Introduction

Entrepreneurship is gaining widespread importance in this ever-changing world. Entrepreneurs are the people who take initiatives to create new business, share risks and enjoy the company’s benefits. An entrepreneur is generally also known as an innovator who generates new services, goods, ideas, trade, or procedures. However, starting a new business is not that easy, and it is not a one day stand. It needs plenty of time, finances, and market research. It is also important that what type of business to start. It requires enormous market research to find which company will be more attractive, the location, and the targeted segment. It is also necessary to select a business idea for which we are passionate and knowledgeable. Otherwise, the business will be a flop. Demand determination is one of the essential aspects of starting a new business. In the 21st century, most companies are online, and due to the pandemic COVAID-19, many retail stores have transformed into online businesses. This assignment will focus on eight initial business ideas, then shortening them to 3 business ideas and then expanding them on one business idea and posting on social media to get feedback. This assignment will also focus on the importance of using social media in business.

General Business Ideas

As an entrepreneur, I am inspired to start a new business. I have some of the business ideas, which are as follows:

• Restaurant
• Coffee Shop
• Clothing
• Online reseller
• Consultant
• Online Teaching
• Online Bookkeeping
• Digital Marketing
• Pet Sitting

Short-Listed Ideas

All the business mentioned above ideas is lovely to take a start as a small entrepreneur. However, after careful consideration and feedback from peers, I have selected the three most important business ideas, which are as follows:

• Business Idea: Restaurant
  • Business Name: Day & day
• Business Idea: Coffee Shop
  • Business Name: Coffee Cat
• Business Idea: Clothing
  • Business Name: U Size

Pros and Cons of Short-listed Ideas

Pros and Cons of a Restaurant 

Though the idea of starting a restaurant business is glamorous and it can achieve fortune and success. However, success in the restaurant business is not an easy task. There is a high rate of failure in this business. The food business has grown from 155,000 to 900,000 from the 1970s to 2009. This expansion is because busy people preferred to eat outside instead of preparing food at their homes due to their busy work schedules. The right restaurant at the right place will be a rewarding one. However, there are also disadvantages to starting a restaurant business. A big challenge for a restaurant business is to find and retain the correct type of staff. If you would hire young people like college students, or new entrants, they will be more likely to leave searching for lucrative careers.

Moreover, starting a restaurant business from scratch will take time to build the brand reputation and core customer base. Restaurants are not easy to operate. One should have the proper knowledge of the equipment, food handling procedures, laws, and regulations concerning food, health, and hygiene (Joseph, n.d).

Pros and Cons of a Coffee Shop

Starting the business of a coffee shop and cats is a fundamental and new idea that has both its pros and cons. The benefits of opening a coffee shop are that you are fulfilling your dreams, are a part of something, have your own time, have a sense of accomplishment, and have positive perks to make money. People will adopt stray cats or pay additional charges to feed them. An exceptional staff can be hired to look after cats which will also generate employment opportunities. However, the business also has some cons: The coffee cat is a new business idea, and for any new business idea, there is a need to educate people and governmental agencies to take permits to carry out the business. It isn’t easy to fulfil the staffing needs of the coffee shop. Startup costs are high, and it would be not easy to arrange funds. There would be an imbalance in work-life. Some people do not like animals at the food point. They will not like this idea. There would also be business failures due to unexpected and unwanted events (Start my coffee shop, n.d).

Pros and cons of a Clothing Business

A startup clothing business also has some pros and cons. Pros include: entrepreneur has the chance to do what they love, they will be their boss. Clothing businesses can influence the world with the latest and innovative designs to pursue their vision of wearing. Cons include financial risks, money, and talent would not be adequate for starting a clothing business. There are lots of cases where a clothing business has to experience failure (Andrei, 2019).

Business Idea Selected/Action Plan

I have decided to share the idea of a coffee shop at the social media

• Business idea: Coffee Shop
• Name: CAFFE CAT
• Main products: Coffee, cake.

Target Market Details

As the coffee shop will be situated nearby Disney, the business will target three segments: tourists who come there for holidays and would be missing their cats at home, people who want to adopt a cat, and people who like to have a vibe at the coffee shop. There are more chances that tourists will adopt cats. Tens of thousands of pets are now abandoned or awaiting euthanasia every year. This coffee shop can let those who want to keep cats better understand pet cats. It is also possible for customers to feel each cat’s character through interaction every time they drink coffee and then adopt them, which significantly reduces the probability of pets being abandoned. The business will also cooperate with regular pet organizations like SPCA to adopt pets.

Product Details

Coffee, cake, and other drinks are the most popular items offered. The sale seeks to enable more individuals to enjoy the pleasure of rearing cats and providing them with a loving home via our coffee shop.

Price Details

We will charge a $6 entrance fee for adults and a $3 for the kids. A coffee cup will be charged $14.99, and there would be a variety available at this price ranging from chocolate coffee, cinnamon, vanilla, ice-cream coffee, and many more. We will also sell Coffee mugs and Coffee cup printing shirts. 

Cost Details

Two partners will share the cost of the new business. I will share my part of the cost of the coffee shop, and a strong animal partner will share the other part of the cost. This strong partnership will be a key to the success of the business. I will pay 50% of the rent of the coffee shop, and the partner will pay the remaining 50% rent of the cats’ portion. I will contribute a part of the entrance fees to feed and look after the cats. We will share the cost of utilities. Payments to the cats’ staff will also be paid in partnership. I will spend this through the entrance fees. 

