1.0 Business Overview

1.1 The Company

Team 8 has developed an e-commerce concept where customers can custom design a formal dress. The customer will be able to custom-make their formal dress by choosing among four top styles and four bottom styles, while simultaneously observing how the pieces would look together. Our site will also offer the customer up to five colors to select from. In addition, the styles will be updated seasonally in order to stay abreast of the latest styles and colors in formal wear for teens and young women.

1.2 Mission Statement

Our company has a vision of becoming our customer’s main source for formal dresses by providing a unique online experience. Furthermore, we will achieve our goal by offering unparalleled customer service, shopping opportunities offered by no other online company, and efficient utilization of resources. iVestido.com will be a trendsetter in the female formal wear industry (See Appendix A for Website Snapshot).

2.0 Financial Plan

2.1 How We Will Make YOU Money

Our main source of revenue will be from prom dress sales. Prom is a $2 billion a year industry and 2 million teenage girls attend this event each year (Puente, 2000). Moreover, ten percent of these prom-goers purchase their formal dresses online (Puente, 2000). This amounts to a market of 200,000 girls per year for prom only. Our average price for a prom dress is approximately $250. If we can eventually capture just five percent of the market for prom dresses, this amounts to a revenue stream of $2.5 million per year in prom sales.

Table A: Year 1 Monthly Income Statement

	Jan	Feb	March	April	May	June	July	Aug.	Sept.	Oct.	Nov.	Dec.	Year 1
Revenues	38,810	38,810	72,623	96,935	145,373	9,748	9,748	9,748	14,685	9,748	9,748	9,748	465720
Expenses	16,910	13,178	43,424	118,664	50,240	5,790	5,399	5,599	31,157	18,009	13,790	10,549	332709
Net Income	21,900	25,632	29,199	(21,729)	95,133	3,958	4,349	4,149	(16,472)	(8,262)	(4,043)	(802)	133011

*For more detailed income statement see Appendicies B, C, D)

The financials show a year one income of over $100,000, with potential to increase income to $600,000 by the end of year five. You the investors will receive 40% of your investment, which is approximately $50,000, a 62% return on investment for year one alone. After five years, your return on investment has the potential to reach 300%.

2.2 The Plan

Dezine Team has detailed costs for the first several years of operations using various figures (see Tables A and B for these estimates). All projections are based on the year 2000 dollars. iVesdito’s fiscal year is from January 1-December 31. We are asking you the investors for $80,000 in order to implement our business plan. See figure B for detailed start-up cost estimates.

Table B-Detailed Start-up Costs

Start-up Costs
*ivestido.com*
Start-up Costs:
Equipment:
	Active 130 Sewing Machine(3)	1,575
	Serger(2)	1,198
	Arista 180 Sewing Machine	4,499
	Sewing Tables(3)	411
	Sewing Station Table (6)	715
	Sewing Station Chairs (7)	560
	Garment Steamer (2)	224
	Computer(2)	1,980
	Digital Camera	700
	Adobe Photo Shop	199
	Printer	500
	Scanner	300
	Copier	2,300
	Fax	140
	Desks/chairs	516
	scale for shipping	132
	dress form mannequin (4)	716
Inventory		29,450
Establishment of LLC		85
Advertising		12,000
Phone		145
DSL		100
Shipping:
	Tissue paper	96
	Boxes	384
Attorney Fees		2,000
Fashion Designer		10,000
Office Supplies		1,200
Sewing Supplies (thread,scissors,needles, etc.)		500
Miscellaneous (Traveling, etc.)		2,000
Working Capital		10,375
Cost Totals		$ 85,000

See Appendix E for Cost Estimates

2.3 Break-even Analysis

The worst-case scenario break–even point for the company is approximately 40 units per month, which is little over 1 dress a day. We feel that this is a very conservative figure. Dezine Team feels one dress is an obtainable goal. This figure is found by taking the monthly fixed cost divided by our selling price minus the variable costs.

Break-Even Point

4573 fixed costs

250 selling price-136 variable cost= 40/month=1.3/day

2.4 Exit Strategy

If after antiquate returns are received on your investment, the investors should want out, we will buy the investors out at 75% more than what was initial invested. On the other end, if the company suffers considerable loss, which will be decided by the board members, the investors have the power at that time to take over the company and place their own members on the board of directors. The loss will also go to the investors as a tax write-off.

3.0 Marketing Plan

3.1 Overall Marketing Strategy

The company’s overall marketing strategy is to appeal to young women of high school and college age. The target market will be females ages 15-23 in the middle to upper middle class income brackets. Most of the customers will be those in suburban areas, those without access to stores, such as girls from rural areas, those who shop online already, and/or those who wish to design their own dress.

Our target market will have Internet access in their homes and will currently have experienced shopping online for part of their wardrobe. In addition, we will target beginning online shoppers wanting to experience the convenience of twenty-four hour shopping. Most college-aged females have access to computers and many of them are willing to buy clothing from the Internet. A survey was taken at Ohio University about the desirability of online dress design and purchase. (See Appendix F for the results of the survey). All of the women surveyed purchase at least one formal dress a year, while 62% would be willing to order a formal dress online if given the option to mix and match styles.

