3.
Mission Statement
Our team’s mission is to create customizable and original pin-back buttons. Our buttons
are affordable, one-of-a kind, and can spice up any ordinary outfit. They allow students to
express themselves freely, whether they’re shy or bold.
Company Overview
Our team, Elite Buttons, consists of six students. Ali Saleh is the CEO, Brissa Mejia and
Lizbeth Valencia are the COO’s, Erick Tinoco is the CFO, Juan Munguia is the VPMD, and
Elizabeth Chavez is the VPMS. We specialize in creating unique and original buttons that can be
pinned to your shirt, backpack, and many other places. Our Original buttons have a variety of
designs, ranging from our team’s slogan, empowering quotes, and unique images we designed.
Customers also have the option buying Customized buttons. The Customized buttons can be
personalized in any way to satisfy our customer. To encourage our customers to buy more
buttons, we will give out little cards that we sign for every button they purchase. When they get
to 10 buttons, they get one free. Elite buttons is unique because we offer a creative way for
teenagers to express themselves. Teenagers don’t have to be loud and wild to stand out; they can
simply put on one of our buttons to make a bold statement. Our buttons will be sold at our
school, local neighborhoods, and BUILD sales event.
Competitive Advantages
Our buttons stand out because they are easy to order, affordable, and customizable. We
give out many special offers and are sold in local places. Since we’re local, we know many
people and can even have partnerships with other local businesses. Our group also wears our
buttons in public so that our customers have an idea of what our product looks like and how it
can be worn.
Organizational Chart
4.
Financial Summary
Our total revenue for the year is $1800. Our total start up cost is $577. Our total net
income is o break even, our group must sell 192 buttons.
Product
Our product is a two-inch pin-back buttons. They can be bought pre-designed or can be
customized to our customer’s satisfaction. Our product will help our consumers express
themselves fashionably and freely, whether they’re shy or bold. In addition, we hope to inspire
people to be who they are and stand out from the crowd.
Our product is one of a kind and can be worn in many different ways. Our buttons will
have popular quotes, recognizable images, cartoon characters, actors, or even our customer’s
personal photos.
Manufacturing Process
Paige-‐
Mentor
Ali
Saleh-‐
CEO
Brissa
Mejia-‐
COO
Elizabeth
Chavez-‐
VPMS
Juan
Munguia-‐
VMPD
Erick
Tinoco-‐
CFO
Lizbeth
Valencia-‐
COO
5.
1. Draw/find image online.
2.Print image out.
3.Cut out the image into a circle the size of button.
4.Place the Mylar/plastic cover into the button machine.
5.Place the image on top of plastic cover.
6.Place the pin back on top of the image.
7.Pull the lever to the machine.
8.Take out your button, and try it on.
Caption: This picture demonstrates how our buttons are made; After the image is
scanned/chosen, the clear Mylar, image, and metal pin back are being compressed by the
machine to create a button:
Major Competitors
Competitor#1: Hot Topic
Details: Hot Topic is a store located in selected malls.
6.
Strengths:
Buttons are affordable.
Buttons have a variety of designs.
Buttons are sold online.
Weaknesses:
The store is only located in malls that aren’t local.
2. The button packages that come in bulks are expensive.
The buttons don’t have plastic cover, so they get scratched easily.
Competitor#2: Everyonelovesbuttons.com
Details: This is a website that sells buttons.
Strengths:
Buttons come in many shapes and sizes.
Buttons are customizable.
Buttons have different backsides.
Weaknesses:
They are only sold online.
Ordering online is a hard and confusing process.
They do not give the prices.
Competitors#3:Imprint.com
Details: This is another website that sells buttons online.
Strengths:
Buttons are cheap.
7.
They have 50% off sales.
Buttons come in many shapes and sizes.
Weaknesses:
They only sell online.
Shipping is very expensive ($11.86-$48.00).
The website itself seems complicated and it is hard to order buttons.
Outperforming the Competitor
Our competitive advantage is that we will make our buttons easier to order and
customize. Our buttons will be sold in local areas, which is a huge benefit since we know many
people and can help out local businesses through partnerships.Most companies charge more for
customizable buttons, but we keep all of out prices the same to ensure affordability.Our buttons
will be created with high quality.
