THE GEEK
354 West Walnut Ave. Dalton, GA 30720
(706) 123-1234 www.thegeek.com [pic]
| | |
|Jeremy Hickman |Georgia Hickman |
|CEO |CFO |
|123 Tibbs Rd Dalton, GA |123 Tibbs Rd Dalton, GA |
|(706)321-4321 |(706)321-4321 |

Created April 26, 2013

Prepared by
Jeremy Hickman
Table of Contents
Cover page……………………………….1
Table of Contacts……….……………….2
Executive Summary……………………..3
Description of Business………………….4
Social Responsibility…………………..…5
Vision and Mission Statement………..…5
Assessment of competition………………5
Company Strengths………………………6
SWOT Analysis…………………………..6
Planned Responses……………………….7
Location of Business……………….…….8
Crime Rate Breakdown……………………9
Industry Description………………..……10
Management…………………..…………10
Goals………………………………………12
Product Features and Branding.....……….12
Market Research………………………..…13
Pricing, Advertising, and Promotions…….14
Distribution ………………………………..15
Cost and Revenue Analysis……………….15
Income statement & Balance Sheet……….18
References………………………………….20
Executive Summary The name of the Business will be The Geek. It will be located at 354 West Walnut Ave. Dalton, GA 30720. This is a central location in the city and makes the company readily available to serve both the business and private sector. The Geek will become a local synonym for all of your technology needs by maintaining superior customer satisfaction, fair prices, and superior quality. Employees from The Geek will follow up on all contracts to ensure customer satisfaction. All services will be completed by qualified and friendly technicians. This will all work towards building long lasting personal relationships with our clientele. This will be a computer repair and custom build business. The Geek will offer in store and onsite support for personal computers, laptops and small home and office networks. The Geek will also build custom PC’s to customer specifications, such as gaming PCs. The Geek will cater to any customers technology needs and will not limited to one sector of the industry. However, the small to medium business sector is where The Geek will generate most of its revenue. The Geek will stand out by implementing these four Strategies. First to beat the competitors prices by a minimum of 10% guaranteed. Second, become active in the community and orchestrating barbecues that include free checkups and demonstrate new technologies to the community. Next, The Geeks monthly contract service offering monthly flat rates on services. Finally the Geek will have an employee rewards program that rewards technicians for outstanding customer courtesy. One owner (Jeremy) has an associate degree in computer science combined with A+, and network + certifications. The second owner (Georgia) has a degree in accounting. The company is expected to generate $100,000.00 annually. The Geek will need an initial loan of $150,000.00 combined with private investments to start up.
Legal Name:
The Geek

Description of Business: This will be a computer repair and custom build business. The Geek will offer in store and onsite support for personal computers, laptops and small home and office networks. The Geek will also build custom PC’s to customer specifications, such as gaming PCs.

Form of Business Ownership: This business will be a partnership owned by husband and wife, Jeremy and Georgia Hickman. Georgia will handle the accounting and scheduling of on-site visits. Jeremy will handle most of the labor aspect of the business with part time help from his son. This will be a good fit because it is the most cost efficient. With two owners, the cost of the business will be divided between the partners reducing the personal liability a sole owner would have to bare.

Ethical Issues: Privacy is always an issue when handling other’s computers and files. Next is reliability and satisfaction. The Geek will apply these Core principles: We are not satisfied until the customer is. The Geek will strive for excellence and put customer satisfaction first. Customer privacy is not an option but a guarantee. The Geek will take steps to ensure privacy including back ground checks on employees. Quality before quantity, in other words, The Geek will focus on doing it right, not necessarily fast.

Social Responsibility: The Geek would refrain from disclosing any information about It’s customer. To do so could possibly cause a misunderstanding between two clients. The Geek could also offer to dispose of old or unwanted customer devises in an environmentally responsible way such as recycling. The Geek would also give discounts to students and teachers.