3.2 Primary Market Trends

The dot-com generation tends to value the advanced technology that exists in today’s society. Many teens own cellular phones, pagers, and laptops. Nevertheless, like their ancestors, these people want to attend the prom and have the time of their life (Steffen, 2000).

The prom mania has not gone away since the arrival of the new millennium. In the past year, the prom industry has moved to the Internet as an additional way to earn revenue. More girls are using the web to get ideas, find hairstyles, research retailers, and purchase dresses and accessories (Puente, 2000).

“Prom dresses” and “prom hairstyles” were the No. 18^th and 45^th ranked search terms for Lycos search engines in the year 2000. Both of these terms had even higher ratings earlier in the year, when visitors were looking for dresses (Puente, 2000).

Girls who live in rural areas that have computer access especially value online prom sites. They appreciate being able to purchase a unique dress (at their convenience) that nobody else would have.

Custom-made dresses is another trend for girls attending the prom, especially if girls cannot find a dress because of their particular body type (See Appendix G for information on measuring).

According to a recent USA today article, prom is such a large market that there is plenty of room for online retailers. A survey by Primedia found that people attending the prom, on average, spend $541 on a dress and other expenses. This estimate is based on 20 million people between the ages of 15 and 19 (Puente, 2000).

3.3 Secondary market

Initially, ivestido.com will target females going to prom. However, with the expansion of our company, we will also target other occasions that require formal attire. These include:

Homecoming dances
Winter formals
Holiday events (New Years and Christmas parties)
Weddings
Sorority and Fraternity formals

Bridesmaid dresses are now becoming trendier, and our site would offer up-to-date styles. In most weddings, multiple dresses are brought. This is also an occasion where custom-made dresses are prominent. There will be a discount of 15% for orders of 6 or more dresses of the same design.

Our dresses would also be ideal for any other school or sorority/fraternity formal. Each year, sorority and fraternity houses on college campuses have formals. Almost all of the Greek members attend these formals because they are the most anticipated event of the year. Our dresses would also be suitable for New Year’s Eve or other special occasions.

With expansion, we will sell custom designed vests made from the same material as the dresses. This will utilize the extra fabric left over from the dresses, while providing matching male attire. This service will be unique to the formal wear industry.

3.4 Advertising and Promotion

Advertising will focus on name recognition, building a reputation of customer satisfaction, and our unique service to our customers. The goal is not only to attract customers, but also to maintain them as repeat customers.

The company will establish its place in the market in a variety of ways, which include:

Internet Advertising through banners on websites who also target teens and young women
Ads in various teen magazines
Affiliate programs
Flyers/Brochures sent to high schools and colleges
Contests and promotions on the radio that will attract customers to our site.

The company will advertise in magazines, such as Teen magazine, Young and Modern, and CosmoGirl. We will also purchase banners to be displayed on related websites that are frequently visited by the targeted market of iVestido.com (Teen Homepage, 2000).

In the future, we will join affiliate programs of companies that are related to special occasions where formal attire is worn. We will offer links to tuxedo shops for their dates, and shoe sites to find the perfect shoes. Whenever visitors link to that company and make a purchase, we will receive a percentage of the sale.

iVestido plans to send flyers/brochures about our website to various high schools in large retail markets. The flyers/brochures will be sent out in late March or early April when many females are beginning to shop for dresses. We will send the flyers and posters to high schools in the Cleveland and Columbus area. We will also send posters to the sorority houses at Ohio State and Ohio University.

Also with expansion, our company will hold various promotions and contests to attract customers. The promotions will give away a dress and an accessory package, such as a free limousine ride and a manicure, once a year during prom season.

3.5 Pricing

The pricing of the dresses will be competitive with other dress companies on the Internet. The difference is that customers will be buying top quality dresses that they can design at affordable prices. iVestido.com will be able to keep costs low buy purchasing low cost, yet high quality materials in bulk (Fabric Homepage, 2000).

In determining the cost, we looked at the average price that females are willing to pay for their formal wear. Through our survey, we found that 34% of females spend $200-299 on their formal dresses (Survey, 2000). After careful cost analysis we estimated our cost per dress to be approximately $177. We decided to set our price at $250, leaving us a contribution margin of $99 per dress. (See Appendix H for further explanation of price)

Offering specific styles the customer can mix and match will allow us to charge a higher price due to iVestido.com’s uniqueness, following a differentiation price strategy. However, we will offer considerable lower prices in comparison to other custom dress boutiques, such as David’s Bridal.

3.6 Competition

The main competition for iVestido will be offline companies. Females currently purchase dresses from department stores, boutiques, or they have them custom made by a seamstress (Survey, 2000). Many females feel comfortable shopping in stores and having their dresses custom made. With our company, females will have the luxury of being able to design their own dress, with the benefit of a lower price comparable to specialty boutiques.

The offline competition consists of retailers such as David’s Bridal, Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, and Nordstrom. These companies have a reputation of good customer service. However, it is difficult for a girl to find a one-of-a-kind dress in a retail store. There is also the problem of finding the dress in the right size and color, which will not be a concern on our site due to the fact that our dresses are made upon request.

iVestido also faces competition with other Internet companies. There are other companies that offer prom dresses on the Internet such as prom-dresses.com and bestpromdresses.com. These companies that have already established a place in the market for selling dresses online do not offer the features offered by iVestido.com. Competitor sites have set styles and colors, while our site allows for creative input by the customer.

