24 Nov What other business controls do you plan to introduce into your business at the outset?? Why do you consider them important??
Based on the attached document, answer the following question in one page – double space .
1. What other business controls do you plan to introduce into your business at the outset?
2. Why do you consider them important?
Our business idea is to start a company that embeds solar cells inside infrastructures to produce solar energy which is a renewable source of energy. We want to do so to reduce the wastage of non-renewable resources and protect our planet by fighting climate change.
There is a gap that exists in this market as there are not a lot of companies that provide affordable ways to generate solar energy. Providing solar energy at reasonable prices and making it available to all is our idea.
Solar panels are usually put up on the roofs of houses but according to us, any ground surface might be converted into a strong, dual-purpose electricity-generating surface that uses solar energy. We want to make these surfaces dual-use and money-making so that we can get a return on our investment.
We have an innovative product as the solar panels we will produce will be installable on any surface. If utilized properly our product will be able to power the whole city. For this, our solar would need to be installed on the sidewalks, public squares, and all other establishments. This will enable us to meet clean power targets and make the earth a better place.
Our solar panels could be implemented around the city by partnering with government agencies so that all people can use solar energy for an affordable price. We could also look to partner with franchises to install our panels at all their outlets.
We have explored the possibility of buying out a business but our product is very unique so buying out a company would not be very reasonable for us. We want to build our own company grounds up which will help us have all the control from the beginning.
Entry barriers are high – As developing solar panels efficiently requires significant R&D expenditure and substantial investments to remain competitive. So there is little threat from new competitors (Barrow et al., 2018).
Power of suppliers is high – It is High as there are not many companies in this field. Very few companies in this sector are actually successful. Due to the lack of alternative sources the power of suppliers is high.
Power of buyer is low – As lease contracts are lengthy and expensive to end, clients have a difficult time switching providers. It is quite rare that customers who have purchased solar panels will sell them and purchase them from a different supplier (Barrow et al., 2018).
The threat of substitutes is medium – This industry is threatened by substitutes to some extent, mostly due to competition with power plant contractors for alternative energy sources (e.g., natural gas). However, due to government subsidies for renewable energy, competition from contractors for fossil fuel power plants has decreased during the last five years (Barrow et al., 2018).
Rivalry among existing competitors is high – Due to intense pressure to innovate across all segments of the new sector, competition among existing competitors is high. When we examine the profitability, we can find proof of this. In reality, most businesses in the solar industry are losing money.
As our idea is unique, we will be the first ones in the market. This will help us gain first mover’s advantage. Upon receiving customer feedback, we will be able to respond and make changes as soon as possible. Being first in this segment we will be able to gain market share very fast if our product catches on.
Our primary strategic direction would be to make solar energy affordable for the masses (Barrow et al., 2018). Currently, solar energy harvesting can be very expensive. Very few people can actually such an amount of money but with our product, we will provide a solution to this problem. Customer satisfaction will always be our priority. Our product will also aid in the reduction of global warming which will help us fight climate change.
The strategic option we are going in for is cost leadership (Barrow et al., 2018). This is due to our capability to reduce costs of production to deliver quality products at low prices. We have conducted extensive research in this field which has enabled us to reduce our cost of production significantly. We also plan on purchasing our raw materials in bulk which will help us the in reduction of costs.
Global warming and climate change have caused extensive damage to our planet. When non-renewable sources are used, they release harmful particles which pollute the environment. Solar energy harvesting will enable us to preserve the environment while going on with our lives as usual. We arrived at this proposition as We wanted to protect the environment by providing solar panels to the masses at affordable rates.
We believe that the solar panel business will succeed as people want to contribute to saving the environment as it is a clean, green source of energy. Solar power is a great way to reduce our carbon footprint. This method of energy harvesting will be inexpensive for people as they will not have to pay high electricity bills. The solar panels will enable people to use their unutilized land to generate electricity. The business will succeed once people realize how valuable solar energy harvesting is over traditional energy generation.
The mission statement for our company would be 'Humanity's betterment through solar energy.' This would be our mission statement as solar energy is for the future. People cannot rely on non-renewable sources for too long as climate changes have already started affecting our lives. People will have to shift to renewable sources of energy as soon as possible to minimize global warming (Barrow et al., 2018).
The vision statement for our company will be 'We will be a premiere in this industry by providing affordable solar energy solutions with extraordinary customer service while also protecting the environment.'
Our value statement will be 'Our company operates by the following guiding principles: excellence, innovation, customer support, and environmental conservation.'
