(lasts about 6 months) Russian Committee for Supervision of connection to obtain a license. The winner of the competition receives the right to use a certain range of radio frequencies within some standard spectrum. The license allows the use of this range either throughout Russia or in a specific region by decision of the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications.
If you win the tender, send a plan to the Main Radio Frequency Center, indicating the location of the base stations and which frequencies of the allocated range they will use. The center will begin a long-term compatibility examination electromagnetic waves. In approximately 4.5 months you will receive a plan approved by the RF center. If the plan is not approved, then make a new one. Then the approval procedure will begin again.
Submit the plan agreed upon in the radio frequency center for approval to the oversight committee connection Yu. After four months, you will receive a frequency-territorial plan for the location of your base stations.
Coordinate with Stroytekhnadzor the specific installation location of the tower, support pillars and other small structures. Start building a radio tower. Capital construction of a tower involves its design, examination, commissioning of the facility and obtaining permission to operate it. Register the tower as a real estate property. Or enter into a lease agreement for the roof of a building to install an antenna.
Hand over the facility to the regional department of supervision of connection Yu. Your network will now join the communication network common use. Come up with a name for the network. Develop a package of paid and free services. Set tariffs for the provision of services cellular communications.
Tender– a closed competition, a kind of bidding for the right to receive a contract to perform certain works or services. In other words, a tender is a way to correctly and profitably present your services in the face of great competition. Based on the results of such bidding, the contract is concluded with the winner of the tender, with the one who, in the opinion of the organizers, provided the best (most advantageous) offer that meets all the requirements stated in the tender documentation.
Instructions
Appoint a tender committee. Announce. At the same time, applications will begin to be received from participants, which will be assessed by the tender commission. The winner will be the participant who makes the highest quality offer at the lowest price, while indicating the minimum order completion time.
If you have no idea or find it difficult to complete the documentation necessary for the tender, it is best to contact specialists who will help you figure it out.
Tip 3: How to start a business selling cell phones
Today, without a cell phone it’s like having no hands. Few will disagree with this statement. Exactly on sale mobile phones You can build a fairly profitable business, and in a short period of time.
Opening a mobile phone store is not an easy task, but by developing a clear sales strategy, you can soon become a wealthy person.
Where to start a business selling mobile phones
Instructions
Find out how much demand there is for services in your city. When drawing up a business plan, take into account all the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors. In addition, please note that drivers are not the most organized personnel, especially since many of them will work part-time for you.
Register entity. Indicate several types of activities in the organization’s charter (for subsequent expansion of the list of services due to high competition).
Enter into agreements with local telecom operators for the provision of services or rent a room with a dedicated multi-line telephone in a call center for the first time. In addition, you can work as an information center for the dispatcher program of your choice. In the field of the order form, the operator will enter data (date, car number, driver’s name, etc.), determine the route and control the location of busy and free drivers. The program must be installed on their Cell Phones. If you can’t afford such expenses yet, use walkie-talkies at first.
If you decide to work independently of call centers, find premises and equip cubicles for dispatchers. Buy everything necessary equipment(computers, phones, office equipment) and consumables.
Calculate tariffs for services. If you plan to provide delivery services along with private transportation, enter into agreements with relevant enterprises and retail outlets for uninterrupted customer service. Indicate the tariffs for delivery services even if the client wants the driver to simply bring him a set of products from the store.
Place advertisements in the media for hiring dispatchers, as well as drivers with personal cars. Of course, if possible, you can rent a fleet of cars and only then invite employees to work for them. But this path is more expensive and, moreover, requires high driving skills and responsibility from drivers. Hire dispatchers. Do psychological testing with them. Conclude employment contracts with employees. At first, drivers must work at interest rates from completed orders. And only after probationary period you can transfer their fixed salary. Teach you how to use the program (if you decide to implement it in your enterprise modern technologies).
Almost any product requires after-sales service. Service activities are one of the promising areas of small (and not only) business, which will allow you to always have income. Whatever one may say, even the best quality products break over time.
Specifics of organizing service activities
Buying shoes household appliances, cell phone, TV, the client is guided not only by the criteria of “liked” and “suitable for price,” but also by brand. Why? Because branded products have developed service activities, which means that in the event of a malfunction, the owner of this item would rather contact the service center for repairs, rather than go to the store to buy the same product. Naturally, in this case the issue comes down to money - repairs are cheaper than buying a new thing. In Russia, the organization of service activities has its own nuances. Communications and transport links are not as developed here as in Europe, so the distance of the service center from your place of residence can be decisive. As for the technical literacy of users, it also leaves much to be desired: most malfunctions occur due to the fault of the owners due to improper operation of the device.
Advantages and disadvantages
There are three main ways in which you can organize your own service center. Each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages. The first and most logical way is to build the company entirely on your own. This tactic involves significant financial investments: it requires not only specially equipped premises and the personnel necessary for any business (such as an accountant and a receptionist). Highly qualified specialists will be needed, who will have to pay a rather large salary; they will need to organize their own warehouse facilities, where constant monitoring of the availability of certain components is necessary. Only large companies can afford such a scale.
