One of the projects I enjoyed working on the most was this business plan proposal I created for my cold process soap business.
Project Specifics
Semester
Fall 2021 8W2
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TECM 5170
Tools
Role
Proposal Writer
Category
Assignment/Passion Project
Team
Me
Background
Business Plan Proposal
Moon Cold Process Soap
Moon Cold Process Soap is an online small business I started that will focus on making soap products that will be vegan, cruelty-free, gluten-free, soy-free, palm-free, organic, and eco-friendly with a focus of offsetting its own carbon footprint.
Research
Market Analysis
To get a better understanding of what my business' competition is, I looked for companies that also sold soap, but also other "eco-friendly" beauty products.
My three main competitors are:
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This a chain of organic, “fresh,” and supposedly eco-friendly beauty product and cosmetic stores. This company has been around since 1995 and is dedicated to giving their consumers high quality products. Unfortunately, they aren't as transparent as they should be about where their ingredients come from and use problematic ingredients that have a history of increasing climate change.
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A great platform for an online small business to start up and get the help they need with advertising and other online needs. Each small soap business focuses on selling cold process, hot process, and rebatch soap, but there are so many results that competition leads business owners selling their soap cheaper than it should be for an actual profit.
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It’s another cold process soap small business, but they always sell out every time they launch a new product. Its soaps are eye-catching and colorful, but they do not have any kind of advertisement towards being eco-friendly. However, this business uses high quality products and is transparent about which resources it uses such as their organic RSPO certified palm oil and the company being soy-free.
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After understanding my competition, I created a marketing plan in order to get my business known online and in the local community.
Marketing and Sales Strategies
Website Creation
Since this small business will be online, it must have a secure website that is built specifically for businesses. I plan on using Wix, a website builder that also helps track and secure each business transaction. Wix also includes an SEO builder tool that can help me build my business and keep track of what works on the website. Wix allows website owners to create an online shop and upload new products whenever the owner wants to sell something.
Social Media
My main source of advertising will be on social media, specifically on Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. Each social media platform will be advertising the online store and each product. Before the launch a new series of products, the company can advertise the launch to build traction across each platform.
One strategy is to keep in mind certain aspects of each platform and what kind of marketing content works on each, so if the company targets the right consumers, this soap business will have more exposure, thus more customers. To keep up with the demands of social media, the company will be creating content throughout the week that will be reused and posted to each social media platform.
Flyers and Deals
This is an online business, but it can still grow locally with flyers and making deals with local retailers in the area. First, this company plans to put up flyers where target customers spend a lot of time. This could be at local coffee shops, colleges/universities, and other places where people who might be interested in soap would be (i.e. gyms, yoga studios, and health food stores).
Second, once there is enough stock and interest in this company, it will be possible to make deals with specific retailers that would be interested in selling beauty products. In the DFW metroplex, there are specialty stores dedicated to selling local products.
Funding Request
One of the most important parts of this business plan proposal was creating the funding request. In order to get the most accurate price for each item I needed to make this business a success, I made a small spreadsheet listing everything I needed for the time frame that I was going to be using the SBA microloan for. I planned for 3 launches within a 1-2 year time frame if the business is successful.
In the proposal document itself, I explain each and every cost and its importance.
Funding Request Spreadsheet
Original Business Plan Proposal
I originally submitted the proposal as a Microsoft Word document, but I uploaded the proposal here as a PDF for better viewing.
Business Plan Proposal
Challenges and Thoughts
Challenges
In the past, I've worked on a non-profit proposal in which the non-profit would provide me with the numerical information, non-profit tax details, and the wants and needs of the project they're trying to get funding for. For this business plan proposal, I had to come up with all the information myself and create my plans for helping my business become successful instead of relying on someone else.
Additionally, I had to rearrange the format I knew for non-profit proposals and thoroughly understand and apply the requirements for a business plan proposal attempting to get approved for an SBA loan.
Thoughts
Over the entire class, I was able to improve and be more confident in my persuasive writing instead being more familiar with writing a research report or a technical guide, which neither require much persuasive writing. I learned how to properly market myself and my business with a well-researched, realistic plan.
This is a passion project of mine, so I put as much research into making this plan into a reality. I really enjoyed researching ways to improve my business just by planning and calculating costs. I'm thankful that this class gave me the opportunity to work on a business plan such as this.