Our company also offers an archive of dresses purchased by customers within certain zip codes. This will prevent girls from attending the prom wearing the same dress. In addition, our site will offer dresses that were returned, but not damaged, at a discount price, which is unique to our competitors. (See Appendix I for more information on competition).

3.7 Estimated Market Share and Sales

The prom market alone is a $2 billion a year business with an average 2 million girls attending each year (Steffen, 2000). The market of online prom shoppers captures about 10 percent of this market. Within one year, we plan on taking one percent of the online market. Each year following we plan to take an additional half percent of the market share.

We plan on selling 2,000 dresses at $250 in the first year. Each year following the initial year, we plan on increasing sales by 25%. By year five, we plan on selling 700 dresses per year. Another revenue stream would be the possible implementation of men’s formal vests.

In year one we are estimating net income to be $133,000, an almost doubling of the money invested into iVestido.com. By the end of year five, iVestido.com will be grossing income of $660,000, five times the income of year one. We anticipate this steady growth to continue, as more and more potential customers become aware of our very unique site, and as the prom market continues to increase.

3.8 Distribution

After the order is put in for the dress, we estimate that it will take 10-14 business days for the dress to be sent. The time may vary depending on the season. It will take less time for a customer to receive a dress if it is ordered during an off season. When the dress is completed, we will then send the dress via UPS offering a uniform delivery price of $5. If the customer is not completely satisfied with their purchase, the dress can be returned at their own cost. (See Appendix J for more information on our return policy).

3.9 Website Plan

Our VP of MIS, Krista Lauritsen, will design iVestido’s e-commerce web page in-house. iVestido’s

Fully functional site will allow customers to purchase our products, as well as obtain company information. The webpage will also allow our customers to view dress already purchased in their area, purchase dresses that were returned at a discount. All web hosting will be conducted through Verio. (See Appendix K for web hosting services)

4.0 Management

4.1 Management Team

Our management team consists of Jessica Beck, President, Beth Croston, Director of Marketing, Jamie Klingler, Director of Finance, Krista Lauritsen, director of MIS Operations, and Alisha McNabb, Director of Production and Distribution. See Appendix L for resumes and Appendix M for organizational structure.

Jessica Beck, President. Ms. Beck brings several years of intensive work experience to the company. As an assembly line worker for four months, she learned how to maximize time and complete jobs before the deadline. Ms. Beck received her bachelor’s of business administration degree in finance/management.

Beth Croston, Director of Marketing. Ms. Croston has extensive selling expertise. Her sales position at San Francisco Music Box Co. required her to develop superior merchandising and customer relation skills. Ms. Croston earned her bachelor’s of business administration degree in marketing.

Jamie Klingler, Director of Finance. Ms. Klingler has extensive training in the field of accounting. At Valley Mining, Inc., she was responsible for all the accounts payable and payroll duties of the company. Ms. Klingler attained her masters of business administration degree in accounting.

Krista Lauritsen, Director of MIS Operations. Ms. Lauritsen has created many web pages using HTML coding, and her technological background will be an asset to iVestido. Ms. Lauritsen received her bachelor’s of business administration degree in management information systems.

Alisha McNabb, Director of Production and Distribution. Ms. McNabb has a strong background of working in distribution centers. While at DFS distribution center, she gained knowledge of the many aspects of production. Ms. McNabb earned her bachelor’s of business administration degree in accounting.

4.2 Other Employees and Benefits

Our production team consists of sewing machine operators and an outsourced fashion designer. In year one our staff consists on average of six sewing machine operators, depending on the season. In busier months we will have to hire temporary workers. It is estimated that a seamstress can make a dress in approximately five to six hours, therefore one seamstress can make approximately 1-2 dresses a day (Stevens, 2000). Our staff increases in years two through five depending on amount of sales. We do not anticipate difficulty in finding these laborers, due to the fact that nearly half of all workers in the textile industry are sewing machine operators.

We are outsourcing our fashion designer. The designer will create patterns for iVestido on a seasonal basis. In year one the site will offer four top designs and four bottom designs, with design expansion in the future. An average salary for such a designer is approximately $40,000 a year, according to salary.com. We plan to pay our designer $10,000 for approximately four weeks of service (Apparel and Other, 2000).

iVestido offers a cafateria-syle benefit plan for our employees. Employees can choose which benefits they will receive from many different choices including: health insurance, life insurance, pension programs (including 401K), disability, dental and vision.

4.3 Board of Directors

iVestido’s board will consist of seven members. The members include, Jessica Beck, Beth Croston, Krista Lauritsen, Jamie Klingler, Alisha McNabb, one angel investor, and our consultant, Lisa Stevens. Board meetings will be held every three months on the first Monday of the month. They will be located in the office in Sugar Grove, Ohio (See Appendix N for the layout of the building). Each member will have one vote, and when making decisions there must be a majority rule.

