant. I identified that there is waterfall restaurant in the Philippines and every year
thousand of tourists which include both domestic and foreigners comes in the mentioned sort of
restaurant. Among the visitors most fall in age category of 20-30. The main hard task for me in
this business plan was to collect and analyze different types of data. It is very hard to analyze the
huge set of data and to extract important things from same. I prepare the detailed plan which is
followed collect and analyze the specific data for preparing the business plan. Hence, this plan
helps me in preparing business plan in better way.
Evaluation
It is a very important stage and in this many positive and negative aspects that are related to the
business plan are evaluated so that I can work on my weak points to improve my skills and
abilities. It can be said that at initial stage I was facing lots of difficulties but preparation of plan
help in overcoming same in proper way. When I was doing market research I face lots of
problems and due to lack of preparations it was difficult for me to tackle these situations. I think
that restaurant industry is very popular in the UK and all required facts and figures will be easily
available on the internet. But my hunch proved wrong and I face number of problems in respect
to collection of facts and figures of the industry. There were few sites on which information's
were available. There was no single site where I can get all required facts and figures
collectively. When I conduct market research I come to know that there are number of restaurant
in the UK because travel and tourism industry is already developed in same. It can be said that it
is restaurants that playing supportive role for the industry. Hence, if travel and tourism industry
will grow then in alignment to same restaurant business will also grow. While doing analysis like

SWOT and PESTEL and Porter five forces model I face lots of difficulties in preparing business
plan. But on the basis of my knowledge about industry and by visiting different websites I collect
relevant information that help me in preparing these models in proper way for the business plan.
I have good background in finance and can easily carry out different tasks. As a financial
analyst I prepare a model in spreadsheet in which all inputs fact and figures are taken in to
consideration to make projections about restaurant income and expenses. For making projections
I collect facts and figures in relation to tax, finance cost and CAGR or compounded annual
growth rate of the proposed business. It can be said that knowledge of finance help in making
projections in easy way. I also carry out project evaluation and in this regard I apply different
methods like payback period, average rate of return, net present value and internal rate of return
on cash flows in order to evaluate a project. During this entire work I came to know about merits
and demerits of each project evaluation method. I see that every method of project evaluation
have some merits and demerits and each of them evaluate a project from different point of view.
Hence, by using these methods viability of project is measured from my side in systematic way.
The application of these tools help me in understanding the fact that single project can not be
evaluated by using single parameter. One needs to consider multiple things to measure viability
of the project.
Analysis
While preparing this business plan, I do many things and some of them were good and
some were bad. Before preparing a business plan I review may action plan that will surely help
in preparing business plan in systematic way but things were beyond my expectations. I prepare
a detail plan that would be proposed to be followed to prepare a secondary research. But this plan
was not perfect for conducting a research. By following action plan I does not get sufficient
amount of information in respect to restaurant business. When I was conducting secondary
research less information were available on websites. My action plan was to visit maximum
websites to collect secondary data. But unfortunately I was compelled to bring changes in my
action plan and under this I start reviewing books and journals and from them I gather lots of
facts and figures. It can be said that , my personal knowledge related to restaurants also helped
me to great extent in drafting business plan in a well systematic way. Financial analysis work
that I do in the report also helps me in developing the skill set that is needed to develop financial
model. It was very hard task to make forecast of earning because there are number of methods

that can be used to make forecast about firm revenue. Prediction of revenue can be done by using
simulation method, data table method of excel, industry growth rate and by taking average of
past years earning growth rate of the firm. It was difficult to choose best method for making
prediction out of these. Finally, I decided that growth rate of industry will be taken in to
consideration. This is because industry and firm performance goes hand in hand. If industry is
not performing well then it means that firm is not giving good performance in the business or
vice-versa.
When business plan was prepared I get a lot of support from my collegues. It was
important to do critical thinking in order to make realistic business plan. During preparation of
entire business plan I make use of critical thinking and it is one of factor that helps me in
preparing my business plan. The knowledge of finance and restaurants to great extent help me in
making prediction about revenue that can be earned by the restaurant. In order to make
prediction of the cost I use percentage cost method and under this I take percentage of cost that is
covered by sales. Same percentage was taken for all predicted years for making forecast of
expenses. Same percentage of specific cost is taken every year because with increase in revenue
cost also increase and they always cover specific percentage of sales. This concept is used to
make forecast of expenses in the income statement. It can be said that financial projections are
made by using all relevant concepts.
Conclusion
On the basis of entire work I can conclude that this business plan helps in me in
increasing my knowledge base. The skill set that I have before drafting a business plan is totally
different from the skills that I currently have. Not only skills but my knowledge base also get
increased after preparation of the business plan. During this entire work I learn many new things
and I think that lots of complicated things I can done in easy and effective way. This project help
me in developing my research and financial modeling skills. In excel I lean many new functions
and things like data table etc. This research study or business plan gives me an opportunity to
apply all those things that I read in my book practically. Earlier, I learn SWOT, PESTEL and
Porter five forces model in books but never applied them practically. This time I use them and
came to know about power of these matrices. SWOT, PESTEL and Porter five forces model
helps in identifying and analyzing the conditions that favorable for the business and other that
can create threat for same. It can be said that this business plan work make me able to apply all

my learning's in real life. The outputs generated by these matrix are really helpful to me in
enhancing my knowledge and skill set.
Action plan
I prepare business plan in proper way but still there is need to improve my skill set. I felt that I
needs to improve my financial modeling skills. I need to understand advanced tools and
techniques that can be used to make projection and presentation of financial model in efficient
and effective manner. Along with this I also needed to develop my market research skills so that
it can be identified that what sort of data is required and ways that can be followed to collect that
data. This will help me in collecting relevant data from reliable sources. In order to improve
financial modeling skills I will visit different websites and will learn various ways in which
specific thing can be modeled in excel sheet. All these efforts will further help me in improving
my skill set.