Vision and Mission Statement: Mission: The Geek will become a local synonym for all of your technology needs by maintaining superior customer satisfaction, fair prices, and superior quality. Employees from The Geek will follow up on all contracts to ensure customer satisfaction. All services will be completed by qualified and friendly technicians. This will all work towards building long lasting personal relationships with our clientele. The vision for the Geek is to become a trusted local fixture with deep ties to the community donating to local charities and participating in local events, all the while providing superior customer satisfaction.

Assessment of the Competition: Dalton Computer is the oldest direct competitor for The Geek. Dalton Computer has deep ties to the community and a large customer base. However, they are severely overpriced and have had many complaints about quality and mistreatment of long term customers. The Computer Guys only offer computer repair and custom built computers, but do not offer on-site services or services for networks and servers. The Computer Guys prices are not overly outrageous, and they have a good reputation for customer satisfaction. JBM Inc. is the largest technology service company in the area that offers full service and support for all technology needs including on-site support. They have a great reputation for customer satisfaction. However, they can get behind and have to put customers off, up to a week at times. They also carry the largest price tag in the area. The Geek will overcome the competition with by offering community events such as barbecues and free beginners courses.

Company Strengths: Customers will choose to bring their business to The Geek in the beginning due to the lower prices and stay because of our pursuit to perfect the customer’s overall experience and satisfaction. In addition, the Geek will use only top quality and energy efficient products to ensure further customer satisfaction. The Geek will also bring in the gamers by offering specials on gaming computers and parts. There will also be a section of the store for display and sells of current popular PC games, something that cannot be found locally.

SWOT Analysis:

|Strengths |Weaknesses |
|Security and privacy |May become overwhelmed by workload |
|Partnership |Highly competitive market |
|Technical ability |Unknown in the community |
|Opportunities |Threats |
|Continued training as technology evolves |Competition could temporarily undercut prices |
|Expansion to nearby cities |Could fall behind the technology curve |
|Stay on the forefront of technology trends | |

The strengths for The Geek are security and privacy because it will be a small, family ran business, with very few non family employees, so there would be very little risk of information leaks and privacy violations. The partnership gives the company more stability that is much needed in uncertain economic times. Furthermore, all technicians will have certified training relevant to the capacity of their employment. One major weakness that is foreseeable is the Geek being overwhelmed by clients flocking to the lower prices in an attempt to save money in hard times. The competition could also cut prices temporarily in order to drive the geek out of business. The Geek will be unknown at first, so advertising is a must. There will be many opportunities for growth in the technology field due to the continued arrival of new technologies and possible expansion to nearby cities as finance allows.

Planned Responses: The Geek will deal with being overwhelmed by outsourcing to qualified techs in the short term and hiring and training new techs as needed part time. The Geek will survive competitor’s price wars by maintaining low overhead and running the business as efficiently as possible. One way The Geek will maintain a low overhead is by using investors rather than bank loans to generate much of the needed revenue. Keeping up with technology will be a must and The Geek will provide training courses for its employees to stay ahead of the curve. This will be outsourced to accredited certification courses such as Comptia and paid for by The Geek.

Location of Business:

The Geek will be located at 354 West Walnut Ave. Dalton, GA 30720. This is a central location in the city and makes the company readily available to serve both the business and private sector. One advantage to this particular property is that it very low rent compared to others in the same area, by almost 40%. It is large enough to allow for two to three years of growth, and neat and clean in appearance. Dalton has had steady population growth for the last twenty years and has a current population of 33,604. “Since 2005 Dalton's population has grown by about 6%” ("Dalton, GA profile," 2011). One disadvantage of this location is that there are no nearby suppliers of computer components. One would be required to order the parts or drive 88 miles to Atlanta GA to get them.

