Sunday 2 December 2012

Life's a Pitch: The Nature of your Business

After Fred's session on Monday he asked each of the groups to get together and answer a series of questions in preparation for next weeks session. We have just had a group meeting and agreed that this afternoon, whilst Luke is in the Responsive session Me, Eve and Tanida will go through and answer the list of questions the best we can, and then tomorrow, when I am unavailable Luke, Tanida and Eve will take my initial idea's as well as their own and create a logo for the company. In today's meeting we also discussed each having our own 'signature' to symbolise each other work, collaborative work etc in our finished pieces.

The nature of your business

1. Business name

Over & Out

2. Business activity

A screen printing collective, that prints onto found and recycled objects.

3. Mission statement

We believe in sustainable design and the process of exploration through image making and found objects.

4. Business objectives

What are you plans to achieve your sales target in the first 12 months?

We plan to hold a 'pop-up' shop event at least 4 times a year (every three months) where we will sell our printed products to people who have an interest in individual designs.

What new products or services will you introduce in the following two years to grow your business?

We will introduce sustainable design into our ever expanding range of products by printing our current workonto flat pack cardboard furniture which will become the basis of our pop-up shop experience.

What is your long term / 5 year goal?

To further expand our range of products, as well as collaborating with other designers who would be
interested in getting their current work printed onto our sustainable products. We also plan to have set
up our own nationwide range of shops which will open continuously throughout the year, selling our
range of products to people interested in individual and sustainable designs.

5. The people in the business.

How many people are employed?

Four

What are their roles?

There will be four individual roles within the business:

Project Management (taking minutes in meetings, arranging group sessions etc.

Financial Management (controlling the intake of money, and outgoing, maintaining a profit within the
company

Stock Management (continuously checking our 'found' products and making sure we have plenty of
materials still to print on)

Art Director (researching current popular styles and designs in the market and influencing our designs
by their findings, as well as managing the designs of the group and keeping them on target)

As well as this we will each be individual graphic designers, collaborating together to bring different styles and designs that we could print onto found and recycled products.

6. What is the structure of your business?

Describe the organisation.

Our initial plan is to spend thursday afternoon's and evening preparing screens for print and Friday's in
the screen print studio creating our designs, printing onto our found items and producing our range of
products. This would be run on a rotary system, in order to allow time for other members of the group to go away and design, and also to allow time for work on our individual roles (financial management,
project management planning etc).

7. What is the legal status of your business?

Is it Limited Company or partnership, social enterprise, cooperative or are you a sole trader?

We will run our business as a cooperative company. This means we will run as an autonomous association of persons who voluntarily cooperate for their mutual, social, economic, and cultural benefit. The advantages of running the business in this way will be that we can collaborate with one another and combine each others idea's and inspirations into work that we are proud to sell.

2. Resources

1. Products or services

Describe the range of goods/services you are selling

Say what percent of turnover each will provide ( e.g. boutique – 40% clothing, 60% jewellery)
We will be screen printing onto a range of found products and so are quantities of each category
will change depending on what we can get hold of however our initial plan is to products Posters -
40% (at £5-£10), Zines - 20% (at £5), Small items - 20% (at £3), Unique pieces - 10% (£20+),
Material prints - 10% (£5-£10)

2. What resources do you require?

What equipment do you need (e.g. office equipment and furniture, studio equipment)

Studio; three rooms (print studio, design studio / shop, drying room for screens), Company Van, 4 Bicycles, 4 Helmuts, Screen printing beds, UV Exposer, Screens, Mesh, Squeegees, Power Washer, Screen Washer, Sink Basin, Print Racks, Emulsion, Health and Safety Clothing, Washing Chemicals, 4 iMacs, 4 iPads, 4 Desks, 4 Office Chairs, Digital A1 printer, A2 scanner, Sketch books, Printing Ink digital), Printing Inks (screen), Pens, Pencils, Paper supplies in various sizes, Hard Drives, Memory Sticks, 4 Notepads, Wallchart, 4 Diary / Timeplanners, Lightbox, A4 Scanner, SLR camera, Memory Card for digital camera, Kettle, Toaster, Fridge/Freezer, Microwave, mop and bucket, Dustpan and brush, First Aid Kit, Lightbulbs, Cabinet Bookshelf, Drawers, Safe, Electronic till, Folder, Sofa, TV, 4 iPads, Projector, Presentation easel, Cutting mats, Guillotine, Craft Knife, Spray mount, Tool Kit, Heaters.

