Preparing to Conduct Business Research
Gary Adams
RES 351
October 3, 2010

Preparing to Conduct Business Research
Our team has come together and conducted a business research plan on opening a fresh produce restraint where customers can eat and buy fresh produce. The purpose is to establish interest in a locally owned and operated fresh produce restaurant that is 100% eco-friendly. In order to find out what the community thinks of this we will conduct a survey so that we have a better understanding of what types of things they would like to see in the store or what things they are looking for in a locally grown produce store, in return we plan on offering incentives for consumers to respond to a survey. We will utilize phone interviews and field surveys in order to establish the information we need. The research questions we need to ask for the eco-friendly, all natural restaurant and market are: * How many people are in your family? * Do you cook at home? If so, how often? * Is healthy cooking important to you and your family? * Would you likely visit a restaurant that serves locally grown produce? * Would you shop at a farmers market that is open year round? * Would you buy growing space for a garden? * How far do you travel to buy groceries? * How far would you travel to this type of place? * Where do you currently shop for groceries and why? * Is price a consideration when deciding where to shop? We found that there will be some variables to consider in which we found would be; * Cost of land * Vender availability * Gender * Married, Single, Children * Zoning regulations * Environmental Restrictions * Would the only people who respond to the survey be “health conscious” consumers? * Geographic survey: Tulsa only survey or surrounding areas included?
Some ethical considerations that we found were; * Making sure we only by locally grown produce * Making sure the vendors that supply the meats are legitimately raising the supply without growth hormones and such things. * Making sure that the farmers that tend the produce isn’t using harmful pesticides * Make sure our survey and research is simple for our subjects to understand * Simple language * Survey would have to be unbiased and not intended to sway investors (banks, private monies) * Use positive language in the survey. Avoid negative words.
We have found in this research already is that the idea of being eco-friendly is becoming more and more popular among a lot of people around the United States. European countries have been eco-friendly for hundreds of years; they believe that the world would be a better place just by reusing and recycling. Many things like food, plastics, and paper are better if it is grown or reused because it will help environment. Several obstacles are in place because most people that would prefer to be eco-friendly live closer to the center of the city in smaller homes or in lofts. Some things to think about is the placement of a business like this may not be as popular in the suburban areas around the outskirts of town where more open land is easier to find.
We will need to ensure that the customers are fully aware and have no doubt that our products being used are 100% all natural and are free of growth hormones and harmful pesticides. We feel that being able to let the customers do their own picking from our garden and seeing for themselves that it is in fact all natural and has no harmful chemicals in the food that they are eating. We feel like this shows them the trust that we are trying to earn from them and in our business. In doing this research and conducting surveys will give us a better understanding what and where our eco-friendly restaurant would be successful and how high the demand is in different cities or towns. Also, this will help us know what types of things that people would like to see in a fresh produce market and restaurant. All of the research conducted will make our business successful and rewarding to not only the environment but to many families.

Reference
Organic Trade Association. (June 2011). Industry Statistics and Projected Growth. Retrieved from http://www.ota.com/organic/mt/business.html