Operational Details

The coffee shop would have two operational air-conditioning areas. One for the coffee side and the other for the cats. This will lower the chances of uncleanness and contamination. The coffee side would be partitioned with a picture window opening in the cats’ paly areas where customers can enjoy playing cats and can also play with them if they want and it is also for the customers who do not want to be with cats but want to see them playing from a distance. Kids will enjoy playing with cats. There would also be barriers to stop the cats from entering into the coffee side, which would also help provide safety to cats. The sales crowd of CAFFE CAT is all cat lovers. We will make contact or in-person with SPCA to supply cats.

Location Details

The location of the business is also essential. The coffee shop will be situated in Orlando nearby Disney, which has a huge tourism market. This business location is selected by careful examination of demographics that who will be the buyer. Information concerning competitors and the competition in the industry is also assessed. Analysis of the neighbouring business is also done. We found that nearby, there are no competitors offering coffee and having pet cats. So this is a new business idea. Nearby this location, there are offices, tourists’ points, and people will buy coffee at their off time and enjoy the company of cats after having a hectic workday and order them from their offices in the morning. The cost of living in this area is also high. People can afford coffee and can pay an additional amount for looking after the cats.

Social Media Posting of the Business Idea

I have decided to post the business idea of starting a coffee shop on social media-facebook. I have selected this idea because I got positive feedback from my peers and suggestions to expand on this idea. I have chosen Facebook because it is the most popular social media channel. We can also market our new business through this platform. Facebook users have all demographics, including adults, teenagers, and seniors. 72% of American adults use Facebook daily and almost spend 40 minutes daily, and they also see businesses’ presence. Facebook has 2.74 billion active users. Facebook is also affordable and less costly (Tracy, 2020). A Facebook ad costs $5.99 for reaching thousands of potential customers. On Facebook, we can also monitor our budget and thus, can reduce our initial marketing costs.

Moreover, advertising on Facebook is highly targeted. We can target our customers according to their gender, age, and interests. It will also target the website visitors who have previously visited our website.

I am also keen to expand this idea because this is a new idea, and there are few or no coffee shops having this kind of business idea. So, there are more chances that this business would expel. This coffee shop is different from ordinary pet coffee shops. Because the cat inside is a pet cat or stray cat that few ones has adopted. Customers can buy cat snacks to feed them while drinking coffee. If customers have cats they like, they can adopt them through us. 

Social media is now not an option for business starters; in fact, it’s necessary to get valuable business insights, grow brands, and target and reach customers. Almost 3 billion businesses are utilizing social networks to expand their business. People follow more brands on social media than following celebrities (Newberry, 2018). 80% of people on Instagram follow at least one brand. Businesses not using social media will lose effective, less costly, and quick ways to reach customers. Social media enhance brand awareness. 60% of Instagrammers say that they explore new products on Insta. Social media humanize brands because people do not trust a brand until they see it. Social media creates a human connection with the products to make them more attractive. Social media serve as a thought leader for the new business. Social media will help the company connect with followers and fans when they login to their accounts, and 74% of people daily visit Facebook, 63% Snapchat, 60% Instagram, 46% Twitter, and 45% Youtube (Newberry, 2018). When these followers see a new business idea of having a cup of coffee while enjoying the company of cats, they will consider it at least once. 

I have selected Facebook to post my business idea because most people use Facebook daily, and they provided me with vital responses, which helped me expand my vision. One person said that in the pandemic time, this business would grow well. However, he also asked me when there will be a lockdown who will care for the cats. There will be permanent staff to look after the cats, and as we will also offer online ordering of coffee, so the revenues from online selling will be used to pay salaries to the employees handling cats.

Conclusion

Thus, this assignment is exciting. It helped me learn how an entrepreneur devises an idea to start a business and how business ideas come to mind and can be narrowed down to select one of the compelling ones. Moreover, posting business ideas on social media is also one of the significant aid that helps us to refine our business ideas. Posting my opinion on social media-Facebook helped me a lot to further refine my business idea. I like how people guided me and instructed me on starting a business and expanding it. Outside help meant a lot to me. 

References;

• Andrei (2019). The Pros and Cons of Starting a Business in Fashion Industry. Retrieved 26 January, 2021 http://molempire.com/2019/01/22/the-pros-and-cons-of-starting-a-business-in-fashion-industry/
• Joseph, C. (n.d). Pros & Cons of Opening a Restaurant. Retrieved 26 January, 2021 from https://smallbusiness.chron.com/pros-cons-opening-restaurant-4742.html
• Newberry, C. (2018). 23 Benefits of Social Media for Business. Retrieved 26 January, 2021 https://blog.hootsuite.com/social-media-for-business/
• Start my coffee shop (n.d). 5 Pros and Cons of Starting a Coffee Shop. Retrieved 26 January, 2021 https://startmycoffeeshop.com/5-pros-and-cons-of-starting-a-coffee-shop/
• Tracy, T. (2020). Facebook’s Advantage over Other Social Media. Retrieved 26 January, 2021https://www.investopedia.com/articles/company-insights/070216/what-facebooks-advantage-over-other-social-media-fb.asp