Are you about starting a personal grocery shopping business? If YES, here is a complete sample personal grocery shopper business plan template & feasibility report you can use for FREE. Okay, so we have considered all the requirements for starting a personal grocery shopping business.
Becoming a personal grocery shopper is good way of getting lucrative income. However, while most people run this kind of business as part-time, any enterprising entrepreneur can take this business and run it full-time, making a steady stream of income.
Also, this kind of business is a personally interactive one as not only do you get to interact with clients personally, you also get to build a list of clients that you can offer other services to and which can in-turn refer your business to their friends, colleagues and family members.
This business is not one that requires any certification as you just need to be organized, have persuasive and other basic skills and also ensure that you fill customers order accurately, quickly and in an efficient manner.
Even if you think your personal grocery shopper business is basic, you would still require the use of a business plan in order to help you see if it is worth going into this kind of business.
While writing a business plan might seem intimidating, you can either get a business plan writer to put one up for you or go online to get a free business plan sample template relating to your kind of business which can be edited to suit your business. Below is a sample of a personal grocery shopper business plan for you;
A Sample Personal Grocery Shopper Business Plan Template
1. Industry Overview
More people are getting comfortable with using the internet to seek for the services of a personal grocery shopper. Even though this has been growing throughout the years, 2016 saw a surge in those preferring to go online to get personal grocery shoppers than place calls.
However, this business has seen the influx of large giant companies like Google, Wal-Mart and Amazon who offering the same-day delivery services has caused stiff competition in the sector, as more tech companies are entering the groceries delivery industry.
While this might not be fair to small grocery shopping businesses, it has actually boosted investors confidence and allowed for an expansion of the market share, allowing smaller companies to offer specialize services instead of attempting to compete outright with these companies.
This industry has also allowed for people who like to pay in advance or pay via subscription and get their groceries delivered on certain agreed days to do so. Instacart, a personal grocery shopping business in 2015 grew by 20% because it partnered with major retailers such as Kroger, whole Foods and Costco.
Another start-up, Postmates which was launched in 2012, has grown tremendously as it partnered with delivery service and delivery logistics software developers in order to be able to deliver goods on-demand in major cities such as Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington D.C.
Uber has also joined the fray as it is offering a 10 minute grocery delivery service in a bid to get a share of the market. Grocery shopping services are not just offering delivery services but are also giving consumers more information about the food they intend to purchase and its nutritional value through the creation of apps.
2. Executive Summary
Shop4U Inc is a leading personal grocery business that will be based in Tulsa – Oklahoma here in the united states of America and will cater to all kinds of clients. We are in the business of ensuring that those who cannot shop for their groceries for personal, business or other reasons will have no worries getting us to do the task for them. We also intend to offer advisory services to clients as regards the best brands to buy when it comes to certain groceries and how to ensure they save money when purchasing goods.
Our vision as a company is to ensure that we are the preferred personal grocery shopping business for our clients here in Tulsa – Oklahoma and that we meet up with all the orders of our clients in a fast, accurate and efficient manner. We are willing to go the extra mile in getting the right staff that will ensure that we achieve this vision.
We are set to re-define personal grocery shopping business as we have procured vehicles for this purpose that are in good shape and can contain enough orders of customers living in the same area. Also, our vehicles will come fitted with POS Machines, so that those who do not have cash at hand can always whip out their credit card to use.
We have looked critically at our Business model and can say for sure that our business is not going to fail anytime soon, especially with way we have set it up. We have set in processes and structures that will allow us explore the market and seek new opportunities that will allow our business to expand to the level we want it.
Having a solid business structure is part of the plans we have set in place to allow for no hitch at all when we start running our personal grocery shopping business. We know how important having the right staff is and so we are going all out to ensure that we recruit the best hands that will be helpful to our business.
Our management staffs are those that have the prerequisite experience needed to push a business such as ours. Also, because they are attuned to our corporate vision and philosophy, the management staffs are going to do their best to ensure that all staff are in line with our core values and that policies are duly implemented for the growth of the organization.
We are going to make sure that our staffs undergo constant training that will enhance their efficiency and productivity for the organization. We are also going to make sure that staffs are well paid and have other great welfare packages that are the best across similar businesses here in Tulsa and all over Oklahoma as well.
Finally, our Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Sansa Stark is a renowned personal shopper who has over 5 years of experience in this business. She therefore understands the pitfalls that the business might likely face and how best to steer us through tough times. We therefore are confident in her ability to take Shop4U to its intended heights.