The angel investors will be in charge of deciding who they want to represent them on the board. While they are all welcome to attend the meeting, they will only receive one vote for all of them. They will not be paid for attending the board meetings, however, the company will cover all travel expenses.

Our consultant that will be on the board is Lisa Stevens. She was chosen because she is very knowledgeable in the field of clothing production. She has been designing, producing, and selling clothes for over 15 years. Currently, she works one day a week at a local sewing shop where she lives in Richmond, Indiana.

5.0 Design and Development Plan

5.1 Company Development

Our company will be constantly growing and developing. We have also developed a website that is functional and appealing to customers. In addition, increasing amounts of time and money will be spent expanding advertising and promotional activities (see Appendix O). During busy seasons and as the number of orders increase in the next five years, we will hire additional sewers and buy additional sewing machines.

There are many areas where expansion is possible. As our profit increases, we will invest in My Virtual Model (see Appendix P). This will aid our customers in finding a unique dress to fit their size and personality. With the virtual model, women can see what the dress will look like on a body size and model that looks similar to them. We also plan to offer the matching men’s vests, an accessory line, and links to other sites relevant to formal events.

5.2 Product Development Plan

With the help of a designer, we will develop various designs and patterns for our dresses. We will constantly update dress designs so that customers will want to return to our site to shop. Since 40 percent of designers are self-employed, we will retain his or her services for brief amounts of time quarterly (Designers, 2000). In the future we will expand our choices of tops, bottoms, and colors to increase variety for the customer.

6.0 Possible Problems

6.1 We Underestimate Sales

There is always the possibility that when the site first opens, we will have more orders than anticipated. If this occurs, ivestido.com will hire more sewing machine operators, and have more than one shift. We would also hire fabric cutters to prepare the dresses, while the sewing machine operators are working.

We would also buy additional sewing machines and rent an extra facility monthly to house the production while needed. When business slows down, labor will be cut back, and we would return to our original building. We would then begin looking for a larger permanent space to use.

6.2 We Overestimate Sales

There is a possibility that we have overestimated the number of sales in the first year. If this does occur, we will cut back on the number of sewing machine operators to a more appropriate number until sales improve. We would also rethink our advertising strategy and try to be more effective in targeting our audience.

6.3 We Have a Large Number of Returns

Due to the fact that we are an online clothing business, there is a possibility of having a large number of returns. If this occurs, our company will place those items in the clearance section of the web site for returned dresses, and sell them at a discount price. See Appendix Q for a SWOT Analysis.

7.0 Manufacturing Plan

7.1 Assembly Line Plan

Manufacturing will be done using a unit flow assembly line. This system will allow the workers to produce the dresses without any distractions of waiting for other workers to complete their task. Each unit progresses on to the next job as soon as the previous job is completed (Sewing, 2000).

7.2 Operations Plan

Upon the completion of a workday, two of the 5 managers will arrive at the office to prepare for the next day of production. They will begin processing the orders for the next business day by cutting and pinning the materials that the sewing machine operators will use. The managers will also develop a production schedule for the sewing machine operators in order to give a timeline for project completion (See Appendix R for information on production).

8.0 Conclusion

In conclusion, investing in iVestido will lead to high profits for both you and the company. We have a chance to become fashion leaders in a highly profitable industry. If we can begin production and put our product out in the near future, we will earn name recognition and public interest. Along with this, we will soon see what we are working for, THE MONEY. Simply stated, if you invest $80,000 today in iVestido.com, within five years, your money will grow to over $600,000.

REFERENCES

Apparel and Other Textile Products (2000). [File posted on the World Wide Web]. Retrieved November 16, 2000 from the World Wide Web: http://stats.b/s.gov/…..

Designers (2000). [File posted on the World Wide Web]. Retrieved November 15, 2000 from the World Wide Web: http://www.stats.bls.gov/oco/ocos090.htm.

Fabric Homepage (2000). [File posted on the World Wide Web]. Retrieved November 12, 2000 from the World Wide Web: www.fabric.com.

Frommer, J. (2000, November 15). Personal Communication.

Frost, R. (2000) Personal Communication.

Garment Industry (2000). [File posted on the World Wide Web]. Retrieved November 14, 2000 from the World Wide Web: http://www.comptons.com/encyclopedia.htm.

My Virtual Model Factsheet [File posted on the World Wide Web]. Retrieved November 8, 2000 from the World Wide Web: http://www.myvirtualmodel.com.

Puente, M. (2000, June 7). Tech-savvy teens primp for the prom online. USA Today, 15.

Sewing (2000). [File posted on the World Wide Web]. Retrieved November 16, 2000 from the World Wide Web: http://www.berninausa.com/products/sewing/machines.html.

Smith, P. (2000, November 13). Personal Communication.

Steffen, L. (2000, May 18). Online Shopping. Computer Bits, 5.

Stevens, L. (2000, November 15). Personal Communication.

Sweeny, Tor (2000, November 10) Personal Communication.

Tannedfeet.com [File posted on the World Wide Web]. Retrieved November 11, 2000 from the World Wide Web: www.tannedfeet.com.

Teen.com (2000). [File posted on the World Wide Web]. Retrieved November 16, 2000 from the World Wide Web: http://www.teen.com.

