Preparing for New Business Opportunities in the Hospitality Industry Today a lot of hospitality laundries find their production capacity more than then need for their own hotel. That excess capacity could be used for processing outside work. A knowledgeable manager should not venture into contracting for doing that work without an in-depth well-thought-out action plan. Before such a plan can result in reality a detailed business plan should be developed to address the needs of the new business opportunity. All aspects of business planning must be considered including marketing, sales, operational and logistical factors, completion and financial objectives. This session will touch on the format of the business plan and detail many of the elements that should be part of that plan. Copyrighted 2014, Phillips & Associated, Inc. Written and Copyrighted by: Phillips & Associates, Inc. Saint Paul, Minnesota 55126 Telephone: (612) 281-6811 E-Mail: Gl3nP4246@yahoo.com Page 1
As many businesses are getting their economic houses in order, dramatic changes are starting to take place. These Include: Developing business relationships between themselves and other hotels~ Downsizing of over-built hotel laundries~ Smaller, strategically located hotels~ Outsourcing of many traditional services~ Sharing and/or cooperation of resources~ Combining laundry volume to achieve economy of scale~ Several things affecting laundries are occurring as these partnerships continue to evolve... Linen usage per guest stay is dropping each year~ Occupancy is beginning to increase~ Overall textile poundage is not dropping. It is increasing between 3 and 5% each year~ Room poundage will continue to increase (in the future), consistent with the rise in population~ There will be fewer acceptable textile processing alternatives~ Hotel Capital investments are not being spent on individual laundries~ The need for textiles and textile processing is not going away; there will continue to be processing needs~ Copyrighted 2014, Phillips & Associated, Inc. Page 2
The form of these processing options vary depending on the individual and combined resources of the alliance members. Outsourcing individual facilities for linen processing ~ Combining poundage for volume considerations by an out-source supplier ~ Processing all poundage in one existing, adequately sized laundry ~ Combining poundage volume to be processed in a new off-site, specialty facility ~ If the selected option is one of the last two above bullets then some business planning must occur. That planning should result in a well thought out, developed BUSINESS PLAN... A Business Plan serves several purposes... Determines feasibility of the project ~ A tool for financing if required ~ Management plan and procedures for operating the business ~ Succinctly outlines the services provided and keeps management on track ~ Identifies potential new customers ~ Identifies competition and its market share ~ Organizes the reporting structure and governance of the business ~ Page 3
When should a business plan be developed... If a plant is re-equipping or undergoing a major expansion ~ If a new laundry is being developed ~ If a merger or additional business is brought into the plant ~ If the business is going through a reorganization ~ A business plan should resemble a building structure. There should be a... Foundation Structure Roof ROOF Financial Details Capital Expenses Operating Pro Formas Balance Sheet Items Two-Year Cash Flow Projections STRUCTURE Project Description Management of the Business Ownership of the Business Marketing Strategy/Marketing Analysis Technological Advantages Production/Operating Plan FOUNDATION Executive Summary Description of the Company or Business Explanation of the Products and/or Services When completed, the business plan should be thorough, well organized, and present the plan convincingly~ Page 4
How should the business plan be started? There is a logical sequence to the development of any type of business plan. STEP - 1 Develop a market strategy and analysis... If there is a given set of customers then only deal with them ~ If the laundry is considering doing other work then provide the particulars ~ Marketing Analysis table of potential customers should look as follows: NAME OF FACILITY # OF BEDS PROJECTED ANNUAL POUNDS LIKELIHOOD OF OBTAINING BUSINESS LOCATION Troy Hospital Troy 450 2,562,300 Very Strong Mayville Hospital Mayville 275 2,007,500 Strong University Hospital Collegeville 525 5,377,995 Very Strong Community Hosp Martinsburg 375 1,539,843 Weak Simms Medical Ctr Maybury 395 2,100,000 Very Weak Grand Total all Poundage in Marketing Area 13,587,638 Lbs. 100% Total Strong and Very Strong Poundage 9,947,795 Lbs 73.2% Develop the marketing strategy. This is a narrative section that sets out the businesses approach to the market ~ A thorough marketing plan can be developed using telemarketers and a structured marketing questionnaire ~ Page 5
STEP-2 Develop the technical data Technical data should be based on the outcome of the marketing information ~ The development process should be based on the steps in the following flow chart ~ STEP 1 Develop the total annual processing load by pieces and pounds STEP 2 Determine the number of operating hours per week STEP 3 Determine the hourly production requirements STEP 4 Determine Space Requirements STEP 5 Develop Equipment Needs STEP 6 Develop Labor Staffing Requirements STEP 7 Develop Space Cost STEP 8 Develop Equipment Costs STEP 9 Develop Labor Costs $ STEP 10 Complete Financial Package Total Capital Costs Total Operating Costs Two-Years of Cash Flow Page 6