Our short-term goal is to provide an immediate alternative to non-renewable energy generation methods. Our goal is to reach as many people as possible and spread our idea. Another short-term goal is to achieve profitability by the end of the year.
Our long-term goal is to become one of the most recognized companies in the industry. Another long-term goal is to help people reduce their carbon footprints. Our company will contribute to a sustainable future.
Goal – Setting up and running the company.
Tasks – getting all the paperwork done for the registration of the company, setting up a production and assembling facility, getting the raw material quotations from the suppliers and choosing the one which suits our demands, hiring employees for the purpose of production, and advertising our product to the customers.
We got the idea of setting up this company when we read a report about how the use of non-renewable energy was destroying our planet. Non-renewable energy sources release pollutants into the environment which causes the depletion of nature and wildlife around us. This made us think about how we could help in this situation. We came up with the idea of releasing affordable solar panels in the market which would enable the people to make their contribution to saving the planet. It has been realized that solar panels can be used as a source of renewable energy in the future.
The name of our company is Solar Earth. We chose this name as our solar panels can be put anywhere. Earlier solar panels were only put up on the roofs of buildings but our solar panels are very versatile and can be put anywhere like on rooftops, sidewalks, roads, parking lots, and more.
We have prior experience in this field as we studied solar power engineering in college. We have an understanding of electrical systems which assists us in the development of these products. We have earlier worked for a company that used to produce solar cookers so we have some prior experience in this field. We have also attended a course where the topic of discussion was solar power schematic development. We are also familiar with the safety guidelines that apply to the solar power engineering sector.
We will be starting this venture with a friend of mine who was in the same college as me. He also studied solar power engineering in college. He has prior experience working in a UK-based company that produces solar water heating systems.
We plan on hiring a lawyer to help us file all the required documents for setting up the business. A lawyer can provide us with timely legal guidance on how to handle compliances required by both the law and different agreements. We will also file for a patent and for that we will be hiring a patent agent who will help us in this process.
The legal form of our business would be a private company. In the future, we will decide if we would like to continue as a private company or become a public company.
Our business has not yet started trading but we plan on starting as soon as the documentation process is completed. We have already started contacting the raw material providers to start our business We have also started the marketing process for our business. By conducting research, we got to know that more than 43,000 solar (PV) energy installations on residential, commercial, and industrial rooftops in Canada currently supply these buildings' homes and businesses with electricity. This tells us that very few people use solar energy in Canada. This suggests that a large part of the Canadian market is still untapped.
We plan on starting our business in Vancouver and then spreading it to other parts of Canada. After Canada, we plan on supplying our products to the neighbouring countries.
Our product can satisfy the needs of various customers. It can help people reduce the hefty electricity bills that they need to pay every few days. It will also help in satisfying the need of people that want to be environmentally conscious. It will help them satisfy their need of protecting the planet by using renewable sources of energy. Customers who are enthused at the possibility of not needing electricity from another source will also benefit from our solution. This indicates that they seek to control the production, storage, and use of electricity.
Types of customers for our product:
Individual customers – These customers would purchase our solar panels for their homes or offices to reduce their electricity bills or to play their part in the conservation of our planet.
Business owners – The business owners might be one of our major customer bases as they may purchase our solar panels for their place of business (shops or factories) to reduce the electricity bill to lower their cost of production. Using solar panels will also play a part in their corporate social responsibility initiative.
Our priority will be serving the business owners as their energy consumption is much higher compared to that of individual households. As the business will start using solar panels the pollution problem will reduce a lot in a short amount of time. By making serving the businesses a priority we will get lots of orders in a short time in contrast to serving individual customers one by one.
The market segments that we have chosen are individual households and businesses. The feature of our product that will provide the most benefit to the individual households is the reduction of electricity charges that they have to pay on a regular interval as harvesting of solar energy is free and the customers only have to pay a small amount for the management of the solar panels. The feature that will provide benefit to businesses is that the solar panels do not produce any sort of pollution and this enables the business owners to fulfill the requirements of corporate social responsibility.
One of the biggest innovators in this field is Elon Musk who is the owner of Tesla Inc. Over the last few years, Tesla Inc. has worked to expand its presence in the alternative energy sector. With their design-stage offers, Tesla is advancing the solar power business, but the market is also occupied by industry veterans who are hoping to profit from its steady expansion.
