STOREIT

Date : April 25th 2014

Program : International Business Management Studies

Class : Project

Project Title : Introducing StoreIT Self-Storage Facility to Suriname

Group : Five

Coach :

Consultants : Sheetal Ramkhelawan-Sujan M.Sc. & Randy Badal

i Why throw it away, when you can StoreIT!
I. Introduction
The International Business Management Studies (IBMS) offered by the FHR School of Business has been devised in
such a way that each term deals with a number of essential professional competencies. Term 1 was focused on obtaining
a descriptive understanding of an organization, Term 2 was focused on the immediate external environment of an
organization and the major factors directly impacting its marketing strategies, and Term 3 and Term 4 are focused on the
entrepreneurial dimensions of a company.

As Term 3 students of the IBMS program our assignment is to form our own company and come up with a new product
or service to introduce into the Surinamese market. This project is based on the successful BBC television series, The
Dragons’ Den, where entrepreneurs “pitch” their ideas to a group of venture capitalists in order to gain investment.

We are required to form a company, to develop a product or service not yet registered in our local market and to try to
sell our idea to a team of investors in the Dragons’ Den.

In order to accomplish this, we need to:

 Research and assess target markets, segments and competition
 Develop a business strategy
 Develop a business model or concept
 Justify the viability and profitability of the business model or concept
 Provide a financial feasibility of the product or service as well as the business model
 Work efficiently in a team

The deliverables of this project are:

Initial Paper The initial paper is a brief introduction to the project, gives a general idea on what the product or
service is, defines the methods which the team will implement to successfully complete the
project and state the agreements for collaboration made by the team. This was submitted on
March 31st 2014.
Action Plan The action plan consists of a clear and structured overview of the manner in which the project
will be executed and implemented including details on the project organization, schedule,
communication plan and quality plan. This was submitted on April 14th 2014.
Feasibility Analysis The feasibility analysis consists of a complete analysis of the viability of the business idea and
will be focused on answering one main question: “Should we proceed with the proposed project
idea?” This is due on April 25th 2014.
Business Plan The business plan will be critical to the success of our new venture. It is the framework of our
company and provides the necessary benchmarks so that we can monitor if we are reaching our
goals. It will consist of a description of our company and our product or service line, an analysis
of our target market, the organization and management of our company, the marketing and sales
activities, funding request and financial projections.
Presentation The proposed business idea will be presented to the group of venture capitalists, The Dragons.
The proposed product or service will be explained in details. We will be required to convince
The Dragons of the feasibility of our business idea and will have to defend our product to show
that it will work in the Surinamese market thus convincing The Dragon to invest in our business
idea.

The students working on this project are listed below with their contact information and the roles they are fulfilling
during the duration of the project.
 Name: Bhikharie, Rodney Name: Charlery, Anne
Mobile Phone: 8738841 Mobile Phone: 8566523
Email: rodney_bhikharie@hotmail.com Email: julcharlery@gmail.com
Role : Project Archivist Role: Project Secretary

Name: Goudzand , Timothy Name: Heidanus, Duane Name: Persaud, Amanda

Mobile Phone: 7185337 Mobile Phone: 8514584 Mobile Phone: 8656077
Email: tim.goudzand@gmail.com Email: dwduane@hotmail.com Email: apersaud@n-remote.com
Role: Project Communicator Role: Project Planner Role: Project Leader

II. Executive Summary

Paramaribo, Suriname currently does not have any self-storage facility.
STOREIT BUSINESS IDEA INTRODUCTION
III. Business Idea Introduction
This section of the feasibility analysis will introduce the proposed business and its founders and will give a general
overview of the business idea and the chosen business mode.

A. Name of the proposed business

We have decided to name our proposed business StoreIT N.V. This reason why this name was chosen is best
explained by our slogan: Why throw it away, when you can StoreIT! Research conducted at the KKF confirmed
that there is no other company in Suriname that has legally registered this name which means that it is available
and can be used for our business.

B. Name of the founders

StoreIT N.V. has been founded by the following persons:
 Bhikharie, Rodney
 Charlery, Anne
 Goudzand, Timothy
 Heidanus, Duane
 Persaud, Amanda

C. Summary of the Business Idea

StoreIT N.V. is a self-storage service for both companies and individuals. This service is not yet in Suriname,
and will be of a great help for the community and business. StoreIT N.V. will give businesses and individuals
the ability to store their personal belongings in a safe environment for a very low cost. Most companies build
their own warehouse in order to store their products, which is a very expensive expenditure. We as a company
will be able to supply the need for companies to store their products in a well-secured warehouse. This will be a
great service also for individuals that do not have space within their homes, and have no other place to store
their belongings. All customers will have 24/7 access to their storage compartment. There will be a great range
in choices of space that can be rented, because we believe that everyone should be able to rent a space for
storage. Whether you need a small unit to clear your house of clutter or a large unit for your files, inventory or
other business needs, StoreIT will provide the space that is perfect for your needs.

