Business Planning (AQA GCSE Business)

Case Study

Jameel studied business at college and learnt about writing business plans. He has been employed as a carpenter for five years. As a hobby he has been making a small number of modern, stylish wooden toys and selling them to friends and family to cover his costs. Examples of toys he produces include trains, farm buildings, and cars. His friends and family have been impressed with the quality of the toys that he has made.

A local independent toy shop is interested in selling his toys as a trial. The business has asked Jameel to supply a range of different types of toys he thinks will be popular with its customers. It will accept up to 100 toys if they are delivered by October, ready for when it expects its peak demand as customers buy Christmas presents. The toys are time consuming to make so he will need to start production immediately. Jameel now plans to start his own business.

Jameel is going to produce the toys with the equipment he currently has in his garage at home. He is uncertain whether to create a business plan before making a decision about accepting the order. As the designs are very unusual, the toy shop will only pay Jameel for toys that sell. In December it will pay him for toys that have been sold and return any unsold toys.

Case Study

Janet owns and runs Premium Motors based in Manchester. Her business provides a luxury chauffeur service (a car and driver are hired). This has proved popular with customers who book the services for events such as weddings or parties.

Since the business started 10 years ago it has expanded slowly using organic growth. Janet would like to expand by offering the services in a new area. Her research has shown that chauffeur services are in the most demand in London. However, this is a highly competitive market.

There is an opportunity to take over an existing chauffeur company called London Luxury Cars (LLC). This takeover would cost £400 000. Premium Motors would instantly gain LLC’s large customer base. This includes repeat bookings from TV celebrities and well-known hotels that book chauffeur services for their guests. Existing LLC agreements (contracts) with hotels will last for another year and Janet will then have to agree new contracts.

If Janet were to take over LLC, she would manage the company from her headquarters in Manchester. She is unfamiliar with the London area.

Case Study

Jameel studied business at college and learnt about writing business plans. He has been employed as a carpenter for five years. As a hobby he has been making a small number of modern, stylish wooden toys and selling them to friends and family to cover his costs. Examples of toys he produces include trains, farm buildings, and cars. His friends and family have been impressed with the quality of the toys that he has made.

A local independent toy shop is interested in selling his toys as a trial. The business has asked Jameel to supply a range of different types of toys he thinks will be popular with its customers. It will accept up to 100 toys if they are delivered by October, ready for when it expects its peak demand as customers buy Christmas presents. The toys are time consuming to make so he will need to start production immediately. Jameel now plans to start his own business.

Jameel is going to produce the toys with the equipment he currently has in his garage at home. He is uncertain whether to create a business plan before making a decision about accepting the order. As the designs are very unusual, the toy shop will only pay Jameel for toys that sell. In December it will pay him for toys that have been sold and return any unsold toys.

Case Study

Adventures currently employs eight staff in the UK, who are all keen sporting enthusiasts. Adventures’ employees are expected to sell holidays and take payments but also deal with all customer enquiries such as advice on local facilities.

Sales have fallen recently and staff absenteeism has increased. Other rival businesses have increased their salaries. As John is unable to offer a competitive salary, employees have been asking for extra benefits. Discounts on holidays, commission or profit sharing are being used by different competitors.

John is drawing up a business plan to expand into ski holidays in the Italian resort of Folgaria. The business plan outlines the objectives of the business. Within three years, John aims to double profits and would like to have a 30% market share of ski holidays to Folgaria. To achieve this, the business would need to sell on average 2000 ski holidays each winter. Adventures will increase its number of employees to 10 to sell ski holidays, so the company is moving to a new office with more space. The new employees enjoy skiing; one of them will live in the ski resort for the winter and support customers when on holiday.

Case Study

Jameel studied business at college and learnt about writing business plans. He has been employed as a carpenter for five years. As a hobby he has been making a small number of modern, stylish wooden toys and selling them to friends and family to cover his costs. Examples of toys he produces include trains, farm buildings, and cars. His friends and family have been impressed with the quality of the toys that he has made.

A local independent toy shop is interested in selling his toys as a trial. The business has asked Jameel to supply a range of different types of toys he thinks will be popular with its customers. It will accept up to 100 toys if they are delivered by October, ready for when it expects its peak demand as customers buy Christmas presents. The toys are time consuming to make so he will need to start production immediately. Jameel now plans to start his own business.

Jameel is going to produce the toys with the equipment he currently has in his garage at home. He is uncertain whether to create a business plan before making a decision about accepting the order. As the designs are very unusual, the toy shop will only pay Jameel for toys that sell. In December it will pay him for toys that have been sold and return any unsold toys.

Case Study

Swim to Success (STS) is a programme that teaches young children how to swim through weekly lessons. It was developed by Jade Jackson, an ex-Olympic swimmer. Jade employs swimming instructors who deliver the programme using the pool facilities at gyms across the North East of England.

Information:

Jade set STS up as a sole trader because she wanted to make the key business decisions herself. Initially Jade used a bank loan as her main source of finance and secured the loan against her home which she owns. Jade would like to expand STS.

However, she is struggling to raise the finance herself as her costs are still high. To help her manage financially Jade has arranged an overdraft on her business bank account. She relies on this to pay employees if the business does not have enough cash at the end of the month. Jade has recently received a letter from the bank explaining that interest rates on bank loans and overdrafts are going to increase.