3. Our Products and Services
At Shop4U Inc, our sole intention is to ensure that we offer services to our customers by helping them get the groceries they want to its intended accurate destination with no hitches and in a timely manner.
However, even though our core service might look lucrative enough, we have created multiple sources of income so as to increase our bottom line and suitably sustain our business. All other efforts to make more profit for our business will be under the permissible laws of Oklahoma where we will be operating from as well as that of the United States of America.
Therefore some of the services that we will be offering are;
- Personal grocery shopping services
- Other personal errands
- Advisory services
4. Our Mission and Vision Statement
- Our vision is to ensure that we are the preferred personal grocery shopping business for our clients here in Tulsa – Oklahoma and that we meet up with all the orders of our clients in a fast, accurate and efficient manner.
- In order to achieve this vision, we are going to ensure that we recruit the best hands into various positions who understand the value of a customer and how best to help us attain out goals and objectives.
Our Business Structure
Building a strong business structure is very important to us because it will allow us not only start our business with little or no bumps, but it will allow us smoothly run the business as well. Due to this, we are prepared to take our time to carefully ensure that we source for the best hands that are capable enough to run the tasks that we will assign them during the course of running our business.
To this effect, we intend to source for those who understand our core principles and values and who in identifying these values are committed and dedicated to ensuring that we attain our goals and objectives. Our management staff for instance will ensure that all our policies are duly implemented by all staff and that the image of the company is positively projected at all times.
Even though we might be a personal grocery shopping business, we intend to offer other services to our customers which will mean that we will recruit more hands than a conventional personal grocery shopping business to handle the various tasks and responsibilities that will crop up as we offer these new businesses.
The business structure that we intend to build at Shop4U Inc is;
- Chief Executive Officer
- Administrative Manager
- Logistics Manager
- Accountant/Cashier
- Marketing Team
- Human Resources Manager
- Front Desk Officer
- Drivers
5. Job Roles and Responsibilities
Chief Executive Officer
- Drafts policies and strategies that will ensure that organization is on the path to fulfilling its goals
- Negotiates with high level clients on behalf of the organization
- Drafts the budget that will be used by the organization
- Ensures that the organizational policies are duly implemented and removes inefficient ones
Administrative Manager
- In charge of all the administrative functions in the organization and ensures that everything runs smoothly
- Takes decision on behalf of the chief executive officer when necessary
- Ensures that the management policies are duly implemented by all staff
Logistics Manager
- Sorts out customers orders and ensures that there are no mix-ups
- Ensures that customers orders are not only accurate but that they are also duly delivered at the right time
- Liaises with the administrative manager at all times for the benefit of the organization
Accountant/Cashier
- Prepares all the financial documents, information and statements of the organization
- Ensures that tax documents are accurately prepared and submitted to the tax authorities on behalf of the organization
- In charge of controlling petty cash and cash vouchers used by the organization
- Ensures that the budget drafted by the organization is duly implemented
Marketing Team
- Carries out a market research in order to identify new target markets on behalf of the organization
- Carries out effective one-on-one marketing in order to get clients for the organization
- Drafts effective marketing strategies and policies on behalf of the organization
Human Resources Manager
- In charge of placing adverts in strategic places in order to recruit the right personnel for the organization
- Ensures that all new staff undergo orientation and even training when necessary on behalf of the organization
- In charge of employee welfare, incentives and appraisals
Front Desk Officer
- Attends to customers enquiries and orders on behalf of the organization
- Ensures that he or she remains updated as regards company policies in order to give accurate information to the client
- Keeps an updated but accurate customer database on behalf of the organization
Drivers
- In charge of ensuring that customer orders get to them on time and in an efficient manner
- Uses the right route in order to get to customers on time
- Obeys traffic laws at all times
- Carries out light maintenance on the vehicle as at when due
6. SWOT Analysis
Even though a personal grocery shopper business might look like a business that is not so difficult to start up and so shouldn’t require much input, it is still a business because it deals with two major aspects – revenue and customers; and will therefore need to be of high standard as regards the goals we have set for ourselves.
Due to this, we engaged one of the finest business consultants here in Tulsa – Oklahoma to help us look critically at our business concept and help us determine how we can best make profit while competing against our competitors in the same industry.
Due to our request, the business consultant took a deep look at our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in order to determine if we were going to survive with what we were likely to be exposed to during the course of running the business here in Tulsa – Oklahoma. Below therefore is the result of the SWOT analysis that was conducted on behalf of Shop4U Inc;
- Strengths
Even though there are several businesses such as ours being offered here in Tulsa – Oklahoma, there are still several strengths that we can boast of as a business that would give us the edge we need over our customers. We have a suitable number of staff that can attend to the orders of clients, sort them out accurately and ensure that the correct orders arrive at the correct destination.