Median Age Analysis

Male 14,232 51.0

Female 13,680 49.0

Under 5 years 2,474 8.9

5 to 9 years 2,054 7.4

10 to 14 years 1,869 6.7

15 to 19 years 2,137 7.7

20 to 24 years 2,434 8.7

25 to 34 years 4,748 17.0

35 to 44 years 3,716 13.3

45 to 54 years 3,180 11.4

55 to 59 years 1,157 4.1

60 to 64 years 941 3.4

65 to 74 years 1,556 5.6

75 to 84 years 1,145 4.1

85 years and over 501 1.8

(infoplease.com)

Dalton violent crime breakdown

|Crime |Dalton |Dalton /100K |Georgia /100K |National /100K |
|Murder |0 |0 |4 |3 |
|Rape |4 |12 |28 |26 |
|Robbery |27 |82 |113 |62 |
|Assault |45 |136 |361 |223 |

Dalton property crime breakdown

|Crime |Dalton |Dalton /100K |Georgia /100K |National /100K |
|Burglary |285 |862 |985 |628 |
|Theft |838 |2,534 |2,955 |2,106 |
|Vehicle theft |59 |178 |224 |148 |

Sex offenders in Georgia

|State |Total offenders |Georgia /100K |National /100K |
|Georgia |14,743 |175 |192 |
|(areavibes.com) | | | |

Industry Description:

The Geek will be in the technology support industry. The main sectors of focus will be computer repair, network support, and end user support. Other secondary sectors will include custom computer builds and servers. The Geek will also sell upgrade parts for the do it yourself sector. The technology industry is always growing with more and more need for support. The technology sector was virtually unaffected by the recent economic downturn. “The biotechnology, software and technical consulting sectors have actually seen modest growth in employment since Q2 2008” ("Recession's impact on," 2010).

Management:

The Geek will be managed by the two Partners. One partner will be the financial officer, and the other will be over operations. This will give both partners the time needed to fully focus on their part, to make sure everything is done as efficiently as possible. This is well suited to the partner’s strengths as one has a degree in computers and the other in accounting.

Organization Chart: [pic]

While the Operations manager and the financial officer are financial partners, the operations manager will lead the business and also function as the lead tech. The techs will report directly to the lead tech. All purchases will require the approval of both the operations manager, and the financial officer. The apprentice will assist the Techs as needed until which time he has completed his training and earned a position as tech by demonstrating good customer relations, technical proficiency, and responsibility. The lead tech will handle appointment scheduling and walk in clients while techs 1 and 2 will perform on site work with the assistance of the apprentice. The apprenticeship program will aid in the growth of the company. The Geek can train these apprentices in the aspects of the company’s vision and ethics as well as technological practices.

Goals:

Within the first year, The Geek would need to establish its name in the community, implement a successful advertising campaign, and establish a customer base of at least 30 monthly customers spending $1000.00 Per month on The Geeks contract services. Long term goals include reaching a stable gross income of $300,000.00 annually, and expanding in to one nearby city. The Geek will also establish an annual barbecue where people can bring in their computers for a free checkup. Viruses and other malware will be removed for free at the barbecue as well as other discounted promotions.

Product Features and Benefits: The benefits of The Geeks services will be a high level expertise at budget prices combined with exceptionally courteous and polite technicians. The Geek also offers products such as custom built computers, servers, networking equipment and other various PC upgrade components. All products built by The Geek will have one year warranty on all parts and any labor needed. Products not built by The Geek will carry the manufacturer’s warranty. However, all products sold by The Geek will qualify for an extended warranty plan that can be purchased separately. Another feature The Geek has to offer is a monthly service contract where a company or individual can retain on call service from the geek for a flat monthly rate determined by the size of the network The Geek would be supporting. This would include all support, consulting, and service needed. The only aspect not covered by the contract plan is new equipment, or replacement parts not covered by warranty. This would benefit the company because they would have a better Idea of what they would be spending on a month to month basis for their technology needs, and benefit The Geek as well by supplying a steady monthly income.

