Empress Consulting
Empress Consulting is a new business located in Hong Kong specializing in consulting services for small and medium sized businesses. Primary services will include market feasibility studies, business plans, operational review, training and development services, workshops and seminars. Our mission is to provide our clients with business consulting services and well as training and development services that help them become more successful and to become a leader in consulting to small and medium sized businesses.
Ownership and Management
Empress Consulting is a sole proprietorship, owned by Olivia Leung. As the business expands, the firm may develop strategic alliances with other companies. Olivia Leung is a Certified Management Consultant. She has a college degree from a reputable University in Hong Kong and is now currently taking her Master’s Degree in Business.
Currently, Empress Consulting has five employees who handle the different departments of the firm. Additional employees will be hired once the business is in full operation.
Key Initiatives and Objectives
Empress Consulting is currently in the process of obtaining a bank HK million to finance the start up of the business. The firm’s key objectives during the first 12 months of operation is to develop a profitable consulting business and to attract investors. In order to achieve this key objectives, a strong client base will be developed through networking with local business leaders and business associations, affiliating with small business loan divisions of the local banks, and holding seminars and workshops.
Business Overview
Business History
Empress Consulting is a consulting firm that is scheduled to begin operations in June, 2009. Empress Consulting will be a sole proprietorship owned by Olivia Leung. Olivia Leung has previous experience working in a large consulting firm and decided to put up her own business focusing on small and medium size businesses. Empress Consulting chose to focus on these businesses because many large consulting firms are focusing on large business clients creating a demand for consulting services for small and medium sized businesses with affordable charges.
Vision and Mission Statement
Empress Consulting’s mission is to become a leader in small business consulting by providing its clients with consulting services that aim to help them become more successful.
Objectives
Empress Consulting’s primary objectives over the next year are to:
1. Obtain a bank loan of HK million to cover the start up costs and initial operating costs for Empress Consulting.
2. Attract investors within the next year and encourage them to invest HK$ 10 million to finance business growth.
3. Generate one new client contact a month by networking with key industry leaders and local lending institutions, conducting seminars and workshops for small and medium sized businesses, and joining key business and industry associations.
3. Generate a net profit of HK0,000 in the first year by developing a string client base and keeping overhead costs to a minimum.
4. Develop and conduct training programs, business workshops and seminars that meet the needs of small and medium sized businesses in Hong Kong and China.
Products and Services
The primary types of services that Empress Consulting will provide feasibility studies, business place, organizational reviews, strategic planning, HR consulting services, employee training and development strategies, workshops and seminars.
Our Services include the development of:
1. Feasibility Studies
The firm develops market feasibility studies for businesses that want to market new products or technologies. The firm’s market feasibility studies include a full assessment of potential markets, competitive analysis and financial viability of commercializing the product.
2. Business Plans
The firm will develop full business plans for star up and existing businesses requiring financing, introducing new products, entering new markets and restructuring.
3. HR Consulting Services
The firm will also provide assistance to companies in the are of Human Resource Management. The firm will develop strategies for small and medium sized companies employee recruitment and selection and training and development.
4. Training and Development
The company offers training and development services for company that seeks to develop the skills, knowledge and abilities of their employees.
5. Seminars and Workshops
Empress Consulting will offer seminars to small and medium sized businesses. The seminars will focus on key management issues for small and medium sized operators such as market analysis, human resource management, marketing strategies, customer service and others.
Key Features of the Products and Services
Empress Consulting will specialize in small and medium sized forms. While other consulting firms in Hong Kong and Mainland China offers small and medium sized businesses consulting services, only few specialize in this area. With today’s unpredictable political and economic environments, it is increasingly difficult for entrepreneurs to successfully start new businesses and for existing small and medium sized businesses to remain profitable. Empress Consulting’s services will differ from its competitors in that Empress Consulting will offer creative, innovative and effective solutions to business problems. Majority of consulting firms in existence today try to develop standard models to solve key business problems. Empress Consulting realizes that business problems have a variety of solutions; what may be right for one business would not necessarily meet the needs of another business.
Production of Products and Services
Initially subcontractors will be hired as needed to work on specific projects. Subcontractors will be hired based on their area of expertise and experience. Sub-contractors will be required to work out of their own offices, as the office space of Empress Consulting is limited at the moment. The subcontractors however, will be required to be linked directly with Empress Consulting through various communication tools such as the telephone, electronic-mail, the Internet and online-chat. Within the next three years, full time consulting and administrative staff will be hired.
Future Products and Services
Empress Consulting continually expand its services based on industry trends and changing clients needs. Empress Consulting will also get feedback from clients and seminar attendees on what is needed for future seminars and workshops.
