Appendix 1.



Project Proposal Pro-forma (Consultancy Project / Business
Plan)
This pro-forma is designed to help you develop an academic proposal for your
project. Focus on including the most important information – as a basis for
development with your learning set and 1to1 work with your supervisor. The ethics
form needs to be submitted with your completed proposal it does not count in the
2,200 word limit for the proposal. The ethics form is attached at the end of the
proposal proforma and can be submitted as one document or as a separate
document. It needs to be signed off before you begin your research.

Chosen Format: (state Business Plan or Business Plan

Consultancy)
Name: Foculescu Ioana Corina TE number:17030690
Contact details: Email:Ioana2.Foculescu@live.uwe.ac.uk

Mobile:+40731324074

Topic/Aims and Objectives/ (theoretical) background

Explain why you want to use the business plan project

Firstly, the idea of dealing with this subject (Business plan) started from the fact that since
a young age I was in contact with the practical domain of technical innovation by going
everyday in my dad’s laboratory. At the same time I have always said that my dream “job”
in life is to find my passion and make money out of it, in order not to feel like I am working,
and I have discovered that real estate is my passion as I can look for hours at houses/
apartments, interior design and also spend time visiting them.
Secondly, my presence in this academic domain, made this idea to become a desire to
approach it theoretical, convinced of its sustainability, after I’ve met everywhere creative-
innovative students, who above all, want to develop their own business since their
undergraduate years.
Thirdly, this is a challenge for me at an intellectual level, to be able to solve on a theoretical
level the 3 main problems, different results, namely the student to have simultaneously
provided:
A. all the living conditions to continue his studies
B. all the creating and innovating conditions
C. and the necessary conditions to legally develop technical business type Start-up
Fourthly, at my returning in Romania, within the company that I will open (SC Corina
Holding Innovative), I will capitalise all this knowledge through writing my first application
for financing type Start-up Nation for accessing non-reimbursable funds to start the
Campus/Student Excellence Hub project and, I will take over as the entrepreneur/
administrator the process of project implementation and business continuation.

Please describe the topic for your Business plan and the client (identified or
desired):

The main topic of my business plan is constructing the first private innovative
student accommodation in Bucharest which will offer excellence conditions for
their own business research, to be able to to open their own business based on
technical innovation, to have their own conference, accommodation and
relaxation spaces.
The desired clients are represented by students that study in Bucharest and want
to follow their passions and desire to become entrepreneurs whilst still
continuing their studies.
The Scope and objectives specified will be treated in the Business Plan and at
the end of this one I will need to find the necessary solutions for his logistic,
financial and juridic support and the solutions for the relationship development
from 3 points: creation-student-entrepreneur.
This business idea for the development of a hub-campus of excellence for
students has a big level of newness, the summary analysis done by me of
electronic information, indicates that this concept is not implemented in
Romania and I have not found as provided services by campuses I was looking at.
The novelty of the concept involves solutions of additional regulations(at least in
Romania), access rules based on additional criteria, special behaviour rules,
specific spaces for innovation/creation facilities, different facilities and
arrangements from the classical ones and, above all, a new approach to the daily
life of this student-entrepreneurial-hub campus.
Briefly outline your intended question / objective / aim / target to be explored
during the consultancy project / within your business plan:

Question: Will students benefit from the construction of this type of Campus?
The main objective of this business plan is the development of a hub/campus that will
sustain the excellence in students activity, to provide the functional conditions for
innovation, creation and relaxation.
I aim to help students enhance their entrepreneurial skills and put into practice what they
learn in order to gain experience in their desired domain and make profit from their
passions.
The main targeted customers of the campus is represented by students that live in
Romania that match the campus profile. This choice was made by the fact that in
Romania, we have a big number of students with excellent innovation and entrepreneurial
strengths and skills and they don’t have the necessary and legal conditions and materials
that can fully satisfy these requirements, and that is why a lot of innovative ideas do not
come to an end or they can not become a business from the first years of becoming a
student and they become lost.
Moreover, a lot of excellent students quit university in order to develop their own business
or give up to their business in order to continue their studies. I propose that this campus
address these needs.
As the structure, the potential clients of the center of excellence are those from the final
years of the university centers in Bucharest in the technical, technological and engineering
sciences field.
As a percentage, I aim for the first year of operation of the center to be as a structure:
- 98% Romanian students;
- 2% foreign students;
From the competitiveness of the management point of view, it will have highlighted the
seriousness and rigour of the approach of the students and the respect of their
requirements.
The services will be provided in compliance with internal and international standards, as
well as quality standards.

