SERVE+ BUSINESS PLAN PART 1: INTRODUCING THE CONTEMPORARY BUSINESS WORLD Business Name Serve+ Description of Business Serve+’s mission is to be the leading provider of digital ordering systems within casual and fine dining restaurants in Canada to increase workflow and productivity and gain a competitive advantage. Form of Business Ownership Initially, we will start as a partnership. We chose a partnership because we want equal influence in our company, in order to keep our ideas flowing. This will also help create new ideas, give us the ability to attract investors, customers, and to have the ability to take out loans. As we progress in the company and attract investors we will expand into a corporation. Ideal Customer Our ideal customers are large restaurants who strive to give customers the best service possible. This type of service is the way of the future and keeping up with technological advancements. Primarily it, adds value to their customers dining experience. Gives a futuristic feel by bringing in a piece of modern technology into the restaurant environment. Chain restaurants such as: Casual dining: White spot, Denny's. Sport Bars/Lounges Boston Pizza, Cactus Club Cafe Local restaurant owners Family run restaurants Asian Cuisine (Chinese restaurants, Sushi) There is strong potential in current waiting systems that will greatly benefit by using our product. Our Advantages This product hasn’t been used widely in our market (primary target market, British Columbia) Restaurant efficiency will improve tremendously Customers will find it innovative and exciting Servers no longer have to rely on their memory Will make communication with the kitchen smooth Faster service = Less waiting time for new customers = Faster customer in/outs = More customers are served in the same period of time Promotes restaurants popularity in terms of keeping up with technology trends and innovation Fast efficient customer service Special features: If a customer has a question regarding a section of the menu (such as the ingredients of a certain dish), there will be a section for that for the server to read. This will provide a more consistent dining experience, giving the customers what they want more often. Ethical Standards Responsibility Provide technicians who are available on call to troubleshoot over the phone 24/7 Integrity Do what we say we would do Be upfront with the clients regarding all operations (e.g to be ready for a transition phase) Commitment As Serve+ expands, we will maintain a high and consistent level of satisfaction among our clients. Social Responsibility We are committed to being socially responsible, and environmentally conscious Our product will save paper and reduce waste Our responsibility towards customers is to provide a reliable product Our responsibility will be to ensure that our customers needs are meet Our responsibility towards our investors will be that they will recieve a great return on their investment In order to enhance our community we want to raise awareness of green initiatives. Hosting seminars at local schools of ways to go green During these seminars we will go over ways in how our company reduces waste and strives to reduce our carbon footprint by means of reducing paper usage Global Issues We are definitely interested to expand our product to other countries. Our application will be available in various languages with a custom-made look to fit a variety of restaurant lines. The first country we plan to target (outside of Canada) is The United States and we plan on doing this within 5 years. The US contains a large service industry, appreciate fast and efficient service and new technology. Challenges we might face: Gaining trust by foreign countries Moving into new countries is a high risk Competitors There are other companies that have a similar program as ours We must be either cheaper, better or a combination of both License to sell PART 2(a): THE BUSINESS OF MANAGING Mission Statement Serve+ provides a technical solution that increases effectiveness of a restaurants functionality and provide a great competitive advantage. Business Goals 1 Year Goals Develop the app/software within 5-6 months Website ready in the first months of business Prepare marketing materials Have it tested at 5 restaurants (beta) Train staff to use it Have our app recognized in the industry + media coverage in at least 5 publication Break even with our investment We intend to increase our profit by 100 percent within 1 year Long Term Goals (2-5 Years) Have 6 restaurant chains using our app (5 devices each) Make profit of at least $250,000/year Be approached by restaurants who are impressed with our product, small and big. Our long-term goal is to receive 95 percent positive feedback from the businesses we work with. Achieve double the current revenue that will be made in the end of a fiscal year In 5 years time we will dominate the market by expanding to at 2-3 chain restaurants across Canada. Increase awareness about our product and increase our share in the market - go public. SWOT Analysis Strengths We are a motivated and ambitious team. We have researched and have knowledge of the current industry. As software Serve+ is an innovative app that effectively increases the efficiency of service to its customers. We reduce the time it takes for the communication between waiter staff and kitchen to receive the orders. Manual order taking takes longer. Servers have the order computerized which increase efficiency and less errors in orders occur Being environmentally friendly by reducing paper waste which gives us a competitive advantages on our rivals By utilizing this app we increase the number of customer turnover in each establishment. This will increase profit. Innovative design to help restaurant’s and customers reduce the delay of taking orders manually Weaknesses We do not have a lot of experience in programming There are a few other organizations who have a very similar product that are constantly innovating and improving. We must differentiate ourselves from their software As Serve+ integrates into the restaurant’s environment it will take a transition time. We want to ensure that the app is reliable, easy to use and delivers the efficient service as promised. Opportunities We can continually add features We have the opportunity to branch into restaurants in the United States. Add a split bill option Add the ability to show ingredients and make comments section for each order. Add an option for inventory tracking We will have the opportunity to create more restaurant app such as An app for clients to order from their own phones as well as make the payment via the app. An app for Tablets that will be on restaurant tables for