Product Differentiation and Branding: There are quite a few technology service companies out there that are well known in Dalton Georgia. The Geek will stand out from them by implementing these four Strategies. First to beat the competitors prices by a minimum of 10% guaranteed. Second, by becoming active in the community and orchestrating barbecues that include free checkups and demonstrate new technologies to the community, The Geek will become one with the community. Next, The Geeks monthly contract service offering monthly flat rates on services. Finally the Geek will have an employee rewards program that rewards technicians for outstanding customer courtesy. The combined effort of the four strategies will ensure a thriving business.

Market Research: In this day and age everyone is affected by technology in some form or another; therefor the Geek will cater to all ages and sectors. However, The Geek’s Primary focus and source of income will be small to moderate businesses that do not have their own tech department and residential clientele that need computer repair and home network needs. Considering people of all ages and incomes own computers and many other forms of technology it would not be wise for The Geek to exclude any of them.

Pricing: The Geek will guarantee the lowest price in town by 10% in order to attract customers. The Geek will also price match competitors’ products with comparable features. In today’s economy everyone is pinching pennies and looking for quality at low prices. The Geek will rely on volume to make up the price difference. All service calls will be $100.00 for the first four and $75 for every additional hour.

Advertising: The Geek will rely heavily on word of mouth in the community generated by the annual barbecues. The Geek will also advertise on the local television networks and radio stations. This will be effective in the local area and cost much less than advertising on major networks. Since The Geek will only operate locally in the first one to two years there is no need to advertise nationally. The Geek will also use social media such as Facebook and twitter to aid in advertising.

Promotions: THE GEEK WILL RUN WEEKLY PC UPGRADE PROMOTIONS AND PC CHECKUP AND VIRUS REMOVAL PROMOTIONS IN ORDER TO GENERATE NEW CUSTOMERS. THIS WILL BRING IN CUSTOMERS WITH MANY DIFFERENT ISSUES SOME NOT RELATED TO VIRUSES WHICH WILL BE DISCOVERED DURING THE CHECKUP AND SINCE THE CUSTOMER IS ALREADY THERE, THE GEEK WILL GET THE BUSINESS. THE GEEK WILL ALSO OFFER SATURDAY MORNING WORKSHOPS FOR BEGINNER USERS FREE OF CHARGE. THIS WILL DEVELOP LIFETIME CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS.

PLACE (DISTRIBUTION) ISSUES: The Geek will not have distribution channels, all products will be sold in The Geek’s showroom. One Channel that may be beneficial for customers to find The Geek’s services is, a yellow pages add. Many people still flip through the yellow pages when looking for services.

Expected Revenue: The Geeks product is a service divided into three areas.
Hourly Service will be billed at a varied hourly rate. The goal is to sell 480 hours per month grossing $10,200.00 monthly.
Computer repair service billed at $25.00 per hour at an expected 300 hours monthly, totaling $7,500.00 monthly income.
The contract service price will be based on the customer’s network size and complexity. 20 clients averaging $750 per month would generate $15,000.00 monthly.
This would give The Geek an estimated $392,400.00 Gross yearly income.
Cost of Doing Business: It will cost an estimated $317,000 for The Geek to do business for one year. It will cost $350,000.00 to start up business. This will cover all business expenses for the first 6 months, and all equipment needed to get started, leaving a 100,000.00 cushion for unexpected expenses. Equipment consists of 5 Desk top computers, furnishings for two offices, commercial grade color copier/printer, an aggressive advertising campaign, and 5 workstations. This also includes the cost of two cargo mini vans painted with company logo and phone number. This money will be generated through two investors and a bank loan for $150,000.00 using the Owner’s home as collateral.

|Expenses |Expected Monthly Cost |Expected Yearly Cost |
|Rent |$4,800.00 |$57,600.00 |
|Salaries and Wages |$12,500.00 |$150,000.00 |
|Supplies: Paper, office supplies, printer |$900.00 |$10,800.00 |
|supplies, cost of goods to sell or cost of raw | | |
|materials to make product, etc. | | |
|Advertising and Other Promotions |$2,000.00 |$24,000.00 |
|Utilities: Heat, Electricity, Etc. |$300.00 |$3,600.00 |
|Utilities: Telephone, Internet |$60.00 |$720.00 |
|Insurance (Patterson,2013) |$2500.00 |$30,000.00 |
|Training |$500.00 |$6,000.00 |
|Business loan |$3500.00 |$42000.00 |

