Sample International Business Plan (Full)
Sample International Business Plan (Full)
Table of Contents
Distribution Plan – Competitive Analysis
Executive Summary
[Company Name] is the world’s smartest water leak management and control platform, which detects water leak issues, notifies homeowners, remotely turns off the water in less than five seconds, and dispatches a plumber certified to repair the damage.
[Company Name] is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario; The company is owned by a serial entrepreneur [Founder Name]. He has extensive experience in AI and smart home products and has worked in sales and marketing for 15 years.
We offer a service that consists of installing smart valves in the main water intakes of commercial or residential buildings, also installing smart sensors for flow measurement and pressure and acoustic monitoring. Smart sensors connect to our monitoring center, sending notifications to stakeholders through our [Company Name] app.
Our current and prospective clients are insurance, property management and construction companies located in Ontario and other provinces in Canada. With this round of investment, we are planning to extend our business to the United States.
While there are currently a handful of businesses offering water leak management service in Canada and more in the US, only we provide plumbing services to our customers. So our competitive advantage will be the immediate availability of highly qualified and professional plumbing service and our customer-oriented approach.
Already we have over 1,600 clients and plan to aggressively build our client base through our website, social media, and direct mail advertising.
Based on the size of our market, our sales projections for 2021 are C$4,300,536.50. We project a growth rate of 10% per year for the first three years.
We are seeking an active line of C$1,200,000 to finance our expansion to the US. Our owner and his partners have invested C$800,000 to meet working capital requirements. On startup, we will have six trained staff in the US to provide our services and expect to hire four more this year once financing is secured. We’re planning to pay the loan back in 5 years with a maximum 6% of interest rate.
Business Description
A Toronto-based company, [Company Name] is owned by a serial entrepreneur Rakesh Tiku, who has extensive experience in AI and smart home products and has worked in sales and marketing for 15 years. [Company Name] has two (2) main line of business – [Company Name] Clipboard and [Company Name].
[Company Name] is the world’s most intelligent water leak and flood detection solution for residential and commercial buildings across Ontario, Canada. This innovative solution detects water leak issues, notifies homeowners, and shuts off water remotely in less than 5 seconds to minimize leak’s problems. It sends a certified plumber to the location to resolve the issue, and accordingly, it reduces insurance claims, and so premiums. It may not be the first water leak monitoring and management platform in North America, but they claim to be the most intelligent ([Company Name], 2020).
Likewise, [Company Name] optimizes the utilization and health by monitoring and managing building infrastructure, specifically space utilization, water leak and flood detection and security. Thus, this monitoring and management platform immediately communicates issues to stakeholders and dispatches the appropriate solution.
[Company Name] products include Smart Communication Hub, Smart Valve – Remote On/Off Shutoff, Leak and Flood Detection Sensor, Flow Consumption Metering Sensor, Pressure Monitoring Sensor, Temperature Monitoring Sensor and Mobile Application.
Opportunities
Water damage is the second most common insurance claim for properties. Homeowners in North America are 3.5X more likely to experience water damage than theft. The average water damage claim in North America costs more than $8,000. Preventable water damage occurs every 12 seconds, and commercial building premiums can rise as high as $25,000 with a claim. Considering all these, it is not hard to see that [Company Name] saw an opportunity in the market and went in to provide solutions. Below are the potential opportunities for the firm:
- Online Plumber Platform: Taking advantage of the innovative technology, the firm can provide an online plumber platform wherein plumbers can be immediately sent to home/commercial building to resolve the water leak problem whereas other water leak management brands just notify you about the problem and expect you to find your solution on your own. The [Company Name] can leverage this by allowing plumbers in their operational areas to sign up to work for [Company Name]. The more plumbers they have available close to the notified area, the quicker the service [Company Name] can offer to its customers. Plumbers sign up for [Company Name], [Company Name] verify their certificate or license, [Company Name] can provide an online and/or on-site training to plumbers to get them familiar with the [Company Name] solution. Accordingly, plumbers are put in a pool, and when a water leak alarm is detected close to their area, [Company Name] notifies them to go to the respective building and take care of the problem.