How does this question relate to your interest, your business, your future, your
exit strategy?
In parallel with finalising my studies, I will start the legal procedure for setting
up in Bucharest, Romania, a commercial society ( SC Corina Holding Innovative
SRL) that will have as main activity objective the holdings management according
to the Romanian regulations.
Firstly, I intend to practice and use my theoretical knowledge studied at UWE by
writing my first funding request for one of the calls for projects Start-Up
Nation(maximum 44.000 euros) or Start-Up Smart City in Bucharest (40,000
euros) for accessing non-refundable nations funds, start-up funds that I need to
start the implementation of this project. These national programs have as sector
of activity the production sector, services, including the creative industries
defined according to the GD. 859/2014* and trade and other services. My project
is in the service area and I am allowed to purchase:
• Technological equipment, purchase of furniture, office equipment, expenses
with salaries, utilities (electricity, water, gas, sanitation, telephone and
internet subscription), accounting services and expenses related to the rent of
• work spaces, production spaces and spaces for services and trade.
• Consultancy for the preparation of the documentation in order to obtain the financing
within the present program and implementation of the project
Secondly, after the project will be accepted for the funding by the Romanian authorities(in
approx. 60 days since the dismantling of the project), as the legally administrator I will
conduct the implementation process, and the main activities I will manage in the next 8
months will be:
• Carrying out the process of financial management of the business with the national
authorities
• Negotiations, contract signing and the purchase of products and services necessary for
the project;
• Management of the project implementation, arrangements, endowments, receptions,
commissioning, maintenance
After completing the project implementation, in the next 2 years, I will lead the whole
process of consolidation and continuation off the business, focused on its efficiency and
profitability and with the strategic objective of expanding among the country and abroad in
the next 5 years.

What theoretical background / information / reports /underpinning will you be

looking at to create your consultancy/ business approach and the story of your
research? For business plan you should state your chosen format and why you
chose this format (e.g. lean, business model canvas or business plan).

I consider that this whole theoretical approach necessary to elaborate the proposed theme
will be based on journals, books, articles provided by UWE, on electronic information from
accredited sources on the specialised websites, reference electronic books, surveys and
market reports from the real profile business market.
Taking into account the scope and the objectives of this document, I consider that the most
suitable format is the Lean Start-up business plan because a business plan investigates in
the smallest detail the feasibility of the business, designs the objectives of the
entrepreneur and the methods by which he/she will achieve them and will obtain the
anticipated results.Moreover, I have chosen this type of business plan because I will also
apply for the non-refundable founding which suits best the Lean Start-up.
Another way in which I will collect information is through questionnaires I will give to
students around Bucharest that will contain questions about suggestions, expectations,
conditions, rules, namely data I will need to take into account while designing the campus.

How – methods and methodology:

