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BUSINESS OPPURTUNITY
In an ever changing fast paced world, where the trend is drastically shifting towards nuclear
families, both the parents of the family being employed and having very little time for their children, the
focus is shifted towards how one can make this little time spent with their little children momentous. In a
nuclear family the parents get to focus all their efforts and concentration on their children only to ensure
that they remain happy all throughout. Hence the growing number of nuclear families have given an
impetus and also created a need for an industry that provides services specialized only for children

Birthday is one occasion that is most awaited every year both by the child as well as his parents. All
parents would like to make their child’s birthday a special occasion that is ever remembered by their
child. In addition with the increasing purchasing power, parents care little about the expenditure to host a
grand show for their children. However, the constraint lies in the event planning and organizing of the
special occasion while parents are consumed with their works. Here lies the opportunity to develop an
event management service for kid parties that would relieve the parents of the burden of planning
the event and enjoy the celebrations without any stress and strain. The industry catering to such
specialized services is very limited in BHUBANESWAR which gives a potential for such a segment to
grow.

Apart from catering to the demand of a working family having heavily burdened office, such a
service would also take care of the demands of the social world organizing a special occasion of special
recognition with utmost professionalism and dedication.

BHUBANESWAR’s growth has been exponential, both in terms of its urban sprawl and
population. BHUBANESWAR’s population is presently estimated to be 80,84,676 which comprises of
7,09,838 children belonging to the age group of 1-7 years i.e. almost 10% of the population. Further,
BHUBANESWAR’s population growth rate has been 35% and is expected to touch 1 crore by 2012.
However, considering the urbanization pace in BHUBANESWAR agglomerate that has contributed to
the shifting of population to BHUBANESWAR, the figure of one crore is estimated to be reached much
earlier. All these statistics indicate that there is a wide market that could be catered to both at present and
in future.

PRODUCT/SERVICE:
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“SPARSH” is primarily a service business that will offer personalized service to our clients with respect
to the event management of their kid’s birthday party. It will specialize in organizing children’s birthday
parties entirely, right from sending invitations, setting up the party to clearing away so that our client’s
can relax and enjoy their child’s big day. Our range of services includes:

1. Designing and printing invitation cards as per the requirements of our clients and sending
them to the guests who are to be invited.
2. Venue finding services to fix a venue for the party to be conducted after taking into
consideration factors like accommodation for the number of people invited, the amount our
client is willing to pay for the venue etc.
3. Providing decor services to transform or give a new look to the party venue that stimulates
children. The decoration services can be availed from the basic party ware with balloons to a
more extravagant themed party dressing with props.
4. Conducting games and activities, where in lies the thrust of the party fun. Our task would
include, organizing creative games and events for the children creating a fantasy world,
providing both visual and audio entertainment such as action, dance floor etc.
5. Catering service would include the provision of tasty healthy and innovative food for children’s
parties which could be tailored to the theme, accommodating special dietary requirements
including organic menus
6. Arrangement of the right type of return gifts or goody bags depending on the requirements
of our clients
7. Photography services: we would also have a photographer present at the party to capture the
sweet memories of the child.
8. Clearing up services so that the parents can relax at the end of their child’s big day

Customers can either book for the whole package or any one or more of the services depending on the
requirements or budget.

Unique selling proposition (USP)

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 1. Our service is personalized service catering only to a special segment of the society, hence
having a greater caliber to serve the segment in comparison to a generalized service provider.
2. By aggregating a complete range of party related services, “SPARSH” will offer its customers the
ease of one stop shopping.
3. The principal USP of our service will lie in the expertise hired, which will be engaged in
providing unmatched services with utmost professionalism ensuring maximum efficiency while
minimizing the possibility of error. This will place us in a competitive position as a premier
provider of party management services.

