business plan

Business Plan

ITC ABBA BALLINI

The green Vineyard

The green Vineyard Business Plan

ITC ABBA BALLINI Pag. 2 di 12

1 Business Plan Summary

Your business summary should be no longer than a page and should focus on why your business is going to be successful. Your answers below should briefly summarise your more detailed answers provided throughout the body of this plan.

Our business idea is to open an agritourism in Franciacorta, in the town of Capriolo, with

accommodation, catering and recreational and cultural activities. Our agritourism will be completely

different from the others in the area because it aims at young customers, mainly students, with sports

and recreational activities and sightseeings just for them. Our peculiarity will be low prices and the

many services offered, but also the location : an area famous for its scenic and natural beauties.



2 The Business

Outline your business structure in an organisation chart.

2.1 Description

Business name: The green Vineyard

Business structure: limited company

Business location: Franciacorta, town of Capriolo

Licences & permits: in compliance with law 96 of 20/02/2006 and Regional Law 31 of

05/12/2008

Products/services: accommodation and food on a farm, sports, recreational, cultural

services, direct sale of farm products, cooking classes using typical local

food and products from the farm

Business owner(s): the company is formed by the young owner of the farm and 4 partners

(younger than 30)

Required staff: in addition to the five partners involved in agricultural farming, the

management and administration, we need other workers in charge of

cooking, cleaning, sports and recreational activities, some workers are

permanent, some seasonal ones. Interns coming from schools in the

area will be employed.

2.2 Organisation chart

Administration & Marketing

[Partner #1]

Agricultural Activity

(viticulture, fruit and vegetable growing, farming)

[Partner #2]

4 seasonal workers

Accomodation

(guests and booking)

[Partner #3]

2 cleaners, 1 maintenance man

Sports activities events

[Partner #4]

seasonal workers (life guard, swimming instructor)

Catering

[Partner #5]

2 cooks, 2 waiters



2.3 Plant & equipment

List your current plant and equipment purchases. These can include vehicles, computer equipment, phones, software, etc.

- Reception and common area furniture, electronic equipment

- Dining room furniture and dining set

- Kitchen furniture and cooking tools

- Bedroom furniture, bed linen and bathrobe

- TV sets and wi-fi

- Outdoor furniture

- Sports relax and recreational fitting



3 The Market

3.1 Market research

We have carried out a market research to evaluate the possibilities of success of our business idea,

taking information from web sites, such as “Camera di Commercio di Brescia”, tourism authority of

Franciacorta and sites of accommodation structures already present in the area.

The research has developed the following points:

1) analysis of tourist flows (trend, origin, motivation);

2) competitor analysis;

3) analysis of tourist local attractions.

3.1.1 Analysis of tourist flows

In the last 10 years there has been a constant growth of arrivals, while the stay trend hasn't been

constant with a substantial growth in the last two years. Italian tourists (50.6% of the total) come

mainly from Lombardia or, in general, from centre and northern Italian regions. Foreigners (49.4%)

come mainly from Germany (39.5%), The Netherlands (16.3%), France (9.3%), Switzerland and

United Kingdom (7%) and, in lower percentages, The United States, Austria, Belgium and Ireland.

Tourists coming from The Netherlands represent the highest percentage.

Tourists choose the area for the following reasons:

- natural beauties;

- wine and food;

- possibility to reach the area easily thanks to the proximity of important connection roads and

airports.

3.1.2 Competitor analysis

The number of businesses has grown steadily over the last few years, whereas sleeping

accommodation has settled since 2007.

At present in the area there are 25 agritourisms and other 102 facilities which include : 23 B&B, 28

hotels, 18 campsites, 3 +20 inns and lodges.

Agritourisms are small (from 5 to 8 rooms) and they offer facilities, like educational courses on wine

or oil and guided tours of the most renowned cellars.

3.1.3 Analysis of tourist local attractions

There are several tourist attractions in our area:

- Events and festivals related to wine production, visits to famous cellars with tastes of wines

and sparkling wines "spumante" like: "Di Cantina in Cantina", "Festival della Franciacorta in

Cantina";



- "La Strada del Franciacorta": 80 km among hills and vineyards with loops suitable for walking,

cycling, horse riding;

- close to Lake Iseo where you can go sailing, surfing, water skiing, fishing and diving;

- 27 holes green , riding stables;

- Spa, Wellness centres.