D. Overview of Business Model

1 Why throw it away, when you can StoreIT!

2 Why throw it away, when you can StoreIT!
IV. Service Desirability
To determine the desirability of our self-storage service, we have written a concept statement (Appendix 1) and have
given it to 10 individuals to screen it and to give us informed and candid feedback. These individuals were asked to tell
us three things that they liked about our idea, to provide three suggestions for making it better, to tell us if they think it is
a feasible idea and to give us any other comments or suggestions that they may have.

The information that was obtained based on the concept statement is displayed below.

A. Strengths of our self-storage service

These are the things that the people who evaluated our service concept said that they liked about the idea.
1. It is the first of its kind in Suriname.
2. Different sizes of units are available to be rented.
3. It is a service for both individuals and businesses.
4. Units can be rented on short-term or long-term basis.
5. Each unit will have individual door alarms.

B. Suggestions for Strengthening the Business Idea

The following suggestions were made by some of the individuals who evaluated the business concept to
strengthen or improve the idea.
1. We can rent moving trucks and vehicles.
2. The largest unit size should be that of the size of a 40-foot container especially if we are targeting
retailers who import merchandise and do not always have storage to store their merchandise.

C. Overall feasibility of the service concept

The following graph shows the number of people who thinks that our self-storage service is feasible and the
number of people who do not think that it is feasible.

Figure 1.1: Overall Feasibility

10%

Feasible
Not Feasible

90%

D. Other Comments and Suggestions

Other comments and suggestions made by the individuals who evaluated our new service concept are:
1. The units in the storage facility must include sufficient space for trucks to drive in and out thus making
it easier for items to be loaded onto and off of the moving trucks.
2. We should consider allowing clients to store other items such as: vehicles, boats and motorcycles.

IV. Service Demand

To determine if there is a demand for our self-storage service, we conducted a buying intentions survey. The concept
statement with a new service survey (Appendix 2) was distributed to fifty prospective customers. These do not include
the ten individuals who evaluated the concept statement.

The results of the buying intentions survey are as follows.

A. How familiar are you with the concept of self-storage?

 Figure 1.2: Familarity with Self-Storage
Not at all
Slightly
Moderately
Very

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

B. Which features of a self-storage service are important to you?

Figure 1.3: Important Features

6%
10%
Price
Security
44% Location
Trained Staff
40%

C. How likely would you be to buy our self-storage service?

Figure 1.4: Likely to Purchase

Not at all
Slightly
Moderately
Very

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

D. Would you recommend this service to someone you know?

Figure 4: Recommend Service

15%

Yes
No

85%

IV. Conclusion
Based on the information obtained from the evaluation of the concept statement and the buyer intention survey, we have
concluded that this service is a desirable service and that there is also a high demand for it.

A. Result Service Feasibility

□ Feasible
□ Not Feasible
□ Unsure Feasible
IV. Industry Attractiveness
The industry that we plan to enter is………………… We have assessed the attractiveness of this industry based on the
following dimensions.

Dimension Low Potential Moderate Potential High Potential

Number of competitors Many Few None
Age of industry Old Middle aged Young
Growth rate of industry Little or no growth Moderate growth Strong growth
Average net income for firms in the Low Medium High
industry
Degree of industry concentration Concentrated Neither Fragmented
concentrated nor
fragmented
Stage of industry life cycle Maturity phase or Growth phase Emergence phase
decline phase
Importance of industry's products and/or "Ambivalent" "Would like to "Must have"
services to customers have"
Extent to which business and Low Medium High
environmental trends are moving in favor
of the industry
Number of exciting new product and services Low Medium High
emerging from the industry
Long-term prospects Weak Neutral Strong

IV. Target Market Attractiveness

The target market for StoreIT is…………………….

We have assessed the attractiveness of the target market based on the following dimensions.

Dimension Low Potential Moderate Potential High Potential

Number of competitors in the target market Many Few None
Growth rate of firms in the target market Little to no growth Slow growth Rapid growth
Average net income for firms in the Low Medium High
industry
Methods for generating revenue in the Unclear Somewhat clear Clear
industry
Ability to create "barriers to entry" for Unable to create May or may not be able Can create
potential competitors to create
Degree to which customers feel satisfied by Satisfied Neither satisfied or Unsatisfied
the current offerings in the target market dissatisfied
Potential to employ low cost guerrilla and/or Low Moderate High
buzz marketing techniques to promote the
firm's product or services
Excitement surrounding new product/service Low Medium High
offerings in the target market

IV. Market Timeliness

In this section, we analyzed the extent to which the “window of opportunity” for our self-storage service is
open or closed based on the following criteria.