UPS.com (2000). [File posted on the World Wide Web]. Retrieved November 14, 2000 from the World Wide Web: http://www.ups.com.

USLaw.com. [File posted on the World Wide Web]. Retrieved November 16, 2000 from the World Wide Web: www.USLaw.com.

Verio.com. [File posted on the World Wide Web]. Retrieved November 9, 2000 from the World Wide Web: www.verio.com.

Webhosting Consultant (2000, November 16, 2000). Personal Communication.

APPENDIX A: Website Snapshot

Appendix C: Year by Year Income Statement

iVestido
Income Statement
For the Years Ended


		Year 1	Year 2	Year 3	Year 4	Year 5

Sales		480,000	734,400	998,400	1,526,400	2,073,600
Less: Sales returns and allowance(5% of sales)		24,000	36,720	49,920	76,320	103,680
Net Sales Revenue		456,000	697,680	948,480	1,450,080	1,969,920

Operating Expenses:
Selling Expenses
	Advertising	153,050	200,000	250,000	300,000	350,000
	Phone	3,588	3,588	3,588	3,588	3,588
	DSL	4,188	4,692	5,292	5,928	6,636
	E-Commerce Web Hosting	1,920	2,148	2,400	2,688	3,012
	Domain Name Registration	60	60	60	60	60
	Packaging Expense	5,172	7,668	9,972	14,676	19,380
	Sewing Supplies(thread,scissors,needles, etc.)	3,600	5,400	7,200	10,800	14,400
	Miscellaneous(Traveling, etc.)	13,700	15,000	20,000	20,000	35,000
	shipping fees	9,600	14,400	19,200	28,800	38,400
	Purchase of New Equipment	4,459	8,958	4,459	8,958	4,459
	Depreciation of Equipment	967	1,859	2,759	1,859	2,759
Total Selling Expenses		200,304	263,773	324,930	397,357	477,694
Administrative Expenses
	Rent Expense	9,600	9,600	19,200	19,200	38,400
	Insurance	2,000	2,500	3,000	3,500	4,000
	Depreciation of Office Equipment	605	605	605	605	605
	Salaries:
	Sewing Consultant	2,000	2,000	2,000	2,000	2,000
	Fashion Designer	-	15,000	20,000	25,000	30,000
	Seamstress	90,000	150,000	240,000	440,000	600,000
	Benefits	36,000	60,000	96,000	176,000	240,000
	Office Supplies	1,800	1,800	150	200	200
Total Administrative Expense		132,405	228,800	358,150	643,200	872,200
Total Income from Operations		123,291	205,107	265,400	409,523	620,026
Other Revenue and Gains
	Revenue from Advertising	720	960	960	1,080	1,440
	Sale of Returned Dresses at Discount	9,000	13,752	18,720	28,656	38,784
Total Other Revenue		9,720	14,712	19,680	29,736	40,224
Net Income for the Year		133,011	219,819	285,080	439,259	660,250

Appendix D: Explanation of Costs

Sales: Sales were estimated by taking 1% of the people who shop on-line for dresses. This number is approximately 200,000 so we anticipated 2,000 dresses in year one. An increase of .5% was made for years 2-5.

Sales returns and allowances: We expected 5% of dresses sold to be returned.

Advertising Expenses: Advertising came from magazine ads, flyers, posters, and web banners. Advertising expenses varied from month to month depending on demand for dresses during that particular month.

Phone: The cost of the phone is $79 for basic hook-up plus $20 for each additional line, which we plan to have three lines, one with a 1-800 number. We budgeted $200 a month for long distance services. We feel this is an accurate estimate because must of our business will be done over the internet. The amount remains the same because we feel costs will lower in years to come for phone service.

Web hosting, DSL, and domain name registration: These costs were quoted by verio.com. We increased the cost per year by half of our increase in website sales. We felt this was accurate because costs of web hosting will decrease each year.

Packaging Expense: This expense includes the cost of all materials needed to ship the dresses. The dress box is $2.40 and tissue paper is approximately $.50 per dress. This also includes $9 a month for U.P.S pick-up and shipping labels. This costs depends upon the number of dresses sold per year.

Sewing Supplies: This is the cost of materials used to make a dress, which includes: buttons, zippers, needles, thread, scissors, etc. This cost also depends upon sales.

Miscellaneous Fees (Traveling, etc.): Traveling is a much part of our advertising expense. We will need to have representative’s travel to the schools to pass out fliers and promote our company. We also figured money to pay travel expense for our board members during months of our board meetings.

Shipping Fees: This is the cost to ship the dresses. We have a uniform delivery price of $5 for each dress sold and shipped.

Purchase of New Equipment: Since we are expecting to increase our sells by 25% per year we will need to purchase new equipment each year. We plan to double our equipment at the end of every year.

Depreciation of Equipment: We used a straight-line method of depreciation for our equipment. Office Equipment is depreciated over five years, while sewing equipment is depreciated over a 10-year period.