In contrast to the first, the second method is to create an outsourcing structure. The advantage is that the business owner is freed from the headaches that come with organizing warehouses, recruiting employees, etc. The downside is that clients can become clients of the provider company without going through an outsourcing company, and the level of service in small businesses, as a rule, leaves much to be desired.
The best way is to create a two-level structure, consisting of a head unit that works with direct clients, and several service workshops that directly carry out repairs. In such a structure, the head department is often involved in personnel training, and the service workshops with which the contract is concluded feel relatively stable.
When creating an online store, one of the most difficult moments is organizing payment for goods. This issue can be easily resolved using the SpryPay service.
Instructions
Go to the service address, then click on the “Registration” button. Enter your e-mail address, password to access your account, and the answer to one of the security question options required to recover your password if you lose it. Click on the “registration” button, then go to your e-mail and activate your account.
Log in to the site using the login and password specified during registration. Click on the "Store Listings" link, then select "Add Store." Enter the name of your online store, as well as its online address. Upon completion of this operation, you will be redirected to the settings page, but if you have problems, click on the “Support” button.
Once you've set your preferences, go to the Store List page for a payment request form. Generate a payment request form and insert it into your online store website.
Set up the price for each product using the “Add Product” tab. If you experience difficulties and something is not clear to you, please refer to the SPPI documentation for help or click on the “Support” button.
On initial stage It is recommended to add as many payment methods as possible to identify the most popular ones. In the future, you will be able to evaluate which payment methods are the most popular and remove those that are practically not used - this will make the process of choosing payment methods for the client easier.
-> Trade, services, transport
Business plan for a cellular communication salon - franchise or independent sailing?
To open or not to open a cell phone store? Competition in this market is growing. Is there still a chance to invest money in such a way as to receive real income?
According to the most optimistic forecasts, the minimum amount with which it is recommended to start such a business is $25,000. The average profitability of chain outlets, for example, Techmarket salons, is today 20%. In a “wild” salon, where there is no sign of a “promoted” brand hanging above the entrance, it will be smaller. In addition, experts still cannot give a clear assessment of the capacity of the capital’s market. They claim that if all current conditions remain the same, the salon will pay for itself in about a year.
Profit in the cellular communications business comes from several sources: connecting new subscribers to the cellular network, selling phones, cards and accessories.
You can get 10–12% profit on devices, 25–30% on accessories, 15–20% on telephone and Internet cards.
But the main income has always come from connection bonuses from operator companies. The size of the bonus depended on the tariff: for a subscriber connecting to BI+, you could get 15–25 dollars, and for connecting to expensive unlimited tariffs - up to 100 dollars. The average reward was 30 dollars. But by 2003, a decrease in this dealer remuneration became very noticeable, which caused large network companies fears and desire to get rid of the business that has become unprofitable among small chains and single salons.
The number of subscribers connected to GSM cellular communications is 8.5 million. All of them are divided between the three main operators. Approximately equally the share is between Bee Line and MTS - about 4 million for each. And half a million are connected to MegaFon. Official statistics show that the penetration depth in the capital market is at its limit and is approximately 75%. The same figure for the Moscow region with its 15 million population is at the level of 50%. Today, network leaders are actively opening points in the Moscow region. But they are not doing this because the level of sales and connections in Moscow is falling.
“Techmarket regularly increases its sales volumes,” comments CEO Techmarket company Vadim Zelenin. - Most likely, the market will continue to grow. Nobody really knows how many people actually live in Moscow, because there are a lot of newcomers who are not registered anywhere. Who has not tried to guess when saturation will occur: both operators and dealers of operators. They started shouting that saturation would not come today or tomorrow, already in 2000. But the market is still developing.
Other specialists' assessments are less stringent. “It’s no secret that the main profit of a cellular communications dealer comes from initial connections,” Alexey Chebotok, director of advertising at Maxus (Svyaznoy), shares his opinion. - In second place is income from sales of cell phones and accessories. Surprisingly, despite all the gloomy predictions, the monthly volume of first connections for some reason is not decreasing. It has been at 300 thousand or more for several years. It is not entirely clear from what potential this figure is achieved. There is an assumption that the population of the Moscow region is underestimated in absolute terms. And very seriously. And the second supposed source of new connections is the general population with low incomes who have recently begun to consume this service. And they are very price sensitive. In conditions where the client can terminate the contract without any consequences and respond to a more attractive offer, such consumers easily change the operator. The latter quickly realized this, so they reduced the dealer’s remuneration.”
Today there are 3,500 mobile phone stores in Moscow. The largest companies are Euroset, Svyaznoy, Techmarket, Dixis, Beta Link and Anarion.
“Euroset has over 180 points of sale,” Vadim Zelenin analyzes the situation. - Svyaznoy - 120, Techmarket - 92. Dixis is mainly a wholesale company. With Anarion and Beta Link, it turns out that there are five strong players on the market with developed retail networks. If we imagine that on average each of them has 100 retail outlets, then large companies collectively own 500 stores. Everything else is a sub-dealer segment. From which it follows that this moment rumors that a small company cannot survive in this market are greatly exaggerated.
