Example Of Opening A Self-Service Carwash In The Fallbrook Area (North San Diego County) Business Plan

Executive summary

The type of lifestyle experienced today calls upon people, not to depend only on white collar jobs but look for ways of earning a living through entrepreneurs. Plenty of business opportunities are available requiring entrepreneurs to do the necessary research and come up with a competitive business. Self-service car washes business forms one of the most appropriate businesses that an entrepreneur can start. The Self-Service car wash will be located in Fallbrook in North San Diego County. The business will enjoy a competitive advantage because the area lacks similar businesses since most entrepreneurs open friction car wash businesses. The main services offered include exterior wash, interior wash, regular wash, deluxe wash, and the ultimate wash. The goal of this business is to achieve annual sales of $360,000 and expand its business to all parts of the Fallbrook County.
The company will focus on a competitive business strategy in order to reach the target market. In order to achieve a competitive advantage, the business will make use of current innovations and technologies to offer unique services at affordable prices. The most expensive service will cost a customer only $15 while the least expensive costs $8. The car wash will mainly target small vehicles like salon cars, station wagons, and other vehicles weighing less than two tonnes. This is a sole proprietor business; hence the owner enjoys all profits and losses made during the business operation. The sole proprietor form of business was selected in order to allow the owner expand the business at wish.

General company description

In the present diverse business environment, entrepreneurs grasp every opportunity available in order to come up with competitive business plans. Starting any business requires total awareness of the alternative strategic objectives and purposes, and the ability to recognize demands of different environments (Papulova & Papulova, 2006). Self-service car wash is a form of business involving cleaning of vehicles. The business uses automatic and self-serve car wash facilities that fit the present customer needs through providing exceptional care wash services to members of Fallbrook area in North San Diego County. The advancement in technology and need for quick and accurate services has made self-service washes gain popularity in most parts of the world especially in developed nations. Northern San Diego County lacks such services, and the introduction of a self-service car wash would attract more motorists to the business as compared to manual car wash businesses. Additionally, the location for the business was arrived at after conducting a thorough survey on the demographics of Fallbrook area in Northern San Diego and realizing that area lacks automated car wash grounds. According to Morris, Kuratko, & Covin (2011), people major in businesses in order to exploit underutilized resources through introducing innovations. Entrepreneurs focus on building new businesses with a larger target market compared to the existing businesses in order to acquire a larger pool of target customers. Experts in the field of business argue that diversification remains the only competitive strategy in the shifting marketplace (Worth, 2009).
The business will use an automated car wash machine to provide spotless car cleaning services to members. The business will major in the following products and services. The automated self-service machine composes of three lasers guided car wash bays that will be offering touch-free and spot-free car wash services. Additionally, the Bay will have a vacuum car wash vending services for cleaning the engine and air filters. On the other hand, the business will offer self-serve bays where customer’s vehicles will be checked for faults free of charge.

Mission Statement:

The Self-Service Car Wash is dedicated to offering motorists an ultimate car care experience. The business focuses all its resources and energy to providing customers with quality services in order to promote customer satisfaction that will eventually ensure growth and expansion of the business in the near future.

Company goals and objectives:

The main goal of the company is to achieve annual sales of $360,000 and open up more branches in Northern San Diego within a period of five years from its commencement.

The objectives of Self-Service car wash are as follows:

1. To achieve a monthly sales of $30,000
2. To be the best car washes of its kind in Northern San Diego County
3. To expand to other parts of the county within a duration of three years.

Business Philosophy:

Having lived in Fallbrook for more than 20 years, I have realized the potential of the area when it comes to innovations. The area is growing at an alarming rate, and most business cannot keep up with people’s demands. Northern San Diego County has a very high population, 3,211,252 people according to the 2013 census report (United States Census Bureau, 2014). Additionally, my research revealed that the area lacks modern car wash bays because there are only one drive-through wash and two full body washes. Establishing an automated laser-guide car wash would be the best option for people in San Diego, and also the best business where one can make huge profits within a shorter time. The above business is important to me because it promotes modern technologies and ensures people get quick services at an affordable cost in order to attend to other important duties. The car washing process is estimated to take less than 10 minutes as opposed to the manual car wash where motorists spend almost an hour and still complains of dirt spots left in vehicles. Presence of a self-service car wash area will boost car washing services at Fallbrook and create a direct competition to outdated friction car washes available in the Northern San Diego County.

Target market:

The above business plan focuses on a competitive business strategy in order to reach the target market. A competitive business strategy follows three main factors namely: the company’s marketing strategy, implementation of the strategy, and the industry context (Kanagal, 2009). The self-service car wash will focus mostly on motorist in Fallbrook area of North San Diego County. The main target group includes people driving in and out of California City especially the working class and business people. Additionally, the business targets residents, students, and government vehicles. The region has an approximate volume of 20,000 cars driven per day that provides a high opportunity for the business to meet its target customer pool. People living and working in major towns form the potential customers. Additionally, the company management will seek a relationship with major car dealers to increase more opportunities for the business.

