top foods business plan

7/28/2019 Top Foods Business Plan

1/27


2/27

2 [TOPFOODSBUSINESSPLAN]

BUSINESS PLAN

Co-OwnersColby BredensteinerLauren Richardson

TOP FOODS MAGAZINE210 W. 19th TerKansas City, MO [email protected]


3/27

[TOPFOODSBUSINESSPLAN] 3

TABLE OF CONTENTSI. Executive Summary 04

II. General Company Description 05

III. Products and Services 07

IV. Marketing and Competition 10

V. Marketing Our Business 15

VI. Operational Plan 18

VII. Management and Organization 21

VIII. Financial Plan 22

IX. Appendices 23


4/27


I . Executive SummaryWe are Top Foods LLC and we plan to create a food magazine featuring the top foods atany location and for any event you can imagine. We will travel far and wide to find thebest of the best in food. Not only will our employed contributing writers be adding toour magazine, but also the everyday person who will read our magazine. We hope tocause a change in the food magazine industry by allowing our readers the chance to bewriters for our magazine, sharing their stories and love of food with others.

In order to make a sizzle in the food magazine scene, we will offer a bi-monthlypublished print and digital magazine so any one can experience top foods withwhichever format they desire. We will also offer exciting advertising opportunities foradvertisers in our publications through full, half, and a third page 4 color or black andwhite advertisements. Advertising through our digital publication will include banner

advertisements and square advertisements measured through cost per thousand (CPM).We are asking for a $1 million loan. We will use this loan to buy equipment, technologyto produce our magazine, and to afford the cost of printing and maintaining ourmagazine. This is a rather large loan, but we are confident that with this loan, covering2 years, we will increase our customers and will then increase our profits


5/27


I I . General Company Descript ionTop Foods LLC. will be creating a new wave of food magazine named Top Foods. Ourmagazine will be a bi-monthly magazine that will dive into what the top foods are atdifferent locations, as well as the top foods to serve at parties or other events. Thecustomer will become the magazines main contributors, sharing their experiences oftop foods, along with the hired contributors.

Our Mission

We want to encourage people to have and share the experience and passion for tryingnew foods.

Our Vision

We will be the favorite food magazine go-to. We will continually be searching for thetop foods available for every occasion and experience, and the stories of people on theirown food adventures. We will offer the highest quality experience in print and digitalfood magazines.

Goals and Objectives

Our goal at Top Foods LLC is to present a food magazine that will change the way foodmagazines are created and seen. We hope to influence a love affair with food for all ofour customers. We hope to be right up at the top with our top competitors in 5 yearsand we will work non-stop until we get there.

Business Philosophy

Our business philosophy focuses on what the people want in a food magazine. Wewant customers to be able to read about and create the top foods in any place orsituation and we want them to have fun and share their experiences in their ownpersonal food journey. We focus on creating the highest quality content and customerservice for our customers.

Target Market

Our main target market will be Stay-at-Home moms.

Industry

The magazine industry is slowly declining in print form, but has seen an increase indigital forms. Top Foods LLC will utilize both of these formats to attract all types ofcustomers.


6/27


Strengths

Our strengths include a passion for food, and sharing that food with others. We pride

ourselves in high quality content and customer service. Our biggest competitiveadvantage is allowing the customers to be a part of creating our magazine through theidea of sharing their food stories with us.

Legal Form of Ownership

We have decided to be a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) because we are startingour business out small and we would like to keep management flexibility.


7/27


I I I . Products & ServicesPrint Magazine

Consumers can choose to buy a single issue or a 6-issue subscription for the printpublication. The print magazine will offer recipes, stories, tips and tricks, and otherfood related stories.

Digital Magazine

Digital subscriptions are offered as a single issue or as a 12 month subscription. Thedigital format will offer behind-the-scenes material such as how-to videos, interactivemaps, and an easy way to connect with the contributors through social mediaplatforms. The digital format will also offer more recipes, photos, and other interesting

facts, not mentioned in the print addition, about top foods.

Print Advertising

Advertisers can choose between 4 color and black and white with the option of a fullpage, 1/2 page, or 1/3 page advertisement in our print magazine. Advertisers will bebuying advertising space for a years worth of printing for each space bought.

Digital Advertising

Digital advertising is available as either banner advertisements or squareadvertisements. These advertisements are sold by cost per thousand impressions.

Pricing

Product/Service Price

Print Magazine

Single issue $3.99

6 issues $18

Digital Magazine

Single issue $3.99

12 month $20

Print Advertising Full Page 1/2 Page 1/3 Page


8/27


4 Color (6x) $700 $425 $225

BW (6x) $500 $300 $125

Digital Advertising CPM

Banner $4

Square $2

Advantages

Our magazine will be highly creative and will be created with high quality material.