Industry Overview
Market Research
In order to understand the target market of Empress Consulting, the management spends ample amount of time in acquiring first hand information from local business leaders, Business Associations, the Chamber of Commerce and banks that lend small and medium sized businesses. The management also monitors local newspapers and collects industry statistics.
Size of the Industry
There are many consulting firms in Hong Kong. While there is some overlap in the types of services offered, most firms have developed their own market niches. Firms tend to become well known and recognized for their skills in a specific areas such as marketing, organizational change and re-engineering, information technology, or communications.
Key Product Segments
Consulting is a very diverse industry. There are hundreds of different services that consultants provide to all industries and industry sectors.
Key Market Segments
Key market segments vary by consulting specialty. The key markets for consulting services are corporations, municipal, regional, provincial, and national governments, crown corporations and institutions such as hospitals and educational facilities. The total size of these markets is unknown because they are continually changing and there are no tracking mechanisms in place to accurately determine how much these market segments spend on consulting services annually.
Purchase Process and Buying Criteria
The buying process for consulting services varies by type of client and by type of service. Businesses find and choose consulting firms using several methods.
1. Referral
Businesses find consultants through their lending institutions, business or industry associations, friends or colleagues, and the yellow pages. Businesses contact these consulting firms to obtain proposals and price quotes for the required services. A consulting firm is chosen based on the needs of the client such as price, quality of proposal, as well as the reputation, past experience and level of expertise of the consulting firm.
2. Request for Proposal
Government and other businesses requiring consulting services sometimes distribute a Request for Proposals to a number of consulting firms that they would like to bid on a specific project. These consulting firms submit proposals for the projects they wish to bid on outlining the scope if the work, the methodology, a work plan and price quote. These proposals are evaluated based on a predetermined set of criteria developed by the client. The proposal evaluation criteria varies by project and client but usually includes price, quality of proposal, and the reputation, past experience and level of expertise of the consulting firm.
Description of Industry Participants
Consulting firms are divided into large firms with more than 100 employees, medium sized firms with 20 to 100 employees and small firms with less than 20 employees. Majority of consultants in Hong Kong are employed at large firms. The large consulting firms in Hong Kong are usually based abroad (United States and United Kingdom). Small firms typically have less than 10 employees.
Key Industry Trends
The consulting industry is growing for two reasons. One is that demand for consulting services is increasing as companies downsize and contract out work that was historically done in-house. Corporate downsizing has also resulted in many managers being laid off. It is difficult for many of these people to find similar employment and as a result, many of these managers start their own businesses. Approximately 10 percent become consultants, many providing consulting services to the firms they just left. Those who start other types of businesses may require specialized consulting services to improve their chances of success. Therefore corporate downsizing has resulted in an increase both in the supply of, and demand for, consulting services.
Industry Outlook
With the continued economic and political uncertainty in the region, the demand for consulting services will grow as many companies are reluctant to hire new employees. More and more work will be contracted out to outside consultants as companies maintain tight control over labor costs. This trend is also true in the government sector which is under increasing pressure to reduce costs by reducing their employment levels.
Target Markets
The target markets of Empress Consulting will be small and medium sized new and existing businesses in Hong Kong and Mainland China. Empress Consulting will also submit proposals in response to any Request for Proposals it receives as well as for any relevant government contracts.
Analysis of Competitive Position
Empress Consulting will be the only consulting firm targeting Hong Kong and Mainland China that will be specializing in providing consulting service to small and medium sized businesses. Empress Consulting has a competitive advantage in this area because of the consulting experience of Olivia Leung and her fresh ideas and young perspectives. As it is always the case, the owners of most new and existing small and medium sized businesses are young entrepreneurs like Olivia Leung herself.
However, as a new business, it may take time for Empress Consulting to establish a string client base and develop a reputation as a small business specialist. Olivia Leung is expanding her networks and contacts and have started to take part in different business conventions in order to attract potential clients.
Pricing Strategy
Empress Consulting services will be priced competitively with other small consulting firms. Typically the fees charged by small firms are much lower than those charged by the large firms due to lower overhead costs. Empress Consulting’s fees will be based on several factors including the time and resources needed to complete a project, overhead costs, and the fees charged by other competitive consulting firms.
Promotion Strategy
Empress Consulting will market its services by placing an ad in the yellow pages (online listings and yellow pages included), listings with all local business and industry associations, developing a brochure to be distributed to lending institutions and clients, becoming an active member of a number of business and consulting associations, networking with local business communities, and developing small business workshops and seminars.
1. Workshops and Seminars
The firm’s workshops and seminars will be an effective venue for the firm to promote its consulting services. Attendees will be able to pick Empress Consulting’s corporate brochure and ask any questions regarding the services the firm provides.
