2. Page 2 of 35
I. Table of Contents
I. Table of Contents ................................................................................................... 2
II. Executive Summary............................................................................................... 3
III. Company Description ........................................................................................... 5
IV. Services and Pricing............................................................................................... 8
V. Marketing Plan..................................................................................................... 12
VI. Market Research and Assumptions................................................................... 22
VII. Operational Plan .................................................................................................. 26
VIII. Management and Organization......................................................................... 30
IX. Financial Plan ....................................................................................................... 31
X. Appendices ........................................................................................................... 35
12. Page 12 of 35
V. Marketing Plan
Goals
The goals of the marketing plan outlined in this section are:
1. Gain new clients.
2. Position Techhelpers as the technology service provider firm of choice for
lawyers and law firms in Billings.
3. Increase retention and revenue from existing clients.
This marketing plan is based upon informal polling, research and analysis conducted
by Mr. Sweeney and his historical knowledge of the IT and legal industries in Billings.
Customers
According to the Montana Bar Association, as of October 2009 there are 513 Active
Attorney Members and 24 Active Paralegals in Billings and Laurel. According to
DexKnows.com there are 580 businesses listed as lawyers or law firms in Billings and
the surrounding region. Yellowpages.com has 789 lawyers and law firms listed. The
target clientele of Techhelpers will be small to mid‐size firms and lawyers in private
practice, not large government or corporate firms that may have internal IT entities or
relationships with large regional or national IT consulting firms.
Competition
According to DexKnows.com there are 31 businesses listed as computer consulting
firms in Billings and surrounding area. Yellowpages.com has 43 firms listed. No firms
were found to be specializing or marketing specifically to law firms. However, they
may be individuals who are providing this type of service unadvertised or through
word of mouth. Informal polling and research indicates a wide variety of technology
firms and individuals serving the legal market but with no distinct market leader.
Niche
Techhelpers will focus on providing managed technology services to lawyers and law
firms. While there are plenty of technology providers serving the overall market in
Billings, the legal industry is currently underserved by providers who specialize in the
legal industry. Additionally, most providers are operating in a reactive and inefficient
mode. A provider who can succeed in serving this market proactively and show value
27. Page 27 of 35
Legal Environment
• Licensing and bonding requirements – There are no professional licensing
requirements. No bonding is needed initially either, however it is possible some
clients or projects will require it. At this point it is expected that the targeted
client base will not have specific licensing or bonding requirements. Expect to
join the American Bar Association, Associate Membership, $175 annually.
• Permits – City of Billings Business License obtained 10/1/2009. Renew every
year, $40.
• Health, workplace, or environmental regulations ‐ NA
• Special regulations covering your industry or profession ‐ NA
• Zoning or building code requirements ‐ NA
• Insurance coverage – Liability insurance has been discussed with both legal and
insurance counsel. Liability insurance is expected to cost $3K‐$5K per year with
high ($5000+) deductibles. At this point, because Techhelpers will only be
operated by a single person and have no employees, Techhelpers will forgo
liability insurance coverage. Structuring Techhelpers as a corporation provides a
layer of liability protection to the Principal. Liability and other insurance will be
obtained if employees are hired. Since Techhelpers will be using 3rd parties to
provide the actual managed services to its clients, there are questions regarding
these providers’ liability to Techhelpers. In general, the services will be
governed by the license agreements between Techhelpers and the providers and
are worded to generally protect the providers from liability beyond their direct
costs/fees to Techhelpers. To minimize risk I have selected vendors with large
customer bases and solid histories providing managed services. The most
important service provided, data backup and protection, is actively verified and
tested on a regular basis by the providers as a function of the services they
provide and will be further verified or augmented by Techhelpers as necessary.
• Trademarks, copyrights, or patents (pending, existing, or purchased) – The motto
“Our Business is Your Success” has been trademarked by Techhelpers in the
State of Montana
Personnel
• Number of employees ‐ 1
28. Page 28 of 35
• Type of labor (skilled, unskilled, and professional) ‐ Professional
• Where and how will you find the right employees? NA
• Pay structure – Assuming $250 per month per MSP client.
• For certain functions, will you use contract workers in addition to employees? –
Yes, for day‐to‐day functions of the MSP, 3rd party providers will perform the
actual technical work.
3rd
Party Providers
Key Providers:
Cloud Services Depot (CSD ‐ http://www.cloudservicesdepot.com/) will
provide managed services to the server and workstation infrastructures.
Cloud Services Depot provides default, or “Best Practices” monitoring and
management for many popular software and hardware solutions.
Techhelpers will likely start with default monitoring for all clients and then
modify it according to the Letter of Engagement established for each client.
Virtual Administrator (VA ‐ http://www.virtualadministrator.com/index.aspx)
will provide the managed services for the Network/Router infrastructure.
Connectwise (CW – http://www.connectwise.com) Provides integration tools
and services for managed service provider companies such as Techhelpers.
All providers can perform the technical work of the other, although Connectwise is the
only one that provides full service MSP integration. In addition, there are other
providers in the industry that can be contracted on short‐notice.
Provider costs are expected to remain stable for the next year. If costs fluctuate,
Techhelpers may adjust (up or down) it’s pricing accordingly to maintain current
margins.
Credit Policies
• Do you plan to sell on credit? No. I expect MSP services billing and payment
terms to be established in the Letter of Engagement and Term Commitment
Agreement. In general, payment for MSP services will be billed/paid in advance
of the service being provided, on a monthly or quarterly basis. As‐needed
hourly or project work will be billed as they are provided on Net 30 terms, with