This business plan outlines the launch of the Tailoring Workshop Company, a mobile men's custom suit service operating without a physical storefront. Customers interact via a website and mobile app to design suits, schedule fittings, and track orders. The plan covers management structure, human resources, marketing strategy, operational logistics, and startup financing. A strong emphasis is placed on leveraging social media platforms and digital technologies to compete in New York City's crowded tailoring market. The plan also draws on industry best practices from established retailers such as Brooks Brothers and Men's Wearhouse, and addresses the growing professional demand for quality custom menswear.
This business plan is for the Tailoring Workshop Company (hereinafter alternatively "the company"), a mobile tailor shop for men's clothing that will operate through a dedicated website and a mobile app available through the Apple Store. The company will focus exclusively on tailoring men's suits. Customers will be able to contact their personal tailor through the company's website or via the mobile app, but there will be no physical brick-and-mortar facilities or retail outlet.
Customers will be able to create a free online account that enables them to explore all fabric choices and design collections, selecting the combinations that most appeal to them. The mobile app and website will facilitate real-time changes so that customers can instantaneously visualize the results of their choices. In addition to using the company's available designs, customers will also be able to create their own custom designs using the website's design tool. Customers can also upload pictures and narrative descriptions of pages from competitors' catalogs so that designs can be created to their satisfaction.
Following the finalization of a design, customers will schedule appointments for their personal tailor to visit them at their home, office, or another place of convenience for measurements. Customers will be able to track the progress of their order using their account on the company's website or mobile app, and they will receive periodic updates regarding the final delivery date and time. Payment can be made through the company's website or during the measurements appointment. All tailoring work will be performed in the homes of the company's principals or in commercial space leased for this purpose. After completing an order, the company will deliver the finished suits to customers and ensure a proper fitting. Once the company has established a solid reputation for reliability, quality, and customer service, the operation can be expanded to cover the rest of the state and eventually the entire nation.
The day-to-day management of the company will be the responsibility of the owner, but two private investors will also have a voice in the long-term strategic planning. This approach is highly congruent with the guidance provided by Thomas (2009), who emphasizes that in the tailor sector, "A small, privately owned company in an industry rife with corporate takeovers and IPOs allows [a] firm to maintain close, solid relations with its customers and to remain free to make quick business decisions when needed" (p. 46). Appropriate software such as Tailor Master will be implemented to facilitate the management of the tailor shop, including the automated preparation of management reports, inventory, payroll, and tax documents. The Tailor Master application will also provide human resource management features.
Besides the owner, who is an experienced tailor, the company will also employ two full-time tailors and two part-time administrative support staff who will be responsible for all social media marketing, including responding to online customer feedback. For the tailors, the company will recruit individuals who are skilled at crafting original designs and experienced at making alterations to better fit individual body types (Tailor career information, 2014). Other attributes sought in the company's tailors include the ability to make accurate measurements, provide recommendations for suit sizes based on those measurements, draw patterns, operate a sewing machine, and work with a needle and thread (Tailor career information, 2014). In addition, the company's tailors will also be required to interact with customers in a salesperson capacity (Tailor career information, 2014).
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that there are no formal degree requirements to become a professional tailor, but candidates with a college degree will be given hiring preference, especially those with education and experience in marketing.
The company will focus on using social media networks as its primary marketing tools. According to the definition provided by Hensel and Deis (2012, p. 87), "Social media is a type of online media that expedites conversation as opposed to traditional media, which delivers content but doesn't allow readers/viewers/listeners to participate in the creation or development of the content." There are a wide range of popular social media networks currently available, including Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Flickr, Pinterest, LinkedIn, MySpace, and many others (Hensel & Deis, 2012).
The results of the most recent (2013) Social Brands 100 rankings survey determined that the best-performing small businesses are those that maintain a social media presence on multiple platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube (Social brands 100, 2013). All of the top-performing small retailers maintain a Facebook presence, while almost all (99%) are also on Twitter and 94% have a YouTube presence (Social brands 100, 2013). These core social media networks were followed by Google+ and Pinterest, used by 60% of small businesses, with Instagram and Foursquare being used by smaller numbers (Social brands 100, 2013).
A brief description of some of the most popular social media networks is provided in Table 1 below.
Table 1: Current Popular Social Media Networks
Facebook — By far the most popular social media network today, Facebook is privately operated and ranked as the most used social network worldwide. By May 2010, Google announced that more people were visiting Facebook than any other website in the world. As of October 31, 2013, approximately 500 million people were members, and fully half of those members used their Facebook accounts every day (How many people use Facebook, 2014).