We will rely on our audience to help contribute to our magazine with experiences oftheir own. We will utilize less expensive advertisement options by advertising ourmagazine through social media platforms. We are passionate and committed tocreating new magazine consumers can enjoy.

Disadvantages

As a food magazine just starting out with highly visible competition, we will have tobuild a fan base and that could take some time. We also have limited experience inrunning a business and will have to learn as we go.

Technology Analysis Summary

This list includes the necessary technology and equipment for starting our magazinebusiness, the quantity we need for each item, and the reason why we need them forour business.

Equipment/Technology QTY. Reason for technology

27-inch Apple iMac 3.2GHz 2This will be the computer our creativedirector will use to design the templates ofthe magazine.

HP Compaq Pro 4300 PC 3 The HP Compaq Pro will be the main PC allthe employees will be using.

HP LaserJet Pro 500 Color 1The HP LaserJet Pro 500 is a color laser multi-functional printer that can both fax and scan.

Adobe CS6 2This is the best and only software to designmagazine templates.


9/27


Office 365 2This will allow everyone to create and viewdocuments within the company.

Wordpress Premium Account 1Wordpress Premium Account will let usbuild and manage our website and digitalmagazine as well as using Google Analytics.

Mailchimp email 1Mailchump will allow us to send bulk emailsto our subscribers.

HooteSuite 1HooteSuite allows us to monitor all our socialmedia accounts on one platform as well asallowing us to view all our analytics

AT&T Home Service & Internet 1

It features the residential line as well as the

high speed internet basic.

4-line AT&T corded phone 3The AT&T 4-line corded phone will befeatured in every one of our offices.


10/27


IV . Marketing & Competi t ionEconomics

Out of the 5,313 businesses within the magazine industry receives 38.4 billion inrevenue, 1.5 billion in profit, as well as 9.2 billion in wages. As a magazine our targetaudience is demanding for acceptable costs. When looking at the magazine industry,revenue is constantly decreasing each year starting from $50,636 million in 2004 to$38,369 million 2013. So theres definitely room for growth as a business, but overallits been decreasing through the years.

When looking at the magazine industry, revenue is constantly decreasing each yearstarting from $50,636 million in 2004 to $38,369 million 2013. So theres definitelyroom for growth as a business, but overall its been decreasing through the years. As

a new company within the magazine industry the toughest barrier well face is theprinting charges due to the low amount subscriptions well print. In order theovercome this barrier well need to continue to grow with more subscribers, themore subscribers the lower the cost per copy will be.

Constantly having to keep up with the latest technology could be cost effective, butitll need to be done. Could be cost effective and might need to dish out moremoney. If the economy starts to fall people spend less money therefor nosubscribers. When dealing with change within the industry the company will needto change with it otherwise we wont make it.

Product

Features and Benefits

The print and digital magazine will rely on readers experiences and stories as wellas the contributing writers at Top Foods Inc. This will allow customers to have apart in being a writer for a magazine and will encourage them to go out andexperience new food and then share their experiences with other readers. The digitalversion of our magazine will have extra insights, photos, etc. to the stories featuredin our print edition. Our readers will be able to watch how-to videos in their ownkitchen and will easily be able to share their favorite stories or recipes from ourdigital magazine.

Advertising space in our print and digital magazine editions will be highly visible toour readers. This allows the brands and/or products being advertised by theirpotential customers.

After-Sale Services

We will offer free delivery of magazines to locations the customer chooses for the


11/27


magazine subscriptions. We will also have customer support through telephone andthrough social media platforms where customers can contact us at any time withproblems and/or concerns they may have.

Customers

Target Audience

Our target audience for Top Foods will be directed towards Stay at Home Moms age20 80 with any income level. The reasoning for this is because normally Stay atHome Moms put more work into their cooking since they do it up to three times aday so were hoping we can get them interested in our magazine.

Business Customers

As a magazine our business customers would be the ones buying our advertisementspots that pay for a majority of our budget. We really dont care what industrytheyre in or what theyre trying to sell (up to an extent) just as long as they buy aspot thats what will pay our bills. So our target audience for our business customersis open for a variety of industries.

CompetitionSince this is a food magazine our competition would be any print magazines relatedto food as well as other sources such as web, and television.

Major Competitors

Food Network Magazine75 9th Ave, New York, NY 10011 Food & Wine 1120 Avenue of the Americ New York, NY 10036

They will compete with us nationally across the board; both our competitormagazines have subscribers throughout the nation so well compete for theirsubscribers as well as others that are in our target audience. Well have plenty ofindirect competitors throughout the Internet. As a magazine we have to put ourcontent online as well so any major food websites will be a competitor. Anotherindirect competitor could be newspaper regarding their food section as well.

