Advertising of my business

I am a young university graduate wishing to embark upon a business venture in the Newton-le-Willows area. I had four original ideas for a company. Out of these four options I chose to set up a Nursery service. This is because I feel there is not much public competition that many people are aware of. I also believe that the standards of my service will counteract any concerns of competition. I have just finished university and have a degree in Child Psychology and wish to gain experience with children on a day-to-day basis. This, I feel, will help me understand the mentality of each different age of child and each personal case.

I also have experience with children as whilst I was working through my degree I had a small job as a nursery assistant and enjoyed working with children on a one-to-one basis. The idea of opening up a Day-care Nursery excites me as this will help me gain experience for my future job and will help me raise enough money to set up a psychology practice in the future. Although I would benefit greatly from a franchise, as I would gain limited liability, (where shareholders of a company are liable for the debts of a company only up to the value of their shareholders) I would not have the control over my business, as I would like.

After evaluating these points I decided that the cons outweighed the pros and decided that this to was not the option for me. This left me with the only alternative of setting up as a sole trader. Although this meant I would be under unlimited liability (Meaning if the company was put into liquidation I would have to pay all debts using my own personal possessions) I would be independent in business ideas and decisions and would not have to share the profits with another partner. This was ideal for me.

I have many goals for my company and with my experience of an A-Level in Business Studies I am sure I will have the knowledge to reach them and in a professional way. The latter of my objectives is very important if my business is to do well. The image broadcasted to the public is what makes them want to use my service or not. The image given is greatly influenced by my staff and me. The presentation of my staff is important, as my nursery needs to be clean, safe and toddler-friendly so that I can ensure the best for the children.

My staff and I will wear a uniform consisting of black full-length trousers, light pink t-shirt with the company logo embroidered onto it and a sky blue tabard so staff can keep clothes clean and tidy looking. I will be employing around 15 members of staff as well as myself and all will have to be qualified or certified that they have experience or training of working in childcare and trained for first aid. They will have to be caring and willing to work with any child needing assistance or medical attention.

The equipment I will require will not all be specialist. I will need toys and books to entertain the children but I will also need facilities to cook for them and care for them. I will need a fully equipped kitchen, baby changing facilities and toilets for the children so they can gain independence through smaller facilities. The toys I buy will be safe for the age group that will be playing with them for example, a small model kitchen will only be played with by the three to four year olds as it may contain small objects and could be dangerous.

I will have a television for the children to watch children’s programmes on and videos on. As I require these items and utilities the cost may be quite high which means that the insurance of the building and contents will most probably be quite a high amount. I will need to make sure my nursery is in a nice, friendly area so the children are safe and the equipment and contents of the building are safe. Beckie O’Brien One major concern I have of being a sole trader is the fact that I may not raise enough start up capital to suffice.

Obviously as I have only just completed a degree I will have had debts and although these are paid I have a substantial lot less as I had in the past although I have a large amount of savings in the bank. The amount in my bank is  20, 000 and if I got a loan for roughly  30, 000 this should get me on my way. This means I should have roughly 10-15% needed for a mortgage so I can buy the premises. The money will also go towards the promotion and advertising of my business. This means that I will get more business through promotion of my company resulting in a larger cash flow. This means I will be able to pay off my mortgage quicker.