Syed Ahmed 1

Santa Susana High School

Uber and a Business Plan

Senior Project 2015

Syed Ahmed
CP English 11
Pamela Bradley
November 20, 2015

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In this senior project I plan to create a business plan based on the Uber business model. I
am doing this project because I have an interest in becoming an entrepreneur or a business
owner. I also had interests in the Uber business model as in my opinion Uber as a company has
changed the world for the good and maybe also for the bad. What I know from this project is
minimally about what a business plan is which like I already said is a plan that is used by
entrepreneurs to create the foundation of a business. I know the company Uber and how the
business sort of works.
This project has a lot of learning stretches that I need to research. It requires to
research a more in depth look in how I need to create my business. It requires me to look what
are the uses of a business plan. It requires me to research about the Uber business plan. I also
want to research about the TV show Shark Tank and learn about how to present your business to
entrepreneurs. Things like how the company makes money, how do they change the world? Even
though this project actually might seem easy, it is not this is a project that will take time and
research to understand and will require time to understand.
A business plan is a plan that will set out the plans and expectations of the company for
the coming three till five years (Small business administration). The plan must outline how the
business will grow (Australian government). Including things like prioritizing the business as it
will help with the long terms goals of the company. Doing this will allow it can introduce future
issues that the company can receive thus allowing the entrepreneur to act upon to prepare for
these issues (Australian Government).
A business plan can give an entrepreneur more control over his/her business
(Hoque). A way that he/she can do that is by asking their employees their opinion on how to
improve the company (Hoque). Making a good business plan also lets other people to look at that

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same business plan as a reference so that other entrepreneurs can create one more professionally
giving the more dominance in being the business owner (Hoque). It can also help the owner of
the business who created the plan a more broad understanding of the company (Hoque).
When building a business plan there are things that are needed to be added. Like
the obvious one is a company name. But in a business there are a lot more things needed than a
tittle of a company. Like for an example a company needs an executive plan (Entrepreneur). An
executive plan is a short summary that tells the investors what they want to know quickly
(Entrepreneur). Things that must be included in the executive plan are a business concept which
tells the product and market, the fianc of the business, the situation of the business (personal
things, owners, legality), and the companies major achievements (Entrepreneur).
Another part of the business plan that is needed is descriptions of the company.
Everybody knows that, but what is supposed to be in the description of the company. Well this is
part of the business is more of an extended part of the executive plan. In this part of the business
plan the entrepreneur must talk about the structure of the company, where it is new or old
(Entrepreneur). Also talk about the company will get advertised, like for example if there is a
product this is going to be placed on the market then explain why how will get the people to
know about the product so that they can buy it (Entrepreneur). The reason for this is because the
information about this will get an entrepreneur ahead and prepared for what is coming for the
company (Entrepreneur).
The business plan must include the profits of the company if available
(Entrepreneur). Even though this is something that an average person can think about profits
being in a business plan, but how are some of the ways that a business can earn its profits there
are many ways that business can get profits that an average person may not know. Profit is a

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short summary of how the business will need to make money (entrepreneur). It is important to
show your profits as it can be easily be done about a business writing pages of how they are
profitable thinking it would impress the investors (Entrepreneur). One thing that should be
included in this portion of the business plan is the type of profit being made by the company
(Entrepreneur). This is done through product, partnerships, or by advertising (Entrepreneur).
Business entrepreneurs have an option to put an
appendix in the end of their business plan. An appendix is added to the business plan. The
appendix can have the following things. A credit history, resumes, product picture, reference for
the product, licenses and patents, legal docs, building permits, contracts and list of consultants
for the business like accountants (Small Business Association).
Other things that a business plan can have are the
companys unique culture (Hoque). Things like its rules and behavioral expectations are
examples (Hoque). The plan can include how the company is able to communicate between
different business units (Hoque). Other more personal information is welcome in the business
plan. This could include stuff like the target costumers for the business, suppliers, partners, and
rivals (Hoque). Also include a way that this company is different from the competitors (Hoque).
Uber is a huge business where there are
drivers who take people to their destination of interests. The people who drive are regular
drivers. Everybody knows what Uber is. So why is needed for there to be an explanation of what
the company does. The reason why it is put there is because it will give a little understanding of
the business plan of the company and will give a reference of what the company is.
Companies need to make money. Uber is
one of those companies that obviously needs to make money. The customers who go in the cars

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obvious pay a fee based on the distance that they go (Liadre). The money that these people pay, a
small percent of the money goes to Uber and the bigger percent of that money goes to the driver
of that customer (Liadre). The amount of money charged is managed by the time of the day
(Liadre). During the busy hours of the day, Uber charges more for the rides (Liadre). This makes
sense as it applies to a supply and demand type system.
Another part of the Uber Business plan is
their app. The app will allow easier access for people to call up a driver (liadre). It allows the
people can track the cars and know who is the driver of the car they are about to enter. The app
also allows a more secure way to pay of the ride as the person pays through the app, rather than
directly (Liadre).