Forecasts for upcoming sales of telephones also inspire optimism. Due to the fact that cell phones, unlike computers, cannot be upgraded, their fleet in the West is completely renewed every year and a half. In Russia this period is 2–3 years. This means that every year about 4.5 million devices can be sold in Moscow alone.”
Some experts claim that the most The best way An independent investor can make money in this area by concluding a franchise agreement with one of the large chains with all the ensuing consequences.
Many companies that have been working all this time under the guise of “Communication Salon” or under a similar meaningless name are selling their points and moving on to some other type of activity, says Natalya Klibanova, marketing director of Beta Link. - This is due to the fact that, firstly, due to recent changes in the market, networks are becoming larger. Many people are buying smaller or single chains outlets, which become unprofitable for their owners. Players are looking for any way to grab a new piece of the pie and occupy convenient or new spaces in shopping centers. Many are turning to street retailers and even markets. Our experts consider franchising to be one of the successful ways to expand the network. This is a mutually beneficial solution both for us and for small companies that contact our company for help.
Franchising with a large chain is beneficial for many reasons. Firstly, a reputable company, as a rule, has several distribution agreements with major equipment manufacturers. While an ordinary Moscow sub-dealer buys equipment from direct distributors and earns 7–8% on its sale, the direct distributors themselves take the equipment without prepayment (they simply have more preferential terms purchases). And the resulting margin sometimes exceeds 12%. Although you can earn 20-30% from selling “gray” illegally imported phones, such a business is classified as almost criminal and large companies is strictly prohibited.
Advertising promotion of goods on the market, marketing campaigns - all this is carried out jointly by distributors and manufacturers, which reduces advertising costs by half. The positive effect of such events extends, of course, to the franchisee working under the “promoted” brand. In addition, the franchisor will offer its ward a full range of partner services, starting from the selection and design of premises, ending with staff training and, if necessary, accounting.”
Among the market leaders, Dixis operates under a franchising scheme, and Beta Link is actively looking for partners in this area. But there are companies that fundamentally refuse such development schemes, for example, Maxus. The Techmarket company prefers to follow the intensive path of cost optimization.
“We are considering the candidacies of absolutely everyone who has approached us with a proposal to conclude a franchise agreement,” says Beta Link commercial director Andrey Zavidonov. - These can be already existing salons, which, for example, cannot withstand fierce competition, and companies that own or rent premises in which they previously had another business. We also accept those who have never worked in this market before and are just thinking about where to start: contact us or still look for premises first?”
Before rushing to look for premises, Beta Link specialists strongly recommend contacting the company. Perhaps the future owner of the new point, which will operate under the Beta Link brand, will not have to search at all.
The first and main requirement for a future franchisee is the intelligence of his company as a whole. If he already has retail space, then it is desirable that they be located in respectable places and be at least 50 square meters. m for a stand-alone store, and not less than 20 sq. m for a point located inside shopping center. It is this area, according to the company’s specialists, that allows for proper placement of goods and convenient service to customers. Compliance with this requirement is necessary for the new salon to seamlessly integrate into the Beta Link network and look like a single whole with it.
The company providing the franchise, as a rule, has already established a certain reputation in the market, and always has a couple of tempting real estate offers in reserve. For those who are starting this business from scratch, she can offer existing premises options. But even if there are no free spaces at that time, it is better to go in search of them under the brand of a “promoted” network. This will help, for example, to win a tender for the right to “sit” in a large shopping complex or simply allow you to stand out favorably from other contenders.
For the franchisor company, the general condition of the premises and retail equipment, as well as the design of display windows, is important. She will most likely offer to buy existing equipment or purchase new equipment, taking advantage of all the discounts and opportunities that she has as a large buyer.
The franchisor’s business connections will be useful in obtaining the remaining permits: permits for the right to trade in the district government, SES and fire supervision.
As a rule, there are no clear requirements for attendance that companies place on existing space. It’s not bad, of course, when there are 200–500 people a day in a store with a separate entrance, but this is not a mandatory minimum. There are examples when, after the salon switched to the sign and network standards, attendance increased by 3–5 times. Typically, when entering into a franchise agreement, current attendance is not discussed.
“We are not interested in points where less than 50 phones are sold per month,” says Andrey Zavidonov. - But everything depends on potential. Perhaps in this salon Simply, due to the specific requirements for cellular communications, they cannot sell 200 devices each. They have the wrong assortment, untimely supplies, poorly trained staff, and lack of proper outdoor advertising. And now only 30 are being sold. But this does not mean that after the changes they will not sell 200 devices each.”
The minimum amount required to open a mobile phone store independently and as a franchise is also different.
To open a small salon, you need 25 thousand dollars. This includes rent for six months in advance, major repairs, purchase of commercial equipment, computers, air conditioning, a thermal curtain for winter, etc. For Beta Link the initial working capital required for the purchase of goods is approximately 100 thousand dollars. Beginners can be recommended to invest 50 thousand dollars. Total initial working capital for an independent salon is 75 thousand dollars.