Competitive Analysis

Factor Me Strength Weakness Food Network Food & WineImportanceto Customer

ProductsWe might not havemuch of a variety in

products offering

X Food Network hasa variety of

products from

For a magazinethey have plentyof other options

4


12/27



only a magazineand website

their store to theirwebsite.

besides print theyhave video,

newsletters, andevents.

Price

Since were startingout we wont havemuch advertiserswhich will lessenthe subscription

cost so we might bemore expensive

X ood Network sellstheir one-year

subscription for15 which accounts

for 10 issues

For a one-yearsubscription

featuring 12 issuescost $24.00

4

QualityWhen it comes toour magazine wellpride ourselves in

the quality

X When reviewingfood magazines itsone of the top 5 onseveral websites.

When reviewingfood magazines itsone of the top 5 on

several websites

5

Selection

We might not havethe best selectionithin the magazine

compared to others

X They alwayshave severaloptions withintheir magazinefrom try this athome to burgernation.

They have a wideselection from

wine & cocktailsto home & design.

3

ServiceWe should be ableo maintain a simpleyet efficient service

X Great options cancall the toll free oremail them

Great options cancall the toll free oremail them

4

Reliability

No matter what ourcontent is over weshould always be

reliable

X Always a reliablesource when

theyre workingwith professional

chefs

Very reliablesource by gettingthe opinions ofchefs as well as

restaurantmanagers

3

Stability

As a business thatjust started in the

industry how stable

can we be?

X Has been one ofthe most stablefood magazines

within recent years

Has been one ofthe most stablefood magazines

within recentyears

3

Expertise

We might not beexperts when it

comes to the food,but our opinions

will be worthreading

X Always workingwith professionalchefs and gettingtheir opinion for

the magazine

Always workingwith professionalchefs and gettingtheir opinion for

the magazine

4


13/27



CompanyReputation

We wont havemuch of areputation

considering werejust starting out

X One of the bestknown food

sources for bothprint andtelevision

One of the bestknown food

sources for print

4

Location

Location reallydoesnt matter

when it comes tothe magazine

industry just as longas its on the shelf

X Based out of NYC,which is the toplocation for any

company.

Based out of NYC,which is the toplocation for any

company.

1

Appearance

Appearance shouldbe key in ourmagazine as a

graphic designer Illhave an eye for the

magazine

X Their magazinehas a very cleanook to it they use a

great source ofhite space photos

and text.

Great used of text,photos, and text aswell very similarto Food Network

4

SalesMethod

Not thatexperienced in sales

so well see howthat goes

X Got to be one ofthe top Food

magazines for areason

Very successfulconsidering theirreputation and

success with theirmagazine

3

CreditPolicies

Customers always

pay ahead of timefor their

subscription so noproblem

X Customers always



Customers always



3

Advertising

We have quite theexperience in

advertising so wehould be successful

X They dont have aproblem getting

advertisers to theirmagazine when itsone of the top food

magazines outthere

Again no problemgetting advertisers

when its one ofthe top food

magazines withinthe industry.

2

Image

Just starting out wemight not have thebest image because

we havent builtthat up yet, it takes

time.

X Great image allaround best foodsources to count on

rather its online,print, or television

They have a greatimage in not onlyfood but others

categories as wellsuch as wine and

travel.

4


14/27


As a food magazine thats just getting its first start within the industry its going to betough going against the well-known magazines that have been doing this for awhileso well be counting on our content to be our competitive advantage. Well rely on our

creativity and passion for food to relate to our readers in a way theyll continue tocome back for more. Well have a lot of disadvantages for instance our price, its goingto be more expensive then what we want because we wont be able to rely onadvertisers as much as the others magazines. Since were just starting out not manybrands are going to want to pay top money to advertise to a magazine that hardly hassubscribers so thats one disadvantage. Another disadvantage is our image andreputation a lot of magazines get renewals and recommendations, but starting out wedont have that luxury so well have to work on that.


15/27


V. Marketing Our BusinessNicheOur company is in the marketplace to serve the needs of our target audience thats

reliable, affordable, and informative. As we continue to grow and gain experiencewell have the ability to offer more content our subscribers.

STRATEGY

Promotion

Our main method to spreading the word to our customers well be mainly throughthe Internet from our website to social media. Nowadays everyone is online sothatll be our best option to get our name out there. Well rely heavily on our social

media page such as Twitter and Facebook to post new articles to drive traffictowards our website, this will get visitors engaged in our articles and hopefully buya subscription. Since were a Food magazine, I think one of the best promotionalitems would be a coffee mug with our logo on it that way when people bring themug to work coworkers will see it.

