Help4Hire Business Plan

Business Plan of Help4Hire

Section 1

Aditya R DM16102

Ferzaad DM16117

Rashmica R DM16134

Sindhoora S DM16146

Sruthi V DM16150

Acknowledgement

Our sincere gratitude goes to Dr. K. Pelly Periasamy and Mr. N. Anerudh for

guiding us with valuable information and comments, and helping us make a sound

business development plan.

We would also like to thank everyone who has directly or indirectly supported us

in completing our business development plan

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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Contents

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.................................................................................................3

GENERAL COMPANY DESCRIPTION...........................................................................6

1.1 Background of the Business...................................................................................6

1.2. Basic Philosophy....................................................................................................7

1.2.1 Vision...............................................................................................................7

1.2.2 Mission............................................................................................................7

1.2.3 Objectives.......................................................................................................7

1.3 Legal Structure........................................................................................................7

BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS.........................................................................8

2.1 Industry Analysis – Porter’s Five Forces.................................................................8

2.2 SWOT Analysis.......................................................................................................9

SERVICES.....................................................................................................................11

3.1 Residential Services:............................................................................................11

3.2 Commercial Services:...........................................................................................11

MARKETING PLAN.......................................................................................................12

4.1 Primary Research - Survey...................................................................................12

4.2 Target Market........................................................................................................12

4.2.1 Geographical.................................................................................................12

4.2.2 Demographic.................................................................................................12

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4.3 Positioning............................................................................................................13

4.4 Marketing Strategy................................................................................................13

4.5 Promotions............................................................................................................14

OPERATING PLAN........................................................................................................15

5.1 Quality Management.............................................................................................15

5.1.1 Security and Legal compliance...................................................................16

5.1.2 Hiring.............................................................................................................16

5.1.3 Safety and security.......................................................................................17

5.1.4 Training.........................................................................................................17

5.2 Process of Delivery...............................................................................................17

5.3 Human Resource Plan and Job Design................................................................19

FINANCIAL PLAN..........................................................................................................20

6.1 Capital Structure...................................................................................................20

6.2 Capital Expenses..................................................................................................20

FUTURE PLAN..............................................................................................................22

REFERENCES...............................................................................................................23

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GENERAL COMPANY DESCRIPTION

1.1 Background of the Business

‘Help4hire’ is a startup company in the services industry which provides manpower for

all sorts of domestic cleaning purposes. Our company strives to serve the needs of the urban

population of Chennai. Our primary focus will be in the fields of house cleaning, gardening,

plumbing and electrical services. We would also be providing services on demand like window

cleaning, carpet and upholstery cleaning, furniture dusting, restroom sanitation and other interior

cleaning services. We also plan to expand it further by adding cooking, baby care, and evenr

management to our portfolio.

People in cities spend less time in home and more time in office. The urban population of

Chennai is growing rapidly because of all the Information Technology services companies

setting up shop. This creates a big demand for housekeeping services as these IT professionals

are high on cash but low on time. The trend of nuclear family is also spreading in city areas. For

these reasons, working people are finding it difficult to manage timing between household chores

and working life. With this in mind, Help4hire will seek to help those who are seeking

male/female helpers/maids, who can assist them with their domestic household chores.

Our philosophy is start small and aim big. We plan to provide localized services in

different areas of Chennai, starting with the IT hub of Old Mahabalipuram Road and then

moving to neighboring areas. By providing best in class service, we hope to rope in loyal

customers and through their referrals we hope to grow into a household name in the near future.

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1.2. Basic Philosophy

1.2.1 Vision

“To service the needs of clientele through professional, first-class quality service and

convenient timings and to become a top class service provider to households in India”

1.2.2 Mission

Provide excellent professional and quality cleaning services in Chennai city & steadily

expand the services to the suburban areas and other nearby towns. To create a highly skilled,

motivated & dedicated workforce with high level of integrity and values, so as to attain complete

customer satisfaction

1.2.3 Objectives

To reach a clientele base of 100 at the end of first year of operation.

To provide timely service at a very reasonable price.

To employ quality manpower and make the E –Literate.