MARKET ANALYSIS
Target market and customer profile:

Our target market may be divided as follows:

1. Age group: we would mainly target parents of those children belonging to the age group of 1-7
years. Most parents are highly ecstatic about their child’s first birthday, however many parents
would also like to celebrate the on coming birthdays to satisfy their child’s desire. The age group
is not restricted to 7 years as the child nor do the parents desire to celebrate the birthdays in a
grand manner any further. But this may not be the case in all situations.
2. Income group: our target markets are middle, upper middle and the upper income group
families, couples or individuals of BHUBANESWAR. We choose these groups because they are
most able to afford as well as willing to pay for such a service.
3. Working class: the fast pace of life we live in leaves very little time for extra things we would
like to, and one such thing is the planning of our lovely child’s birthday party. Thus this service is
targeted to the working class who cannot find time out of their busy schedule to plan such parties.
“SPARSH” will fill this need by being available to take on the burden of planning so that people
can spend time on more important things, like family and friends. Further the overwhelming
detail needed to plan a good show for your child is too large a constraint to place on people not
trained in the area of event management.

Competitors:

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 “SPARSH” is in a unique position of competition. Though the number of firms offering children
specialized, event management services are limited in BHUBANESWAR, they posses the advantage of
being in the market longer and thus having more experience, established reputation and client base.

Another group that could be listed as competitors are the people who wish to organize their own events
without the benefit of assistance as it will help them to internalize the cost planning and also will be able
to add personalized touches that have meaning with in the family.

However our group of talented and creative expertise will help us overcome these competitors and create
an unparalled service.

Market growth:

BHUBANESWAR’s population growth has been 35% and is expected to touch 1 crore in near future.
Increase in population implies increase in the number of children belonging to the targeted group and
hence more birthday parties. Further the demand for this service can also increase considering the rise in
income and the corresponding purchase power in the hands of the urban population and also the growing
needs for building interpersonal; relations within the family and social groups.

Place:

The “SPARSH” office will be located inside the city limits of BHUBANESWAR on M.G.road as it
is easily accessible and well known location which would provide the ease of location and save time
of our clients to reach our office.

The office space required would not exceed 500 sq ft floor area as it has to accommodate only the
administrative staff. The other employees will mainly be engaged in the field work and will not require
an official environment to work in. Since initially we plan to open only one branch, for the purpose of
convenience to customers we would also encourage meeting with clients in social settings such as
restaurants, coffee houses, the clients home and also take orders over phone. When the company
accomplishes considerable growth in terms of revenue and profit we will extend branches in other parts
of the city.

The office environment will display a high degree of professionalism in terms of its working and will be
equipped with the latest business technology such as telephone systems, computers, fax machines,

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printers and software. The office will have a secure storage area of supplies and equipment used in
events like decoration items, cameras etc.

Promotion:

As stated earlier, that our client base is predominantly the middle to upper income group families and
individuals. Hence, we must take care that majority of this market’s needs are catered to. Our marketing
must, thus convey them the idea of releasing them from task, freeing their time for family and friends
and promise of a worry free event. Keeping in mind these aspects, we have developed our marketing
strategy as follows:

1. Hoardings: Attractive hoardings appealing both to parents and children will be placed in
strategic areas like Malleshwarm, Commercial Street, Kormangala in order to have a wide and
mass appeal, spreading awareness regarding the existence of our business.
2. Internet advertisements: Since internet is being used by people almost everyday,
advertisements in the form of pop ups on recognized sites like Yahoo and Google would also
help in capturing the target market.
3. Print advertisements: We will tie up with newspaper agencies to distribute the attractive
pamphlets containing services offered by us on a door to door basis in selected localities
4. Word of mouth referrals: Since this is a service based business, our marketing would be
predominantly by word of mouth as this will help generating sales leads the local community
through customer referrals. This will require developing affiliate relationships with not only the
customers but also other product and service providers like caterers, wholesalers of decorations
and other party items etc who also gain from the growth in our business.
5. Quantity based discounts: Discounts based on the number of services availed of and number of
people to be catered to will be given

Pricing:

‘SPARSH’ deals with a diverse range of services. Hence, the pricing will vary depending on the number
of people to be invited, the choice of venue opted by the clients and the specific services to be availed by
the client. The prices of each service rendered will be based on the current prices prevailing in the market
and will also depend on the pricing strategy of firms providing us the materials to conduct events.

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Assuming an order for 150 people our price for full event management service will range from Rs
50000 to Rs 120000 which includes the cost of hiring the venue, cost of purchase of material required to
conduct the event, cost of services provided in the form of conducting activities and games, cost of
printing and distributing invitation cards and profit margin.