Advertising

If we want to get our name out there our best bet will be online advertising, this waywere just one click away to get our target audience engaged in our website. We canadvertise online through the Food Network website, Facebook, and Google ads.

Through these outlets our exact target audience will see our ads and hopefully leadthem to our page in just one click. Advertising through Google ads well allow us toadvertise under certain keywords such as food magazine or food reviews that willonly cost us if they click on the ads. The reason we want to go with onlineadvertising instead of TV or print is because we want people to go to our websiteand read our content. The best way to do this is to advertise online because if theyrealready online then theyre only one click away from visiting our page. Its based onthe convenience of our target audience if they see an ad it doesnt take much effortto click on the link and go to the page. Now if we advertise on TV or in a magazinemost likely that ad will be ignored and they might forget to visit the page. Welladvertise every month for a year at $1,500 a month with

Promotional Budget

Low-cost methods will include our social media campaign thatll get our name outthere and the only cost would be the Hootesuite account that helps manage oursocial media accounts for only $108.00 annually. Well heavily rely on social mediato spread word about our company as well as drive traffic towards our website.Word of mouth will be simulated through our social media presence, nowadays-social media is an outlet companies can turn to promote their product at hardly any


16/27


cost, and well be hitting it hard to get noticed. For other networking opportunitieswe could also to the Olathe Chamber of Commerce or ThinkBig Partners, which is abusiness incubator, based out of downtown Kansas City.

Image

Our image will be a professional and reliable source for both online and print Foodreviews; well be the go-to newspaper for new recipes, cooking tips, and top foodsfor various outings. Our customers should view us as the best bang for their buckalso known as the total package affordable, reliable, and informative.

Design

Colby Bredensteiner has the most experience in design so hell be our graphicdesigner that will create a simple, yet memorable logo that forms unity within our

subject. Everything from the logo to the interior design will all have the same senseof unity so theres no confusion within our image.

Promotional Budget

Well have a monthly budget of $1,500, spending $400 on Google Adwords, $300Facebook ads, and $800 Food Network online ads. Before startup it will cost us nomore than $1500 monthly on advertisements through Facebook, Google, and FoodNetwork. Our annual ongoing cost will be $4,800 for Google Adwords, $3,600Facebook ads, and $9,600 Food Network online ads for a total of $18,000.

Proposed LocationSince our business doesnt really rely on location, we really could be locatedanywhere within the country. However, we want the location to be beneficial to ouremployees and serious enough to our competitors. Our location will be at 210 W. 19thTer Kansas City, MO, this is by several other media publications downtown such asthe Kansas City Star and The Pitch. The building is in great shape that includes 4,217square feet along with a 20 car parking garage as well as a data room with a back-upgenerator backup, and fiber backbone for Internet service all for a grand total of$42,170 a year. As a magazine company our job is to put the magazines on shelf, itdoesnt matter where our office is just as long as our readers are getting their content.Ideally, it would be in the city for the convenience of our employees and other

resources.

Well have plenty of parking for our employees. However, being downtown thecustomers will have to find a place to park, but for a magazine business weshouldnt have too many visiting our main offices. With10,000 sq. feet that shouldgive us enough room for our main office. Its also a fairly new building that includesa computer room with a backup generator, a parking lot, and basement storage,which is convenient for our services.Even though we wont be getting much


17/27


customer traffic, when we do they should be satisfied with our facilities. Thebuilding is fairly new thats located conveniently downtown so it should fill allexpectations.

When looking at our competitors theyre both based out of New York City, so wedecided to locate ourselves in the heart of the nation in downtown Kansas City.Kansas City will be a cheaper option than New York while letting the client knowthat were serious about our business. For our industry, it doesnt matter how far ornear our competitor is just as long as we can keep up with them with our content.

Distribution Channels

Since were just starting out our primary distribution channel will be direct to clientand mail order. The reason we went with direct is because it gives us the best optionsell the most magazines at an affordable rate. Well be in direct contact withbookstores, newsstands, and other vendors for their business. Well also have anoption for direct mail order through our website thatll allow visitors to subscriberight from their computer or mobile device.


18/27


VI. Operational PlanProductionAre services will be produced within our office all through the computer, while the

magazine will be produced While the magazine itself will also be produce in theoffice using our large format printer. As previously stated will produce everythingin-house from the content to the magazine itself. Every employee plays a role in theoverall completion of the paper thats mostly done through the use of computers,the final production from the computers to the printer will be $12,961. The Editor-in-Chief will oversee all the content so theyll play a huge role in the overall qualitycontrol of the magazine while the managing editor makes sure everyone doing theirpart as well.Customer Service is very important to us so we need to make sure ourcustomers understand that.