3.1.4 Conclusions

The steady increase in demand and the tourist attractions of the area are positive factors.

On the contrary there is a strong competition due to the particular tourist vocation of the area.

The new agritourism will be successful if it can differ from the others offering specific services to a

particular category of consumers (young people–students).

It should exploit economies of scale resulting from its bigger size and run the business efficiently

charging lower prices.

3.2 Target market

Our business addresses to a market segment represented by young people, both Italians and

foreigners, for individual or group journeys ,for school trips and for people who likes hiking.

Our customers prefer comfort and simplicity to luxury because they have small budget.

In addition to a normal hotel service, they look for extra leisure activities for example sports,

excursion, entrainment.

3.3 Target Customer

Define who your target customers are and how they behave. You can include age, gender, social status, education and attitudes.

Our potential customers love travelling, visiting new places, they appreciate our natural beauties, they

care for environmental issues and like healthy cooking.

They are young, they attend high-school or university, they are educated and love sports.

They also want to have fun, relax and meet people from other countries.

3.4 Market targets

Outline your planned sales targets. What quantity of your products/services do you plan to sell in a planned time? Are they monthly or yearly targets?

The activity concentrates from March to October and at Christmas time, with peaks in July and August.

Its capacity is of 40 beds, with an average occupation of 60% for 8 months (30 days) a year, the



average price of 20€ per day, we expect 115.200€ revenues in the first 3 years.

We think to serve about 10.000 meals at the average price of 20€, for a total of 200.000€.

From extra activities (extra recreational and sporting services) we expect annual revenues of about

30.000€

We expect total annual revenues of 345.200€.

3.5 S.W.O.T. analysis

List each of your businesses strengths, weaknesses, opportunities or threats in the table below and then outline how you plan to address each of the weaknesses/threats.

Strengths Weaknesses

- Tourist attractions (landscape, proximity to Lake Iseo and Art cities)

- Quiet location and natural setting - reasonable prices - possibility of recreational and sporting

services - proximity to connection roads - attention to quality food and use of local

products

- Strong competition - The structure is new and needs to be known

on the market - Seasonality of the activity, concentrated in

the summer period

Opportunities Threats

- Growth of tourist flows with Expo 2015 - Events organised in the area that attract

customers (gastronomic events) - Bike Paths

- Economic crisis - Climate conditions (usually favourable, but

sometimes unpredictable)

3.6 Competitors

How do you rate against your competitors? How can your business improve on what they offer?

Our agritourism is competitive for its low prices, the running costs are favourable thanks to eco-saving

(the building will be modernized according to eco standards), low staff cost (presence of interns ,

trainers), use of raw material from farm to table, and self-management of some services as it often

happens in youth hostels, even if the quality standard is higher.

3.7 Advertising & promotional strategy

What strategies do you have for promoting and advertising your products/services in the next 12 months?

According to our target young people (Italians and foreigners), we intend to build a website, a



Facebook page and to be part of social networks.

The advertising investment will be directed to:

- Facebook ads targeted at young people.

- Subscriptions in the major online booking sites (Airbnb, booking, etc.).

- participation in fairs

- Sending literature to schools and travel agencies to advertise the possibility of school trips

with us.

- before opening at local level a launching campaign with posters and flyers and an evening

event for young people in the area (advertised on the web through YouTube channel) will be

organised

- Regular evening events during the summer

The restaurant (also addressed to local customers) will be advertised with leaflets, posters , special

offers on Groupon, themed events.

3.8 Sales & marketing objectives

Who makes up your sales team? What sales techniques will they use? What sales goals/targets will they meet?

We will be selling mainly online. The goals we want to achieve is a constant increase in turnover of

10% per year for the first 3 years.

The partner in charge of bookings is also responsible of managing orders.



4 The Future

4.1 Vision statement

The vision statement briefly outlines your future plan for the business. It should state clearly what your overall goals for the business are.

We think that our company in the future will become a landmark for holidays in our area, attracting

more and more tourists from all over the world. We think we can help raise awareness in international

young tourists of the beauty of our landscape and the culinary culture of Franciacorta.

We believe in the respect of the environment and healthy diet.

4.2 Mission statement

What is your business' mission statement? I.e. how will you achieve your vision?

Our goal is to offer fun and entertainment at reasonable prices in a charming landscape.

4.3 Goals/objectives

What are your short & long term goals? What activities will you undertake to meet them?