If the future owner of the salon plans to enter into a franchise agreement with the Beta Link company, then he needs to have a minimum amount of 25 thousand dollars. Of this, 10 thousand will be required for rent, display cases, furniture, etc. and 15–20 thousand - for the purchase of goods. In each specific case, these figures may be more or less, because depending on the initial data, the franchisor offers various options economic decisions. For this purpose, a business plan is drawn up together with the future mentee.
Owners of small pavilions located in metro passages, as a rule, offer buyers “tubes” of 5–10 models. But for a 20-meter store this is not enough. There, it is optimal to have 30–40 phone models on display. Large chains have different requirements for the range of outlets that operate with them as franchises.
“We open only in large shopping centers, we do good salons With high level service, quality and with a large assortment range,” says Natalya Klibanova. - But the company is focused on all groups of consumers: those who cannot afford to buy phones over $100, and the middle and high price segments. Therefore, at the moment, the assortment range of Beta Link salons is about 60 items.”
The franchisor company, as a rule, has its own group of analysts, which studies the Moscow market, demand and current state sales All this helps to form the right assortment for a given location and provide competent recommendations to franchisees. The company will also certainly help to minimize the costs of maintaining the assortment, reduce warehouse balances, speed up turnover as much as possible and increase profitability by delivering equipment to the direct user.
The store must have at least two sales managers on staff. If there is an influx of buyers, one of them will show phones, and the other will fill out contracts. It's easier for sellers to work if buyers have fewer questions. Therefore, it is better not to waste time on drawing up price tags. It is important to indicate not only the cost of the phones, but also information about them.
But reputable companies, as a rule, impose more stringent requirements for personnel. Therefore, all employees of your future salon will undergo special training at the training center.
“Opening your own business in the region is a good step,” says Vadim Zelenin. - There has been a higher trade markup on phones. If in Moscow it is 19%, then there it is 20–25%, sometimes 30%. The bonus for connection is less than in Moscow.”
If you are a businessman, then you will be faced with the question of opening a business related to cell phone stores or not? Is it possible to invest money there and make a profit from it?
Practice shows that the minimum amount with which you can start such a business is about $25,000. For salons such as Techmarket, the average profitability is about 20%. If your business is not promoted enough, then the profitability will be much less. Experts in this field cannot fully comment on the situation in the capital market. It is predicted that a mobile phone store can pay for itself within a year.
You may be asking yourself one more question: what is the best way to protect yourself and your finances from possible risks? Professionals advise in this case only two options: the first is to open your own point and join an already promoted salon, and the second option is to start your own business in one of the regions.
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If you decide to start doing this business, you should know that profit comes from several sources: connecting to cellular network operators, selling different phone models, as well as cards and various accessories.
On telephone sets you can make 10-12% profit, on the accessories themselves 20-25%, on the sale of cards for telephone and Internet you can make 15-20%.
As a rule, the main income comes from connecting a subscriber to various operators. For example, for connecting a person to the most expensive unlimited tariff, you can earn up to $100. Average level earnings are about $30.
The number of subscribers connected to the GSM network is about 8.5 million. They are usually divided by three different operators - 4 million subscribers each for the MTS operator and the same for Beeline. About half a million are connected to the Megafon operator.
A brand like Techmarket is increasing its sales more and more each time. There is always a struggle between operators, and they fight mainly for clients, because usually about 15-20% of clients move from Megafon to Beeline or MTS. It is because of this that the capital’s market is losing its potential.
Today in the capital of Russia there are about 3,500 mobile phone stores. Among them, the most popular among the population are Euroset, Svyaznoy, Tekhmarket and many others.
For example, the Euroset company has about 1,800 points where sales are carried out. Most likely, if you have a small cellular communications company, it will not survive in the competitive market. This also includes the sale of mobile phones and about 4.5 million phones are sold in Russia.
There are companies that operate under the name “Communication Salon” and they are engaged in sales and basically switch to another type of activity. This is mainly due to the fact that many points are not profitable for many businessmen.
One of the solutions for small firms and outlets that are ineffective is franchising. Franchise Lately has become very fashionable and popular for several reasons: well, firstly, a reputable company usually has so-called distribution agreements with some companies.
On Russian market The Dixis company usually operates as a franchise. They are actively looking for partners. But, unfortunately, there are companies that do not adhere to this work pattern, for example, this includes the Maxus company.
If you decide to work with a franchise, you should know that the most important requirement for a company is to be intelligent. If a company has certain retail space, then it is necessary that it be located in fairly respectable places, and it must be more than 50 square meters.