Based on your current ideas, briefly outline the methodological approach you
intend to take for your business plan and the methods that you think will produce
the data, the information you need.
Based on the idea of applying for non-refundable funding from Start-up Nation, I have
chosen to use the methodology of lean start-up business plan as it focuses on taking small
steps, reviewing my results, and creating incremental improvements, all while reducing the
risk of failure. Thea lean business plan I intended to create for my dissertation will include:
• Strategy :which will include
1.the problem that needs to be solved = providing innovative-entrepreneurial-relaxation-
accommodation conditions for excellent-innovative students
2.the targeted costumers= students that study in Bucharest
3.Competition = in present, I have not identified any information about the existence of
these type of services for students
In December I am going to investigate on the field if there are services that can be
compared with the one I am planing to provide.I would like to mention that in Bucharest
there are private and public student accommodation specialised only on accommodation
with or without meal included. Also, there are students that rent apartments from private
owners during the university period. In neither of these cases, the provision of integrated
services is not considered in my view.
Competition abroad: idem as in Romania
• Tactics: which will include
- sales strategy
- Marketing strategy
- my team
- Key partners and resources
• business model
• schedule: which will consist of:
- researching physical locations
- Interviews with potential suppliers
- Applying for start-up nation
- Sending out surveys to the targeted clients
In my business plan I intend to include :
• an analysis of the future competitors
• A risk analysis
Methods that will produce data: other than the one mentioned above I will also attach
questionnaires that I will give to universities and high school students in December in order
to find out how much will they be willing to spend on an accommodation like that and what
will they expect or want to include in this future campus .
Methods for the accommodation I will provide:
• you will not be able to live in this accommodation if you are not currently a university/high
school student: students will need to come with a proof that they are currently enrolled in
an educational system high school/ university
• as in order to obtain the non-refundable funds I will need to be able to provide at least 2
jobs, I will provide to the students a guardian everyday in front of the building which will
protect them and some cleaning ladies that will come 2 times a week in order to maintain
the building clean
• I will also provide a common area for them to network, work, share ideas, relax and play
some games that will help them collaborate with each other while having fun.
1

1• Tactics: which will include

- sales strategy
In the spirit of accumulation, I think it can be executed in the process of hardening the works
and it can be created creatively.
The basics need to be careful that you can see and care that they fit your business goals are
focused only on: services can be established, summer can be organized and promotional for
what we do best, permanently evaluates a promotional campaign, focusing on the Target
Only Market and PE achieving the objectives and on the Short Term Lung term.
In order to increase the chances of success, my sales agent, my future, is seen to be with
me throughout the construction of the business, to be sure of all the features of the
company, so that they can create outstanding solutions. sale of our services.

- Marketing strategy
It will be able to have the general objective to identify the tools for the foundation of our
society. It will build competitive advantages through innovation and the creation of a new
service, for the care of specialized clients.
The objectives of the SPECIFIC strategy are the following:
- the use of the market for Research substantiation of the investment decision;
- the involvement of the DIN factors in the decision of the University Centers in Bucharest,
selecting the clients;
In order to start first, we aim to pursue the objectives: - winning with a zonal space at
Bucharest level; - creating professional images in UNEI among Students; - sales target
reaching Proposed: 50 service packages;

Based on the characteristics of the target country group, I think, first and foremost, the
marketing strategy to be able to rely on online electronic tools, I think will be extremely
effective and creative.
They are in use View to Pot Tools Take many forms Very:
Browser extensions;
Sites;
Software;
Integration with CMS Different Tools and Content Management System;
Website management;
Documents in Excel (checklists, Calculation tools, Notes);
And so on
As for them, when they need to help us become more known, we will be able to find out
more about ourselves, not be able to offer more differences. In addition, you can make your
instrument accessible only if we can provide him with contact details, such as an email,
other legal notices in this way.
We will take into account some aspects implied by this peak of business: high-quality
product-service, reduced profits in the first year of activity and other factors that can take
care of the negative influence on the running of the business (inflation, interest rate), so
careful analysis is mandatory and designing is a very effective marketing strategy and
promoting a service offered.
The policy is important in the field of marketing and advertising will emphasize the
uniqueness of the service provided. The management team (owner and administrator) must
devise a marketing care strategy that contains methods and elements specific to each time
2

each time and last the life of the restaurant.