To employ latest technology wherever possible so as to provide quality service, and

reduce cost

To achieve customer satisfaction through customer oriented services and regular

feedback.

1.3 Legal Structure

We propose to register the name Help4hire Pvt. Ltd. in accordance with the Companies

act 2013. This startup is a partnership amongst Aditya R, Ferzaad, Rashmica R, Sindhoora S and

Sruthi V. Help4hire is incorporated. Hence the business name will be protected in India. The

domain name Help4hire.in will also be registered to facilitate our business online.

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BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS

2.1 Industry Analysis – Porter’s Five Forces

The cleaning services industry is a fragmented one in India. It is mostly comprised of

small startups and companies. As such there are few barriers to entry in this sector since the

startup costs are low and experience required is little. Also, the awareness about such services

being provided is less. So, the key for our venture to succeed lies in the marketing and awareness

creation.

As far as India is concerned, people employed as domestic help are not considered to be

gainfully employed as they are a part of the unorganized sector. Hence, the services provided by

these people go unnoticed and unrecorded. With the creation of companies such as Help4hire, an

attempt is made at organizing this sector and the earnings of the people employed can contribute

to the GDP and improve the employment rate

Table 1 : Industry Analysis using Porter’s Model

Porters 5 forces Strong Moderat

e

Weak

Threat of new entrantsBargaining power of customerBargaining power of supplierThreat of substitutesCompetitive rivalry within the

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industry.

Competitive Rivalry: It is moderate as the scope of market is very high and lot of

different services to be offered.

Threat of New Entrants: It is high as there are not much entry barriers

Threat of Substitutes: Some services that can be substitute to our services are laundry

and dry cleaners. Also the use of washing machines, vacuum cleaners and dishwashers

could also pose a challenge. Hence threat is moderate.

Bargaining Power of Supplier: It is weak as the industry is fragmented and unorganized.

Also there is abundant labor.

Bargaining Power of Customer: It is very strong as they are hard pressed for time and

want services at economical prices.

2.2 SWOT Analysis

Strength

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Quality of service, ease of access through mobile apps, flexible pricing system and

timing, easy payment options strategic location in the IT corridor of Chennai are some of the

strengths of the company

Weakness

The company’s management team does not have prior experience in this field. The market is

totally new and has unlimited potential. But there is lack of proper primary data and other

logistic details. Also the resource base should be created from the scratch

Opportunity

Rising standard of living, changing lifestyles and more women going to work has

triggered a huge demand. By the time competitors emerge, the company can establish its

presence in the city and leverage benefits. The company also gets the first mover advantage.

ThreatBuilding a trust factor with the clients is very important. Since it involves safety and

security aspects of a household, building trust factor can take a long time as the company is a

startup venture and has no brand image. Also the local agents can pose a threat as this venture

may eat into their profits. Since entry barrier is low, the onus of performing well in the maiden

attempt becomes even higher.

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SERVICES

The company will specialize in providing following services to households under following

categories.

3.1 Residential Services:

House Cleaning

Car Washing

Dish Washing

Clothes Washing

Cook

Plumbers/ Electricians

Care Taker

o Baby

o Old Aged

o Disabled

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3.2 Commercial Services:

The company also plans to provide services for event management firms, marriage

functions, and any other similar requirements from clubs, offices, old age homes etc. Clients can

choose the services they need. In case of any requirement for specialized people with expertise in

certain area, such services will also be provided on case to case basis.

All the employees working as house cleaner, dish washer, cloth washer, cook and care

taker will be trained in basic communication skills so that they can communicate easily.

MARKETING PLAN

4.1 Primary Research - Survey

The objective of the survey would be to get answers to the following questions.

Size of the potential market in numbers.

To know the specific needs and expectation from our service

To determine the price range people will be willing to pay for each type of service.

To know the concerns people have about the service

4.2 Target Market

4.2.1 Geographical

Chennai City – Non Residential

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Chennai City - Residential

Sub Urban Areas.

4.2.2 Demographic

Family size i.e. nuclear family and joint family.

