business plan help

[cara]

hi everyone

would anyone be able to offer me any help with information i could put in my business plan with regards to corporate discos?

i've never done corporate discos before but i'm putting in my ammended business plan it will be a market i'm going to aim for

i've been asked to find out what rates to charge, and how i intend to target them

any help with what to put in my business plan would be appreciated

[A1DL]

Hi Cara

I assume this is for your bank or an investor?

If you have been asked to put together a business plan in the true sense of the word, as opposed to a marketing/strategy document, make sure you examine and project the effect on cashflow, as a move into the corporate sector as a new market will undoubtedly increase your aged debtors position.

If I were your bank manager / investor, I would also want your business plan to explain your credit approval process for the corporate accounts you intend to develop, to ensure risk of bad debts was minimised.

Hope this helps

Tony

[cara]

thanks tony, thats something i would never of even thought of

basicaly i'm applying for a grant and i need to find out what rates other companies charge for corporate clients and how they target their customers.

then i need to work out from the information gathered a price to charge the corporate clients i target and put this information in my business plan.

this will show whoever i present my business plan to that if they give me the grant i'll be able to buy the equipment i need and generate extra revenue through corporate customers and bigger paying gigs, at the moment i can't target the bigger gigs because i havent got the money to buy the equipment.

[A1DL]

this will show whoever i present my business plan to that if they give me the grant i'll be able to buy the equipment i need and generate extra revenue through corporate customers and bigger paying gigs, at the moment i can't target the bigger gigs because i havent got the money to buy the equipment.

The equipment you will require for many corporate gigs will be no different to what you require for a wedding or 40th birthday.

On the occasions you get a bigger job where you require more equipment, have you considered hiring additional equipment? Obviously factor this in to the price you quote your client. Unless you are regularly working at bigger functions, hiring some additional kit could prove more cost effective for you.

Tony

[Sapphire Disco]

Just wondering how do you get a grant to set up a mobile disco , also do you have to pay it back ?

[Danno13]

Just works the same as any other business grant I'd expect..

http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg...73866776&r.s=m

[CRAZY K]

Just wondering how do you get a grant to set up a mobile disco , also do you have to pay it back ?

Its for new businesses setting up--been around for years.

Speak to your local Business Link--SEE THE LINK.

CRAZY K

[cara]

diamond geezer there's a lot of money knocking round where i come from (merseyside) due to the capital of culture investment i think, but if you follow that link it'll be a good place to start to find out whats available in your area.

so guys can anyone give me a guide as to what i should put in my plan with regards what to charge corporate clients?

i understand you may not want to give your pricing secrets away but if you could give me a bit of info of what i should charge corporate clients as a minimum as i need to know this info to put into my plan which will enable me to get my grant

i won't step on anyones toes i promise

[DazzyD]

I'm a bit surprised no-one has given cara a reply before now. I'll try to give you a bit of advice from my experience. There are a number of things to consider.

First of all, does your advertising strategy reach out to corporate clients? If they don't know about you, how can they use your services.

Advertising in the Yellow Pages may be acceptable to smaller companies who have limited budgets but this is not where the real money is. Then again, you could start small and build up a good reputation that will be noticed by bigger clients.

Also, you could advertise in business to business (B2B) directories. Search the web for relative publications. Also, you could advertise is industry-specific publications (there are hundreds of these so decide what sector you are going to target).

For the big money, it's worth remembering that most big corporate clients use agencies/PR companies so you need to get yourself known to these. My advice would be to create a press release detailing the benefits of using your services over your competitors (it's a cut-throat world so don't be afraid of attacking any of your competitors weaknesses that you discover - but make sure your comments are fact - never open yourself up to libel action). Send this to as many PR companies / entertainment agencies you can find. If they are interested in your services they'll get back to you and you can start talking prices then. I would be looking, to start with, for about £100 per hour of performance.

My only other advice is to do a good job but don't let the pressure get to you. First impressions count here and one bad show could mean you get no more work.

Hope this helps and good luck!