1. 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
By
Federico A. Garcia, III
June 15, 2002
2. Topics for presentation
Purpose of the business plan
Description of the Business
Industry
Market Research
Marketing Plan
Design and Development
3. Topics for Presentation
Operations Plan
Critical Risks
Financial Analysis
Conclusions and Recommendations
4. Purpose of the Business Plan
Own experience in planning a wedding
Evaluate viability of an online wedding
planning business
Add value to MBA program
5. Description of the Business
Wedding research for planners
Online booking system for vendors
Ability to view reception sites
Wedding planning tools
Business model
6. Business Model
$40/mo = $480/yr for contact
information
$125/mo = $1500/yr for IPIX technology
and access to booking system.
7. Industry Analysis
Wedding Industry + Information
Retrieval Systems or Online Content
Providers Industry
Wedding Industry - $70 Billion
Online Content Providers Industry
averages -$432,000/yr.
8. Dominant Economic Characteristics
Market Size $70B for wedding
industry
Number of Companies Very few large
in the industry companies
Customers
Profitability 2.4 million marriages
For wedding industry it
looks great, future
prospects uncertain for
dot.coms
9. Market Research
Website viewers
24,000 marriages in San Diego
Half use Internet to plan wedding
Over 1300 Wedding related businesses
in San Diego
11. Other Competition
Local Competition
SanDiegoWeddings.com,
marrymeinsandiego.com,
weddingconnections.com
Substitute Products
Wedding coordinators and consultants
12. Competitive Advantages
Search capability
Viewing reception locations
Online scheduling system for vendors
13. Marketing Plan
Brand-name awareness
Search engines
Build membership
Electronic announcements
Use of applications (calendar, checklist,
guest-list manager)
Establish Strategic relationships
Advertising
14. Design and Development
Tasks
Website development
Domain registration
Web hosting services
Hiring
Proprietary issues with IPIX
15. Operations
Location – Oceanside
Strategy and plans
Organization Building
Technology Infrastructure
Marketing
Development of Site
16. Critical Risks
Business Model
Technology Issues
Proprietary Technology
Lack of Exclusivity
Online Booking system
Strong brand loyalty to competitors
17. Financials
Funds Required - $440,000
Development Costs
Operating Expenses
18. 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
19.
20.
21.
22.
23. Conclusion
It is viable but risky
Success depends on successful
penetration of local market and
expansion into other markets
Recommending do not pursue the
venture.
Editor's Notes
Liked the idea of wedding websites Still found it difficult to coordinate Couled be used to obtain funding Ties into all our classes
Combines the content of thousands of sites, and contact information of thousands of wedding vendors in a single location Flrists, dj photographer, caterers, attire, initations Vendors that don’t’ have a system can use ours It ties into our search engine so customers can search them out. Anyone visit www.homestore.com? And look at examples of houses onnline using IPIX technolgies. Use the same for reception locations With membership have access to wedding checklist, interactive weding calndar, guest list manager The whole business is really a concept that would aid in wedding planning
Basics of the business model. Still in the works on whether or not to charge website viewers. Model may rely too much on vendor advertisement money, may need to consider other models such as e-commerce revenue models, that will be for future growth.
Why is the Industry a viable one. Part of wedding industry which is proven. BUT ALSO PART OF DOT COM specifically Information Retrieval Systems or Miscellaneous Computer Related Services or Online Content Provider Depending on which Industry Research Organization A look at the finantials of online content providers industry reveals???
Large Markets attract competition The fact that there are very few large companies constant to both industries needs to set off a light bulb. Yes the dot com companies aren’t doing well at all Half of customers that have web access use the Internet for wedding planning 2.4 million marriages Half use the Internet No real industry averages for “wedding companies” but the averages for Online Content Providers was not a plus. The potential is certainly there Especially for e-commerce which we need to plan for (not yet included in business plan)
Locally I’ve found over 1300 Considering all the types of vendors Photographers, musiciains, videographers,disc jockeys, reception venues, florists, accessory providers, attire audio visual, bakery, beauty and helath, beverages, caligraphers, caterers, chapels and churches, wedding consultants (another potential market for the product), dance instructors, decorations, entertainment, wedding favors and gifts, furnishings, honeymoon planners, invitations, jewelry, lodging, rentals, restaurants, day after planners, transportaion, travel, wedding registry, ministers
Like all other online content providers, none of the big companies listed in the industry have pulled a profit. This allows you to see the popularitiry
The best I liked was www.weddingconnections.com provided the most vendor contact information Wedding coordinators and consultants may be a better market for the product Did not do a study on this.
Being a small company need to search for all the competitive advantages as possible Search IPIX Scheduling system, No other wedding planning sites have these features not-tied into eommerce money loser.. At least not yet
Get listed on all search engies Electronic announcemnets mailed out to guest list will increase reach Strategic relationships - Need one with company that provides wedding registry- need one with IPIX Advertise – along with internet advertising, newspaper, radio, tv, and especially bridal magazines
With website development need a real good domain name Investigate Hire personnel There are still issues with IPIX that need to get hatched out
In our research, for a san diego location Oceanside 1.53 per sq foot, sandiego averaged 3.0 per sq ft for rent Org building – get the personnel Tech infrastructure – for both internal and external users Marketing starts doing their job
Business moels are too limited. May be too expensive Tech issues with IPIX Booking system may not be embraced. Most have their own and might not want to change. Wedding channel.com, theknot.com, they have good names and strong brand loyalty.
Development costs Sales expenses Rent Employee wages
Didn’t study e-commerce but need to look at this to further capitalize on the actually website viewers (the couples getting married) Need to also develop strategic relationships (IPIX technology, an dorganization that provides online wedding registry) Success depneds on pentration the local market, this means vendors must buy into the idea of paying for the booking system, and use it. IF marketing does its job, then we should be able to get a critical mass of customers. There aren’t enough wedding businesses in San Diego to provide sufficient revenues to continue operations, the company would need to expand into other markets (didn’t do a study on this) Risks of the Industry show not to pursue venture,