Age and life-cycle stage i.e. elder people, disabled people and young people

Income ( middle and upper middle income group)

The major focus would be on

Affluent Families and Upper Middle Class Households- These households will be easier

to be targeted as they will be more willing to pay for better services, trustworthiness,

security and timely service. Such groups will be reached through word of mouth referrals

and also through the clubs and gymnasiums in the area.

IT Employee Households- Households where the members of the family work with IT

companies would rely on maid services due to time pressure. Such groups can be reached

through referrals from IT companies and also through various councils in the companies.

Two income households: These are families in which both the members of the family are

working, they wouldn’t find time to balance work and life. These are generally low age

group households where both the spouses are not interested in doing household chores.

4.3 Positioning

Help4hire will be projected majorly as a web based maid service provider focusing on the

timely service and security. The ease of access and also the flexible payment options will be

highlighted while positioning the service. Flexible and client’s preferred work timings, with

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immediate replacement of maids will also be and add on that can be used to take an edge over

the other service providers.

4.4 Marketing Strategy

Word Of Mouth Referrals

Tie Ups with Event Management Companies

Tie Ups with Apartment Associations

Contacts through the Clubs and gymnasiums in the area

Contacts through the super markets and shopping complexes in the locality

4.5 Promotions

Referral incentives would be provided for those who refer their friends and families.

Promotions done through the councils in the various IT companies through the existing

clients.

Distribution of flyers in malls, entrances of companies, and other public places

Free trial services on random basis to households for promoting the service.

Social Media marketing through Facebook, Twitter and Blogs.

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OPERATING PLAN

Our business venture is one that will make use of the Internet & smartphone technologies as a

means to help people with housekeeping needs. From the perspective of the administrators of the

website/mobile application, all that would be needed would be a server framework, a couple of

PCs, of which one will be used to make sure that we have back-up data stored as contingency. In

the beginning stages, it would be sufficient to operate.

We would be having an automated system where every time a client registers for our service, we

would be intimated by a mail sent to our mailbox.

5.1 Quality Management

The main focus of a service oriented business is quality of service. To ensure quality

management we will ensure that following measures are taken care of

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Discipline

Our service will aim at consistency in the service provided to customers. For this the company

plans to focus on following aspects:

Rule book will be developed by the company and strictly implemented. This will contain

norms and behavior to be followed by the employees in workplace and non-adherence

penalty will also be mentioned.

Regular feedback forms will be distributed to the maids and the customers for the

improving the quality.

Maid will be changed as per wish of the customers even within a short time period

Accessible

The office is to be located in a central location where most of the people can access it physically.

Moreover company is going to launch applications and websites where customers and potential

employees can easily access. This will help company in providing quality service in following

ways:

This location is as accessible to potential customers and also potential employees as this

is centrally located.

Just with few clicks in the applications through their smart phones customers can get the

help they wanted.

We can easily manage the application and the website with the help of few PC’s and

backup databases.

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Depending upon our performance in the market we will expand to more areas.

5.1.1 Security and Legal compliance

All the employees’ background will be checked for any criminal background or

misdeeds. Labor rules, safety standards and proper wage structure will be followed.

5.1.2 Hiring

For getting a set of maids, we will use the contacts that we know of, talk to them, tell

them about our initiative, ask them suggest those who are good and trustworthy (in and around

the OMR) and recruit them. We will also use the support of the local members who will know

job wanted people. All the employees will be compulsorily made to undergo a personality check

to make sure that they are honest, trustworthy and reliable.

5.1.3 Safety and security

The company will give importance to safety and security of employees as well as its

client. The workers will be given ID cards and uniforms. This is especially vital for image

/reputation building of the company.

5.1.4 Training

Training every year through seminars and workshops related to their work.

Coaching on customer service will also be provided to management staffs to handle and

serve customers.

5.2 Process of Delivery

The company will follow the following procedure in delivering the service to its valuable

customers:

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Registration

The process of registration for the clients will be relatively easy as most people nowadays are

tech-savvy. The process will entail giving us their following details on our website at least 2 days

in advance:

Name, Email address, Residence Address, Phone Number, Choosing what kind of service they

want to avail and time at which they would like to have the maid come.