Thus, in the clear day of opening the campus will be invited public personalities of the city of
Bucharest, successful care businessmen are good of good reputation.
The advertising during this period will be well oriented, targeting the market segment
pursued - creative students. This can be achieved by:
Brochures dissemination at the university center or scientific conferences or
communications;
A mass media environment, the radio will be another way to advertise; But this procedure
will only be used for short and intermittent periods;
Prior to launching the business, for potential clients information of intention to open a new
student center with a specific and different quality;

- my team
I will constitute a small but well-structured team, for each member and a certain functional
and caring role to make productive efforts in the team spirit. I want the team to open up my
initiative and creativity, to be productive. The results for which they are produced are desired
and welcomed by us, they are essential for the success and efficiency of the project's
operations for the care of my team.
The staff can be grouped into three broad categories:
1. information team: collects and processes information, in order to be able to meet
recommendations in various fields. Example: research team (care conducting surveys) or
consulting team;
2. production teams: create products or services. Example: a team of builders, a team of
social workers, etc .;
3. management team: organize yourself and manage resources and resources. Example:
executive committees, general meetings of associates (AGM), design teams.

2
Project plan / time management / milestones:
For consultancy format include when you intend to give your consultancy
proposal to your client and when you will complete the consultancy project.
For the business plan format include your plans to complete your business plan.

The Project Plan is a document quite complex with the scope of my business
plan, I will include precise indications about “how” I will proceed to achieve my
goals.
Thus, in the plan I will include all the works of construction and furnishings and
of the personnel that have to execute (repairs of the building, supply of
materials, the duration of interior design, the period of personal employment,
the period of beginning and end for each one, who will be the costs, what human
and material resources are needed, etc. And, last but not least, what are the
performance indicators that I will get.
In order to be able to control this complex project very well, I will discover this
whole process in smaller steps and easier to manage, and on the other hand I will
involve more people in the elaboration of this plan.
I intend to involve from the beginning the project manager who will also have
full responsibility for the plan, but at the same time must integrate the
contribution of all participants in the project, from the planning stage.

This business plan will be elaborated in the scope of obtaining a non-

reimbursable funds granted to small businesses through the Operational Program
Increasing Economic Competitiveness, which from the 2014-2020 program session
will be integrated into the Regional Operational Program.
I will do a research regarding the applicative part of the assignment:
• Information on the specific activity;
• general documentation
• the effective elaboration of the business plan following the proposed scope,
namely an investment project that will be realised by obtaining a non-
reimbursable financing through the Sectoral Operational Program Increasing the
Economic Competitiveness

The elaboration steps of this business plan envisaged are:

• Documenting, collecting information
• Effective planning of the company’s activity
• the actual drafting of the plan

The title of the business plan will be “ Increasing the competitiveness of “Sc
Corina Holding Innovative” by modernising production capacities and providing
new services”

The objectives of the business plan are:

• Developing and expanding the field of activity by creating a new domain/sector
of activity-services
• consolidation and sustainable development of “Company name”, as a result of
increasing the range of products offered by the company on the service market

Moreover, in order to open a SRL company I need to complete the following

Following the implementation of this project, the following new services will be obtained:
• complex services in the same perimeter of: accommodation, study, relaxation and
research
• Entrepreneurial services in parallel with university activities
• business and consultancy services
Time management:
In order to apply for the start-up Nation I need to open my own company (SRL) which I am
going to do in December during the Christmas Break. I have already prepared all the
documents I need to complete in order to do this (attach document).
In order to apply for the start-up Nation I have to own a company (SRL) that:
• is recently formed (after 30.01.2017)
• have no debts to the general consolidated budget and to local budgets
• have the CAEN code authorised at ONCR when submitting the first founding request
• creates at least 1 job opportunity and maintains it for a period of at least 2 years after the
implementation of the project
• the shareholder/s or associate in another SME(SRL,SA or SRLD) that performs or has
performed the same authorised activity for which they apply within the program in the
year before the registration or in the year of registration until upon opening the
registration session.
Link to learning outcomes – this project will show I have…..
Look at the learning outcomes for this module and tell us how you think your
business plan will link to (see Module Handbook for learning outcomes).