Our buttons will be creative, random, and have funny/popular quotes. They will also have
popular images of cartoon characters and actors. They can be customized to our customer’s
satisfaction and have endless designs.
The great difference of our product and competitors is that our buttons are meant to help
our costumers express themselves in their own unique way. We believe that teenagers shouldn’t
have to act crazy and wild to stand out; they can simply put on our buttons to spice up their outfit
and stand out from the crowd, whether they’re bold or shy.
Target Market
We determined out Target Market by creating one hundred surveys to pass out to people.
We went out around our neighborhood and school and handed them out to people of all ages,
ethnicities, and genders. Our group tallied up all the results and came up with these conclusions.
Our Target Market will be teenagers. We chose teenagers because they are open minded
and wouldn’t mind trying something new. They also like to keep up and start new trends.
Teenagers will like our buttons because you can wear them in many different ways and they’ll be
able to express themselves.
Based on our survey results, our Target Market lives in the Bay Areaand are students in
middle through high school. Their ages are from 12-18 and are both male and female.Our target
market is really social and trendy and enjoys being stylish.
Product
Our product is a two-inch pin back button that can either be custom-made or pre-
designed. Our pre-designed buttons vary in sizes, color, style, and designs. Our customizable
buttons are custom made to satisfy our costumer. Our buttons allow people to can express
8.
themselves by providing images, quotes, brand names, colors, and just about anything to stand
out from the crowd.
Place
Our buttons will be sold at our school (Lionel Wilson College Preparatory Academy),
special events (such as BUILD sales bazaars), local neighborhood (such as Oakland, San
Leandro, San Francisco, Berkeley, and Hayward), churches (Such as San Luis Beltran on 101st
avenue in Oakland), at our homes, and possibly outside local stores (such as Wal-Mart and
Target).
Price
Our buttons will be sold for $3.00. We came up with this price by surveying people on
how much they’d be willing to spend on our buttons and by researching the cost of the materials.
Our COGS per unit was $1.20 so our group decided a $1.80 profit would be fair and reasonable.
Promotion
We will promote our buttons in a variety of ways. We will promote by word of mouth by
talking about the product with friends and family. Our friends will tell their friends and help
spread the word about our product. We will also make flyers to hand out to people and hang
posters around our school. Our group will also wear our buttons in public for visibility. In
addition to these promotional strategies, we will create an account for our buttons on popular
social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.
Philanthropy
We will donate 10% of our profit to the ASPCA foundation for animal care. We chose
this organization because we think animals deserve the same love and care we give one another.
The ASPCA is an organization helping animals that are being abused and neglected, which we
believe is a problem that will be greatly benefited with the help of our donations.
Consumer Research
We collected data for our Target Market by creating one hundred surveys to pass out to
people. We went around our neighborhood and school and handed them out to people of all ages,
ethnicities, and genders. Our group tallied up all the results and came up with these conclusions.
The survey provided is the survey we passed out to collect consumer research:
9.
What is your age (circle ONE)
9-12
13-15
16-21
22-30
31-40
Older
Gender (circle ONE)
Male
Female
What are your interests/ hobbies?
1. .
2. .
3. .
What brands do you prefer (Ex. Coach, Gucci, Nike, other designer brands, store brands, etc.)
What is your ethnicity?
Latino
Caucasian
African American
Pacific Islander
Other
What images would you like to see on your button?
Personalized (you can choose how it’s going to look like)
Original (You can choose from any button we made)
Either is fine.
What colors would you like your button to be? (Choose as many as you want)
Green
Blue
Purple
Orange
Red
10.
Black
White
Other:
What button sizes do you prefer?
Small (one inch)
Medium (two inch)
Large (three inch)
What is your fashion style (simple, casual, elegant, preppy etc.)?
Where do you live (Oakland, Berkeley, Alameda, San Leandro, etc.)?
Our tallied results concluded that the gender most likely to buy our product is Latino
females aged 12 to 15 who lived in Oakland. People preferred customized buttons over pre-
designed buttons and wanted them to be two-inches in diameter. The color they most preferred
was purple and they were into music and fashion.