customer use/order. Threats We have a few competitors in the market. they are operating in a few restaurants in BC already. They have similar ideas to ours but different approaches. These are the main: WaveSoft http://www.wavesoft.com/ Order taking and payment processing on iOS devices Does not require Windows Server or Terminal Services licenses Download the WavePOS for Aldelo app from the Apple App Store onto your device. Online set up only. Auphan http://www.auphandining.com/index.php/ Menu on a drag and drop interface. Use the Price Editor to easily change certain prices in one single step. Easily change everything on your menu. Does not require internet connection Management Financial Manager Marketing Manager Graphic designer Content creator Website developer Sales Manager Sales team Tech Manager/Operational Manager Customer Service Team Leader for training staff Organization Chart PART 2(b): THE BUSINESS OF MANAGING Corporate Culture The corporate culture of our business is to be constantly working on improving and expanding our organization, create leaders, and good conditions for employees to strive.Our employees are trained in leadership skills and are encouraged to develop themselves to be better people in business and in their own lives. We are going to provide a professional, productive, fun, friendly business-casual environment. Employees and contract workers will feel comfortable and welcomed. We believe in integrity, trust and teamwork. As we work together our organization will strive. We will have social gatherings and team-bonding events to create relatedness and friendships to better the relationships between employees. Leadership Philosophy We will train our staff to be good leaders and salespeople. Our philosophy on leadership will be develop value and teamwork have great communication between employees and managers. As managers, we ensure we act with integrity to provide great leadership. Employees will get percentage of our sales and will be motivated to work harder. They can grow with the company and become independent salespeople. We will take the time to mentor our staff on areas they are interested in developing and creating their own leadership roles within our business. For example encouraging sales supervisors to train new sales representatives, or to transition to other geographical locations. Job Descriptions - Duties and responsibilities of managers in Serve+ Financial Manager In charge of controlling the companies finances/ resources Providing financial advice for investing and long-term planning Assisting in managing the companies risks, in financial situations and investments Cashflow management, handling excess cash and making sure it is properly invested Sales Manager/ Marketing Manager Responsible for managing and motivating the sales team Responsible for attaining profitable results from sales team Customer service expert, making sure customer relationships is top priority Provide product knowledge and training to sales team Responsible for showcasing the product (promotion), and finding customers Marketing strategy and plan development Customer research, and customer relationship expert Research of external opportunities and possible threats Managing marketing budget (working with financial manager) Managing the product website Tech/ Operations Manager Responsible for application management and responsiveness Responsible for application design and operation Expert in troubleshooting and glitches of application Manages application issues and troubleshooting with Tech Team Customer Service Team Leader Responsible for training all levels of staff on product knowledge and computer system functions Software Developer Build innovative and well-engineered mobile applications mainly for iOS and possibly other platforms Provide technical leadership to managers and employees Support testing and troubleshoot Job Specifications and skills Software Developer - Contract Position Excellent programming skills Bachelor's degree/ appropriate technical Certificate in computer science Minimum of 5 years of software development experience Mobile development experience Experience working with retail or restaurant software Experience creating security and cryptography for communication and storing data safely. Excellent communication skills (written & verbal) Strong ability to solve problems efficiently Ability to develop production-quality code, maintain it and train others Able to produce easy to use and quick to learn interface Sales Manager A degree in Marketing/ Business is prefered Enthusiastic, reliable, assertive and professional Excellent communication skills At least 3 years working experience as a sales or marketing manager Proven record in direct sales Experience with selling computer software or other technology Able to develop trust with clients and create long lasting relationships Be able to work flexible hours Be able to travel out of town on short trips Graphic Designer - Brand Development Amazing graphic design skills Degree/diploma/certificate in graphic design Talented and creative Able to create a professional brand for our start up Able to create a cohesive marketing campaign including logo, website, business cards, email, stationery, brochures, product manual Training Employees All training will be provided on-the-job. Basic training of product knowledge and operation will be provided to all staff upon hiring. During the start-up phase, Serve+ will be designed by a software developer. Once created the developer will then train our primary team with the necessary training on how to operate the app. Once our primary team is trained, we will be responsible for training our customers (restaurant owners) on site or at their restaurant. Customer training will primarily be carried out through our Customer Service Team Leader and other staff members as needed as well as online and phone support. Compensation Software Developer - $40,000. Will be hired for a short term period in order to develop the app, and train a team on how to use, troubleshoot and modify it. (2-3 month development, 2 month testing and training and a few months for maintenance and assessment) . The Canadian median annual wage for a senior software developer is $82,523 (retrieved from http://goo.gl/s5Ohyb ) Training + Maintenance $15,000 Website + Brand + marketing materials $5,000 to $15,000 Computers and equipment $5,000 Prototype $1,000 Incentives Serve+ will hire its workers based on short term contracts, so for the most part, incentives are not necessary. Although, Serve+ can implement a pay-for-knowledge to motivate workers to keep up with their programming knowledge, and use the most up-to-date and efficient method of creating the app.