Rent Expense: Our company is located in a building provided for us by Mr. And Mrs. McNabb and is located in Lancaster, Ohio. We will be paying them rent of $800 a month, which includes utilities, for years one and two. We are then planning to move to a building twice the size for year three and four so our rent will increase to $1600. In year five we will expand once again for rent of $3200/month.

Insurance: Team 8 talked to a representative at Matthews Insurance who quoted us a price of $2000 a year for insurance. $1000 is for a million dollar liability insurance for the Internet and $500 for dress liability. The other $500 is for our equipment, which increases as our equipment increases.

Sewing Consultant: This money is to pay Lisa Stevens, our sewing consultant, to attend our board meeting quarterly.

Fashion Designer: Team 8 plan to have a fashion designer create designs for us every season. We figured she would by working for us one month total out of the year. We research yearly salaries of independent designers and calculated accordingly.

Seamstresses: In researching seamstress salaries we found that they make approximately $6.50/hour. We plan to increase our number of seamstresses from year to year depending on dresses sold. A seamstress can make approximately one and a half to two dresses per day.

Benefits: We calculated benefits by taking 40% of the salary. We offer a cafeteria-style benefit where employees can choose what types of benefits they would like.

Office Supplies: Office supplies included general materials needed to run a business. Paper, pens, folders, postage, filing cabinets, and much more was included in this cost.

Revenue from Advertising: We estimated some sales would come from web banners posted on our site from other companies.

Revenue from sale returned dresses: Team 8 realizes that 5% of dresses sold will be returned. However, we feel that we can resale half of these dresses for a 25% discount. This number depends on sales and estimated returns.

APPENDIX E: Explanation of Start-Up Costs

Source of Number:

Sewing Machines-Our sewing machine information came from berninausa.com and Lisa Stevens at Sew-n-Sews in Richmond, Indiana. We are purchasing two Bernette 800D Sergers for $599 each, three Activa 130 sewing machines for $525 each, and one Artista 180 sewing machine for $4499 to start off.

Sewing tables and chairs-We are purchasing three large sewing tables for the cutting and pinning of fabric. They cost $137 each. We need six sewing machine stations at $119 each. We also need seven chairs for the production area at $80 each.

Garment Steamer-We need two garment steamers at $112 each.

Office Equipment-We plan on having two Dell home personal computers at $990 each. We also chose a Cannon 3.3 Megapixel Digital Camera for $700, Adobe Photo Shop for $199, a Hewlett-Packard BI2200 printer at $500, a Hewlett-Packard ScanJet 5370Cse at $300, a Xerox XC23 High Speed Copier for $2300, and a Brother Intellifax 1270 Plain Paper Fax for $140. We are also estimating $516 for three desks and four chairs. These prices were found at staples.com.

Shipping Scale-A shipping scale for packages costs $132 in the Rand catalog.

Mannequin-Four mannequins of different sizes will be purchased for approximately $179 each.

Inventory-Team 8 chose to start with $29,450 in inventory, purchased from fabric.com, for the first month.

Establishment of a Limited Liability Corporation-We researched tandfeet.com and found that establishing a LLC would cost $85 in filing fees.

Advertising Costs-Initially, we will be advertising by putting a banner as on teen.com,. According to this site, it is $15 costs per thousand hits. The average unique visitors for a month are 794,000. This comes to $11,910 a month.

Phone Bill-Our predicted phone bill is $145 a month, based on current Ameritech prices for business lines.

Web Hosting-Start-up cost will be $100.

Shipping-After looking in the Consolidated Plastics Company, Inc, catalog, we estimate that each garment box will cost $2.40 for a total of $384 for 160 boxes to start out. Tissue paper costs $96 for 10 reams and we will buy ten reams to start. Ten reams will provide enough tissue paper for 960 boxes. This was found at anchorbox.com

Attorney Fees-The law firm of Fitzpatrick, Zimmerman, and Rose predicted that our legal fees would be $2000 a year.

Employee Salaries-We plan to pay our designer $10,000 per year.

Office Supplies-Based on prices at staples.com, we estimated $1200 for a filing cabinet, stationary, writing utensils, and etc. to start off with our office.

Sewing Supplies-For the costs of thread (purchased for Sew-n-Sews), scissors and needles (from JoAnn Fabrics), along with other miscellaneous items such as fabric pens and seam rippers, $500 was budgeted to get started. Three types of thread need to be purchased for each color of fabric. This comes to approximately $34 per color at five colors which gives a total of $170 for thread.

Travel-We budgeted $2000 for business trips, meals, and other miscellaneous travel expenses.

Working Capital-We are budgeting approximately $10,000 for expense that we have not thought of and for those expenses that will be more than expected.

Appendix F: Survey Results

Team 8 Dezine Team conducted a survey to measure the demand of formal wear at Ohio University. One hundred OU women were asked a series of questions. The questions include:

1. Where do you get your dresses for formals?

2. On average, how much do you spend on a formal dress?

3. How many formal dresses do you buy a year?

4. Would you buy a formal dress viewed only over the Internet?

a. If yes, how would you prefer to order?

b. Would you buy matching accessories (vests or bowties) for your date over the Internet?

