Proposal to Acquire Funds For BeautyKat.com

Winston Leong

ETM 5121

July 14, 2004

Introduction

• A online retail beauty care website• Started business in April 2004• Mission is to provide customers with hard-to-find products from

outside of America• Also provide product reviews• Intended website goal is to be a customer focus website that allows

customer interactions through discussions, consultations and customer demand input

Problem Statement

• BeautyKat is at the startup phase of its operation• A lot of the work being done now is unplanned and without clear

objectives• Internal operations are poorly managed and inefficient• Key reason for this is a lack of funding to purchase software, hire

contractors and outsourcing of operations • BeautyKat is now operating with one full-time and one part-time staff

Measures of the Problem

• Website content and Editorial Design – Intended goals of the website is not accomplished. Example, interactive sections of the website is not set up yet.

• Technology – Web hosting and merchant solutions are provided by third party company. Shopping cart ‘checkout’ process is standardized and cannot be changed. As a result, promotional tools which are effectively placed in ‘checkout’ process cannot be implemented.

• Merchandising and Supply Chain – Unable to place big lot orders. Shipment are billed per cubic meter.

• Sales and Marketing – Advertising have been low budget ones. Unable to hold PR events with newspaper and magazine publishers.

• Customer Relation Management – No tools available for online shoppers and existing customers.

• Finance, Accounting and Enterprise Processes – Back end operations are not integrated with front end operations. These are currently being done manually.

Project Objectives

• Final objective is to prepare BeautyKat on the path towards acquiring funds to grow the business

• Final report (ETM 5131) is a comprehensive business plan detailing all aspects of BeautyKat operation, visions and market objectives and market studies and forecast.

• Several sub-objectives are to be met before presentation to investors– Prepare a comprehensive business plan

– Have an updated cash flow statement

– Complete implementation of website

– Plan for future launch of products

– Prepare a clear strategy on entry and exit of merchandise

– Draw out suppliers terms and conditions

– Determine a set of metric to measure the business

– Determine a clear pricing structure for its merchandise

Specific Deliveries

• Present a defendable business plan• Ensure smooth and stable operation of business• Have a clear strategy in terms of executive of different

functions

Alternatives to Consider

• Completing all sub-objectives before presenting business plan– Not likely, since current funding is an issue.

– Also, may not have the expertise and experience to achieve smooth operations in the first place

• Completing part of the sub-objectives before presenting business plan– The most likely path to take, since it will allow time for further iteration of

business operations

• Presenting business plan with BeautyKat at its current state– Not a consideration at all

Approach and Criteria for Evaluating Alternatives

• Prioritization of sub-objectives– Must be accomplished– Must be accomplished but need not be complete– Can wait

• Approach will be multiple processes with each process using some or all of the steps listed below, – Define – Analyze (Cause and Effect Studies)– Design and Document– Implementation– Measure– Control

Project Plan

• Start of project is August 2004• Presentation of business plan is December 2004

Planned use of ETM Materials

• IEM 5113• IEM 5823• IEM 5763• ACCT 5103• MKTG 5113