My Business Plan

CFS is a business that aims at providing good quality housing services ranging from; houses, flats, apartments, bedsits and HMO’S. Through its marketing services, CFS can sell its properties to customers within the housing industry. Moreover, CFS operate with the goal provide property valuations to potential sellers. The company does not only focus on selling properties, but it also provides a property management service to its customers and investors. In this case, the investors pay a monthly service fee to CFS experts who manages their property portfolios. This includes getting the rent on time and ensuring that the house is in good living condition at all times. For example, if the boiler attached to the properties managed by CFS breaks down, CFS gets an engineer to fix the problem as soon as possible. For sellers, CFS helps clients selling the property in search of a potential buyer. For a client selling a house/flat, the first thing to consider is its price tag. However, it is better for the seller to come up with an estimation price for the property. The estimation cost that CFS provides for the sellers in the housing business does not reflect the exact cost of the property, but the value of the property and its worthiness.
Once CFS is successfully running, the owners will ensure its expansion and become distributors of housing property for other companies such as Savills. CFS will have a running website that will allow the public to make meeting appointments online, which will be more efficient rather than calling in to make an appointment. The website will contain vital information such as; location, opening times, contact information, and the services that the business provides to its customers. Also we would be looking to invest in some more branches as the years go by and we become more established. I strongly believe there is a gap in the market for this type of business due to the fact people are always looking to buy and sell properties

SWOT Analysis

For CFS to develop the best strategies that will make the business to gain a competitive advantage, a systematic evaluation of the SWOT analysis factors will be necessary. To evaluate the CFS strength and weakness, the functional area considered include marketing, finance, informational technology, and human resources. CFS will also evaluate the weaknesses and strengths of each department with the aim of coming up with strategies that will be competitive in the housing market. To analyse the opportunities and threats in the market, CFS will look at things such as economic recession and change in the government laws or regulations. The opportunities for CFS include the growth of social media that the business will use for marketing tasks and the availability of new local and international markets. Typically, SWOT analysis is not a business model that an organisation should take as a fixed model, as the market strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats may change over time (Kurtz & Boone 2011). Thus, through SWOT evaluation, CFS understands that strength may become a weakness and a threat may become a market opportunity.

Sales and Marketing Plan

CFS is a newly open business, thus, it will be difficult to for the business to enjoy a robust success in the housing market. Most of the customers in the market target have no idea about CFS’ services and products, which will make it difficult for CFS to succeed immediately after launching. This implies that CFS must use unique strategies to introduce its services and product in the market. To introduce its services and product in the market, CFS intends on setting lower prices than the price set by other estate agent firms. The strategy of setting lower prices for housing products and services will certainly attract customers to CFS business and attract house agents who will want to come along to see how CFS operates together with the kind of services that the business is offering to its customers. This will be useful, as customers and agents would be recommending CFS firm to their other people mostly friends and family.

The sales process are:

• Prospecting for new leads
• Initial contact with the prospect
• Objection handling
• Closing the sale

Distribution and Operations

Setting CFS business will be significantly costly, especially in the stages. However, once the business has attracted and fulfilled client’s needs, CFS business will slowly start to pick up intensively. The hard thing would be gaining the trust of the clients. For to be trusted by many customers, the business relies on the experience that the client had on its services and how well the business satisfies its customers. Clients will start to share the experience they had at CFS with their friends and family.
Advertisement will be done through the company’s website and social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google. The advertisements will attract clients and make the customers in the market to be aware of the services and products that CFS offers. Despite providing services, CFS will have contacts with other institution such as banks and financial loan providers so that it is much easier for them to get loans from banks and investors.

Financing

CFS financial cash flow represents the finals financial statement that shows the company’s incoming and outgoing money. The CFS cash flow statement also demonstrates the sources and usage of the cash between the periods of January to December 2017. Ochtel (2009) notes that before starting a business, it is crucial to understand that the cash flow statement shows the way the change in the balance sheet and income account, affect cash, and other business financial activities instilled to the business. CFS intends to use the cash flow statement as an analytical tool to determine the short-term viability of its performance, especially its ability to pay for expenses. CFS’ cash flow statement is a reference to materials that it will use in the course of development.
Risk Management
Despite the availability of the market, CFS will experience various risks. Therefore, for the business to address these risks, it is necessary for CFS to identify well-arranged strategies that it will use to venture into the housing market. CFS intends to use the business plan as the basis for evaluating the risks that will influence its performance. For this purpose, CFS will use the risk management process, where the company will integrate the process into its normal planning and controlling mechanism. Basing it on the argument by Fraser and Simkins (2010), the risk management action for CFS is set to be consistent with CFS overall operational strategies. The approaches that CFS will use to manage the risks will depend on the company’s circumstances and its capabilities. A successful risk approach for CFS will involve the director, team leaders, manager, and other employees within the organisation. These members will adequately assess the risks using the approaches that are acceptable in nature.
Some of the risks that CFS is likely to face in the market include the risk of institutional setting standards, business laws, and regulations. For example, in the housing market, the government is keen on building standards, where the business carrying out the task need to inquire permission from a legal firm and comply with the government construction standards. The other potential risk for CFS is the difference in financial and tax system, as the systems, will influence the buying and selling rates of the properties, which add to risk exposure. Additionally, competition for CFS is mostly from other companies such as Savills Agents, as most of these businesses have a well-established business background. The competition in the housing market that CFS will be operating at is associated with the marketing strategies and the customer base that the competitors within the market have already gained.
To overcome the outlined risks, CFS plan will use intense marketing strategies where the company will reach out to more customers by explaining why the CFS properties will meet the customers need. To handle the risk in a professional manner, CFS plan to ensure that the cost of the properties corresponds the tax and financial system set by the government.