The Uber business plan really

does change the way of business in a positive way. The company shows how successful it is to
have a great app that is well made and free from major glitches and bugs (Liadre). Calling for a
taxi cab is really easy and has made is beneficial for the consumers (Liadre). Uber has shown
how they have been able to succeed from competition, that is because of the all the lawsuits that
they have been put through have made them more popular (Liadre).
While Uber has their ups,
they also have their downs. Even though it was said before that they had gained publicity from
all their lawsuits. They are still lawsuits. Uber challenges the Taxi cab business and it thus causes
issues with companies like the New York Taxi Cab Industry (Liadre). Uber also has issues with
certain governments like the French government (Liadre). All these lawsuits costs a lot and the
Uber Company itself costs a lot to maintain (Liadre).
Even with all of this information with the positives and the negatives. Entrepreneurs can
learn a lot from the Uber business plan. Companies should not be afraid to disrupt other business

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and be able to take criticism from that (Liadre). Entrepreneurs should be able take advantage of
the free market like Uber did (Liadre). Companies should use the internet in their business, as it
can help grow businesses (Liadre). The court cases Uber has been going against shows that there
is can be such thing a no bad publicity (Liadre). Take at least 15% of the transactions made
when charged (Liadre). This makes Uber get at that 15% cut (Kosoff). All the inventory can be
company as it can be internet based like Uber is (Liadre).
The Uber Business model is really important in my business plan. That is because the
business plan that I have in mind is similar to the Uber business plan. My business plan will
challenge another industry which has dominated its field. The business model is a rapidly
growing business thus it gives me even more of an interest in using that model to make my
business successful and that would be stated in the plan. My plan also require an app to be
created and be used, so knowing that how successful the app is helping Uber work and is the
basis of the business it makes me want to base my business on to build an app.
In the business plan that I intend to create I must either get rid of certain parts of the
business plan that entrepreneurs use or I plan to make up data based on facts from similar
companys sales data. Like for example I plan not to create a business appendix in my plan. A
basic reason is that it is something not required in the business plan. But the bigger reason is that
it is a part of the business plan where the owner would include information like patents, resumes
and more, and I cannot be able to provide that information. I also like said before to make up
some data like for examples projected sales. That is because I do not have the business actually
running so in order to make the data I am going to base it on other companys like Ubers data.
I am going to of course out the basics of the business plan. Like the name of the company
or the type of people I am targeting my business to. I will include things like different way to get

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profits, the work place of the employees, and even a basic description of what the company is. I
will include ways I am going to get profit and maybe use some of the ways that I have research
like with partnerships and with advertisements through the app. I will also include a form of the
companies finance, even though that might be an issue since it is a brand new company.
I plan to change the way I present this project too. Based on most of my
researched information of what business plans are used for I want to take that into effect. In my
presentation for the senior project I plan to create a scenario similar to the TV show Shark Tank.
This will in my opinion gives me a better experience with using business plans. It can also give
me an opportunity to get the panelist more involved during the presentation.
This is senior project I believe it will benefit my experience for becoming a
business entrepreneur. My researched has helped me understand what a business plan does and
what should be included in my business plan. After doing my researched I have clearly seen what
I want to accomplish with this project like in my presentations. My research gave me an idea
what my business should have and somethings that I may not be able to have in my business just
because the company is either too new. I am proud for what I have learned and am ready to take
this information and apply this my own business plan.

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Bibliography
1. U.S. Small Business Association. Web. 16 October 2015.