To open or not to open a cell phone store? Competition in this market is growing. Is there still a chance to invest money in such a way as to receive real income? According to the most optimistic forecasts, the minimum amount with which it is recommended to start such a business is $25,000. The average profitability of network outlets today is 20%. In a “wild” salon, where there is no sign of a “promoted” brand hanging above the entrance, it will be smaller. In addition, experts still cannot give a clear assessment of the capacity of the Ukrainian market. They claim that if all current conditions remain the same, the salon will pay for itself in about a year. So how can you protect your investments in this area from unnecessary risk? Professionals assure that for those who still decide to follow this difficult path, there are only two options: open a point by joining a “promoted” network of cellular communication stores, or start a business in the region. Moreover, the situation on the cellular communications market in some regions of Ukraine is comparable to 1995 in Kyiv. Profit in the cellular communications business comes from several sources: connecting new subscribers to the cellular network, selling phones, cards and accessories. You can get 10-12% profit on devices, 25-30% on accessories, 15-20% on telephone and Internet cards. But the main income has always come from connection bonuses from operator companies. The size of the bonus depended on the tariff: for a subscriber who connected to a regular package, you could get 15-25 dollars, and for connecting to expensive unlimited tariffs - up to 100 dollars. On average, the reward was 30 dollars. But by 2005, the decrease in this dealer remuneration became very noticeable, which caused fears among large chain companies and a desire to get rid of the business that had become unprofitable for small chains and single salons. However, the number of subscribers connected to GSM cellular communications continues to grow. Official statistics show that the penetration depth in the Ukrainian market is approximately 60%. The same figure for the region is at 30%. Today, network leaders are actively opening points in the regions. But they do this not because the level of sales and connections is major cities falls. Most likely, the market will continue to grow. Who has not tried to guess when saturation will occur: both operators and dealers of operators. They started shouting that saturation would not come today or tomorrow, already in 2002. And the market is still developing. Our conservative estimate is that final saturation will occur at the end of next year. Due to the fact that there is a fierce struggle between operators for subscribers, 15-20% of those connected will flow from Kyivstar to UMC and Jeans and back within a year. After this, the Ukrainian market will exhaust its potential.” Other specialists' assessments are less stringent. It is no secret that the main profit of a cellular dealer is generated from primary connections. In second place is income from sales of cell phones and accessories. Surprisingly, despite all the gloomy predictions, the monthly volume of first connections for some reason is not decreasing. It has been at 100 thousand or more for several years. It is not entirely clear from what potential this figure is achieved. There is an assumption that the population of Ukraine is underestimated in absolute terms. And very seriously. And the second supposed source of new connections is the general population with low incomes who have recently begun to consume this service. And they are very price sensitive. In conditions where the client can terminate the contract without any consequences and respond to a more attractive offer, such consumers easily change operators. Operators quickly realized this, so they reduced dealer remuneration.
Business plan for a cellular communication salon
Introduction
2. Market assessment
3. Franchise
4. Development
Introduction
For effective management business in manufacturing and services, it is necessary to develop and use business planning methods and investment analysis. Accurate planning is important integral part successful business. Each company starting its activity must determine the need for financial, material, labor and intellectual resources and be able to calculate the efficiency of their use in the process of work. An important task in this matter is to attract investment. To do this, it is necessary to argue and justify the design of projects that require investment. It is very important to formalize all thoughts and plans on this matter as a solid document - a business plan (translated from English as “business plan”).
A business plan (BP) is a document that describes all aspects of a future commercial project, analyzes the problems that it may encounter, and also determines ways to solve them.
PSU - necessary in market conditions a tool for technical, financial, and managerial justification of a business, including relationships with business partners. It would not be an exaggeration to call a business plan the basis of management not only commercial project, but also by the enterprise itself. A business plan gives management the opportunity to look at own enterprise as if from the outside.
Investment BP is a time-limited, targeted change in a separate system with established requirements for the quality of results, the scope of possible expenditure of funds and resources, and a specific organization of development and implementation.
BP allows you to objectively assess entrepreneurial activity and is the main document on the basis of which investors give money. Its official goal is the desired result of activity. The BP is based on the following tasks:
Clarify legal aspects, regulations, restrictions on the requirements of municipal authorities;
Conduct a situation plan analysis social conditions and demographic composition of the population;
Study the prospects for the development of the future market for products in order to produce only what can be sold;
Assess the costs that will be necessary to produce and sell products and compare them with sales prices to determine potential profit;
Discover possible problems and obstacles and propose measures to minimize project risks;
Determine criteria and indicators by which it will be possible to regularly determine whether business is going up or going down;
Create a plan for financing and organizing the operation of the facility;
Determine the conditions, forms, terms of business development;
Determine indicators of economic, commercial and budgetary efficiency of the project.
A well-written BP indicates high culture company and is part of it corporate identity. To compile such a BP, it is necessary to display the resolution of such strategic and thematic tasks as:
Organizational and managerial
financial and economic assessment of the current state of the company;
Identification of potential opportunities for the enterprise's activities, focusing on strengths and not hiding the weak;
Formation of investment and project goals for this activity for the project period.
