FACULTY OF TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND THE
ENVIRONMENT
TECHNOLOGY ENTREPRENEURSHIP COURSEWORK.
SCHOOL OF COMPUTING TELECOMMUNICATIONS
AND NETWORKS.
BUSINESS PLAN ON VISUAL LINKS COMMUNICATIONS.
EBIPAMOBONUMUGHA WILLIE
Contents
BRIEF STUDY OF ENTREPRENEURS 1
PRELIMINARY DETAILS 1
brief definitions 3
Executive Summary 4
OPERATION POLICY 4
BASIC COPERATE INFORMATION 5
MISSION: 5
VISION 5
VALUE 5
Keys to Success 5
MANAGEMENT BIOGRAPHY 5
CURRENT MARKET SITUATION 6
Key Personnel for Company 7
BUSINESS ORGANIZATION 7
Company Ownership 7
Company Location and Facilities 7
Products and Services 7
Service Description 7
Sales Literature Pattern 7
Policy of fulfillment 8
Technology 8
Future Services 8
Our objective 9
Business Strategy 9
Operation plan 9
Financial analysis 9
Expenses 9
Investments 9
Risk analysis 9
Success factors 10
Risks and solutions: 11
Politics and Government Regulations 11
Competition 11
Non acceptance of IT education 11
Conclusion and strategy to hit the market going 12
Bibliography 12
BRIEF STUDY OF ENTREPRENEURS
An entrepreneur can be viewed as a person, whothinks, mentors and organize a business and the people involved in it, by assuming and undertaking possible risk for the intense purpose of profit making. An entrepreneur comes across an opportunity and builds it into a plan. No twoapproach is sure for entrepreneurship success; it is obvious from the studies so far that the odds tend to increase. The entire study of an entrepreneur highlights the following steps to achieving reasonable objectives:
1. Play smart and not safe
2. Think big but start small
3. Review risks and lessons learnt from previous step
4. Take the next small step
5. Wait a while to review what as be learn thus far
6. Build on what has been learnt.
PRELIMINARY DETAILS
Contact Information
NO 1, Aston Lane
Hands Worth
Perry Barr
Birmingham City
United Kingdom
Document Control
Document Author: / Ebipamobonumugha W.CEO / Ebipamobonumugha Willie
Revision History
Date / Version / Summary Of Changes04/04/2014 / v.0.001 / Cash Flow, Profit and Loss Account
Approval:
Approved by: / Signature / Date / VersionEbipamobonumugha / 15/04/2014 / v.0.002
Name / Title / Date / Version
Professional Advisers/mentors
1. Dr. Promise Mebine
Head of Department Math’s and Computer science
Niger Delta University
Bayelsa, Nigeria.
Business Mentor/Consultant
2. Eresoft Technology
www.eresoft.net
brief definitions
Words Definitions and meaning
1. Amassoma Home to Niger Delta University
2. C2C Customer to client
3. Birmingham Second largest city in the United Kingdom.
4. BayelsaA state in south of Nigeria
5. IT information technology
6. ITF industrial training fund
7. Warri City in Delta state Nigeria
8. Imo eastern state in Nigeria
9. Sokoto Capital of Sokoto state northern part of Nigeria
10. Yenagoa Capital of Bayelsa State
11. P2P Person to Person
Executive Summary
Visual links communication is a company planning take up with its operations this year. Visual links will offer its clients the opportunity of cheap and direct computer network services and a reliable means of acquiring information technology skills (IT) at the confines of their homes, offices and general activity centres. The idea is deliver quality internet services and computer skills at anyplace irrespective of time and location. Visual links communication is determined to take advantage of information technology(IT) education, bridge the gap and empower both the client and the provider. With the help of a well experienced and establish team, effective management and marketing policy, we shall hit the ground running.
Our goals will be:
Ø Train at least 800 people in the first year and provide internet services to 300 homes and offices
Ø A flat commission charge of 45,000 per client inclusive training and internet
Ø Achieve 100% Registration via the internet
Ø Develop like mind partnerships with education services providers in Europe and the United States.