Sales forecast:

By beginning on a smaller scale, SPARSH has the foresight to grow at a rapid pace to keep up with the
demand we wish to maintain a steady rate of sales growth. We expect to have at least one client per week
in the first six months giving us an average estimated revenue of Rs 20.40,000 for the first six months.
We expect to increase by 20% half yearly based on the increasing awareness of our service.

The projected sales (in terms of revenue) are shown below:

1st Year 2nd Year 3rd Year

1st 2nd 1st 2nd 1st 2nd

6months 6months 6 months 6 months 6 months 6 months

Projected Rs. 2040000 Rs. 2448000 Rs. 2937600 Rs. 3525100 Rs. 4230000 Rs. 5076000

sales

ORGANISATIONAL PLAN:
The management team of “Sparsh” will be small in the beginning and as the sales increase the
organization structure will also broaden.

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The primary employee is the founder i.e. AMITA.N.JIVRAJANI who will supervise all event plan and
execution. The organization structure will be as follows:

OWNER / PROPRIETOR

EVENT MANAGEMENT TEAM ADMINISTRATION TEAM

DECORATORS INTERIOR DESIGNERS

EVENT
ANDACTIVITIES
ORGANISERS

The administration team will comprise of employees to take and confirm orders after giving a

Description to the clients about the various services they can choose from, to maintain

Stores account of decoration materials in stock, to attend enquiry calls, to deal with caterers and maintenance of book
accounts etc.

The event management team will consist of the people who will actually execute the work at the party
venue. This team will function as one with constant communication through weekly staff meetings,
email, and message boards. All jobs are interrelated. The performance of one effects that of the other;
each team member expects nothing but best from each other

Should Sparsh grow beyond its estimated size, more positions in specialized areas will need to be added
as well as additional site support and office assistance. To fill these positions it is looking for energetic,

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teachable, detail-oriented persons who want the potential to grow and improve their skills within the
organization. Sparsh to be the best; therefore, they will hire those who want to succeed.

OPERATIONAL PLAN:
‘SPARSH’ will start its operations from its office located on M.G.road by sending direct emails to
parents of young children in BHUBANESWAR. The mailer will announce open house invitations to
visit the facility. The operations of the firm are associated with the services provided and hence are listed
below:

1. Invitation cards: We will have tie ups with local printers providing us their services at
reasonable rates. However the designing of these cards will be done by creativity specialists hired
by our organization having qualification in animation or any similar field. The distribution will be
done either through post or courier services as desired by the client. We would also use
personalized communication media like emails and telephones to add a personal touch to the
process. This service will be offered at the discretion of the client.
2. Venue finding services: Sparsh will have tie ups with different party halls in different locations
covering the entire city as well as different party halls having different rental prices providing an
elaborate list for the customers to choose from.
3. Decoration services: We will have fixed local providers of decoration and party items from
whom we will purchase decoration items as and when needed. The firm will also keep stock of
the frequently used items so that it does not suffer from shortage of such material at any point of
time. The organization will hire an interior designer who will work in co-ordination with the team
of creativity specialists (hired for the purpose of designing invitation cards) to decorate the party
venue giving it an innovative look
4. Games and activities: This would require the assistance of well experienced youth who would
energize the party environment with their ability to stimulate the children, excellent
communication and event management skills. They will also take care of the visual and audio
entertainment at the party venue. Our entertainers will arrive 30-60 mins before the party to set
up.
5. Catering: We will have tie ups with “SAGAR CATERERS” for providing the mouth watering
food making it a perfect day and the cakes will be ordered from the “SWEET CHARIOT”
Centers for they can be trusted for the quality of their products.

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Party Booking:

To ensure that our clients get the party they require we would recommend that the clients book at least 6-
8 weeks in advance so that the arrangements regarding party venue and distribution of invitations can be
made

The booking will be confirmed on receiving 50% of the entire cost of the event management as an
advance deposit.

All prices will be subject to change at any time with the exception of confirmed bookings. The final
payment will be due 7 days before the party date.

Written notification expressing the clients wish to cancel the party is required and the following charges
will apply

More than 42 days- 0%

29-42 days - 20% of deposit

15-28 days - 40% of deposit

8-14 days - 60% of deposit

7 days - 80% of deposit

The above charges will be deducted from the deposit received at the time of confirming the order and the
balance shall be refunded back to the client.