 Gain deep insight into the application of approaches to

enterprise and 

entrepreneurship

 Demonstrate a depth of critical understanding of the defined

aspects of enterprise, 

entrepreneurship, work and organisations 


 Identify, analyse and critically evaluate complex business

problems in a range of 

contexts using appropriate concepts and frameworks and
transfer this learning 

across different settings 


 Gather, prioritise and critically evaluate information and

evidence from a range of 

sources and including different media



Evidence of Learning Set Feedback & Attendance (Worth xxx Marks)

Date of Learning Set: Learning Set Tutor: Adrian Rivers

Feedback Received within Learning Set:
1.In order to explain why I want to use the business plan,I found out in the
learning set that I need to think about what motivated me to choose this topic
for my business plan.
2.I need to understand that first of all I am writing this business plan for myself.
3. Write a project plan that I will continuously review.
4. Dan Greer suggested me to go into more details about my tactics.
5. Be clear in what and how you intend to do.

Action/s taken on feedback from Learning Set:

1.I have tried to answer the first question based on the recommendation
received in the learning set, I believe that my main motivation is my passions for
real estate and interior design, which makes it easy for me to work on this
business plan as I am writing it to help myself visualise my future project and
have a better understanding of what I need to do by when.
2. This helped me write this proposal as I understood I need to write it in a way
that will let me have a better understanding of what I need to inform myself
into, visualise what my next steps should be, have a logistical order in which the
next move should be and understand I need to write it as clear as possible.
3. Writing the project plan helped me have an overview of the logical steps for
completing the implementation of my project.
4. As the word count is too small to go into more details but I believed it was
really relevant to do so, I wrote and Appendix which satisfied my need to detail.
5. I have tried to be as clear as possible by trying to cover every necessary aspect
, critically analyse them, have a 360 view on the business idea and go into
enough details in order to make my idea understandable and to prove its
feasibility.

Remember to complete the Ethics Approval Form below

and submit this with your Proposal
Ethics approval form: This MUST be signed off by your
supervisor/ first marker before you start your research &
data collection (submit as one document with proposal or as a second
document)

Name of student (applicant): Foculescu Ioana Corina

Student number: 17030690

Student’s email address: ioana2.Foculescu@live.uwe.ac.u
k

Faculty and Department:

Details of degree for which research is being undertaken:

Name of project proposal supervisor (learning set tutor): Adrian Rivers

Proposal supervisor’s email address:

Proposal supervisor’s telephone number:

Project title: Business Plan for student innovative Hub-Campus


Your first question is: “is my research ‘high risk’?” Please answer these questions:
Does your research involve….? Yes/No
Children No

Other vulnerable groups, including those who lack mental capacity No

Sensitive topics, e.g. sexual behaviour, experience of violence No
 Human tissue, such as body parts No

Administrative data which is secured or not publicly available No

Deception of the participants (e.g. Not saying what the research is really about) No

Accessing sensitive information (e.g. personal or confidential data) No

Potential harm or stress to participants and/or yourself No

Methods which place physical or mental strain on participants No

Potentially sharing data beyond the scope of consent given No


If you have answered ‘yes’ to ANY of the above, your research may be ‘high risk’. You must discuss
this with your supervisor. If your supervisor views the research as high risk you must apply to the
Faculty Research Ethics Committee for full ethical approval. If your research is not classed as ‘high
risk’ you still should ensure that you have considered ethical issues, been granted ethical approval
by your supervisor, and conducted your research appropriately.

CHECKLIST QUESTIONS Y/N Explanation

Have you informed participants about the nature and purpose of the Yes
research and how data will be stored?
Will participants be clearly asked to give consent to take part in the Yes
research?

Can participants withdraw themselves and their data from the research Yes
project at any time if they choose? Are they told this?
Are measures in place to provide confidentiality for participants? Yes

Have you ensured secure management of data, (e.g. ideally stored only Yes
on UWE computers with passwords)?
Is it clear to participants for how long their data will be kept, and that Yes
it will be destroyed after that time?


If you have answered ‘no’ to any of these questions, please work with your supervisor to amend
your research design.

Signature of applicant Date

Signature of supervisor Date