Summary of Financial Need
We will need $577.00 to start out button business. Our start-up cost is $259.90 for a two-
inch button machine, circle cutter, plastic mylars, metal pin backs, paper, and printer ink. Our
COGS for the first three months was $244.80 and the operating cost for the first three months
was $72.30 When we added it all up, the sum was $577.00.
11.
Cost of Goods Sold
Our Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) is a total of $1.20. This consists of the four main items
we need to manufacture of buttons- metal pin-backs, plastic mylar, ink, and paper. The metal
pin-backs will cost $0.43 each, the plastic mylars will cost $0.63 each, the ink will cost $0.06
each, and the paper will cost $0.05 per 2.5 inches. The table below shows the breakdown of our
COGS per unit:
Materials Cost & For How Much Unit Cost Per Unit
Metal Pin-backs $10.65 for 250 1 $0.46
Plastic Mylar $15.95 for 1000 1 $0.63
Ink $35.85 for 2 inkjet
cartilage
1/15 $0.06
Paper $10.65 for 250 2.5 inches $0.05
Total Cost of Goods Sold Per Unit: $1.20
Start Up and Operating Costs
Our startup cost is $259.90 dollarsand our operating cost is $24.10 dollars.
Operating Cost
Category1: Metal Pin-Backs ($13.55) Category4: Paper($8.40)
Category2: Mylar’s ($3.19)
Category3: Ink ($8.96)
Start-Up Costs
Purple: Circle Cutter ($29.95dollars)
Light Blue: Button Machine ($229.95dollars) Total= $259.00 dollars
Start-Up Costs: $259.90
+ COGS (First 3 months): $244.80
+ Operating Costs (First 3
months):
$72.30
= Total Start Up Costs $577.00
12.
Break Even Point
We will break even after selling 192 buttons. It will take about 3.5 months for our group
to break-even. The table shown below shows our break even calculations.
Sales Projections
The graph above shows how many buttons we plan to sell eavch month. We will sell the
same amount for each month because we determined that this will help us pay for our COGS
and allow us to make a fair profit.
We will sell each button for $3.00 each and sell 60 per month, making the revenue $180 a
month. We will be selling our buttons for 10 months a year, so we will make a revenue of
$1800.
Income Statement
Start-Up Costs: $259.90
+3 Month Operating
Costs:
$72.30
+3 Month Costs: $299.80
= Total Expenses: $577.00
/Average Selling Price: $3.00
=Break Even Point: 192 buttons
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Revenue
Sales
Projec0ons
Series
1
Revenue $1800.00
13.
Income Statement Explanation
By the end of the year we will have a revenue of $1800.00. Our total COGS is $720.00.
This gives us a gross profit of $1080.00. Minus our total operating cost, our net profit before
philanthropy will be $945.45. After donating a philanthropy of $95.45, our net profit will be
$850.00.
Each month we will themed buttons based on what holiday is coming up. To promote
them we will pass out flyers to out fellowe classmates. During May and June we weill make
Graduation themed buttons to honor the graduating senior class. This is shown in the chart
below:
-COGS (for 600
units)
-$720.00
Gross Profit = $1080.00
-Start-up Cost - $109.95
-Operating Cost -$24.10
= Profit before
philanthropy
$945.95
-Philanthropy -$95.45
NET PROFIT =$850.00
14.
Bios
My name is Ali Saleh, and I am the Chief Executive Officer. As CEO, my mission is to
lead my group to success. This means that I am responsible for keeping my team motivated and
reminded of our mission. I chose this role because I am very expressive, articulate and have
strong communication skills. This is important because I need to be able to push and remind my
Month Goals Tasks Deadline
September -Begin Manufacturing 1. Buy supplies.
2. Start
Manufacturing.
9/15/12
October -Hold a Halloween
Sale.
1. Create Halloween
designs.
2. Sell buttons .
10/29/12
November -Make Thanksgiving
Day themed buttons
1. Create
Thanksgiving Day
designs.
2. Sell buttons.
11/15/12
December -Make Christmas
themed buttons
1. Create Christmas
designs.
2. Sell buttons at
Bazaar
12/5/12
January -Have a Back-to-
School Sale
1. Pass out flyers.
2. Sell Buttons.
1/15/13
February -Make Valentine’s
Day themed buttons
1. Create Valentine’s
Day designs.