2. Corporate Brochure
Empress Consulting will develop a corporate brochure outlining its services and fee structure. The brochure will also highlight the past experience and level of expertise of Empress Consulting. The brochures will be distributed at Empress Consulting’s workshops and seminars, distributed to lending institutions, associations, key business leaders, and to potential clients.
3. Advertising
Empress Consulting will advertise in yellow pages and will also advertise online.
4. Networking
Empress Consulting will join business associations in order to maintain contacts in the business community as well as to stay well informed about the issues that are important to local businesses.
Management and Staffing
Empress Consulting is a sole proprietorship that will be run and managed by owner, Olivia Leung. The firm will hire five employees to handle administrative duties. Any additional staff required will be obtained on a subcontract basis.
Staffing
Five full time staff will be hired at Empress Consulting. Any additional staff required to complete client contracts will be hired on a subcontract basis in order to keep labor costs low.
Implementation Plan
Implementation Activities and Dates
Within the next several months, Empress Consulting will undertake the following activities:
1. Olivia Leung is in the process of obtaining a bank loan for HK million to start up Empress Consulting.
2. During the first two months of operations, the majority of the seminar and workshop materials will be developed.
3. A corporate brochure will be developed within the first two weeks to be distributed to potential clients and local business leaders and resources.
Appendices
SWOT Analysis
SWOT (Strengths and Weaknesses, and Opportunities and Threats) is a basic analytical tool in management that has become popular in recent years. SWOT analysis is often used by strategic planners and top management in developing competitive strategies. It is typically used to decide corporate strategies and to make product or market level analyses. SWOT is a widely used thinking framework for identifying Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. It enables key factors to be visibly recorded as a high-level summary of a business. SWOT analysis is a summary that is simple but powerful. It also enables a judgment to be made about aspects of the external business environment, which can affect the performance of the business, through looking at the Opportunities and Threats it faces in the wider world.
Strengths
- Extensive experience of Olivia Leung in consulting
- Low overhead costs
- Focused on small and medium sized businesses
Weaknesses
- Reputation is not yet established
- No core clients yet
Opportunities
- Increasing number of entrepreneurs and small and medium sized businesses in Hong Kong and China
Threats
- Intensifying competition
- Increasing number of consulting firms in Hong Kong and China
PEST Analysis
A PEST analysis looks at the Political, Economic, Social and Technological drivers of a particular industry. PEST are external factors that must be analyzed and understood in order for an organization to succeed. The PEST analysis focuses on the external forces that affects the organization. It is most useful when used together with other tools such as the SWOT analysis.
Political Factors
Political factors play an important role in shaping the business and operation of Empress Consulting. The firm is subject to local laws and regulations. Changes in laws and regulations in Hong Kong and in Mainland China may affect business. The activities of Empress Consulting are subject to administrative review and approval by various government agencies.
Economic Factors
The target clients of of Empress Consulting’s will come from Hong Kong and China. General economic conditions and policies in China could have significant impact on the financial prospects of the firm.
Sociological Factors
There is an increasing number of middle class citizens in China and Hong Kong and entrepreneurship is supported by the government.
Technological Factors
The rapid development and wide adoption of digital economy means that more and more organizations will need to train and develop their people.
Porter’s Five Forces
Porter identified the five forces model of competitive strategy. He identified the five forces as:
1. Competition among existing firms – this is the natural competitive rivalry, which exists between the various business operating within the industry market place.
2. Threat of new entrants – this is the potential likelihood of, and ease of, entry for new firm into the market.
3. Threat of substitute products or services – this is where a product or service, perhaps produced through a different technology, enters the market.
4. Bargaining power of suppliers – this examines the relationship between businesses in the industry and the suppliers to those businesses. Where the suppliers have a unique or restricted availability product they can exert a strong influence over process and conditions of supply, therefore potentially putting pressures on the businesses purchasing their product/services.
5. Bargaining power of buyers – this examines the relationship between businesses in the industry and the customers of those businesses. The purpose is to identify the relative strength of the business in the customer relationship.
1. Competition among existing firms – the growing business consulting industry in Hong Kong and China presents a fierce competition among the existing firms in the region. Empress Consulting does not directly competes with large and established consulting firms as it targets small and medium sized businesses.
2. Threat of New Entrants – The fierce competition among existing consulting firms is further intensified by the entrance of new players.
3. Threat of substitute products or services – many facilities, services and technologies are being introduced. There is also a threat that clients will choose other firms.
4. Bargaining power of suppliers –Empress Consulting is able to develop a strong relationship with its suppliers. The firm collaborates with different suppliers.
5. Bargaining power of consumers – The customers have a strong bargaining power.
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