This means that no matter how orders triple overnight, we more than have the capability to be able to meet all the varying demands. Our staff understands our objectives and how valuable the customers are and are going to make sure all is line with our core values and objectives.
Finally, our chief executive officer, Ms Sansa Stark has all the experience at handling customers’ orders and is intuitive as regards what the customers want, she will therefore ensure that we achieve our goals and objectives within our set milestone.
- Weaknesses
We are relatively a new business and so we do not have the necessary finances and staff to help us compete favorably against our competitors. This will likely pose a challenge into how we break into the market and get new customers for our business. Also, the area we are located is one that is most likely saturated with businesses such as ours, which would mean we would have to put in extra effort in order to be able to break into the market.
- Opportunities
There are several opportunities that are available to us in this industry and would help us to not only add new target markets to our existing businesses but ensure that we increase the bottom line and sustain our business to the standard we want it.
- Threats
Every business faces threats from time to time; it is what is how the threats are being handled that determines whether a business will continue to be in existence or not. We are fully prepared to handle threats such as having another competitor in the same vicinity as ours offering the same services that we are. Also, a downturn in the economy can be considered a threat to our business and due to this; we are prepared to ensure that we watch the trends in order to be able to evolve with the times.
7. MARKET ANALYSIS
- Market Trends
There are several reasons why personal grocery shopper businesses have started growing and this is due to the fact that various people do not carry out their own grocery shopping due to various reasons, which ranges from medical reasons, personal reasons, being at work or for other reasons like that.
However, while this business have received tremendous support from the millenials, it Is actually the baby boomers (senior citizens) who have gained a lot from this sector especially those who have no close living relative or are too weak to make the rounds themselves. This has caused more people to go into the business.
Also, due to the advent of technology, this has made it easier for the business to be able to operate as regards taking orders and using GPS to map out the best routes to take in delivering groceries to customers, thereby increasing the efficiency of this sector.
8. Our Target Market
Everybody uses groceries but everyone has the time due to several reasons (personal, business, or otherwise) to be able to go to shop for groceries themselves, which means that we will always have a wide range of available customers for our business.
However, because our target market cannot be restricted to just certain people, we have decided to conduct a market research so that we would understand what exactly will be required of us as a business, and what we should expect from our target market as well based on our location here in Tulsa – Oklahoma.
From the results of the market research conducted, we are therefore in business to cater to the following groups of people;
- Senior citizens
- Business people
- Corporate executives
- Educational institutions
- Celebrities
Our competitive advantage
We are in business to make profit for ourselves just like any business and so we intend to build a business that will be famous here in Oklahoma and also be able to compete favorably against its competitors. However, to achieve this, we have come up with competitive strategies that will allow us have the desired competitive advantage we seek over our customers.
First off, all the vehicles we intend to use in delivering grocery orders to customers are ones that are in good condition and will therefore get the orders to our clients on time. Our drivers know the best routes to use in getting to our customers, wherever they might be located in Tulsa. We will also get scooters for customers who do not live so far off and who want express deliveries as against waiting to get their groceries at a certain time.
Those working for us here at Shop4U Inc have a vast experience of our kind of business and therefore know what it will take to ensure that we build our business from the scratch to the extent that it becomes the most preferred personal grocery shopping business here in Tulsa – Oklahoma.
Our core strength is the fact that we not only deliver all our customers orders on time but that we have an excellent customer service culture that allows us retain a high number of our clients.
Finally, we are best at taking care of our employees because not only do they work in a conducive environment; they are also paid the best salaries and have the best welfare packages better than what their counterparts are earning in similar businesses here in Oklahoma. Also, our employees undergo trainings that allow them improve on their skills and enhance their productivity on behalf of the company.
9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY
- Sources of Income
Shop4U Inc is a service based business that has been established to generate revenue and maximize profit, here in Tulsa – Oklahoma. In order to achieve this, we are going all the way to ensure that we make our service attractive enough to our target market, so as to get a wide range of customers.
Shop4U Inc will therefore generate income by offering the following services;
- Personal grocery shopping services
- Other personal errands
- Advisory services
10. Sales Forecast
Due to varying reasons that range from personal, corporate, medical, business and other forms of reasons, there will always be people who would not be able to carry out their grocery shopping themselves and will require the help of those who can for a fee.
Choosing our location in Tulsa was very strategic as there are enough senior citizens, busy middle aged adults and other people that are not able to run grocery errands for themselves. This therefore means that we are sure of not only generating our target revenue but also making enough profit within our first six months of operating our business.