2. Sell buttons.
2/12/13
March -Make Saint Patrick’s
Day themed buttons
1. Create Saint
Patrick’s Day designs.
2. Sell buttons.
3/16/13
April -Make Easter themed
buttons
1. Create Easter
designs
2.Sell buttons.
4/5/13
May -Make buttons for the
graduating senior
class
1. Make graduating
class’s design.
2. Sell buttons.
5/20/13
June -Make buttons for the
graduating senior
class
1. Make graduating
class’s design.
2. Sell buttons.
6/7/13
15.
team of the vision of our company effectively while working with them through appropriate
means of interactions creating a healthy environment for us to be successful.
My name is Brissa Mejia, and I am the COO of Elite Buttons. I chose to be the COO
because I am responsible and organized. I am a ninth grader at Lionel Wilson Prep. I enjoy
reading, exploring new places, and hanging out with my friends. My goals are to attend CAL
Berkeley and major in psychology.
My name is Lizbeth Valencia, and I am 14 years old. I attend Lionel Wilson College
Preparatory Academy. I am the chief operating officer of my group. I chose to be the COO
because I’m a responsible person. I always meet deadlines and complete my work with a high
quality manner. My hobbies and interests are going to the mall, watching wrestling, hanging out
with my family and friends, and going to parties. After high school, I plan to go to college and
start working.
My name is Juan Munguia. I am 14 years old. I attend Lionel Wilson Preparatory
Academy. I am the V.P.M.D. I like to draw in my spare time. I also play with my dog, Leo. My
life goal is to become a Veterinarian. I believe that I am a perfect person for this role because I
am a good builder and good artist.
My name is Elizabeth Chavez and I’m 14 years old. I go to Lionel Wilson College
Preparatory Academy. I am part of Elite Buttons, and I am the VPMS. That means that I’m the
one that does the advertisement. I go to school, I like to talk and text with my friends, and I also
like to laugh. My plans after high school are to go to a fashion designing college and become a
fashion designer.
My name is Erick Tinoco and I am 14 years old. I am also the CFO of Elite Buttons, and
go to Lionel Wilson. The CFO is in charge of financials and Mathematics, and I am very good in
math. My hobbies and interest are that I love play soccer, and I also love playing zombie games.
I hope that one day I will become a professional soccer player.
Roles & Responsibilities
Ali Saleh is the CEO. He is responsible for making sure the team is on task and being
productive. This role is important because without a team leader the group would not be able to
successfully execute our project plan at the right place and time.
Brissa Mejia and Lizbeth Valencia are the COO’s. They are responsible for recording and
organizing all team documents and electronic files. They support the CEO and are responsible
for turning in all of the materials. This role is important because without them the group would
be losing all the papers and be very disorganized.
Erick Tinoco is the CFO. He is responsible for all the financial calculations, including the
COGS, Break Even Point, and Income Statement. He also handles the money. His role is
important because without him we wouldn’t be able to calculate our financial needs and go
bankrupt.
Juan Munguia is the VPMD. He is responsible for designing the product. He is
responsible for manufacturing the product. His role is important because we won’t be able to
make our product without him.
Elizabeth Chavez is the VPMS. She is responsible for creating a marketing plan and
marketing materials. She also has to do marketing research and analyzes the data. She is
important because without her advertising skills our product would be unknown and we’d have
no customers.
16.
Key Advisors
Our team mentor is Paige. She helps mentor us in BUILD by reviewing our work and
giving us suggestions to improve upon it. Paige also helps keep our group focused and on-task so
we can get our work done on time.
Our BUILD E1 teacher is Raechal Burdette. She is our English and Composition teacher
too. She helps us by giving us the deadlines we need to reach and allows us to work on them in
class. In addition, Ms. Burdette also gives us suggestions on our product and makes us practice
on our presentation skills. She also makes BUILD fun for us by providing us with humor in our
stressful times, as shown in the image below.
We will hand out little magazines to our customers so they know what kind of designs
they can expect to see if they choose to order pre-designed buttons. Here is an example of it:
Book of Pre-designed buttons
Holiday
Halloween