Industry Description:

Selecting the best industry to start a business required a lot of research and evaluation. Each business industry has its requirements that an entrepreneur must meet before engaging in any business. The car wash industry forms one of the simplest industries to invest in if the entrepreneur has what it takes to make motorists satisfied. According to Attard (2015), one of the best methods of succeeding in business today is through developing unique and effective marketing strategies that delivers better services to customers and expanding the business to different locations. The car wash business is a growing industry as evidence of different innovations coming up day in day out. Additionally, entrepreneurs are coming up with different forms of business diversifications in the industry that ensures the company gets profits from different businesses.
The industry has both short-term and long-term changes. Short-term changes include advancement in cleaning technology to increase the speed per vehicle. Long-term changes include the introduction of more advanced automated machines that will do the cleaning, check the vehicle for defaults and give the necessary recommendations. My company is fully positioned to take advantage of these changes because it is in the process of developing, and the research team will be working all day to look for new changes in the industry.

Company strengths and core competencies

The goal of each business is to succeed and make profits. The self-service car wash business can succeed and meet its goals. Firstly, the business will be located in an area where there is the lack of stiff competition. Lack of automated car washes in Fallbrook area offers the business a better opportunity to attract more customers and make more sales per year. Secondly, the business will be located along major highways with high flow of traffic. Motorists’ form the main target for this business and placing it along major highways and near towns would see the company grow and expand. On the other hand, the company focuses on offering high quality and unique computer-guided car wash services. Thirdly, the Self-Service car wash will succeed because it targets people working in offices and visitors traveling in and out of North San Diego County. The main assumption made when designing the business plan was that most motorists are in the hurry of fulfilling other business and personal duties. Hence they need a fast and effective car wash.
Every business must have its competitive strengths. Firstly, the mode of orientation that will be used will form the most competitive strength of the Self-Service car wash. According to McCormack & Johnson (2010), a firm’s orientation acts the basic driver for success of every business. The car wash business will be one of its kinds offering fast and spotless car washing services. Additionally, the car wash Bay will offer other free services for customers such as free vehicle checkups.
On the other hand, my experience in the motor vehicle industry and an additional education background in business administration and marketing act as the key to the successful implementation of the Self-service car wash business. My parents once owned a friction car wash business where I gained experience in car washing services. Additionally, being a business student helps me utilize the knowledge learned in class into developing a strategic business plan with effective marketing plan in order to fulfill the business goals and objectives.

Legal form of ownership:

The following business falls under the sole proprietor business model. The sole proprietorship forms the simplest form of business that a person can operate. The main reason for making this business a sole proprietor is because of its advantages compared to other forms of business corporations (Spadaccini, 2007). The business will allow the owner mix business and personal assets giving room for expansion and growth into other related businesses.

Products and services

The company will incorporate three businesses, a self-service car wash, vacuum car vending services, and a checkpoint. The self-service car wash will use automated laser-guided spotless car-wash gadget operating 24 hours. The service will offer customers all what they need. The exceptional cleaning performance will be achieved through a precision-built, stainless steel, soft touch and touch free car wash system shown in Appendix I. The sales team will engage in extensive marketing strategies through social media, billboards and sales brochures. Appendix II shows a representation of a sales brochure. The business will also incorporate a vacuum car wash vending services. Appendix III represents the vacuum car wash accessories. The gadgets will be self-operated by the customer to increase efficiency.

Factors that promote competitive advantage:

In order to gain the competitive advantage, a firm must create an edge over its competitors. Every advantage counts today considering the present economy and competition in various industries (Ehmke, 2008). The competitive advantage will be increased by the following factors:

• Lack of similar car washes in the region

• Use of modern and technologically advanced equipments
• Self-service operation increases consumer's efficiency
Pricing
The Self-service car wash will offer customer friendly prices for good quality work as shown in Appendix II. Exterior wash including a full laser-guided and the computerized wash will only cost $9. The ultimate wash that includes both exterior and interior wash, full dry, glass cleaning and engine cleaning will cost $15. The above prices were arrived at after a full consultation with other Self-service car wash business in other cities in United States.

References

Attard, J. (2015). 12 ways to start a business: finding the real opportunities. Retrieved January
24, 2015 from
http://www.businessknowhow.com/startup/12ways.htm
Ehmke, C. (2008). Strategies for competitive advantage. Western Center for Risk Management
Education. Available at https://ag.arizona.edu/arec/wemc/nichemarkets/05competitiveadvantage.pdf
Kanagal, N. (2009). Role of relationship marketing in competitive marketing strategy. Journal of
Management and Marketing Research, 2(1), 1-17
McCormack, K. P., & Johnson, W. C. (2010). Business process orientation: Gaining the E-
Business competitive advantage. U.S.: CRC Press LLC.
Morris, M. H., Kuratko, D. F., & Covin, J. G. (2011). Corporate entrepreneurship and
innovation: Entrepreneurial development within organizations. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.
Papulova, E,. & Papulova, Z. (2006). Competitive strategy and competitive advantages of small
and midsized manufacturing enterprises in Slovakia. E-Leader, Slovakia. Retrieved January 25, 2015 from
http://www.g-casa.com/download/Papulova-CompetitiveStrategy.pdf
Spadaccini, M. (2007). Business structures. Irvine, CA: Entrepreneur Press.
United States Census Bureau. (2014). State & County QuickFacts: San Diego County,
California. Retrieved January 24, 2015 from http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/06/06073.html
Worth, T. (September, 2009). The business case for diversity: How companies keep their
competitive edge. Retrieved January 25, 2015 from
http://texasdiversitymagazine.org/the-business-case-for-diversity/
Appendices
Appendix I: A Self-service spotless car washing Bay
Appendix II: Business brochure with pricelist
Appendix III: Vacuum car wash accessories