We conducted a critical evaluation of the delivery industry especially the personal grocery shopping line of business in order to determine our chances of survival in this industry and we were able to come up with the following sales forecast. It should be noted that the sales projections were done based on information that was gathered whilst carrying out a survey on similar businesses such as ours in Tulsa – Oklahoma.
Below therefore are the sales projection for Shop4U Inc that was carried out based on our location and several other assumptions;
- First Fiscal Year-: $200,000
- Second Fiscal Year-: $350,000
- Third Fiscal Year-: $600,000
N.B: it should be noted that the above projections were done based on what was obtainable in the industry during the stated period; and also based on the assumption that a competitor would not arrive in same location and that there won’t be any major economic meltdown that would cause less people to want to use our services. It should be noted that should there be a change in the assumptions, it might cause an increase or decrease in the stated figures.
- Marketing Strategy and Sales Strategy
Marketing is one sure way of generating revenue for a business either new or existing, which is why marketing is regarded as a very important aspect of any business and usually involves drafting strategies and setting aside a necessary budget that will be used to vigorously market the business.
Before drafting any strategies whatsoever, we intend to ensure that we conduct a market research that will fully help us identify our target market and the best strategies that would be used to get them. We will use accurate data and assumptions whilst conducting our market research in order to get accurate results.
Due to this fact, we have engaged the services of a marketing consultant here in Tulsa, who understands the market thoroughly and the location we intend starting off from and from these draft suitable marketing strategies that will be very effective for our business.
We have also empowered our marketing executives to ensure that all marketing strategies drafted take our corporate marketing and financial goals into cognizance. This way, all marketing efforts for our business will seamlessly merge whether from an external consultant or form in-house marketing team.
Finally, we intend to use the following marketing strategy in getting more customers for our personal grocery shopper business here at Shop4U Inc;
- Introduce our business formally to our target market by sending mails attached with our charge list to their mail boxes
- Throw a party when launching our business in order to generate awareness about our personal grocery shopper business
- Place adverts for our business in local newspapers, and on radio and television stations here in Tulsa – Oklahoma
- Encourage our loyal customers to refer us to others
- Engage in direct marketing
- List our business in offline directories as well as online directories
11. Publicity and Advertising Strategy
Having the right publicity is very vital to the growth of any business. This is because not only does the creating awareness allow more of your target market to know about your brand, it also brings in more revenue for the company, as more people might like to try out your company to see if your services are better than that of your competitors.
Knowing the importance of publicity and how it will help project our brand image positively to our target market, we have decided to hire a brand consultant who understands the market well and who will help draft the right strategies that will promote our personal grocery shopper business.
Some of the publicity and advertising strategies we intend to deploy at Shop4U are;
- Ensure that we emblazon our delivery van with our unique logo and color
- Place adverts in local newspapers, magazines and on radio and television stations
- Distribute our handbills and pin our fliers in target locations
- Put up flexi banners in strategic locations so that our target customers can see and patronize our services
- Use our social media platforms – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – to promote our brand
- Send out monthly newsletters to customers – both potential and existing
12. Our Pricing Strategy
Even though we are a service oriented business which makes it kind of difficult to determine a fair rate for our business, we have carried out a detailed strategy on how best to set our rates for the services we would be offering. We would not charge rates that will be detrimental to our business and will affect our overhead and running costs. We will also not set rates that will be unfair to our competitors or in order to set off a price war.
In order to attract more customers to our business, we intend to offer discounted rates for our services for at least the first three months of operations. This way we attract a lot of customers that will make up for the loss that might have been incurred during this period. We have critically looked at this model and are sure that we would not be running at any loss during this period.
- Payment Options
The fact that we are offering a service oriented business means that we would have diverse customers who would probably prefer diverse means in paying for our services. Due to this fact, we have therefore some up with different payment options that will suit our diverse customers’ preferences.
Below therefore are the payment options that we will make available to all our clients;
- Payment via cash
- Payment via Point of Sale (POS) Machine
- Payment via check
- Payment via credit card
- Payment via online bank transfer
The above payment options were carefully chosen by us after much deliberation and will be convenient for our wide range of customers and for our business as well.
13. Startup Expenditure (Budget)
Starting a personal grocery shopping business might not be as capital intensive as other kinds of businesses, but it requires capital all the same in order to be able to offer standard services to its various clients. To start off our business, there are certain aspects that we will expect to use our capital on to be able to start our business.