Our short-term goal is to achieve balance between revenues and expenses, in the medium term to

constantly increase revenue and in the long term reinvest profits to upgrade equipment and be the

first on the market to introduce the latest innovations. We will keep pace with the needs of our

customers to provide the services they wish , maintaining however our goal to moderate prices



5 The Finances

5.1 Start-up costs

Explain how much will you spend to start your business: e.g. permits and registrations, taxes, costs for the market research, for business consultants, etc.

About 3.000 €, due to costs for business consultants, registration and taxes. The market research is

costless because the information are found in the Internet and at the tourist offices.

5.2 Equipment and plant costs

Explain which durable inputs you will need and how much you are going to spend.

Fixed Assets Purchase price

[€]

Depreciation per year

[€]

Furniture for the reception, the

bedrooms, the dining room

100.000 12.000

Kitchen and dining room equipment, bed

and table linen, tableware

100.000 15.000

Personal computers, tv, electronic

equipment

5.000 1.000

5.3 Financial needs

The total amount of money you need to start up your business.

About 205.000 € for the fixed assets and 45.000 € for current assets (cash for the first expenses, such

as goods, labour wages, etc.)

5.4 Funding

Where and how will you obtain these funds?

The five partner will provide 125.000 € as equity, while other 125.000 € will be obtained by European

Union grants and benefits for young entrepreneurs.

Since other fixed assets are needed, they can be financed by leasing:

- Additional furniture: 50.000 €

- Sports and leisure equipment: 40.000 €



- Computers: 10.000 €

The annual leasing cost is estimated in 36.000 €.

5.5 Profit and loss forecast

Profit and loss 2015 2016 2017

Sales revenues 300.000 335.000 345.000

Variable costs 60.000 67.000 69.000

GROSS PROFIT 240.000 268.000 276.000

FIXED COSTS

Rent 24.000 24.000 24.000

Leasing 36.000 36.000 36.000

Labour 120.000 120.000 120.000

Utilities 20.000 20.000 20.000

Phone 3.000 3.000 3.000

Insurance 4.000 4.000 4.000

Advertising 10.000 7.000 7.000

Accounting 1.500 1.500 1.500

Interest and bank charges 6.000 6.000 6.000

Other costs 500 500 500

Depreciations 28.000 28.000 28.000

Start-up costs 3.000 - -

TOTAL FIXED COSTS 256.000 250.000 250.000

TAXES - 3.000 4.000

NET PROFIT -16.000 15.000 22.000

We expect a net profit from the second year on, so we think our business can be profitable. Thanks to

further advertising we think we can constantly raise our sales and our profit in the future years.



6 SUMMARY

1 BUSINESS PLAN SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................................ 2

2 THE BUSINESS ......................................................................................................................................................................... 3

2.1 DESCRIPTION ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 3 2.2 ORGANISATION CHART ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 3 2.3 PLANT & EQUIPMENT ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 4

3 THE MARKET ........................................................................................................................................................................... 5

3.1 MARKET RESEARCH ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 5 3.1.1 Analysis of tourist flows............................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 5 3.1.2 Competitor analysis.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 5 3.1.3 Analysis of tourist local attractions .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 5 3.1.4 Conclusions ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 6

3.2 TARGET MARKET ................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 6 3.3 TARGET CUSTOMER ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 6 3.4 MARKET TARGETS ............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 6 3.5 S.W.O.T. ANALYSIS ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 7 3.6 COMPETITORS ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7 3.7 ADVERTISING & PROMOTIONAL STRATEGY ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7 3.8 SALES & MARKETING OBJECTIVES..................................................................................................................................................................................... 8

4 THE FUTURE ............................................................................................................................................................................ 9

4.1 VISION STATEMENT............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 9 4.2 MISSION STATEMENT.......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 9 4.3 GOALS/OBJECTIVES ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 9

5 THE FINANCES...................................................................................................................................................................... 10

5.1 START-UP COSTS............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 10 5.2 EQUIPMENT AND PLANT COSTS ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 10 5.3 FINANCIAL NEEDS ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 10 5.4 FUNDING ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 10 5.5 PROFIT AND LOSS FORECAST .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 11

6 SUMMARY .............................................................................................................................................................................. 12

business plan

Education

business idea

business summary

description business

business plan summary

farm business owners

recreational activities

outdoor furniture sports

common area furniture