To achieve these goals, visual links communications needs will focus on the following areas:
Ø Segment/target more of the rural areas where people generally lack computer skills and internet services
Ø Successfully position ourselves as a major computer IT education and communication institution
Ø Effectively communicate our policy of safety and offering of best services through the use of electronic media, one to one interaction.
Ø Build a well confidential database of loyal clients with an avenue of giving them the opportunity to create personal profiles on our websites, invite more clients and get 10% of the payment obtained from a new client and finally to evaluate our services offered to them.
OPERATION POLICY
Visual links communications will be partnership based and operated by partners. The employees will be professionals in the field of computer science and information technology and general customer services relations. Visual links communication will require a total startup capital of N20, 000,000. This sum will be achieved through personal contribution from partner’s and bank loans and personal training projects from government.
The education industry is highly competitive. Technology, especially the internet as always helped to change the way education is been run in recent times.
BASIC COPERATE INFORMATION
MISSION: Helping our clients get informed and up to date computer knowledge in a transparent, comfortable and affordable way.
VISION: To be the No 1, computer services and IT education provider to all identified rural areas in Nigeria
VALUE: Accountability, Integrity, Transparency and Team work.
Keys to Success
Ø Effectively target of IT disadvantaged individuals within the society
Ø Successfully place ourselves as computer services and IT education providers across any platform.
Ø Introduce vital door to door market strategy
Ø Give free intensive IT training seminars and conferences once a month to schools in the rural areas.
History: Visual links communications started as an idea of eradicating IT illiteracy completely from the rural areas in Nigeria and other parts of Nigeria. Ebipamobonumugha Willie nursed and started the idea called visual links communication, after undergoing a general survey of the Nigerian information technology state as it regards both services and education and comparing with what is obtainable in Europe and other developing nations. He started selling this idea to like minds that are friends, relatives and interested cooperate and government functionaries. He achieved this by explaining how the average Nigerian can be employed and self employed by acquiring reasonable IT skills.He sees this business more of giving back to society considering how backward the average Nigerian youth is currently as it regards information technology. He undertook a personal survey of the IT facilities available at the Birmingham city university spanning from the cisco network training academy, library, faculty offices to the local learning halls, discovering that none of these is obtained currently in Nigeria even in the biggest institutions. He further signed a partnership agreement with the computing department of the Birmingham city university who will help to give professional expertise in terms of providing online materials and lecture notes. He also discovered that it is not enough to give IT skills to an individual without equipping such individual with reasonable business skills, this lead him to sign an agreement with the management of strawberry fields a company based in the United kingdom known for training individuals on entrepreneurship skills both locally and abroad.
MANAGEMENT BIOGRAPHY
Ebipamobonumugha Willie hails from Amassoma, Yenagoa, Bayelsa a small rich crude oil producing state in the Niger delta region of Nigeria. He is a graduate of computer science from the Niger Delta University, Wilberforce Island Bayelsa State. Because of his love and interest in education and seeing people excel generally he jointly established Ebitari international schools which is a family business. He served briefly with Ebitari international schools for a year as the director of academic administration before taking a job with the Bayelsa state universal basic education board(SUBEB) as a computer science tutor. Because of his quest for study he applied and was awarded a scholarship by the office of the president federal republic of Nigeria to study MSc. Computer science at the Birmingham city University United kingdom. He has training certificates from the federal industrial training fund (ITF) and NNIT Nigeria LTD. Ebipamobonumugha has been involved in the startup of three major schools namely the Sowyers schools, Godsown learning field and Ebitari international schools all in Bayelsa state Nigeria. He has worked as an assistant network analyst with Bayelnet Nigeria LTD a subsidiary of the Eresoft group.
He is currently the major promoter of visual links communications.
He is currently single and looking forward to having a happy family soonest.
