Example for Business Idea Competition

This is a fictitious example of a business idea. We have written it down as a model that can help you
what to write in the online application form
form of the YEEP Business Idea Competition. Please do not
copy the sentences or things written, but rather get inspired by it!

Business Idea Owner: Stephan Brun

What is your motivation to implement your business idea?

Make sure you use between 60 and 150 words. Please describe why you would like to implement your business idea. You can
also tell us more generally why you would like to become an entrepreneur or why you want to participate in YEEP.

I am fascinated by the fact that with good ideas, motivation and a lot of hard work it is possible to
create many new things. So far, I have initiated different social projects. However, during the last years I
realized how difficult it is to keep such activities going; There is always a financial dependency on
donations. I am convinced that the solution for this problem lies
l in the combination of economic
econo and
social aspects. I would like to become a social entrepreneur who creates a financially stable business
and contributes at the same time to the improvement of living standards of poor people.

Preliminary mission statement (1-2 sentences)

A mission statement expresses
xpresses what you plan to do in your business and for what purpose. For a definition see wikipedia.

Vac4all offers affordable cleaning services for the low income population in Ethiopia and contributes to
a better hygiene and health status.

What problem do you tackle with your idea?

Make sure you use between 60 and 150 words. Even though you already have a solution/ business idea in mind, try
nevertheless to go one step back and think what is the problem that should be tackled for a specific group of potential
customers. Who could be your potential clients? Why is there a need for the idea you suggest?

Especially during the dry season, the cities of Ethiopia are becoming very dusty places. People try to
clear regularly with brushes or they use water to prevent the dust polluting the air. But this method is
not very efficient. This dust is not only unpleasant; it can also become a hygienic problem: it is a perfect
biotope for fleas, which transmit various diseases. Furthermore, dust can be harmful for the lungs and
might contribute to lung diseases.
A lasting solution would be to keep the city in general clean and to use plants to bind dust. But this is a
long term perspective and individual persons have no influence on that. Modern tools like vacuum
cleaners could nevertheless be an easy solution to make small houses healthier. Unfortunately, poor
people cannot afford to have such equipment.
What is concretely your business idea? Describe it!
Make sure you use between 100 and 300 words. Try to describe as much in detail as possible, what your idea will do. Do not
only describe technical specifications, but also try to imagine, how the customers will use your idea. Whenever possible, give
giv
some concrete examples about how it works, what it will do or how you will proceed to develop your business.

Vac4all offers cleaning service to economically poor or middle income people. It maintains a selection of
high quality cleaning machines, suitable to provide services to households. We will start with powerful
vacuum cleaners. Our employees will walk around
d in the different neighborhoods and offer their
services. There are different pricing plans available. Usually, we count 10 minutes for the cleaning of
one single room. This will cost around 3 to 5 Ethiopian Birr. For bigger apartments we also offer lump
sum payments in order to reduce the financial insecurity for our customers. And for more middle class
houses we offer special premium plans that will include a second round of cleaning with water.
We consider that for many people it might even be fun to try
try out themselves to use a vacuum cleaner.
This will be possible, as our employees can give them a quick instruction. However, self-cleaning
self will be
charged at the same price.
Before employing somebody we will train him/her how to use the machine but also where and how to
clean a room in order to remove as much dust as possible. In order to increase our social impact, we will
mainly work with unemployed people that have difficulties finding jobs.
We do not plan to do a lot of advertisement as we think that word of mouth marketing will be enough
to find customers. With their machines, our employees will be very visible in the village and we plan to
dress them in a way that catches the eye of everybody. However, we will print small flyers which inform
the potential customers, why it is important to clean the dust with a machine and that show them, what
benefit they have from our services.

What is the potential of your idea?

Make sure you use between 60 and 150 words. Here, you have to try to convince us, that your idea is great. Try to explain,
exp why
you believe that your idea has a potential to find customers and to grow. Find good arguments, why you think that your
business will work. Give examples and refer to existing experiences.

Vac4all has a big potential to grow: The Ethiopian economy is growing quickly and people see modern
equipment on TV or advertisements. Nevertheless the majority of the population remains poor. Sharing
equipment with others through our company makes such machines
machines available for a very big number of
people.
Vacuum cleaning is just the beginning. The potential of our idea is in the possibility to extend it to
various other services in any neighborhood that requires big and expensive machines.
As our employees are moving around in one area, we might even add delivery or messaging services to
our services.
What information is still missing in order to know, if you business is feasible?
Make sure you use between
etween 60 and 150 words. Describe what information you will still have to collect before you can develop
your business. Try to do a critical reflection about risks and potential problems that you encounter while developing your
idea.You do not have to prooff that you already know everything about your idea and how to develop it. Much more important
for us is to see that you are able to develop critical thoughts about what could go wrong or also where you think there are gaps
g
of missing information which stilll have to be filled before you can be sure that your idea will work.

• Is electricity available everywhere or do we have to have a generator?

• Can equipment be carried around (portable vacuum cleaners) or do we need to put them on a
small trolley?
• What would be a price that poor people can afford?
• How to maintain the machines? Where to get spare parts from?
• Is there a risk of theft? How to make sure that our employees don’t run
ru away with the
machines?
• How to prevent others from just copy our idea once we are successful and so destroy our
market with lower prices?
• How can we import the equipment we need? How do we find quality brands at affordable
prices?
• What is the life expectancy
expectancy of a machine that is used many hours every day?
• How much initial capital do we need to buy the material and set up the structure?