Customers can reach us via email, or phone thatll direct them to the secretary whowill politely answer their questions or requests. There will hardly be any inventorytaken since our content is produced digitally. While the magazine itself will also beproduce in the office using our large format printer. All our employees from alldepartments will be working together to create the magazine. The Editor-in-Chiefwill oversee the content, while Managing Editor assigns stories, the CreativeDirector will handle all the visual aspects, Advertising Director will sell ad spacewhile the rest of the contributors (photographers, writers, social media) providetheir content as well.

LocationWe have a location that is in the heart of the Midwest located in downtown KansasCity, MO. We have rented out the lower level of the building that contains 4, 217 SF.The property type is an office that comes with a 12-month lease for a grand total of$42,170. The building comes with a 20 car heated garage, workout/shower area,freight elevator, and a data room backed up by a diesel generator. Being downtownits essential to have parking thats convenient to our employees as well as being in aconvenient area within the country to ship to our supplies and being in the Midwestgives us just that. Easy walk-in access would be convenient for both our customersand employees so its essential we give them that. Our business hours will be form8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.


19/27


Legal Environment

A magazine company will be concerned with copyright infringement with our storiesand photos. Each contributor will be responsible for obtaining a copyright for theirmaterial if they want.

Personnel and Operations

# ofemployees

(Year 1 / Year3)

Employee Task (s)

Employee Classification

(Exempt, Non- Exempt,Contract)

Reports ToPayRange

Actual LaborCost

1/3Editor,Contributor, Sales

Exempt $30,000 $36,000

1/2Designer, onlinemedia

Exempt $30,000 $36,000

1/2 Intern (part-time) Non-Exempt / ContractColby /Lauren

$10/hr $20,160


20/27


We will have three employees. We will have the jobs of: designer, online media, sales,and multiple contributors. An intern will help with wherever is needed. By our thirdyear, we hope to expand our company and hire several more employees to reach the

demand of the magazine and to insure our customers are continually receiving thebest product. We realize starting a magazine is a lot of work, so each employee willhelp with each position and will help with whatever task needs to be done. In orderto do this, we will implement a management approach that delegates assignmentsand expectations through Management by Objectives. Training in a magazineindustry will be more effective if it is a learn by doing training program. Allemployees will be willing to train and help each other with whatever needs to bedone.

Inventory

Our inventory will include a large assortment of printing paper and printer ink inorder to print our magazine layouts and stories. Other items in inventory arecommon office supplies, such as pens, paper clips, etc.

Credit Policies

Our company will ask our advertising customers to pay for 50% of their advertisingbill up front.


21/27


VII . Management & Organizat ionTop Foods LLC will be managed by Co-Owners, Colby Bredensteiner and LaurenRichardson. With our combined creativity, knowledge of many different mediaindustries, and several skills helpful in creating a magazine; we will be able to tackleproblems that come our way.

Professional and Advisory Support

Board of Directors

Co-Owners Colby Bredensteiner and Lauren Richardson

Advisory Board

Our advisory board comprises of multiple professionals in the business community


22/27


VII I .Financial Plan12-Month Sales Projection and Analysis

In our 12-Month Sales Projection, we estimated where our sales would be throughoutone full year of business. As a magazine business just starting out, we projected lowsales that slowly incline with the amount of exposure we hope to achieve by the endof our first year. The first months will be low sales, but with increased awareness ofour magazine, sales will also increase. We have projected sales to also increase aroundthe times of holidays, because this is when customers will be looking for the bestrecipes and the top food ideas for their parties.

Break-Even Analysis

Our 12-month Sales Projection allowed us to discover what our potential revenue forour first year could be. We then used these findings to plug into our Break-EvenAnalysis chart to determine if our monthly expenses will be higher than our revenue.We discovered that we would break even in the last month of our first year with aprofit of $16,236 for that month. Even though, by the end of year one, we will lose$229,000, we project our second year to have a huge improvement, as our magazinebecomes more well-known and sales increase.


23/27


IX . AppendicesAppendices - Logo

Top Foods Magazine Logo

Appendices Technology Analysis


24/27


Appendices Location

210 W. 19thTer Kansas City, MO

Appendices Financials 1

Monthly Expenses


25/27


Loan Amortization


26/27


Appendices Financials 212-month Sales Projection


27/27


Appendices Financials 3Breakeven Analysis

top foods business plan

Documents