The most important factor in a customer's decision to buy or not to buy our products is the one-time installation cost. This cost can be a bit high for the customers so they might not want to pay it. Another factor is their electricity bill. If they are already paying very less for the electricity they might not switch to our products.
The market that we are aiming at has seen a rapid rise over the past few years. Over the last five years, there has been an upward trend in the market.
Initially, we are aiming for a 3% market share. As this sector is very young, gaining market share early will enable us to have significant control over the market.
The biggest market share holder in the Canadian solar energy industry is Canadian Solar ("Canadian Solar – Global", 2022). This is the main company that we will be competing with directly.
Canada Solar is Canada's biggest solar company. It is a public company listed on the stock market. It has two factories and employs over 9000 employees. Canadian Solar reported a gross profit of $480 million and a net income of $114 million for the second quarter of 2022, compared to a gross profit of $234 million and a net income of $11.5 million for the first quarter. Canadian Solar sells its products both to individual buyers and multinational companies.
Canada solar is one of the most recognized companies in Canada. Given its position as a global leader in both module production and solar project development, Canadian Solar has a distinct edge in capturing significant market prospects for energy storage ("Canadian Solar Inc. [SWOT Analysis] Weighted SWOT Matrix", 2022). This is likely to make the competition more difficult for us as we are a new company.
Canadian Solar's profitability ratio is below the industry average ("Canadian Solar Inc. [SWOT Analysis] Weighted SWOT Matrix", 2022). This will enable us to capture the market share faster.
The critical factors for success in this industry will be branding strength to convey the value of our products to our clients, cost structuring to maintain the cost of production, and vertical integration to create firm partnerships with others in the value chain.
The unique thing about our product is that it can fit anywhere. By embedding solar cells throughout that infrastructure, it can function on sidewalks, highways, car parks, terraces, harbours, and more. Our product has endless possibilities.
We have the following pieces of information:
Customers – More and more customers are looking to purchase solar panels as people are tired of paying high electricity bills. As climate change is also a pressing issue now more people are realizing the benefits of solar energy.
Competitors – Competitors are making rapid developments in this field. They are working hard to make solar panels a mainstream product in Canada.
Market – The market for solar energy harvesting products is expanding at a rapid pace. Individuals and businesses both are looking to purchase solar panels for their establishments.
We need to find out the approximate percentage of people that would be interested in purchasing our solar panels. This information is needed to understand how many pieces we need to produce as over or underproduction can hurt the business.
For the desk research, we plan on checking the customers' reviews online in regard to solar panels. This will help us understand what customers want in their solar panels. Upon learning this we can design our products according to their needs.
For the field research, we will be conducting surveys using questionnaires to identify our potential customers. By doing so we will be able to know how many people would be interested in buying our product.
The market research will take approximately two months as we plan on conducting this research in all the Canadian provinces. The marketing research will cost us around $10,000.
Due to their expertise in this area, we intend to hire a third-party business that specializes in market research.
All the key marketing research information will be available in ten weeks. The data collection will take around eight weeks after which it will take two weeks to analyse the collected data and derive conclusions from it.
The product our company embeds is a renewable source of energy known as solar cells; it produces solar energy through sunlight. Solar cells are installed on the roofs of houses but our product is innovative enough that it can be installed on any surface, converting the surface into an electricity-generating surface that can be used for dual-purpose (Ozoegwu & Akpan, 2021). Our product is powerful that it can power a whole city if it is utilized appropriately. Solar cells are not much available in the market, but we assure to provide solar cells at affordable prices. By installing our product in houses or cities, we can also manage to protect our planet as the wastage of non-renewable resources will be reduced.
Our products are not for sale yet, but we are planning to get them on the market as soon as possible. Raw materials needed for starting our business have also been ordered from the raw material providers. The marketing process of our company has also been started. Now, the only wait for starting our business is the documentation process. Hiring a lawyer has also been planned for us, which can help us start our business by filing the required documents. After counting all the expenses, the amount of money this work is going to cost is approximately $50,000.
Our company is not currently protected by any legal protection but we are looking forward to filing a patent and appointing a patent agent who will guide and help us out in this process. We are highly concerned about our rights so we take multiple safety precautions which assure that our rights are secure. Software and operating systems play a vital role in a business, so we kept our eyes on them and made sure that they are up-to-date. All the data related to our business is stored in a safe place, and cloud storage is also utilized by our company as a backup plan.