CURRENT MARKET SITUATION
The education sector has actually come of age, they are different types. There are very big schools and small schools, and extra mural centers. Some of these schools also have computer departments as a part of their plan. We also have institutions like Sirben, Niit and keltech all these are big information technology centre, so from all indication it is clear that IT education has been around for some time now but none of these institutions targets the last common child at the rural areas this is why visual links communication has taken the bold step towards using a person to person approach to solve the problem of IT illitracy, because with these institutions around we still have cases where even IT graduates are still IT deficient. In as much as we are targeting the rural areas our attention will also be placed at co-operate organizations, educational institutes that need information technology (IT) to all their employees. Visual links has personnel’s and the ability for all for of information technology (IT) training and internet services. Visual links will establish relationship with electronic payments, payment through our retail outlets, and generally at the bank. Payments can be made through our site visual links.com. In Nigeria visual links as a reasonable number of competitors as far as IT education is concerned; they are
Ø NIIT
Ø Keltech
Ø Aptech
Ø Sirben
Ø Jidaw systems
Ø Eresoft
Ø Ebitari computer training institute.
Our main advantage is our model for operating our business. Our approach is genuine determination to altering the current way IT education and internet services is been operated currently, this is why we are introducing both the online method for advert and training and also the person to person approach (P2P). Just like we have in Europe where a teacher can be reached on any platform by that way it creates a tutor and student relationship, as it like a client to customer relationship (C2C). The watch words for visual link will be determination and achievement, by this way our client will be rendered services with maximum efficiency. The company will also embark on a massive marketing policy spanning from schools, free seminars, and markets to even religious centers. Visual links will be a small organization with a large drive and its employees will be carried along in decision making. Ebipamobonumugha Willie will act as its CEO.
Key Personnel for Company:
Visual links communication will begin operations with the following full time positions; the positions are the CEO, Director of legal affairs, Director of education and internet services Director of psychology and strategic planning, Accountant and Online marketing and advertising director. The company will make available funds for its initial startup for the next two years to avoid any problem with cash flow within the next five years.
BUSINESS ORGANIZATION
Company Ownership: Visual links will be operated and owned as a partnership.
Company Location and Facilities: visual links identifies all the geopolitical zones in Nigeria with a state or two in each one and also an office in Birmingham to target other rural communities in African during an online drastic network strategy.Since we are targeting rural areas, these communities are Yenagoa, Warri, Lagos, Port Harcourt, Sokoto, Imo and Birmingham.
Products and Services: our main product and services are internet provision, computer IT education and sales of general IT accessories based on demand.
Service Description: visual links is based everywhere online, our outlets, at your door step, via e- mail or call separates you from us. Indicators from economic observation, direct experience shows that there is a growing need for IT education. Today economic activities has shown that there is a strong need of IT in every sector, from automobiles to banks, schools and even the care homes, without appropriate IT knowledge as little as it will seem people may not get access to jobs rising from these sectors.
Sales Literature Pattern: a proper use of brochures will be adopted in terms of marketing and selling our internet and computer peripherals, on the education part appropriate charts and books will be adopted in displaying a level of sales. A reasonable, secured and reliable database of all our clients will be created and adopted to keep record of clients acknowledgments and complains.
Policy of fulfillment: at visual links the important ingredient of our company growth policy is total satisfaction to our clients that is why we have adopted the house to house approach for sales and delivery of computer education targeting even the common man in the creeks.
Technology: visual links is an information technology based technology company; our basic focused is teaching IT in rural areas so much of a robust technology is not needed immediately. However basic office packages and learning aids will be provided to enhance our client’s computer capabilities. For our internet services good use of computer applications will be used to monitor the duration of subscription. Clients will have the opportunity make payments at the comfort of their homes via their cash cards such as master cards, visa or InterSwitch and PayPal. They can also pay at any of our sales outlines.
Future Services: in the future we plan moving our services to target other rural areas. We also aspire to be amongst the top twenty computer training institutes by 2015.
Job Creation Initiative: visual links has a vision not only to train, but also retain some our finest brains in terms of practical ability. Because of the target group we aim at, we will be compelled to employ any time the opportunity arises.
Competitor Analysis:
Ø Keltech: keltech currently based in the state capital of Bayelsa and Port Harcourt the Rivers state capital all the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Their major focus is printing of identity cards and banners, they pay less attention on IT education they target mostly the urban cities. They do not have a customer to client approach (C2C); payments are made only at their retail outlets.