This document discusses Alison Barnard's experience starting a women's jeans boutique business. It covers the stages of her startup process from formulating the business idea through managing the venture. Some key points: - Alison utilized her interests and education in retail to start a boutique focused on finding jeans that fit women well. - She developed her business concept through market research, discussed plans with a boutique owner, and secured financing and a lease. - In the initial months, Alison worked hard and enlisted family help. The boutique was successful and attracted customers from outside the local area through its welcoming atmosphere. - While growing, Alison faced challenges like a lack of advertising, training

1. Alison Barnard
Balqees al-Makhmari

2. CASE HISTORY
- Young Entrepreneur
- Interests
- Degrees and experience
- Struggle in getting the idea in operation
- Managing the challenges
- Growth curve

3. START UP PROCESS
• “ The business start up process can be broken up
in five main stages ”, Deakins & Freel (2003).
• At each stage, a number of factors can influence
the process, having positive or negative effects.
• These include the nature of the business
environment, access to finance, local support
networks or more ‘internal' influences like the
psychology of the entrepreneur, personal
characteristics such as tenacity and perseverance.

4. Stage 1 – Formulation of Business
Ideas
• The process of solidifying a
business idea into an executable
business plan.
• Focus is on market research and
gathering data to steer the new
business startup into a
differentiated market niche where
resistance to market entry will be
the lowest and sales can be
achieved most easily.
• Influenced by:
- Human capital
- Creativity
• Ideas are enriched from discussion
with others, peer evaluation,
research and feedback.
• Young entrepreneurs may have less
ALISON BARNARD
- young entrepreneur
- utilized personal
interests
- research and opinion
(friends)
- Obtained relevant
work experience

5. Stage 2 – Evaluation the Opportunity
• Entrepreneurs recognize
that opportunities are
created by changes in the
PEST factors.
• Influenced by:
- role models
- risk attitude
- profit potential
- expansion
opportunities
- durable profitability
ALISON BARNARD
- $6.3bn women denim
market
- Average spending
capacity of women in this
sector
- Targeting women's
concern for the right fit
- Premium jeans market
- Undergoing research in
MBA program

6. Stage 3 – Developing Business Concept
• Research on the potential
markets, competition,
sources of finance, finding
right partners and
business environment.
• Influenced by:
- barriers to entry
- customers
availability
- suppliers
dependability
- buyers strength
ALISON BARNARD
- Discussed the plan with a
boutique owner
- Searched for the right
location (keeping
territory protection,
customer availability in
mind)
- Financing issues (bank,
loan, equity)
- Developed business
model (finance numbers)

7. Stage 4 – Assessing Required
Resources
• Every venture requires
minimum set of critical
skills, resources, and
relationships to succeed.
• Influenced by:
- existing resources
possessed
- missing resources to
gain
- critical resources
- uniqueness of business
ALISON BARNARD
- Keen interest in retailing
- Bryan’s assistance for
location (festivals)
- Dad’s link in banks
- Interior designing
expertise outsourced
- Personal involvement
- Shelf designing with
Bryan’s father

8. Stage 5 – Acquiring necessary
resources
• Acquiring resources does
not necessarily mean
owning as well (rent,
royalties, etc.)
• Influenced by:
- mechanisms for control
(contractual agreements,
supply arrangements)
- motivations for providers
- adequate returns
obtained to
meet resource providers
needs
ALISON BARNARD
- Secured lease agreement
- Discussions with banks for
loans
- Coming up with equity &
debt issuance solutions
(slot formation of $25,000)
- Inventory system
- Visited brands for the
stocks using mothers credit
cards

9. Stage 6 – Managing the Venture
• Deploy the resources and
begin the business.
• Influenced by:
- Critical internal (people,
process, etc.) and external
elements (suppliers,
distributors)
- employees hiring
- evolvement of
entrepreneurial role
ALISON BARNARD
- Assistance of mother and sister
- Hired a friend
- Involved personally with
customers to provide
satisfaction
- Attracted wealthy customers
from Maine and Rhode Island.
- Press coverage with the
message “You’re going to get
help, and we’re going to work
with you to find jeans that fit.
We have jeans for
everybody.”

10. Stage 7 – Harvesting and Distributing
Value
• Venture has a defined business
model that expands to address
larger business opportunities
• Considering timings and
market conditions harvesting
methods are decided
• Triggers of harvest (expansion,
profit potential, economic
cycle)
• Prevention factors of harvest
to be solved (management or
operating issues)
ALISON BARNARD
- Alison wanted to spend more
time in strategic and
management challenges
- Challenged by employee
resignation
- Challenged by customer
knowing the brand In-jean-ius
because of Alison

11. - Daughter of serial
entrepreneur and enterprising
mother .
- Customer Service
- Welcoming environment
- Passionate about her store
- High actual Sales
- Quality of Product
- No professional Accountant
- Not enough employees
- Opening hours
- No Security System
- Bought an inventory system
without having the knowledge
how to use it
- Best Boutique in the country
- Brand Ambassador
- Other categories ( men &
children )
- Open new stores in different
locations
- Many competitors
- Sustainability
- Managing supply chain
- Security issues
InternalExternal
ControllableNonControllable
W
O T
SWOT Analysis

12. Limitations
• Limited Capital
• Not enough inventory – shelving space
• Very hand on – overly occupied CEO
• No adequate background knowledge on inventory system
• Unsecured area
• Limited target segment
• Not well promoted
• Theft issues
• Not well known store
• Lack of training manual
• Rely on her relatives for business issues

13. challenges , Accomplishments &
outcome
• Challenges :
- Lack of advertising
- Lack of fully trained employees
- Lack of financial/Accounting skills
- Lack of security system
- Still to learn the new inventory system
- Every specific job needs specialist to max
efficiency
- Sets of standards

14. challenges , Accomplishments &
outcome
• Accomplishments
- Found investors
- Fit over brand
- Found good location / cozy store
- Build a base of satisfied customers
- Very success sales in the first six months
- Good investment strategy

15. challenges , Accomplishments &
outcome
• Outcome :
Create
Secured
environment
Avoiding
unnecessary
loss
Long term
investment

16. Future Tasks and Goals
• Focus her effort on hiring suitable staff
• Showing exhibits an extreme amount of control
over her employees
• She should look to cultivating more investors
• Better locations for second store
• More options in her store
• Customer priority plan
• Appropriate security system
• Varity in prices
• Bulk discounts

17. Equity investor Return
• Primary purpose of investing is to gain profit
• Investing in small business is risky
• Return on investment (ROI) is the benefit to an
investor resulting from an investment of some
resource.
• A high ROI means the investment gains compared to
investment cost.
• As a performance measure, ROI is used to evaluate the
efficiency of an investment or to compare the
efficiency of a number of different investments.
• In purely economic terms, it is one way of considering
profits in relation to capital invested.

18. Return on investment
• How to get ROI:
1. Get your total investment
2. Get your total gains
3. Subtract total investment from total gain
4. What you get in step 3 divide it by total
investment to get ROI
• NPV & Payback

19. Lease agreement
• Short term lease
1. Advantage:
• Flexibility: easy to move
• Less risk
2. Disadvantage:
• Relocation expense
• Lack of location security
• Losing customer due to changing location

20. Business Location
• Selecting your location is key to business
success and growth
• Things to look:
 Easy to access & safe( Parking, road, crime history)
 Close to target customers
 Building infrastructure (support high tech, lighting,
cooling, tel service)

21. Location & business Success
• Push & Pull factors
• Demographic of your location
• Competition
• Location depend on what type of bus.
• Reachable easy along online sells