Online Wedding Planning

 

A Business Plan presented to Dr. Kenneth I. Goldberg of National University

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Master of Business Administration

 

ByFederico A. Garcia, III

June 15, 2002

Topics for presentation

Purpose of the business planDescription of the BusinessIndustryMarket ResearchMarketing PlanDesign and Development

Topics for Presentation

Operations PlanCritical RisksFinancial AnalysisConclusions and Recommendations

Purpose of the Business Plan

Own experience in planning a weddingEvaluate viability of an online wedding planning businessAdd value to MBA program

Description of the Business

Wedding research for plannersOnline booking system for vendorsAbility to view reception sitesWedding planning toolsBusiness model

Business Model

$40/mo = $480/yr for contact information$125/mo = $1500/yr for IPIX technology and access to booking system.

Industry Analysis

Wedding Industry + Information Retrieval Systems or Online Content Providers IndustryWedding Industry - $70 BillionOnline Content Providers Industry averages -$432,000/yr.

Dominant Economic Characteristics

Market Size

Number of Companies in the industryCustomersProfitability

$70B for wedding industryVery few large companies

2.4 million marriagesFor wedding industry it looks great, future prospects uncertain for dot.coms

Market Research

Website viewers24,000 marriages in San Diego

Half use Internet to plan weddingOver 1300 Wedding related businesses in San Diego

CompetitionTheKnot.com, WeddingChannel.com, ModernBride.com, WeddingNetwork.com

SITES % Of Respondents Visiting

WeddingChannel.com 37%

TheKnot.com 35%

ModernBride.com 34%

WeddingNetwork.com 23%

Other Competition

Local CompetitionSanDiegoWeddings.com, marrymeinsandiego.com, weddingconnections.com

Substitute ProductsWedding coordinators and consultants

Competitive Advantages

Search capabilityViewing reception locationsOnline scheduling system for vendors

Marketing Plan

Brand-name awarenessSearch engines

Build membershipElectronic announcementsUse of applications (calendar, checklist, guest-list manager)

Establish Strategic relationshipsAdvertising

Design and Development

TasksWebsite developmentDomain registrationWeb hosting servicesHiring

Proprietary issues with IPIX

Operations

Location – OceansideStrategy and plans

Organization BuildingTechnology InfrastructureMarketingDevelopment of Site

Critical Risks

Business ModelTechnology Issues

Proprietary TechnologyLack of Exclusivity

Online Booking systemStrong brand loyalty to competitors

Financials

Funds Required - $440,000Development CostsOperating Expenses

  Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4

Revenue 234,000 320,000 800,000 1,600,000

         

  Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4

Net profit -237,580 -178,547 8,106 359,342

         

  Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4

Equity capital needed 440,000 50,000 0 0

Borrowing anticipated 0 25,000 50,000 -5,000

         

  Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4

Total debt 2,268 28,102 57,756 10,511

Total equity 202,420 73,873 81,979 441,321

Conclusion

It is viable but riskySuccess depends on successful penetration of local market and expansion into other marketsRecommending do not pursue the venture.