How much will these cost ? ( to the nearest £3,000 )

£57,000

3. How much stock, do you need any stock to start your business?(e.g. clothes for a boutique, food for a café, books for a book shop)

How much will your sales stock cost ? (to the nearest £3,000)

Clothes, Cardboard, Zines, Posters, Magazines, Books, Paper Stock £3,000

Overall: £60,000

3. Customers

1. What evidence do you have that anyone will buy your product / service?

Is it a popular product / service currently provided by lots of others
Is your idea completely new?
Is there increasing demand for your product / service?

Eve and Luke have been to multiple print fairs in order to gain research over the past week, as well as this myself, Tanida, Luke and Eve have also research into the Leeds Print Festival, Leeds Print Fair etc to gain experience into the type of event we plan to run ourselves. Our idea has been done before however, we intend to expand upon what has already ben explored by printing onto materials we have found and incorporating each others idea. There is an increasing demand for our services, as trends within the industry are heading in this direction. Also, as a response to the recession people are look to gain artwork more from independent retailers that offer lower prices rather than a high street store. People are also becoming more and more interested in popular cultures and the recycling focus within the industry.

2. Who are these people?

Use segmentation to describe your typical consumer
People who are interested in their local music scene, local art scene and also people who are designers and artists themselves, as well as emerging young creatives. People with a unique fashion sense who are interested in one-off clothing designs will also be attracted by our brand. As well as aiming our company at this wide variety of customers, we also plan to target independent companies and galleries looking for artwork at a reasonable price to use on their walls.

3. Where are they?

It may help to include diagrams or maps
People who visit Brudenell social club, Wharf chambers, 02 Academy, Leeds Art Gallery, Dock Street Market, White Cloth Gallery, Leeds University Union, Leeds Museum, Nation of Shopkeepers, Electric Press Leeds, Corn exchange; all centrally located in Leeds for our first exhibition of our work.

4. How many are there of them?

This must be described in numbers form. (e.g. population, tourist visitors)
Number of young creatives in Leeds, Number of art/design students in Leeds, Number of design agencies in Leeds, Number of Cafe's, Number of Boutiques; 40,000 in number form

5. Why would they buy from you rather than anyone else?

Provide a SWOT analysis.

Strengths

Fresh, Combination of different styles, Screen printing, Back to Basics, Specialises in print, Collaborative, Unexpected outcome, Unique designs
Weaknesses
We are not original, Other screen print studio, None of us have business experience
Opportunities
Exploration, Collaboration in Design, A lot of current interest in print fairs in Leeds (Spur magazines, Leeds print festival, Leeds print fair)
Threats
Targeting such a huge market, We are not original, A lot of competition, Other design studio's,

6. How much will the average customer spend with you?

How often will they spend that amount with you?

£10, 4 times a year

Will your sales fluctuate due to external forces ( e.g. seasons or cultural / sporting events)
Our sales will be four times a year (seasonal)

4. How will you promote your business?

1. How will you advertise your products / services?

We will produce a range of flyers and posters distributed in the local area, using the style that we will be promoting on the day. We will also use social media as a form of advertising as well as producing creative emails prospective customers to inform them of the event.

2. What other marketing methods would be effective for you?

Personal Selling
Promotions; flyering in venues, posters in specific locations around leeds city centre
Direct Marketing (Targeted marketing)
Internet / Emails
Social Media; Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest etc.

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