5. Would you be more willing to purchase a dress over the Internet if you could mix and match styles?

6. Would you be more willing to purchase a dress over the Internet if you could preview the dress in your size?

The results were:

53% currently purchase their formal dresses at department stores
23% buy their formal dresses at bridal stores
16% choose to buy their evening wear at boutiques
6% order their formal dress online
2% chose other as their form of buying formal dresses
10% spend $0-99 on each formal dress
48% spend $100-199 “ “
34% spend $200-299 “ “
8% spend $300-up “ “
46% buy 1 formal dress/year
40% buy 2 formals dresses/year
12% buy 3 formal dresses/year
1% buy 4 formal dresses/year
1% buy no formal dresses/year
62% would order a formal dress online if they could mix and match styles.
70% would buy a formal dress over the Internet if they could preview their dress in their size.

Figure 1 shows the willingness of the market to spend money on formal dresses.

APPENDIX G: Measuring

How to size

The following information will be posted on the website on things to keep in mind when measuring the body when ordering a dress from our site. With this service we will be cutting down on returns due to improper measurements. This will also be a service to the customer that will ease frustration and uncertainty about what size to order (fabric homepage, 2000).

The person should be wearing her normal undergarments only, no jeans blouses, sports bras etc.
Lay the tape flat against the skin; don’t pull it tight, nor let it drop.
To find the true base of the neck, have the person tilt her head forward so that the knobby bone at the base of the neck is obvious. That point is the back fo the neck. Have her straighten up her head again when you take measurements from there
To find the waist, tie a string around the general waist area. Have her raise or loosen and lower the string to where she feels her waist. Larger women may dip the waist string in the front; this is perfectly fine. Keep the string on while you take the measurements.

APPENDIX I: Competition

Ivestido.com will have competition online and offline. Prom-dresses.com and bestpromdresses.com are the two main retail stores for selling prom dresses online. Prom-dresses.com was started a year ago, and it averaged sales of 10 dresses a day right from the beginning (Sweeny, 2000).

Currently, prom-dresses.com averages sales of 40 to 50 dresses a day. The company has 30 styles available, and the prices range from $199 to $315. These dresses are made exclusive for the web site. Best-promdresses.com has sold 2,000 dresses since the site was launched in January. The average price for dresses is $150, and they have received 5,000 to 7,000 visitors a day (Sweeny, 2000).

The offline competition consists of retailers such as David’s, Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, and Nordstrom. These companies have a reputation of good customer service. However, it is difficult for a girl to find a one-of-a-kind dress in a retail store. There is also the problem of finding the dress in the right size and color.

A recent Primedia survey of Your Prom readers shows that:

33% buy their dresses in boutiques
32% purchase their dresses in bridal stores
26% buy their dresses in department stores
10% of those surveyed chose the Internet (Steffen, 2000)

APPENDIX J: Return Policy

While we do not expect to have a large amount of returns, we do realize that there will be a few. These returns will be due in large part to the dress not fitting properly because either the wrong size was ordered by the customer or, in rare occurrences, the dress was not sewn properly. Because these occurrences will occasionally occur, we must have a return policy. There will be two requirements for returning a dress. Each must have the tag still attached and the dress must be postmarked by a certain date.

Each dress will have a large tag attached to the outside of it. The first requirement that must be met is that the tag is still in place letting us know that the dress was not worn. If the tag is not present, we will work out a refund on a case-by-case basis.

There will also be a time period that must be followed. When the dress arrives to the customer, approximately 3 business days after shipment, and they try it on and decide that it does not fit the exact way they wanted, they will have 2 days to place a note on our site. This will let us know that a dress is going to be returned. By having them post a message on the site, this would allow us to try and contact them to see if we could provide any solutions to their problems so that they could keep the dress.

If they still want to return the dress, then it would have to be post-marked within 5 business days. The customer will be responsible for the shipping charges to return the dress. Once the dress is received, and the tag is still in place, their account will be credited, less the initial shipping charges. To give them an incentive to come back to our site and shop, they will be given a discount of 20% off the next dress purchase they make.

For the dresses that are returned, we will have a page on our website that will have all of them listed. Customers will be able to buy these dresses at a reduced price of 25%. These dresses will be sold “as is”, and they will be non-refundable. This will be so that we do not lose all of the money put into making the dresses. It will also cut down on the waste of material.

APPENDIX K: Web Hosting Services

Our Web hosting and DSL connection services will be provided through Verio.com. We will be provided the following services:

VerioOne DSL Package Includes:

· DSL Line with a speed of 1.5Mbps

· Internet access with unlimited usage and throughput

· 6 Static IP addresses (5 usable)

· Up to 5 e-mail POP boxes

· 24/7 customer care

· Netopia R7100 SDSL Router

· Price: $349.00 per month (free start-up and installation)

Window 2000 Marketplace E-commerce Package:

· E-commerce solutions

§ Gold Windows 2000 hosting plan

o 5 GB of monthly data transfer (about 100,000 page views)

o 100 MB diskspace (about 2000 webpages)

o 30 configurable e-mail accounts

§ Unlimited number of products

§ Store creation wizard

§ Real time credit card processing

§ Shopping cart software

· Windows 2000

§ Microsoft Frontpage 2000

§ Microsoft Office 2000 Extensions

§ ASP support including ASPmail and ASPupload

§ Microsoft NetShow

§ SQL 7.0 support

§ Visual Basic scripting

Total control of your account

Easy to use account Control Panel
Use your own software to build and publish your site
Website access statistics
Use your own CGI scripts
Database support (ODBC database access)
Up grade account at any time