- Expansion to the United States: 14,000 people in the US experience a water damage emergency at home or work each day. 98% of basements in the US will experience some water damage during their life spans. 37% of US homeowners claim to have suffered losses from water damage. The average cost of a home water damage insurance claim is $6,965. These are some of the reasons we think the US market for water leak management solutions is feasible. Besides, geographically it’s the closest country to Canada, so that logistics wouldn’t be a huge issue. We believe expanding the business to each coast of the US (e.g. New York) is more straightforward than expanding to the west coast of Canada (British Columbia). It, of course, should be done after settling the business and customer base in Canada. On the other hand, US and Canada have a society with similar cultures and values, so CREEEPS should not be a problem.
- Additional Product Line: [Company Name] can offer similar detection solutions by offering smoke detection, home security or online hacker detection. It can use the same concept of consumer flow with the water leak detection solution.
- Increasing digital presence: [Company Name] can expand its digital marketing engagement, engage in social media platforms more, run social media and google ads frequently, and so invest in marketing. We have seen [Company Name] has only a Facebook account, but all social media platforms host different demographics. They should test and see which one brings more customers to them. We recommend them to open a Twitter and Instagram account and engage in customer acquisition activities in those too. Yet, these should all be done if the product/solution is higher (or at least the same) quality with others in the market, and [Company Name] is confident enough that they can handle any potential increased traffic and sales with their current service team.
Industry Description
Over the past few weeks, we have established that our company was not the first company to introduce this service to the market, specifically the North American Market. However, we do consider ourselves the most intelligent. Our firm’s main competitors in the market include ADT Water Leak Detection Systems and Monnit Remote Monitoring Systems for Water Leak Detection that only sends alerts to property owners and expects the customer to fix the issue. Bell Business Water Leak Detection Solution is mostly focused on smart city arrangements rather than commercial and home business, and sea level Water Management Solution which only send an alert when water presence exceeds a specified level. Other than these companies competing for a share of the market, there are also DIY tools sold by Amazon, Best Buy, Home Depot for customers to buy and install on their own.
Regardless of the industry’s number of competitions, our company’s strength that puts us ahead is that we aim to address common problems faced by homeowners and establishments water leak damages. Additionally, we provide our customers with an efficient and accessible way of preventing and resolving significant water leak damages, resulting in intensive property damage. Something that our competitors have yet to accomplish. Furthermore, our company can cater to a wide-range of clients and partner with world-class professional plumbers and water engineer experts. However, one weakness that we need to work on to stay ahead of our competitors is to improve our wireless gateways connected to wireless sensors of water leak damages.
There is little information on the level of quality provided by our competitors. However, based on the services and products supplied in the market, we believe our company is most likely to exceed our competitors’ expectations. In that, the quality of our materials, tools, and service used for installing our monitoring system guarantees that our clients will obtain a more durable, reliable, affordable and beneficial service. Water Leak detection is a massive market and will continue to grow and is anticipated to reach $2,3 Billion in 2027, and it is our goal to stay ahead of our competitors during this growth. Therefore, marketing and brand awareness will be critical for our firm to continue to stand out and gain more market share.
There will also be a constant analysis of the industry factors within the industry using Porter’s Five Forces Module. Regarding the competitive rivalry in the industry, water leak detection is not a new industry but also not as popular as other industries. As the industry expands, we are anticipating more rivalry or an increased threat from new entrants. There is also a high bargaining power for suppliers. Our material requirements are specific and can only be supplied by a few companies, and would be too costly to switch from one supplier to another. The bargaining power of customers is presently high due to the number of companies providing similar services. Furthermore, there are many do it yourself packages that can be used as a substitute.