The bulk of the capital we intend to generate will be spent mostly on procuring a van, paying the salaries of employees and utility bills for a certain period of time as well as leasing a facility. Therefore the key areas where we intend to spend the bulk of our start-up capital on are;
- Business incorporation fees – $750
- Business licenses and special permits as well as certain accounting software – $1,250
- Cost of hiring a business consultant – $500
- Marketing expenses (promotion expenses for grand opening and regular marketing) – $2,500
- Insurance coverage (general liability and workers’ compensation) – $1,000
- Operational expenses for the first 3 months which includes employees salaries and utility bill payments – $50,000
- Cost of leasing a facility and carrying out renovations for at least a year – $10,000
- Cost of storage facilities (racks and shelves) – $2,000
- Administrative expenses (stationeries, furniture, computer, phone, printer, business cards) – $3,000
- Cost of purchasing one grocery delivery van and a scooter – $25,000
- Cost of launching a website – $500
- Cost of grand opening party – $1,500
- Miscellaneous – $2,000
From the above analytical breakdown, we would require a total of $100,000 in order to successfully start-up and run our personal grocery shopping business here in Tulsa – Oklahoma. It should be noted that the amount covers the salaries of our employees for a certain period of time, procuring a van and a scooter as well as leasing a facility for use.
Generating Funding / Startup Capital for Shop4U Inc Business
Shop4U Inc is a business owned and run fully by Ms. Sansa Stark. Ms. Sansa who has sufficient experience in the business does not intend to welcome any external investor into her business and this has caused her to narrow down the sources from where she intends to generate her start-up capital from.
Therefore the two sources where Ms. Sansa intends to source for start-up capitals are;
- Using of personal savings to generate capital
- Applying for loan from the bank
N.B: Ms. Sansa was able to generate the sum of $20,000 from her personal savings. She approached the bank for a $100,000 loan, which will be repaid in 5 years at a 2% interest rate. She has signed all the approving documents and has been assured that the amount will soon be credited into the business account.
14. Sustainability and Expansion Strategy
Every business that is established is usually done not only for profit making but also to ensure that the business remains alive for the periods that the owner wants it to. Therefore, in order to sustain the business there are a number of factors that needs to be looked into such as; the business structure of the company, the retention rate of customers as well as the re-investment strategy of the business.
Having the right business structure should be very important to any serious business owner; this is because the right business structure leaves less room for any hiccups that might occur in the business as relating to the staffs.
Therefore, it is highly important for us to source for and recruit the best staffs who are capable of running our business with little or no supervision; who understands our business philosophy and corporate values and who are determined and committed to ensuring that we are able to attain these goals and objectives. We will ensure that our staffs are well paid and have other incentives that will motivate them to put in their best for our company.
Without customers, a business such as ours that is service oriented will die in a very short period of time, which is why we are going all out to ensure that we give our very best to our customers who we regard as the lifeblood of our business.
We have an excellent customer care culture that has been ingrained into all our staff, which allows us to project a positive image of our company. We plan to always follow up on our customers by giving out tips and advices so as to help them when placing orders for their groceries. We also intend to ensure that we offer our clients incentives, especially those that are loyal to us and refer others to us as well.
Finally, re-investing back into our company is very vital as we know that this is the right way to ensure that we remain in business for a long time. 30% of our retained earnings will be ploughed back into the business and used to not only boost our bottom line but ensure that our business is expanded as well.
Check List / Milestone
- Business Name Availability Check: Completed
- Business Registration: Completed
- Opening of Corporate Bank Accounts: Completed
- Securing Point of Sales (POS) Machines: Completed
- Opening Mobile Money Accounts: Completed
- Opening Online Payment Platforms: Completed
- Application and Obtaining Tax Payer’s ID: In Progress
- Application for business license and permit: Completed
- Purchase of Insurance for the Business: Completed
- Conducting feasibility studies: Completed
- Generating capital from family members: Completed
- Applications for Loan from the bank: In Progress
- Writing of Business Plan: Completed
- Drafting of Employee’s Handbook: Completed
- Drafting of Contract Documents and other relevant Legal Documents: In Progress
- Design of The Company’s Logo: Completed
- Graphic Designs and Printing of Packaging Marketing / Promotional Materials: In Progress
- Recruitment of employees: In Progress
- Creating Official Website for the Company: In Progress
- Creating Awareness for the business both online and around the community: In Progress
- Health and Safety and Fire Safety Arrangement (License): Secured
- Opening party / launching party planning: In Progress
- Establishing business relationship with vendors – wholesale suppliers / merchants: In Progress
- Purchase of trucks: Completed