Carpe Diem - Sports Bar And Sheesha Lounge | Gold Coast, Australia Is An Essay In Leisure.

Present the potential investor with a professional business plan outlining the following criteria: Description of the business venture, management structure, competitor analysis, financial analysis, as well as key risks and challenges.

This report is a business plan for Carpe Diem, a sports bar cum sheesha lounge that will be opened at Gold Coast, Australia. The report is being produced to attract potential investors who will provide seed fund necessary during the initial stages of growth. The report will also provide detail of the establishment type, management structure and marketing strategies to be implemented. Further discussions will be made to understand the threat from competitors by undertaking the competitor analysis. An overview of finances will be provided in form of financial analysis. Additional risks and obstacles that can be faced while running the establishment will also be discussed.

Carpe Diem means to seize the moment. Carpe Diem is a Sports Bar with provisions of a sheesha lounge which manifests Western as well as a rustic Middle Eastern-Arabian feel in it. This sports bar cum lounge is very different from the traditional cafes present in Gold Coast. The visitors will be experiencing a whole different environment in Carpe Diem (Read et al. 2016). Since the cafe is partly a sports bar, there will be provision of beverages along with entertainment such as snooker and darts which will be a brand new experience for the local customers. The guests will be be able to choose from a wide variety of dishes ranging from Western to Middle Eastern. The facility will also include a massive multimedia system compounded with an open layout and chic decor which will be of great appeal to the masses. The establishment will also host sports and celebrity events that will definitely act as a tourist attraction (Dees, 2017). The cafe is styled for quick as well as casual dining. The multi-dimensional approach of the establishment is one of a kind in Gold Coast and hence, it promises to be successful venture to invest in. The cafe will be open to a wide market demographic which wants to experience something novel and interesting.

Legal structure

During the initial stages, the Carpe Diem will run on a Cooperative structure. This structure has been chosen because, the establishment will be formed by people having similar goals. Another reason for choosing a cooperative structure is simple and enables collaborative operation as each individual co-owner has a say in running the things. The benefits of a cooperative are that the members will not be burdened with taxes as such establishments are not taxed on surplus. The surplus is redistributed among the members. Organisations having similar legal structure also receive discount their supplies. As the company grows and expands in the future, plans are to reorganize as a Limited Liability Company (LLC) (Eisenberg, 2017). This is because in case of cooperative structure the success of the business is dependent on the contribution of the co-members and in case there is a lack of participation, the business may gradually go into decline. The establishment will require Federal Business Licence so as the establishment can operate in Broad Beach, Gold Coast Australia. There is also the need to obtain certificate of occupancy for the property in which the establishment will be set up. Since, the establishment of plans on selling alcoholic beverages to adult customers, a liquor licence is also mandatory (Haigh, Kennedy and Walker, 2015).

Management Structure

Operational management

The initial management structure will be headed by one individual who has experience in operating a bar and restaurant. The establishment will also hire people and train them to become efficient and customer friendly (Kerzner and Kerzner, 2017). The staff members will be allowed to participate in the success of the establishment as they would be directly responsible for handling the customers and providing them with satisfactory services which will make the customers visit Carpe Diem again. The profit generated by the establishment will be shared among the owners. In future, if the store starts to expand, it will be necessary to hire a director of operations who will act as an intermediate between the store management teams and the supervisory teams (Bahmani-Firouzi and Azizipanah-Abarghooee, 2014). Over time, the need for having supervisor and franchise manager will be felt. During the initial growth, these requirements will be negligible. The management will identify the appropriate individuals for the post of store managers.

Target market

The primary target market for Carpe Diem is the sports enthusiasts. There will be no restriction for people of different ages and backgrounds. Other than sports enthusiasts the cafe will target the middle class office workers who are in look out for quick bites and some playful entertainment (Aghdaie and Alimardani, 2015). Such people will indulge in food as well as beverages and will perceive the availability to let their hair down as one of the strong attractions. The cafe will also target individuals who are late nighters as well as those who party every weekend. The Carpe Diem will be a suitable option for them as they can come to the establishment for long hours or socialising, partying or simply dining (He, Lin and Wei, 2016). The targeted demographics is of age 15 to 45, single male or female, affinity to sports and having medium to high level of income. The psychographic targeted by Carpe Diem are tourists, foreign or local, who are interested in sports and would like to try something interesting in context of food and ambience. The targeted geographic are the urban population of Gold Coast. The primary consumer motivation factors are the ambience and new outlook on cafes.

Communication strategy

Carpe Diem wishes to be host to a multidimensional market by serving local people who like sports, foreign tourists, young night crowd as well as families for dining. The primary mission is to provide an intriguing ambience and atmosphere supported by friendly as well as efficient staff. In order to reach out to the target market, the cafe will focus on the pricing strategy as well as promotional activity (Bradley, 2016). The food will be moderately priced. The average bill of dining and drinking for average customers should not be more than $20. It is necessary to keep in mind that the cafe will be having larger volumes of customers on event days. This means that the bill is expected to rise beyond the given estimate. Promotional activities will include advertising, interacting with people to build public relation and use of local media. Advertisements can be done by putting up posters and giving the customers a tour of the cafe (North, and Kumta, 2018). The cafe can be also promoted by accepting VIP parties. Best way to attract crowd will be to organise a grand opening. The cafe can provide gift certificates and jersey’s as away to develop public relationship. Invitations can be forwarded directly by mail. The cafe can be also advertised on the local radio channels and newspapers. Local cable operators can be also utilised for promoting the cafe. However, it is expected that most of the promotional activity will be word of mouth.