The client would need to choose the package of services that they require from the basic

set that we have provided on the website. The price of the services would depend on the area to

be covered. We would need a rough estimate of the sq. measure to be provided so we can come

up with the pricing, although we would have a sample basic tariff provided.

There would be no need to make payment upfront by the client. They would be required

to make the payment once the maid has completed her work. Payment can be made through our

online portal/mobile app/debit or credit card at their residence.

What happens after registering with us:

After registration, we will check the availability of maids at the time requested. If available, then

we would put down their name on a timetable, and make sure that we have a person for back-up

in case the primary person is unable to go for the duty.

Confirmation Process

After confirming the availability internally, we would send out a mail as well as call up

the client to inform them the name of the worker who will be coming and their employee id so

that the client can confirm if needed.

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On the day of the duty, we will send a reminder message to the maid, and inform her

regarding the address where she would need to report. First she would need to come to our

office, collect the set of equipment and cash for the to and fro travel, and after that leave for

work. After completing the work, the maid would need to report to us and return the cleaning

equipment along with the card reader.

Once the work is completed, the maid will inform us, so that we can send out a mail to the client

asking about their opinion regarding the service that they have availed, and if required a link for

the online payment

5.3 Human Resource Plan and Job Design.

Managing Director: Responsible for the overall management of the company,

managing and supervision of the daily activities, bringing new clients etc.

Customer Relationship Office/ HR: Responsible for all the activities related

recruitment, development and training, handling potential customers query and existing

customers complaints.

Administrative/Account Officer: Responsible for maintaining accounts of activities

carried out by the company, give salary and account other expenses, check inflow and

outflow of materials and cash.

Database Operator: Responsible for recording, maintaining, data regarding all aspects

right from customer to employee. He would help in decision making process and.

Position Qualifications

Managing Director MBA Degree with specialization on finance and

work experience in marketing field

Administrative/Account Officer Bachelors Degree with atleast 2 years of

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experience in related field

Human Resource/ Customer Relationship

Officer

Bachelors Degree with atleast 3 years of

experience

Database Operator Diploma IT

Supervisor Basic Higher Education

FINANCIAL PLAN

6.1 Capital Structure

The project doesn’t require extensive amount of capital. We propose that each of the five

stake holders would be investing 1 lakhs each and a sum of 10 lakhs would be borrowed as loan.

Source Amount Ratio

Self-contributed capital Rs. 5,00,000 25%

Bank loan @ 12% for Rs. 15,00,000 75%

Total start-up capital Rs. 20,000,000 100%

6.2 Capital Expenses

Particulars Amount

Purchase of fixed assets 6,50,000

Preliminary Expenses 50,000

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Working capital (50% of operating expenses) 13,00,000

Total start-up capital 20,00,000

Preliminary expenses include company registration, legal expenses, website setting up

charges along with miscellaneous expenses borne by the investors.

Purchase of fixed assets include expenses towards buying cleaning equipment for

different services like dusting, car wash, etc., furniture, computers, printers, office accessories,

software packages for databases, accounting etc. and some bank deposits.

We have set aside 50% of the operating expenses as working capital. Working capital

breakup would be as follows.

Particulars Expenses(annual

)

Staff salary (For the admin team) 7,00,000

Maid salary (30 – 35 workers) 12,50,000

Rent, Advance, and others 3,00,000

Audit/Legal charges 15,000

Marketing expenses 1,00,000

Electricity, Telephone etc 70,000

Travel expenses 1,00,000

Training expenses 30,000

Miscellaneous 35,000

Total 26,00,000

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FUTURE PLAN

We plan to expand our services into other segments once we establish ourselves well

Organizations and office spaces

Schools and colleges

Housing apartment and shopping complexes

These are however distant goals which can be reviewed and revised depending on the

performance and market scenario. We would however make sure that we don’t deviate from

value proposition of catering to households in an easy and reliable way.

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We would also look forward to introduce technical devices and gadgets so that in future

there will be a direct contact between the client and the service provider, with us being the

facilitator.

REFERENCES

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