2. Hoque, Faisal. Fast Company. Web. 16 October 2015.

3. Entrepreneur. Web. 16 October 2015.

4. Business. Australian Government. Web. 16 October 2015.

5. Laidre, Armin. Iplanner. Web. 16 October 2015.

6. Manjoo, Farhad Nytimes. The New York Times. 28 January 2015. Web. 16 October 2015.

7. Kosoff, Maya. Businessinsider. 29 October 2014. Web. 16 October 2015.

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Annotated Bibliography
1. Business. Australian Government. Web. 16 October 2015.
2. Entrepreneur. Web. 16 October 2015.
3. Hoque, Faisal. Fast Company. Web. 16 October 2015.
4. Kosoff, Maya. Businessinsider. 29 October 2014. Web. 16 October 2015.
5. Laidre, Armin. Iplanner. Web. 16 October 2015.
6. Manjoo, Farhad Nytimes. The New York Times. 28 January 2015. Web. 16 October 2015.
7. U.S. Small Business Association. Web. 16 October 2015.
8. Devry University. 14 july 2014. web. 17 september 2015
The main purpose is to show the main tech that is our future. The article talked about
specific tech that was to big in the near future like a more connected home and selfdriving cars. The audience would be tech geeks who want to know the future of tech.
This is important as the future of tech is a flexible thing that is dedicated a lot. so having
insight might tell me what i can talk about in the future of tech. This has a bias towards
future tech devices instead of past or present.
9. Drexel. Web. 18 September 2015.
The main purpose is about video games getting more popular. It talks about what causes
the growth of the gaming industry. The audience are mostly gamers and people who are
learning about the growth of this industry. This is helpful as it talks about another
technological industry. This has bias towards the negative side of video gaming.

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10. Globe University. 6 August 2015. Web. 17 September 2015.

This article is about how tablet change the world. The article talk about how 5 industries
are being changed by the tablet industry and making it better. This is meant for an
audience who likes to know about technology in the daily world. This is helpful as it will
help me prove how technology is helping people in other industries and overall. This
article has a bias that it does not mention smartphone or computers changing other
industries.
11. Lee Hosanager Kartik, Nair Harikesh. Stanford. Stanford Business, September 2015.
Web. 17 september 2015.
The main purpose is to show the effect of ads in social media. The article talks about how
ads in social media can catch the user's attention. The audience are people who want to
learn the techniques to make a good ad. This is useful because it helps show
how companies which services are free get and money from ads and how these ads are
used effectively.
12. Lenhart, Amanda. Pewinternet. PewResearchCenter, 9 April 2015. Web.
17 September 2015.
The main purpose is about the study of tech and social media in a daily life of a teenager.
This article focuses on the polls based the teenager uses of social media, smartphones, vid
eo games and etc. The article talk about what teens use most, what ethnic groups use tech
more, how teens use this tech, and more. The audience is for someone who wants to
know how the teenage life is evolving based on the tech industry, or parents who want to

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know statistics about these subjects. This is relevant because it will give me background
on how the young use their tech and help me use them for the tech I can look at. This
article is bias as it only uses teens instead of adults and seniors.
13. Levorese Sean. Rochester Institute of Technology. Web. 17 September 2015.
The main purpose is to explain the wearable tech industry. This article talk about what
they are and also talk about the different wearables like smartwatches and fitness bands.
This is meant for people who are new to the wearable industry or are wanting to learn
more about it. This is helpful as it talks about another industry within the topic. This has a
bias towards the wearable industry and leaving out other industries like smartphone or
tablets.
14. Ray Amanda, The Art Institutes. Web. 18 September 2015.
This is about the history of the cell phone. It talks about how the cellphone get getting
new feature and getting more portable and the future we hold of this tech. The audience
are tech geeks who want to learn some history of the cell phone. This is relevant in that
is can give background information that I can use befor I argue in my essay. The bias is
towards every other growing tech other than smartphones as the article only talks about
smartphones.
15. Shields Margie, Behrman Richard. The future of children. Princeton, 11 february 2013.
Web. 17 September 2015.
The main purpose is about children using technology. This article informs more of how
technology can be used for children educationally. The audience are teachers and

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parents. This is useful because it explores the education side of tech and the child side of
it too. This article has bias of talking children over something like teens or adults.
16. Walker Brittany. University of WisconsinPlatteville. 19 September 2014.
Web. 18 September 2015.
This article is the good and bad of technology. It talks about how technology is bad for
you and good for you in our daily live. The audience are people who want to understand
the topic. This is helpful because it has a negative side to the conversation which can help
with a counter argument. This has bias towards the positive said more than a negative
side.
17. Williams Amy. Family Online Safety Institution. 17 February 2015. Web.
18 September 2015.
This article is about the benefits of tech. The article focuses on daily tasks that could be
easier when technology does the work for us. The audience are people who want to find
uses of technology (smartphone, tablets, etc.). This will help me by using these as
examples of uses as our daily tech.