Rent: The Geeks commercial space rents at $4.00 per square foot and is 1,200 square feet. This comes to $4800.00 per month. (Oliver, 2013)

Salaries and Wages: Employees will be needed on a full time 40 +hours weekly basis. The two techs will earn $5,000 monthly salaries while the apprentice will earn 14.50 hourly. The Partners will each take 33% of the net revenue leaving 33% for business savings for future needs or investments.
Supplies:
Monthly supplies include Ink/toner, cleaning and toiletries, paper and pens, and other various office supplies. The most costly monthly supply will be fuel for the two vans. Approximately $650.00 per month. Advertising and Other Promotions: The Geek will rely heavily on word of mouth in the community generated by the annual barbecues. The Geek will also advertise on the local television networks. This will be effective in the local are and cost much less than advertising on major networks. The geek will run weekly PC upgrade promotions and PC checkup and virus removal promotions in order to generate new customers. This will bring in customers with many different issues some not related to viruses which will be discovered during the checkup and since the customer is already there, The Geek will get the business. The Geek will also offer Saturday morning workshops for beginner users free of charge. This will develop lifetime customer relationships. The Geeks yearly budget for advertising will be $24,000.00

Utilities: $300 dollars includes water, heating and air, and phone and internet. $175 for power based on 20% above average for 1200 sq ft apartments. $25 for water and sewer; only for bathroom use.
Insurance:
$2,500 monthly with liability, workers com, and commercial vehicle coverage for 2 vehicles.(Patterson,2013)

Startup Costs: It will cost an estimated $296,000 for The Geek to do business for one year. It will cost $350,000.00 to start up business. This will cover all business expenses for the first 6 months, and all equipment needed to get started, leaving a $00,000.00 cushion for unexpected expenses. Equipment consists of 5 Desk top computers, furnishings for two offices, commercial grade color copier/printer, and 3 workstations. This also includes the cost of two cargo mini vans painted with company logo and phone number.
Income Statement and Balance Sheet:
|Assets | |
| | |
|Current Assets | |
|Cash in Bank |$200,000 |
|Cash Value of Inventory | |
|Prepaid Expenses (insurance) |$18,000 |
|Total Current Assets |$218,000 |
| | |
|Fixed Assets | |
|Machinery & Equipment | |
|Furniture & Fixtures | |
|Real Estate / Buildings | |
|Total Fixed Assets | |
| | |
|Total Assets |$218,000 |
| | |
|Liabilities & Net Worth | |
| | |
|Current Liabilities | |
|Accounts Payable |$292,000 |
|Taxes Payable | |
|Notes Payable (due within 12 months) | |
|Total Current Liabilities |$292,000 |
| | |
|Long-Term Liabilities | |
|Bank Loans Payable (greater than 12 months) |$150,000 |
|Less: Short-Term Portion | |
|Total Long-Term Liabilities |$150,000 |
| | |
|Total Liabilities |$442,000 |
| | |
| | |
|Owners' Equity (Net Worth) |-$224,000 |
| | |
|Total Liabilities & Net Worth |$218,000 |
| | |

References
Patterson, H. (2013, April 18). Interview by J Hickman []. Alpha & omega insurance.

Oliver, L. (2013, April 17). Interview by Hickman J []. Commercial real estate prices.

Recession's impact on san diego's technology industries . (2010, April 17). Retrieved from http://www.nusinstitute.org/Research/Research/Recession-Impact-On-San-Diego-Technology-Industries.html

Dalton, ga profile. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.idcide.com/citydata/ga/dalton.htm

Demographic statistics dalton, georgia. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.infoplease.com/us/census/data/georgia/dalton/demographic.html

Dalton, ga crime rates & statistics. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.areavibes.com/dalton-ga/crime/