Dimension Low Potential Moderate Potential High Potential

Buying mood of customers Customers are not in a Customers are in a Customers are in an aggressive
buying mood moderate buying buying mood
mood
Momentum of the market Stable to losing Slowly gaining Rapidly gaining momentum
momentum momentum
Need for a new firm in the market with your Low Moderate High
offerings or geographic location
Extent to which business and environmental Low Medium High
trends are moving in favor of the target
market
Recent or planned entrance of large firms into Large firms entering the Rumors that large firms No larger firms entered the
the market market may be entering the market or are rumored to be
market entering the market

IV. Conclusion
Based on the information obtained from the evaluation of the concept statement and the buyer intention survey, we have
concluded that this service is a desirable service and that there is also a high demand for it.

B. Result Industry/Market Feasibility

□ Feasible
□ Not Feasible
□ Unsure Feasible
IV. Management Prowess
In this section we have analyzed and candidly and objectively rated the “prowess” of the group of founders
who will be starting StoreIT. The results of this analysis is visible in the following table.

Dimension Amanda Persaud Moderate Potential High Potential

Passion for the business idea Low Moderate High
Relevant industry experience None Moderate Extensive
Prior entrepreneurial experience None Moderate Extensive
Depth of professional and social networks Weak Moderate Strong
Creativity among management team Low Moderate High
members
Experience and expertise in cash flow None Moderate High
management
College graduate No college education Some college education Graduated or are currently in
but not currently in college
college

IV. Resource Sufficiency

The focus on this section is to focus on nonfinancial resources. We have made a list of the most critical
nonfinancial resources.

An explanation of the rating system used in the first portion of the table is as follows:

® Available
® Likely to be available: will probably be available and will be within my budget © Unlikely to be available: will probably be hard to
find or gain access to, and may
exceed my budget © Unavailable
© NA: not applicable for my business

Dimension Amanda Persaud Moderate Potential High Potential

Office space Low Moderate High
Lab space, manufacturing space, or space None Moderate Extensive
to launch a service business
Contract manufacturers or outsource None Moderate Extensive
providers
Key management employees (now and in Weak Moderate Strong
the future)
Key support personnel (now and in the Low Moderate High
future)
Key equipment needed to operate the None Moderate High
business (computers, machinery, delivery
vehicles)
Ability to obtain intellectual property No college education Some college education Graduated or are currently in
protection on key aspects of the business but not currently in college
college

Dimension Amanda Persaud Moderate Potential High Potential

Passion for the business idea Low Moderate High
 None Moderate Extensive
Proximity to similar firms
None Moderate Extensive
Proximity to suppliers
Weak Moderate Strong
Proximity to customers
Proximity to a major research center

IV. Conclusion
Based on the information obtained from the evaluation of the concept statement and the buyer intention survey, we have
concluded that this service is a desirable service and that there is also a high demand for it.

C. Result Organizational Feasibility

□ Feasible
□ Not Feasible
□ Unsure Feasible
IV. Total Start-up Cash Needed
In this section, the total start-up cash needed was analyzed. The start-up costs included capital investments
for the land, building, equipment, hiring of personnel, marketing and initial service launch and the operating
expenses. At this stage we worked with estimated amounts as exact numbers are not necessary at the
feasibility analysis stage but the estimates are fairly accurate. This is important so that we can decide where
the money will come from to cover the startup costs.

A. Capital Investments

Land
Property
Furniture and Fixtures
Computer Equipment
Other Equipment
Vehicles

B. Operating Expenses

Legal, accounting, and professional services

Advertising and promotions
Deposits for utilities
Licenses and permits
Prepaid insurance
Lease payments
Salary and wages
Payroll taxes
Travel
Signs
Tools and supplies
Starting inventory
Cash (working capital)
Other expense 1
Other expense 2

Comparison of the Financial Performance of Proposed Venture to Similar Firms

Overall Financial Attractiveness of the Proposed Venture

Low Potential Moderate Potential High Potential

1. Steady and rapid growth in Unlikely Moderately likely Highly likely

sales during the first one to
three years in a clearly defined
target market
2. High percentage of recurring Low Moderate Strong
income—meaning that once you
win a client, the client will
provide recurring sources of
revenue
3. Ability to forecast income and Weak Moderate Strong
expenses with a reasonable
degree of certainty
4. Likelihood that internally Unlikely Moderately likely Highly likely
generated funds will be available
within two years to finance
growth
5. Availability of exit opportunity Unlikely to be May be available Likely to be
for investor if applicable unavailable available

. Conclusion
Based on the information obtained from the evaluation of the concept statement and the buyer intention survey, we have
concluded that this service is a desirable service and that there is also a high demand for it.

D. Result Organizational Feasibility

□ Feasible
□ Not Feasible
□ Unsure Feasible

Final Conclusion

Product/Market Not feasible □

Feasibility Unsure □
Feasible □
Industry/Market Not feasible □
Feasibility Unsure □
Feasible □
Organizational Not feasible □
Feasibility Unsure □
Feasible □
Financial Feasibility Not feasible □
Unsure □
Feasible □
Overall Assessment Not feasible
□
Unsure
□
Feasible
□