Our product is unique and different from all other solar energy companies in the market. Solar panels offered by other companies are only installable on roofs, but the product offered by us can be installed anywhere you want. Whether it is a public square, sidewalk, or any other place, you can install a solar panel there and change the surface into an electricity-generating surface (Nolden et al., 2020). Once you have installed our solar panel on the surface, it does not mean you cannot walk on it. It will be converted into a dual-use surface. Another thing that differentiates our product from others is its power and price. We provide solar panels at a reasonable price because we want to make them available for everyone.
We are also planning to provide warranties to our customers, as it is necessary for gaining their trust. The warranty of our product will be 20 to 25 years, which is enough for proving our products’ quality. If any damage happens to the solar panel before 25 years, then we will be responsible and will repair or replace the product. We are also including after-sales services in our company to make a connection with our customers (Ode & Wadin, 2019). Our customers will be able to tell us about any complaint they have against our product. Their complaints will be welcomed and anything necessary for their satisfaction will be done.
There is a possibility that we may expand our company and develop new products or services for our customers, but for that, first, we will need to improve our productivity, profitability, and sustainability, and gain customers' trust. We have planned for many other products to offer related to solar energy but it will take some time. We do not want to just stop at solar panels; each product offered by us will be amazing and give a vibe of the future. Solar panels are just a start for us. We will expand our presence in the whole market with our amazing solar products.
After doing a thorough market research and calculating based on average price of silicon wafers, which is the main raw material required in manufacturing solar panels; cost of production may vary between $0.50 to $1.00 per watt to manufacture most common type of solar panels including cost of labour, cost of machinery and cost of utilities as mentioned on alibabacloud.com
We are striving to do our best in terms of providing products and services that are unique and affordable at the same time. We have a proposal of making creative customized solar panels at affordable prices. An idea inspired by Macintosh, a revolutionary creation of Steve Jobs.
In general, when we think of a solar panel, we see a flat rectangle object with black/blue screens on it. We will be selling these types of solar panels for large scale projects like Malls, Offices, Houses, Parks and Sidewalks. This is where market segmentation plays an important role. To make sure that our products stand out from those of competitors in the market we offer customized design to make solar panels more creative and attractive.
For example, if a consumer is looking to buy a solar panel to run garden lights in the back yard or similar small-scale purpose, we have exclusive design solar panels that look like a small tree made from silicon or basic clay and pop mixture. It can be placed in the centre of the backyard or garden as a decoration. Small solar panels will be installed on top of the design. Costs may vary depending upon the raw materials used in production as it is a customized option.
Production of solar cells and converting them into solar panels is the core part of our business. Production cost of solar panels estimated between $0.50 to $1.00 per watt will be the variable cost as it includes cost of labour, cost of machinery, infrastructure etc. Because we are also providing customized options based on demand cost analysis will be provided at the time of sale based on materials used.
Fixed costs will be lease of the infrastructure for the production of Solar cells, Insurance and interest payments for the loans. Legal fees to get our products registered as patent.
As mentioned on Ontario Energy Board’s website average house in Ontario will consume about 9000 kWhs of electricity per year. Our average cost of production for solar panel is $0.5 to $1.00, considering profit margin if we charge $2.00 to $3.00 per watt for a 7500-watt solar connection pricing will be between $15000 to $22500 (plus federal solar tax credit) which is still a competitive pricing in the solar energy market.
In a lot of instances where we will be providing customized solutions, pricing will be provided based on the raw materials used in the production. Apart from the product solutions we will be providing additional services like technical troubleshooting, reaching out to clients annually to see if there are better solution available for them to save more money. As a company we are going to focus on affordable pricing and maintaining excellent client relationship for further expansion of business.
As estimated by solarreviews.com in an article Solar panel price and data 2022 Ontario average cost as of 12th October 2022 is $2.91 per watt which is in the range of our proposed pricing.
We are offering services like installations and variety of options to meet client’s needs.
Solar panel installation for infrastructure is offered by a lot of companies in Canada. We have an opportunity to develop a huge client reach in the market. SunPower, Momentum solar and Tesla energy are the top competitors in the market. (ecowatch.com)
Amongst these companies and many other existing solar energy companies in the market the competition is based on various aspects like pricing, durability, after sale services, warranty and guarantees etc.
In comparison to these aspects our product is sleek and durable at an affordable price. We have an opportunity to compete if we provide exceptional customer services and products at a competing price.
Market segmentations for solar panel to be installed on infrastructure are large scale consumer demands like corporate offices, malls, parks, factories etc and small-scale consumer demands like household solar instalments, small offices, day to day household equipment.