Distribution Plan
Our company operates within the water detection service industry. We do not manufacture any form of materials, such as the sensors used in our water leak detection services. Because we operate in the service industry, we do not have a production plan. Instead, we developed a distribution plan. We obtain all necessary materials like our sensors from reputable and highly reliable suppliers. Nevertheless, products used, which include Smart Hubs and Valves, are ordered from a supplier. Simultaneously, the services offered are produced in-house, which would be water leak prevention installations by our highly qualified plumbers.
There will be control systems to assist in a smooth flow of our services’ distribution, which involves controls for all inventory and procurement operations. Having such a control system allows us to maintain a correct balance of all our equipment, spare parts and tools destined to perform our service. Additionally, having an inventory control system reduces the risk of lost sales. Having procurement control systems helps us establish purchasing guidelines that allow the company to reduce expenses and costs of products and services necessary.
Besides, our distribution plans include having the right plant and equipment. These would consist of a warehouse where telephone lines, monitors, and wireless connections are installed along with a connection network with the installed smart hubs and monitor screens in our warehouse so that our employees can easily trace water leaks in our clients’ households and buildings. There are also be telephone lines and wireless internet connections vital in efficiently and effectively fulfilling our distribution plans. Besides having our warehouse as the hub of our service distribution procedures, several different work groups will be assigned to handle other locations for fast actions regarding any water leaks.
To ensure that our distribution plans are successful, we will ensure that our staff members, including our plumbers, are highly motivated, well experienced, organized, and have the required technical skills. The company will also be bringing in a Mobile Application Developer responsible for designing, program, maintaining, and supporting our [Company Name] mobile application for iOS and Android devices, which will automatically build up our distribution plans. Our distribution plan’s final aspect has to do with how we plan to get our service to our clients, which we established will be delivered by our junior and senior sales staff and senior consultants.
Sales approaches and strategies
We are confident with our sales teams and divided them into two main teams:
- B2B sales team: B2B sales are normally more complicated and challenging than selling directly to end customers as “the customers” are now professionals from other companies who are hired and trained to get the best deal for their companies. For that reason, this sales team consists of senior salespeople, senior technicians, senior consultants, and other decision-makers from the board of directors. This team understands our products and services the most and are ready to respond to the most demanding request from the counterparties.
- B2C sales team: This team consists of salespeople and technical consultants that do sales in accordance with our marketing campaigns that focus on residential house owners. This team is trained to build rapport, understand customer’s needs, to explain our products and services features into benefits that customers might not know they could have.
Selling methods
For B2B selling, there are two primary selling methods:
The first method is to build close, trusted relationships with insurance, construction and building management companies. More importantly, this method would also lead to potential referrals from existing clients to their business partners.
The second method is to promote our affiliate program. Our targets are other solutions or technology providers in relevant industries such as construction, trade services, waste management, or logistics in this program. The purpose is to help to increase their revenue and customer loyalty by using [Company Name] as complementary to their current products or services.
For B2C sales, the methods are:
-Door-to-Door Sales: We believe that this method is all but gold. In this day and age, customers are flooded with digital ads from their TV, computers, and mobile devices, most of which fade away quickly. Therefore, Door Door sales would allow us to create real connections with our prospective customers, showing them solutions to problems they ignore.
– Telesales: First, we set clear and realistic targets for our sales team based on the numbers of prospective customers in the area. Salespeople are well trained and equipped with a sales script. The script’s purpose is to be used as a guild to deliver the message clearly and confidently.
Last but not least, the company emphasizes the importance of a good after sales service. Therefore [Company Name] provides after-sales support and advice to its clients in managing the [Company Name] platform communicated to interested parties through notifications issued by smart valves installed in buildings to monitor and detect failures caused by water leaks, temperature, and pressure changes in real-time.