World-class support

§ 24/7 technical support by phone or e-mail

§ Extensive documentation

§ Searchable online help

Price: $159.95 per month ($100 start-up fee)

(All information derived from Verio.com and a personal communication with a web hosing consultant)

APPENDIX L: Resumes

JESSICA L. BECK

CAMPUS ADDRESS PERMANENT ADDRESS

127 South Green Drive Room 124 1500 Woods Road

Athens, Ohio 45701 Richmond, Indiana 47374

(740) 597-6065 (765) 935-2799

e-mail: jb167099@ohio.edu

OBJECTIVE

A summer internship in the field of Finance

EDUCATION

Bachelor of Business Administration

OHIO UNIVERSITY, Athens, Ohio

Anticipated Graduation Date: June 2003

Major: Finance

GPA: 3.85/4.0

WORK EXPERIENCE

Production Assistant, June 2000-August 2000

J & J PACKAGING, Brookville, IN

Packaged Duracell batteries. Inspected packages of batteries for quality. Loaded

hundreds of batteries into machinery. Worked as a team of 10-12 on each machine. Reached goals set daily. Received quality product ratings every shift.

Cashier and Service Center Clerk, September 1997-July 1999

COUNTY MARKET, Richmond, IN

Cashier: Scanned groceries and balanced cash drawer of up to $10,000. Helped around 200 customers daily. Received a raise every 6 months with excellent evaluations.

Service Center Clerk: Answered phones, sold lottery tickets, money orders, western unions and stamps. Cashed thousands of dollars worth of paychecks and balanced cash drawer.

AWARDS & HONORS

Dean’s List: 3/3 Quarters

Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Fraternity: May 2000-Present

Copeland Scholars: 1999-2000

133 South Green Dr. Rm.247

Athens, Ohio 45701

Phones: (740) 597-6847

Email: bmcroston@yahoo.com

Beth Croston

Objective

To obtain an internship in which I can use my knowledge in the area of general business.

Experience

1999-present S.F Music Box Co. North Olmsted, OH

Sales and customer service

§ Assist customers in making purchasing decisions.

§ Assist in store audit

§ Help to maintain inventory

§ Create displays

§ Help to maintain appearance of the store

Summer 1998 Tropic Sun North Olmsted, OH

Sales and customer relations

§ Sold concessions

§ Opened and closed the store

§ Made nightly deposits

§ Assisted in maintaining inventory

§ Interacted with the public on a daily basis

§ Maintained equipment

Bachelor of Business Administration

Ohio University

Athens, Ohio

Major: General Business

Expected graduation date: June 2002

Education

Jamie Deanne Klingler

Campus Address:
20 Walker St. Athens, Oh 45701 (740)589-7699

E-Mail:
jk665298@ohio.edu

Permanent Address:

1507 Seven Mile Dr.
New Philadelphia, Ohio 44663
(330)364-5977

OBJECTIVE	To receive an internship that will further my knowledge and experience within my major of Accounting.
EDUCATION	OHIO UNIVERSITY, Athens, Ohio Bachelor of Business Administration, June 2002 Masters of Business Administration, June 2003 Major: Accounting GPA: 3.299/4.0 Dean's List Recipient, Fall, Winter, & Spring Quarter, 1998/99
WORK EXPERIENCE	Ohio University Press, Athens, Ohio Accounting Assistant, Fall 2000-present Ø Responsible for creating spreadsheets and entering data Ø Large printings press with approximately 350 books. Sent out payments to authors for royalties Ø Typing and submitting check requests Ø Typing, filing, various other miscellaneous tasks George J. Igel Co., Columbus, Ohio Accounting Assistant, Summer 2000 Ø Entered time tickets into Timberline accounting software Ø Ran payroll reports and processed payroll Ø Responsible for entering accounts payable invoices, printing checks, sending them out, and posting the checks. Ø Miscellaneous office tasks such as: filing, opening and distributing mail, stuffing envelopes, etc.
ACTIVITIES	Delta Sigma Pi, Professional Business Fraternity Ø Secretary, Winter 2000-present Ø Vice-President Special Services of pledge class, Fall 1999 Ø Participated in Volunteer Activities
REFERENCES	Available Upon Request

Business Overview

Marketing Strategy

Expansion

3.0 Marketing Plan

3.1 Overall Marketing Strategy

3.5 Pricing

7.0 Manufacturing Plan

Smith, P. (2000, November 13). Personal Communication.

Steffen, L. (2000, May 18). Online Shopping. Computer Bits, 5.

APPENDIX A: Website Snapshot

APPENDIX G: Measuring

How to size

APPENDIX I: Competition

APPENDIX J: Return Policy

Krista M. Lauritsen

CAMPUS ADDRESS: PERMANENT ADDRESS:

ASSOCIATIONS AND ACTIVITIES

AWARDS AND HONORS

COMPUTER SKILLS