For the practical implementation of business planning as a process, it seems important to adhere to the fundamental principles:
Flexibility, which includes adaptation to environmental changes;
Continuity, suggesting a “sliding” nature of planning
Communication, i.e. coordination and integration of efforts;
Iterativeness, which involves the creative nature of planning and repeated processing of an already drawn up plan;
Multiple options, allowing you to choose the best of the alternative possibilities for achieving your goal;
Participation, i.e. involving all possible participants in the future organization in the planning process;
Adequacy of reflection of real problems and self-assessment in the planning process;
The internal function of BP is not only to warn entrepreneurs and investors about possible difficulties and risk areas, but also to identify their causes and determine the best ways to eliminate them. The project's BP is aimed at investors, creditors, and partners, and therefore involves an objective, comprehensive assessment of products in a competitive environment.
The BP is also an external document, that is, it is used when establishing “expanding contacts with partners” or applying to a bank for a loan. The BP must convince the potential investor that a serious organization is represented by a consistent and realistic program bringing a business idea to life. In world practice, business processes account for a significant share of the total flow of business information. Western venture capital firms receive hundreds of BPs per year. They are requested by commercial banks, industrial companies, and individual investors.
Russian entrepreneurs do not always correctly assess the meaning and purpose of BP and do not pay enough attention to it, which is a big disadvantage.
To become viable and profitable business needs planning.
Moving on to revealing the choice of business planning topic, it should be noted that it is not accidental. First of all, the choice is based on the relevance of this problem during the period of rapid development of small and medium-sized businesses, and achieving profitability and profitability in these areas is possible only with professional approach to planning. In Russia, the area of planning has not been fully mastered, and the more people competent in the process of drawing up business plans appear, the more progressive development the business will receive.
The purpose of the business project is to evaluate the results of the enterprise’s activities, develop measures to use identified reserves, increase stability, obtain commercial results, and increase market share.
1. Summary
Competition in this market is growing. Is there still a chance to invest money in such a way as to receive real income?
According to the most optimistic forecasts, the minimum amount that is recommended to be deposited in salon business plan, is $25,000. The average profitability of network outlets, for example, Techmarket salons, is today 20%. In a “wild” salon, where there is no sign of a “promoted” brand hanging above the entrance, it will be smaller. In addition, experts still cannot give a clear assessment of the capacity of the capital’s market. They claim that if all current conditions remain the same, the salon will pay for itself in about a year.
So how can you protect your investments in this area from unnecessary risk, what should you include in your business plan for a mobile phone store? Professionals assure that for those who still decide to follow this difficult path, there are only two options: open a salon, joining a “promoted” network of cellular communication salons, or develop a business plan for the salon and start a business in the region. Moreover, the situation on the cellular communications market in some regions of Russia is comparable to 1995 in Moscow...
2. Market assessment
Profit in the mobile phone salon business comes from several sources: connecting new subscribers to the cellular network, selling phones, cards and accessories.
You can get 10-12% profit on devices, 25-30% on accessories, 15-20% on telephone and Internet cards.
But the main income of the salon has always come from connection bonuses from operator companies - take this into account in your business plan. The size of the bonus depended on the tariff: for a subscriber connecting to BI+, you could get 15-25 dollars, and for connecting to expensive unlimited tariffs - up to 100 dollars. On average, the reward was 30 dollars. But by 2003, a decrease in this dealer remuneration became very noticeable, which caused fears among large chain companies and a desire to get rid of the business that had become unprofitable for small chains and single salons.
The number of subscribers connected to GSM cellular communications is 8.5 million. All of them are divided between the three main operators. Approximately equally the share is between Bee Line and MTS - about 4 million for each. And half a million are connected to MegaFon. Official statistics show that the penetration depth in the capital market is at its limit and is approximately 75%. The same figure for the Moscow region with its 15 million population is at the level of 50%. Today, network leaders are actively opening points in the Moscow region. But they are not doing this because the level of sales and connections in Moscow is falling.
“The Techmarket salon regularly increases its sales volumes,” comments Vadim Zelenin, general director of the Techmarket company. — Most likely, the market will continue to grow. Nobody really knows how many people actually live in Moscow, because there are a lot of newcomers who are not registered anywhere. Who has not tried to guess when saturation will occur: both operators and dealers of operators. They started shouting that saturation would not come today or tomorrow, they began already in 2000. But the market is still developing and there is an opportunity to develop a business plan for a salon and occupy its niche. According to our cautious estimate, final saturation will occur at the end of this year. Due to the fact that there is a fierce struggle between operators for subscribers, 15-20% of those connected will flow from MegaFon to Bee Line and MTS and back within a year. After this, the Moscow market will exhaust its potential.”
Other specialists' assessments are less stringent. “It’s no secret that the main profit of a cellular dealer comes from initial connections,” Alexey Chebotok, director of advertising at Maxus (Svyaznoy), shares his opinion. — In second place is income from sales of cell phones and accessories. Surprisingly, despite all the gloomy predictions, the monthly volume of first connections for some reason is not decreasing. It has been at 300 thousand or more for several years. It is not entirely clear from what potential this figure is achieved. There is an assumption that the population of the Moscow region is underestimated in absolute terms. And very seriously. And the second supposed source of new salon connections is the general population with low incomes who have recently begun to consume this service. And they are very price sensitive. In conditions where the client can terminate the contract without any consequences and respond to a more attractive offer, such consumers easily change the operator. The latter quickly realized this, so they reduced the dealer’s remuneration.”