From large scale and small scale, the two market segments to consider, large scale sale is less price sensitive as we can offer discounts for bulk purchase and also having more clients from large scale market segment would mean increasing opportunity to provide excellent services in timely manner to ensure expansion of business in the future. Although small scale market segment is price sensitive because we have an option of customization and installation will incur extra costs. In order to compete we can offer after-sale services like repair and exchange, technical support etc.
Solar cells offered by our companies are available in different price range and hence there is an opportunity to sell at different prices in each market segment. Consumer demands for large scale infrastructures is one segment where we can offer discount for buying in bulk and on top of that we can offer timely services of equipment at a membership fee, solar panels running on large scale infrastructure requires services for wear and tear quit often as compared to the small-scale equipment.
In comparison to that we also have an opportunity to sell our products at a competitive price in the small-scale market segment as well. We can offer free installation in order to compete with other companies in the market. Reflecting back to the idea of providing creative and attractive product solutions different from the competitors.
There are wide variety of feature when it comes utility for the customers and businesses. These include:
a) High generational capacity which includes 1.5MW per 10km of sidewalk and 130Wp per Sqm.
b) Weather resistant. It can withstand harsh climate and up to 5 tons of weight.
c) It has the ability to charge bicycles, cars and scooters on a solar earth pad or parking station.
d) It can power mobile towers and can help in electrifying remote villages which are unable to be connected with power grid.
Good evening, ladies, Gentlemen, Journalists and all the business fraternity. Today we would like to showcase the world, our company Solar Earth’s latest new product which could help different businesses decrease the cost of electricity bills, help them to achieve their goals of net zero carbon emission and above all, give the earth a lease of life by companies opting our company’s latest product which will help them to switch faster from fossil fuel to clean green fuel. Our product can help power a small village on its own without depending on any other company for electricity generation. It has the capacity to charge your cars, scooters and bicycles when you place our solar panels on the rooftops of your houses, business places or dedicated fields. Our solar panels are resistant to very harsh climatic conditions and can take weight up to 5 tons. The integration of our panels into your power grid has been made seamless and cheap. In industry parking lots, it can be used to charge the electric cars of employee and with the high-power generation capacity, it would take less time considerably.
The media selection has been based on market share of their coverage. In order for our press release to reach the highest group of people, we have decided to send our release to
a). India TV
b). Aaj Tak
c). Republic Bharat
d). Zee News
e). Times Now Navbharat.
Our promotional and advertising plan for the next year will be divided into 2 phases. For the first phase, we our advertising would be more focused towards business organizations, and they would be the most important clients. The second phase of advertising would be focused on households, condos, and communities.
a). The first thing which we would want to happen as a result of our advertising is to let businesses know that our product in the market would be highly beneficial for them in reducing their expenses and meeting their targets of net zero emissions. As for the second phase of advertising, we would want the households, builders to know about how products and how it will help in the existing scenario in reduction of cost.
b). The main focus of the advertising is to let people about the product. That’s the base of this whole advertising plan. It’s worth is as much as the success of the product.
c). The messages which would be used to achieve our results will be reduction of cost, seamless integration into the existing system, moving towards the aim for net zero emission and a better planet.
d). We would use a mixture of traditional media like television and modern media like facebook, Whatsapp business etc. This is because India is a country where television is watched by many people and the youth population uses social media to a high extent. This will make sure there’s enough exposure in both the media.
e). The results of our advertising will be monitored by our sales target, market penetration and customer awareness of our product.
As of today, the company hasn’t advertised about the product. But as global warming increases its pace, the company has decided to advertise from the coming year so that people would adopt the product soon and it would help fight different climate changes.
We need a lot of open, unobstructed roof space to install solar panels on your business's roof. One solar panel takes up about two square meters, and we have installed well over 1,000 solar panels in some of our larger commercial solar installations. Still it depends on which area the solar energy is being installed and how much is in use for that solar energy. Take your daily kWh energy requirement and divide it by your peak sun hours to get the kW output to determine the size of your solar system. The estimated number of solar panels required for your system can be determined by dividing the kW output by the efficiency of your panel.
As a result, your solar panels will perform best if they face south because the sun is above the equator. The sun will shine all day long on panels that face south. Because of this, they have as much time as possible to gather sunlight and turn it into energy. If you want to get the most use out of your solar panels, whether you install them at home or in a business, it's important to know where to put them. It's important to know that the direction and position of your panels can have a significant impact on how well they