Marketing strategies
Below is a summary table of our first-year marketing plan
| Promotion/Advertising | Duration | Expected Results | Mode of Media |
| Consistent Social Media Engagements: Promoting the business in all social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter. | Starting 1st quarter of 2021 | This is will promote the brand in the digital world since everyone is now depended on their smartphones. | Social Media – Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube; Email Newsletter; Website News and Blog Sites |
| Referral Program: For every referral of an existing customer, they will get a $20 off on the next monthly plan. | 2nd quarter of 2021 | This will gain new clients based on the experience of existing clients with the products and services. | Social Media – Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube; Email Newsletter; Website News; Blog Sites and In-store Promotion like flyers or posters |
| Welcome Bonus: For every new sign-up, they will get $50 off for their 1st monthly plan. | 3rd quarter of 2021 | This will encourage and attract new customers because they are assuming that they can save. | Social Media – Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube; Email Newsletter; Website News; Blog Sites and In-store Promotion like flyers or posters |
| Free Installation Plan Day! For every sign-up for plan on 3rd Saturday of the month, new customers get free installation plan | Every 3rd Saturday of the Week | This will create a buzz to new clients. | Social Media – Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube; Email Newsletter; Website News; Blog Sites and In-store Promotion like flyers or posters |
| Collaboration with Real Estate Companies | 3rd quarter of 2021 | This will expand the network and connection of the business wherein real estate companies can offer packages along with [Company Name]. | Email; Social Media Platforms and Website |
All advertising materials will comply with various advertising regulations concerning the Canadian Code of Advertising Standard handled by an industry self-regulatory body, Advertising Standards Canada. For instance, the regulation that excludes the terms of “Advertising” and “Advertisement(s),” that are messages from a service firm that makes, distributes, markets, or advertises product/service in the advertising. Below are examples of our published press and marketing samples.
Press Release:
“Water leak? No problem.
[Company Name] offer a water leak solution for residential and commercial buildings across Toronto, Canada. It made it easier and accessible to all plumbers and customers with only simple five (5) steps.
WATER you waiting for? Contact us at +1-833-[Company Name] (463-4353) or email at info@[Company Name].com.
Financial Summary
Sales Forecast
Thanks to a high population rate and density in targeted cities in the United States such as New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago, we anticipate securing over 400 B2C clients and 200 B2B clients. These promising numbers would give us a great start in these new markets. After a pre-trading period with no sales, we project 4.3 million of total sales at the end of year 1 (2021) and would increase 10- 15% annually.
Profit and Loss
In terms of profit and loss, we also forecast a positive result from year 1. Although it will be as close as our break-even points, it is a promising scenario. At the end of year five, we would be expecting a net profit of over $110,000.
Required Capital – Sources of funding
Bank Loans: Unlike new tech start-ups, [Company Name] is an operating company with different business lines. Therefore, our priority is to get money from banks with the best offers and support for SMEs. Banks. There are many benefits to get loans from banks, such as getting the cash quickly, remaining in control of equity, or increase credibility in the market.
Retained Earnings from other profitable business lines: This is also a common practice that our company could use. It is an excellent way to allocate the company’s earned capital efficiently. Instead of paying our shareholders as dividends, we can use a certain amount of money to reinvest.
Angel investors: In the early stage of the new division in the United States, we would love to welcome new investors on board. Funds raised from Angel investors are less risky than other types of debts. More importantly, most angel investors understand that tech companies need longer time to prove efficiency. It would put less financial pressure on the company, especially in case of failure.
Based on the maximum cash-flow of year 01, we would need funds from bank loans and shareholder investments. More specifically, we would need approximately CAD 1.2 million from bank loans and CAD 800,000 from shareholder investments. However, shareholder investments would only be used in case of insolvency.
The money will be used for two main categories:
One-time expenses:
- Permits and licenses
- Tools and equipment
- Pre-trading marketing: Brochure, signage, and business cards
- Down payment on rental property
- Pre-trading Inventory
Operating expenses:
- Office Rents and warehouses
- Utilities: Electricity, water, and heat
- Salaries: both pre-trading wages and monthly salaries when needed.
- Marketing and Promotion
Appendices
Appendix 1 – Financial Statements
Balance Sheet:
Break Even Analysis:
