Business plan for Acme Online Services concierge platform

Electronic Business Plan

eBusiness Plan

Electronic Business Plan Introduction

What follows in this report is an elaborate and specific business plan for Acme Online Services. The goal of Acme Online Services (AOS) will be to provide a plethora of personal assisting and concierge services that are typically only available in brick and mortar-based stores. Acme Online Services will serve as a personal assistant to provide users a series of services for both personal and business applications that involve the arrangement of real-world personal services such as maid service, car detailing, home nursing care and just about anything else that a person might need. Rather than a regular consumer needing to call all the separate vendors they need for home services and repair themselves, Acme does all of the legwork for them including meeting the service people called at the home and arranging all of the meetings in the first place. This frees up the buyer of Acme Services to worry about their personal and professional lives if those happen to be pressing as well. While a consumer of Acme Services meets with an urgent client, Acme will make sure that one's child is picked up from daycare, food is ready on the table for the family and that the house is clean and ready for everyone when they all come home.

Personal safety and privacy is of utmost concern for Acme Customers. As such, Acme will only provide licensed and bonded services from people that are both thoroughly background checked and monitored at all times. Acme customers will receive a rich and deep profile of any and all people that will service or will be around their family. Concern for safety and proper people servicing clients will never be treated with derision or indignation. Instead, Acme will understand such concern and will take every effort to placate any concerns that might exist. To put things succinctly, Acme will be a combination of service screener Angie's List, an internet vendor in general and a personal concierge all in one. There is not currently anything like Acme Online Services on the market and Acme will quickly strike while the iron is hot, so to speak.

Identification of Business

As noted in the introduction, Acme Online Services, also known as AOS, will be a personal assistant and concierge that will act as a one-stop catch-all service for those that want to have a partner in keeping one's daily life flowing smoothly and operationally at all times. Indeed, running a family is often like running a business in that the husband and/or wife of a family are often referred to as the executives. However, even if a person who desires our services is lacking a family or even a marriage, we are still there for whatever level of service that is provided. Whether it be dropping off/picking up kids from daycare, providing transportation to/from work, picking up groceries from the store, tidying up one's car or house while it is empty and thus easier to clean, mowing one's yard, etc., Acme can personally provide or complete just about any common daily, weekly or monthly service or arrange for the same with a third party. Acme can observe and regulate what happens with any third party vendors and can report back to the homeowner/client what precisely happened, what went right, what might need some concern and so forth. Acme will provide whatever level of service is needed. Buyers can buy as little or as much level of service as is desired. If a user only needs Acme for an hour or two, then that is all that is paid for. However, if Acme is needed eight hours a day, that is also acceptable. Further, the depth and breadth of trust that Acme is ascribed can be as expansive or narrow as is needed. If Acme is granted personal access to a home and/or vehicle, then we will be diligent and careful with such access. However, if Acme users want to start off slower and with a lower level of user trust, then Acme will completely understand. The level of verification and control levied against employees is pretty high. This is made clear to the employees up front and any current or prospective employee of Acme knows that this is not negotiable or optional. Any sign or indication that an Acme employee is not worthy of the trust and cooperation of customers is reassigned to summarily dismissed.

Background Research & Fact Finding

There is plenty of precedent for what Acme is doing, but not all at one time in the same company. There are virtual online assistants, there are offline personal assistants, there are clearing houses for third party vendors (Angie's List, etc.) and there are plenty of companies that are licensed and bonded for security and privacy reasons. However, there are not a lot of companies (if any, really) that are a culmination of all of these factors at the same time. In short, there is lot precedent for what is occurring here but not in a way that presents such a concurrent confluence.

Statement of Work & Deliverables

Acme will need to do all of the following either before or during the providing of its services:

Provide an executive team that understands the stakes and all the moving parts involved with such a company

Hire employees who can be licensed and bonded and that can be trusted with the children, finances and property (both home and carif not both) of the clients

Find and secure third party vendors that provide quality work and that have the utmost reputation

Create and execute a marketing campaign

Continuously monitor the certification and behavior of employees

Create and maintain a social media presence (an offshoot of the marketing campaign and also a way to retain new clients)

Create and maintain the security and aesthetics of an online portal

Hire and retain very adept and well-trained online security and information technology personnel to keep portal and website secure and running

Manage and respond to the online and offline perceptions of Acme Online Services

Pay proper business and licensing fees with local, county and federal governments

Pay any applicable taxes and fees to those same local, county and federal government agencies

Procure legal advice about what services Acme can and cannot provide without running afoul of any applicable laws

Solutions Available & Chosen Solution

To address the needs and desired outcomes from statement of work and deliverables, the following solutions and people will be used:

Legal counsel to green-light or negate any business actions or strategies that will lead to government crackdown or fines

Legal counsel or CPA to minimize the taxes and regulatory fees that Acme will have to pay

Use of moderately-priced but top-end security solutions so that Acme will not be susceptible to attacks from hackers

Encourage dialog and communication from vendors or customers that have any concerns or issues with performance of company or the third party vendors

Gain and keep registration with the Better Business Bureau

Answer all complaints with the Better Business Bureau completely and exhaustively

React quickly and completely to any complaints that are clearly defamatory or artificial in nature (threatening of lawsuits, etc.)

Advantages & Disadvantages of Solution

Benefits & Risks

Conclusion