Marketing Strategies

Competitor rivalry

Carpe Diem, the sports bar cum sheesha lounge is in a geographic area that has a huge number of cafes, dining places, bars and restaurants. The primary advantage that Carpe Diem has over the others is the fact that this concept of sports cum sheesha lounge is unique in the marketplace. The nearest alternative to Carpe Diem is at a minimum 50km away. The impact of first factor to be measured is competitive rivalry. This factor is high because of the geographic location of the cafe along with the targeted market group which is also targeted by direct or indirect rivals (Phadermrod, Crowder and Wills, 2016). There is a threat from large multinational food and beverage companies. However, if the promotional and public relation strategies are well thought of, Carpe Diem can gain advantage. However it is necessary to plan these strategies keeping in mind the budgetary constraints (Schneider, 2015). The next high rated factor is the bargaining power of the customer which as expected is high because the consumer has a lot of options to choose from and it will require dedicated efforts, good food, upbeat environment, friendly and efficient customer service to attract the customers.

Threat of new entrants

Carpe Diem is trying to enter the food and beverage market and as a new entrant there are certain threats that are needed to be addressed beforehand. Carpe Diem is seeking entry in a market having high barriers and it is necessary for them to protect and sustain the market position by consequently building entry barriers. The primary threats are product differentiation, economies of scale, capital and financial requirements, cost of switching and government policies (Francis, Humphreys and Aicken, 2017). Carpe Diem has a wide variety of products and services that it will provide to the customers. This product differentiation will become entry barrier for new market entrants. If Carpe Diem is able to minimise the cost of products with increase in volume, the other rivals and the new entrants will not be able to keep up with it. The capital and financial requirement is more or less a barrier for new entrants like Carpe Diem. If the consumers at Carpe Diem perceive that it is costlier to switch to any new alternative, the consumers will not pursue that path and this is a barrier to minimise threat from new entrants, Government can be responsible for limiting entry of new entities into the market by controlling licensing and accessibility (Jain, 2018).

Competitor Analysis

Opening and running a sports bar is a very challenging issue and it is necessary to identify the key mistakes that can happen. These are the potential risks and challenges of running Carpe Diem. Inventory control, hiring, training and managing of staff members and inefficient utilisation of resources are the areas of risks that require constant attention. Inventory control is important as the profit making ability is directly dependent on the purchase or sale of inventory items (Macaulay, 2018). Keeping a detailed log file may come handy to minimise confusion. Staff hiring, training and management is another key area to focus upon. The staffs will be the first line of interaction with the customers and it is necessary to correctly train these hired individuals so that they can not only provide efficient service but can also build and sustain public relations (Wu, Chen and Olson,, 2014). Staff management is important as they are responsible for assisting the manager to identify areas of conflict or help in inventory procurement and control

Conclusion

The current report has been formulated as a business plan for Carpe Diem. The concept of this cafe cum sports bar cum sheesha lounge is unique and ambitious and requires significant investment. The business plan is necessary to attract seed funding from potential investors. The report comprises of description of the venture. The legal and management structure of the organisation has been also discussed in detail. Targeted market segments and the marketing strategies to be implemented have been also discussed. Since, the company is a new entrant, the report provides an in depth competitor analysis along with financial analysis. Key risks and challenges have been also identified

References

Aghdaie, M.H. and Alimardani, M., 2015. Target market selection based on market segment evaluation: a multiple attribute decision making approach. International Journal of Operational Research, 24(3), pp.262-278.

Bahmani-Firouzi, B. and Azizipanah-Abarghooee, R., 2014. Optimal sizing of battery energy storage for micro-grid operation management using a new improved bat algorithm. International Journal of Electrical Power & Energy Systems, 56, pp.42-54.

Bradley, G., 2016. Benefit Realisation Management: A practical guide to achieving benefits through change. Routledge.

Dees, J.G., 2017. 1 The Meaning of Social Entrepreneurship. In Case Studies in Social Entrepreneurship and Sustainability(pp. 34-42). Routledge. London, UK

Eisenberg, M.A., 2017. Legal models of management structure in the modern corporation: Officers, directors, and accountants. In Corporate Governance (pp. 103-167). Gower

Francis, G., Humphreys, I. and Aicken, M., 2017. Where next for low cost airlines? A spatial and temporal comparative study. In Low Cost Carriers (pp. 113-124). Routledge London, UK

Haigh, N., Kennedy, E.D. and Walker, J., 2015. Hybrid organizations as shape-shifters: Altering legal structure for strategic gain. California Management Review, 57(3), pp.59-82

He, X., Lin, Z. and Wei, Y., 2016. International market selection and export performance: a transaction cost analysis. European Journal of Marketing, 50(5/6), pp.916-941

Jain, D., 2018. Essays on pricing and competitive strategy in information and subscription markets (Doctoral dissertation, Indian Institute of Management Bangalore)

Kerzner, H. and Kerzner, H.R., 2017. Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley & Sons.

Macaulay, S., 2018. Non-contractual relations in business: A preliminary study. In The Law and Society Canon (pp. 155-167). Routledge.

North, K. and Kumta, G., 2018. Knowledge management: Value creation through organizational learning. Springer.

Phadermrod, B., Crowder, R.M. and Wills, G.B., 2016. Importance-performance analysis based SWOT analysis. International Journal of Information Management.

Read, S., Sarasvathy, S., Dew, N. and Wiltbank, R., 2016. Effectual entrepreneurship. Routledge London, UK

Schneider, S., 2015. Analysis of management practice strategic planning: A comprehensive approach. Asia Pacific Journal of Health Management, 10(3), p.GS27.

Wu, D.D., Chen, S.H. and Olson, D.L., 2014. Business intelligence in risk management: Some recent progresses. Information Sciences, 256, pp.1-7.