YouTube — Founded in 2005, YouTube is the world's most popular online video community, where millions of people discover, watch, and share originally-created videos. YouTube provides a forum for people to connect, inform, and inspire others across the globe and acts as a major distribution platform for original content creators and advertisers of all sizes. YouTube uses Adobe Flash Video technology to display a wide variety of user-generated video content, including movie clips, TV clips, music videos, and amateur content such as video blogs and short original videos.
Twitter — Twitter gained popularity by offering options such as micro-blogging and attracting celebrity users. According to Bulearca and Bulearca, "Of all social media platforms, Twitter stands out, in terms of both characteristics and growth. Launched in 2006, Twitter gained most of its popularity as a micro-blogging tool in 2009, when it reached 58.5 million users worldwide, a 949% increase since September 2008" (2012, p. 297).
MySpace — In 2006, MySpace became the most popular social networking website but was overtaken in 2008 by Facebook. Approximately 43.2 million users visit MySpace on a monthly basis. A unique feature of MySpace is the ability for users to customize their profile information to share detailed information about themselves and their interests.
Source: Adapted from Edosomwan, Prakasan, Kouame, Watson & Seymour 2011, unless otherwise indicated.
Social media networks provide small business retailers such as men's tailor shops with a forum in which they can communicate their brand value and attributes in a cost-effective fashion (Edosomwan et al., 2011). Men's tailor shops can also benefit from the addition of social media networks to their marketing efforts in a number of ways, including the following:
Promoting open communication between employees and management; enabling employees to share project ideas and work in teams effectively, which helps in sharing knowledge and experience; promoting richer content such as webcasts and videos rather than simple text; facilitating collaborative communication between current and potential customers, including feedback, product definition, product development, and customer service; encouraging the company's employees to become members of a well-recognized community; and becoming a productive venue for discussions, provided employees adhere to the rules and etiquette of social media (Edosomwan et al., 2011, p. 80).
Consumers' use of social media has become the most popular activity on the World Wide Web in recent years (Prosser, 2014). According to Prosser, "More consumers use social networks each month than use email accounts, and 40 per cent of social media users have purchased an item after sharing, commenting, pinning, tweeting, liking or 'favoriting' it" (2014, p. 3). The selection of the optimal social media network also relates to the nature of the enterprise. For instance, Facebook has proven highly effective for small hotels and restaurants, while LinkedIn and Twitter have been more effective for sole practitioners such as men's tailors (Prosser, 2014). In many cases, small business retailers use a "shotgun" approach by establishing a presence on multiple social media network platforms (Prosser, 2014). YouTube, Google+, Instagram, and Pinterest have been found to be particularly effective for small business retailers such as men's tailors that can provide high-quality images of their products (Prosser, 2014).
The content and feedback that small business retailers use on social media are also highly important. Rather than simply broadcasting how good a company is, small business owners should approach the process gradually, building relationships with consumers over time (Prosser, 2014). According to Prosser, "The best social media activity mixes commercial imperatives with customer interaction and an element of fun or wider interest" (2014, p. 4). It is also important for small business owners to monitor where their sales are coming from in order to determine the most effective social media offerings. As Prosser adds, "Attracting 10,000 Twitter followers might be a big success for a business that wanted to raise its profile, but if none of them become customers, a business that wanted more sales would be disappointed" (2014, p. 5).
Research confirms that a growing number of small business retailers such as men's tailor shops are incorporating social networking sites into their marketing communication strategy. According to Kunz and Hackworth, "Many have recognized that social networking is about linking people with common interests. Companies such as American Eagle, Gap, Ice.com, Victoria's Secret, Macy's and Nike have experimented and/or incorporated the use of social networking" (2011, p. 3).
An important point made by Barry (2012) is the need to encourage customers to share their positive experiences with their suits with others to promote additional future business. Barry emphasizes that, "Consumers have embraced digital media and are increasingly confident about interacting and transacting online. With trust in traditional sources of influence decreasing, they are turning to their peers or communities online for advice and to share information and opinion" (2012, p. 30). This point is echoed by Kunz and Hackworth (2011), who note, "Consumers are more likely to buy something that is recommended to them, rather than when it is 'marketed' to them; this is even more likely when the recommendation comes from someone that they trust" (2012, p. 2).
Savvy men's suit designers have long recognized that word-of-mouth advertising and consumer testimonials represent powerful marketing methods, and the impact of these approaches has become even more significant with the introduction of social media networks. As Kunz and Hackworth (2011) emphasize, "While the economy has changed the way consumers shop, and how they spend, what has not changed is that consumers trust the opinions of friends and family, as well as people they do not know, usually more than anything the retailer has to say" (p. 3).
"NYC market analysis and competitor benchmarking"
"Fabrics, inventory, supply chain, and delivery"
"Startup costs and funding sources"
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