STEP - 3 Writing the business plan The actual process of writing the business plan may be the most difficult. The following outline should be helpful in organizing the plan ~ Foundation Executive Summary Description of the company or business Explanation of services provided Structure Roof Project Description Management of the business Ownership and governance of business Marketing Strategy and/or Market Analysis Technological or operational advantages over competitors Operational/production plan Financial Details -Outline of all capital expenses -Operational pro formas -Sample balance sheet -Two years of cash flow projections Page 7
A brief explanation of what goes in each section will assure that no detail is forgotten. Executive Summary A concise description of the entire business plan. Normally no more than 3 pages. Summary should include... Name of business Business location and description of business Narrative on services, market and competition Expertise of plant management team Summary of financial projections Amount of financial assistance (if needed) Form of and purpose of financial assistance Purpose for undertaking project Long and short term goals of the business An Executive Summary should be hard-hitting, interesting and persuasive to the reader ~ Description of Company or Business Narrative includes background info on new business. General description of service business ~ Chronology of events leading up to plan ~ Name, date and place of business formation ~ Significant changes in business structure ~ Owners of business and governance ~ Page 8
Explanation of Services to be Provided Describe the proposed service business including... Importance of services to be provided ~ Service levels (frequency, quality, performance) ~ Competitive advantages ~ Outline demands for services other than cost ~ Project Description Provide a succinct narrative on the evolution and needs for the project. Include all technical data developed in STEP - 2. Develop total present and future processing loads by customers ~ Provide discussion on hours of operation ~ Develop in table form hourly production ~ Detail space needs and the projected cost ~ Detail equipment needs and projected costs ~ Detail staff requirements and annual costs ~ Management of the Business Develop details for the management of business. Organizational Chart ~ Key management and supervisory personnel (Those on board and those needed) ~ Management responsibilities ~ Personnel resumes of management and supervisory staff ~ Salary structures for management and staff ~ Page 9
Ownership and Governance of the Business Provide details on who owns the business and their respective roles in the governance of the business. Name of each hospital who owns or uses laundry ~ Their percentage of ownership ~ Degree with which owners are involved with business ~ Board of Governance members and roles ~ If stock has been issued, amount authorized ~ Market Strategy and/or Market Analysis The narrative describing the marketing strategy should include... Describe the laundry industry and outlook for geographical area ~ Describe major characteristics of industry ~ Describe major social, technological, or regulatory trends on the industry ~ Describe major customers and projected annual revenues and their potential growth ~ (Insert Market Analysis prepared in STEP-1) Describe marketing area and major participants ~ Discuss all competitors in marketing area ~ Detail immediate customer base; Outline key prospective customers over next five years ~ Detail laundry s marketing activities ~ Provide details on future sales activities ~ Page 10
Advantages over competitors In narrative and table form describe advantages this business will have over other competitive businesses ~ Technological advantages ~ Plant and equipment age advantages ~ Pricing advantages ~ Service and quality advantage ~ Value-added services advantage ~ Operations/Production Plan The operational plan should include narrative sections on production and delivery of service, including... An explanation of the physical laundry facility ~ Discuss plant s workflow and layout ~ Provide info on all suppliers to laundry ~ Detail relevant information about labor market ~ Provide a one-year production schedule ~ Financial Analysis The financial section is the most important section of the report and it must be complete, wellthought-out, organized and believable. Include the following... Name and address of Auditor ~ Name and address of Attorney ~ Name and address of Bank and Officer ~ Financial controls including expense and operating budgets ~ Provide cash requirements for capital expenditures for 2-5 years ~ Provide detailed first year operational pro formas with footnotes on assumptions ~ Provide a sample balance sheet for 2-5 years ~ Provide a cash flow statement for at least the two initial years ~ Page 11
CONCLUSIONS... There are several things to remember about the preparation of a comprehensive business plan. There is no right or wrong way to develop a plan ~ A business plan can be as complex or as simple as it needs to be to convey the business message ~ When borrowing money, the financial section must be thorough and comprehensive ~ The business plan format discussed here is an outline only. Some plans will need this much detail, others will not ~ For success in a new business venture... Develop the plan... then be diligent about working to that plan Page 12