Works in Moscow today 3500 salons cellular communications. The largest companies are Euroset, Svyaznoy, Tekhmarket, Dixis, Beta Link and Anarion.
“Euroset has over 180 points of sale,” Vadim Zelenin analyzes the situation. — “Svyaznoy” — 120, “Techmarket” — 92. “Dixis” is mainly a wholesale company. With Anarion and Beta Link, it turns out that there are five strong players on the market with developed retail networks. If we imagine that on average each of them has 100 retail outlets, then large companies collectively own 500 stores. Everything else is a sub-dealer segment. When developing a salon business plan, keep this in mind. From which it follows that at the moment rumors that a small company cannot survive in this market are greatly exaggerated. At least for now.
Forecasts for upcoming sales of telephones also inspire optimism. Due to the fact that cell phones, unlike computers, are not subject to “upgrade”, their “park” in the West is completely renewed every year and a half. In Russia this period is 2-3 years. This means that every year about 4.5 million devices can be sold in Moscow alone.”
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At the dawn of the era of cellular communications, back in 1995, there were only five showrooms in Moscow, and there were queues of people wishing to purchase a contract worth $5,000. Those days are irrevocably gone, but the demand for cellular communications in the regions is still high. Previously, no one was particularly keen to open outlets there, because the standard of living common man in the outback it was not allowed to have a cell phone. Today, salaries are rising, and large networks are just starting to develop Russian regions. Therefore, beginners here have a good chance of success, especially when they have a good salon business plan in hand. Of course, in small town sales will be less than in the capital. But the costs of rent, employee salaries and advertising will be several times lower than in Moscow. And business here can be no less profitable than in the capital. True, success largely depends not on the presence of a “commercial spirit,” but on the ability to negotiate with local authorities and the local gang.
Currently, the path of Moscow is being followed by St. Petersburg. This process is stimulated by the entry of Moscow operators into the St. Petersburg market: 1.5 years ago - MTS, this year - BEE LINE. Some of the big players are dumping. For example, they provide free calls in the first two weeks after signing a contract. The situation in other areas is easier.
“Opening your own business in the region is a good step,” says Vadim Zelenin. - The cellular business there is just beginning to develop, so a higher trade margin on phones has been established. If in Moscow it is 19%, then there it is 20-25%, sometimes 30%. The connection bonus is less than in Moscow. However, there are queues in the regions, and perhaps many owners of salons that have just opened there have a chance in the next couple of years to earn an amount comparable to Moscow’s income during the period of the “cellular” boom.”
2. Franchise
In 2000, the millionth subscriber connected to cellular communications. Since then, the number of subscribers has increased 8 times. Of course, there will no longer be such a wild jump in income in this sector of the market. But some experts claim that the best way for an independent investor to make money in this area is to enter into a franchise agreement with one of the large chains with all the ensuing consequences.
“Many companies that have worked all this time under the guise of “Communication Salon” or under a similar meaningless name are selling their points and moving on to some other type of activity,” says Natalya Klibanova, marketing director of the Beta Link company. — This is due to the fact that, firstly, due to recent changes in the market, salon networks are becoming larger. Many people buy smaller chains or single retail outlets, which become unprofitable for their owners. Players are looking for any way to grab a new piece of the pie and occupy convenient or new spaces in shopping centers. Many are turning to street retailers and even markets. Our experts consider franchising to be one of the successful ways to expand the network. This is a mutually beneficial solution both for us and for small companies that contact our company for help.
Franchising with a large chain is beneficial for many reasons. Firstly, a reputable company, as a rule, has several distribution agreements with major equipment manufacturers. Compilation salon business plan In this version it is also significantly simplified. While an ordinary Moscow subdealer buys equipment from direct distributors and earns 7-8% on its sale, direct distributors themselves take the equipment without prepayment (they simply have more preferential terms of purchase). And the resulting margin sometimes exceeds 12%. Although you can earn 20-30% by selling “gray” illegally imported phones, such business is classified as almost criminal and is strictly prohibited in large companies.
One of the most important points The business plan for the salon is marketing. Advertising promotion of goods on the market, marketing campaigns - all this is carried out jointly by distributors and manufacturers, which reduces advertising costs by half. The positive effect of such events, of course, extends to franchisees operating under a “promoted” brand. In addition, the franchisor will offer its ward a full range of partner services, starting from the selection and design of premises, ending with staff training and, if necessary, accounting.”
For the franchisor company, the general condition of the premises and retail equipment, as well as the design of display windows, is important. She will most likely offer to buy existing equipment or purchase new equipment, taking advantage of all the discounts and opportunities that she has as a large buyer.
The franchisor’s business connections will be useful in obtaining the remaining permits: permits for the right to trade in the district government, SES and fire supervision.