The host/parent is responsible at all times for the general supervision of children within the party venue.
Our responsibility is strictly restricted to the supervision of party activities provided by us.

Launch of our service:

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We will have a launch party at our office located at M.G.road. We would also rent the vacant office
spaces around our office in the same complex to accommodate our guests. Our guests would include our
prospective business dealers i.e. party decoration item providers, caterers etc. we would also send
invitation cards to our target customers living in the vicinity so that they can take note of the facility
provided by us. The launch party will be on a Sunday there by giving an opportunity for most people to
come and know of our services.

FINANCIAL PLAN:
Start up costs and sources of finance:

A summary of the total initial funds required and the mechanism of their funding is shown below:

PARTICULARS AMOUNT(Rs.) AMOUNT(Rs.)

Start up costs:

Legal 12,500

Stationery etc. 21,000

Consultants (Lawyers, Real estate agents etc.) 30,000

Advance deposit (for renting office) 2,75,000

Advertising (Launch party, Brouchers etc.) 1,00,000

Miscellaneous 25,000

Total Start up expenses 4,63,500

Start up Assets needed:

Cash and Bank balances 1,25,000

Computers and Laptop 85,000

Furniture and fittings 3,75,000

Total Assets needed 5,85,000

Total Requirements 10,48,500

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Funding:

PARTICULARS AMOUNT(Rs.) AMOUNT(Rs.)

Owner’s Personal Funds:

In the form of cash 3,33,000

Sale of Investments (in shares and debentures) 2,15,500 5,48,500

Mortgage loan from bank 5,00,000

Total capital and liabilities 10,48,500

‘SPARSH’ wishes to be a debt free establishment. However, outside financing is the most viable option
to finance the start up costs. The cost of future operations of the concern will be financed from the profits
earned.

The projected financials of the concern are shown below:

SPARSH

PROJECTED INCOME STATEMENT

PARTICULARS 1st Year 2nd Year 3rd Year

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 Amount(Rs.) Amount Amount(Rs. Amount(Rs.)
(Rs.) )

Sales 20,40,000 24,48,000 64,62,700 93,06,000

Less: Cost of Sales 9,18,000 11,01,600 28,27,000 39,57,800

Gross Profit 11,22,000 13,46,400 36,35,700 53,48,200

Expenses:

Payroll 3,60,000 3,60,000 9,50,000 11,40,000

Sales and Marketing

Expenses
4,28,000 4,28,000 8,96,000 7,20,000
Depreciation
23,000 23,000 46,000 46,000
Maintenance and Utilities
5,400 5,400 12,000 12,000
Rent
1,50,000 1,50,000 3,15,000 3,30,750

Total Expenses 9,66,400 9,66,400 22,19,000 22,48,750

Profits before interest 1,55,600 3,80,000 14,16,700 30,99,450

Less: Interest 32,500 32,500 65,000 65,000

Net Profit 1,23,100 3,47,500 13,51,700 30,34,450

NOTE:

• Depreciation is charged at 10% p.a. on furniture, fitting, and computers.

• Interest is charged at 13% p.a. on the loan taken from bank.
• Rent per month is taken at Rs. 25,000 with an annual increment of 5%.

BREAK EVEN ANALYSIS:

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Number of parties organized at break even point: 27

Revenue at break even point: Rs. 22,95,000

We will break even approximately in 7 months.

RISK FACTORS:

1. Though the current market for such specialized services is limited, there is a high scope for
growth which will encourage the entry of more firms thereby increasing competition.
2. Our services are dependent on the operational plans and strategies of our business dealers and
hence any changes in their working pattern may have an adverse effect on our business.
3. Our target customers are limited only to the population of BHUBANESWAR and thus a large
part of the national market is left uncovered giving a scope for growth to competitors.
4. Since ‘Sparsh’ is a service based business, hardships might be faced in convincing customers
about the quality of services provided.

MITIGATION OF RISK FACTORS:

1. Concentration on advertising and promotional activities to spread awareness of services provided

on a larger scale.
2. Taking feedback from customers who have already availed the service in order to develop on the
loopholes and hence ensure quality services.
3. Leveraging the expertise of employees in providing better customer satisfaction in order to
competitively position ourselves as a premier provider of such specialized services.

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 4. Planning strategies for quick expansion to tap a larger market.

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