As a rule, there are no clear requirements for attendance that companies place on existing space. But in the business plan of the future salon it is necessary to fix the forecast for attendance. It’s not bad, of course, when there are 200-500 people a day in a store with a separate entrance, but this is not a mandatory minimum. There are examples when, after the salon switched to the sign and network standards, attendance increased by 3-5 times. Typically, when entering into a franchise agreement, current attendance is not discussed.
“We are not interested in points where less than 50 phones are sold per month,” says Andrey Zavidonov. “But it all depends on potential.” Perhaps, in this salon, simply due to the specific requirements for cellular communications, they cannot sell 200 devices. They have the wrong assortment, untimely supplies, poorly trained staff, and lack of proper outdoor advertising. And now only 30 are being sold. But this does not mean that after the changes they will not sell 200 devices each.”
Minimum amount required to open cell phone salon independently and by franchise is also different.
To open a small salon, you need 25 thousand dollars. This includes rent for six months in advance, major repairs, purchase of commercial equipment, computers, air conditioning, a thermal curtain for winter, etc. For the Beta Link company, the initial working capital required for the purchase of goods is approximately 100 thousand dollars. Beginners can be recommended to invest 50 thousand dollars. In total, the initial working capital for an independent salon is 75 thousand dollars.
If the future owner of the salon plans to enter into a franchise agreement with the Beta Link company, then he needs to have a minimum amount of 25 thousand dollars. Of this, 10 thousand will be required for rent, display cases, furniture, etc. and 15-20 thousand - for the purchase of goods. In each specific case, these numbers can be higher or lower, because depending on the initial data, the franchisor offers various options for economic solutions. For this purpose, together with the future ward, a salon business plan.
Owners of small pavilions located in metro passages, as a rule, offer buyers “tubes” of 5-10 models. But for a 20-meter store this is not enough. There it is optimal to have 30-40 phone models on display. Large chains have different requirements for the range of outlets that operate with them as franchises.
“We open only in large shopping centers, we create good showrooms with a high level of service, quality and a large range of products,” says Natalya Klibanova. “But the company is focused on all groups of consumers: those who cannot afford to buy phones over $100, both the middle and high price segments. Therefore, at the moment, the assortment range of Beta Link salons is about 60 items.”
The franchisor company, as a rule, has its own group of analysts, which studies the Moscow market, demand and the current state of sales. All this helps to form the right assortment for a given location and provide competent recommendations to franchisees. The company will also certainly help to minimize the costs of maintaining the assortment, reduce warehouse balances, speed up turnover as much as possible and increase profitability by delivering equipment to the direct user.
The store must have at least two sales managers on staff. If there is an influx of buyers, one of them will show phones, and the other will fill out contracts. It's easier for sellers to work if buyers have fewer questions. Therefore, it is better not to waste time on drawing up price tags. It is important to indicate not only the cost of the phones, but also information about them.
But reputable companies, as a rule, impose more stringent requirements for personnel. Therefore, all employees of your future salon will undergo special training at the training center.
3. Development
Among the market leaders, Dixis operates under a franchising scheme, and Beta Link is actively looking for partners in this area. But there are companies that fundamentally refuse such development schemes, for example, Maxus. The Techmarket company prefers to follow the intensive path of cost optimization.
“We are considering the candidacies of absolutely everyone who has approached us with a proposal to conclude a franchise agreement,” says Beta Link commercial director Andrei Zavidonov. — These can be already existing salons, which, for example, cannot withstand fierce competition, and companies that own or rent premises in which they previously had another business. We also accept those who have never worked in this market before and are just thinking about where to start: contact us or still look for premises first?”
Before rushing to look for premises, Beta Link specialists strongly recommend contacting the company. Perhaps the future owner of the new point, which will operate under the Beta Link brand, will not have to search at all.
The first and main requirement for a future franchisee is the intelligence of his company as a whole. If he already has retail space, then it is desirable that they be located in respectable places and be at least 50 square meters. m for a stand-alone store, and not less than 20 sq. m for a point located inside a shopping center. It is this area, according to the company’s specialists, that allows for proper placement of goods and convenient service to customers. Compliance with this requirement is necessary for the new salon to seamlessly integrate into the Beta Link network and look like a single whole with it. Consider these factors in your salon business plan.
The company providing the franchise, as a rule, has already established a certain reputation in the market, and always has a couple of tempting real estate offers in reserve. For those who are starting this business from scratch, she can offer existing premises options. But even if there are no free spaces at that time, it is better to go in search of them under the brand of a “promoted” network. This will help, for example, to win a tender for the right to “sit” in a large shopping complex or simply allow you to stand out favorably from other contenders.
Then you need to obtain permission from the operating companies. Typically, the franchisor takes care of all the preparation of this document. Operators may refuse registration if there are other salons nearby offering their services. According to MTS requirements, the distance between the nearest points of its representatives must be at least 200 m, for BEE LINE - 500 m, for MegaFon - 300 m. Sometimes operator companies make concessions. A special commission representing the interests of the operator travels to each point. And if the new salon has some advantages - parking, convenient access, good design - then the distance to the nearest point may not be taken into account.
