Daily Charge Rate

Business Plan

1.The nature of your business

Business name HLVTCA.co.uk

Business activity

Freelance Graphic Designer specialising in visual identity,

Logo & Branding, also dabbling in Editorial and Packaging. An all round package.

Based at a home studio, my business being run by the means of a website.

Mission statement

Im modern, Im dominant, Im a cheap lady of the night. Helvetica.

Helvetica is being used by everyone, get involved or lose out. HLVTCA will bring you success.

Business objectives

.Run business through Quality website, how they find me, contact me.

.All design based around the Helvetica typeface.

.When another typeface becomes bigger and more popular, switch to that.

.Grow a list of clients whom depend on me for their design needs.

The people in the business

One

Designer

What is the structure of your business?

As i am the only one in the business, there isn’t much structure, Just me like.

The business itself will be in the form of a website, running everything from there, that is where i have my presence as a designer.

What is the legal status of your business?

The business will be Sole trade as I am the only one in the business. The advantages of this is that i dont need to worry about anyones wages other than mine. There will be no designer clashes or artistic compromises.

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2. Resources

1. Products or services

The product or rather service i am providing is freelance graphic design, anything from logo design to brand & identity work, packaging or editorial. This being so my designs are a 100% of the turnover.

2. What resources do you require?

The biggest expense in terms of resources / equipment would be my Macbook and creative software, however i already have these, so there is no expenses there. Other than that i require a constant flow of paper and pens but this would be no more than £1000 annually.

3. How much stock do you need any stock to start your business?

Nothing.

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3. Prices

1. How have you worked out your prices?

My pricing strategy is based upon what i want to be earning as a new professional designer, using the annual charge rate worksheet, i have found that i need to charge a daily amount of £148.90. This is quite a cheap as say if i worked 8 hours a day it would come down to £18.60 an hour. Which from some brief research is roughly seen as an average price. The majoirty of hourly rates falling between £15-20

How do your prices compare with your competitors?

I found a freelance designer also situated in Leeds under the name of Straight To Helvetica. He charges a base rate of £10 an hour which is very cheap! However you do get what you pay for, he even uses other typefaces than Helvetica! He also provides the option of packages;

Logo design: 3x examples and relevant amends, 3 working days - £50

Business Card design: 2x examples, 3 working days - £45

In-depth logo re-branding: Research and report on current logo/competition, 3x initial examples, Relevant amends, Real World Mock-ups, Style guide, 2 weeks - £250

• A6 Event flyer design: 2x working days, 1 examples, amends - £40

Web banner, 3x examples and amends, 1 week - £50, this is the pricing scheme from a Leeds based freelancer, his standard rate beiong £10 per hour, this is much cheaper that me, however his work isn’t great and its not in helvetica, so its deemed worthless. - Straight to Helvetica Designs

Strengths: Cheap, offers variety of services,

Weaknesses: Low quality, Part time freelance. not readily available.

Opportunity: Availability, 'full-time' freelance. Offer better quality of work for little extra money.

A friend of mine is also Freelance designer based in the Yorkshire area, after having a quick discussion on the phone, he told me that he would normally assess each project and give them a personal quote, however if he is to charge an hourly rate he goes at £35-45 an hour. Which is much more expensive than me, however he has a few years under his belt as a professional designer. His name is Adam Carlile, www.adamcarlile.com.

Strengths: Experience, Client base

Weaknesses: expensive, has other job aswell

Opportunity: Again availability, cheaper price.

4. Customers

1. What evidence do you have that anyone will buy your product / service?

My selling point is that Helvetica is the font businesses and companies need to succeed, my idea is new in terms of forcing this upon non expecting clients, assuring that all they need for their visual identity is Helvetica and with it they shall become successful in whatever they do.

Half the proof is out in the world, with so many promo, retail and advertising using Helvetica to gain success, I can give everyone this success by just using Helvetica.

Who are these people?

My main consumers will be educated professionals, both males and females from the ages of 25-60, within the corporate world. Companies, both private and public businesses. Their lifestyles and values being revolved around money mostly based in the major cities around the UK. The benefits they seek will be profit based, what will get them the most money. The market sectors i want are, Business and consumer services, IT, Legal services and Mining! They love’s the gold.

3. Where are they?

London, Liverpool, Birmingham, Leeds, Newcastle, Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Cardiff, Sheffield, Nottingham.

How many are there of them? Just looking at accountants, there are over 280,000 qualified accountants in the UK, now obviously they are not all private sole working, but thats still a lot of accountancy firms in the UK.

Why would they buy from you rather than anyone else?

Comparing myself to the freelance designer from StraightToHelvetica, he is cheaper, however i am still cheap in terms of freelance design however i offer a good quality of work and promise success! I am also awfully charismatic, Everybody loves me, babies, dogs, ya know, hot girls, cougars. I just have unbelievable mass appeal.

6. How much will the average customer spend with you?

How often will they spend that amount with you?

Will your sales fluctuate due to external forces ( e.g. seasons or cultural / sporting events)

In terms of my hourly rate, say a full visual identity project, 1-2 weeks depending on how many ranges of media they want the identity to span across, the average customer shall spend, £1400. This i have got from my hourly rate, 8 hours a day, 10 days working on the project. They will only spend this amount once, as it will be for the re-branding, however, any future publications / design work would bring in extra income. Accountants for example run all year round, so my sales shouldnt fluctuate due to anything but acts of God.

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5. How will you promote your business?

How will you advertise your products / services?

(advertising is not compulsory)

Using personal selling and direct marketing. Firstly creating a mailing list, offering my services, showing what i can do for them and why they should use me. Whole idea of without Helvetica you are losing out, pay me the helvetica-Hore to make you successful. Although costly i feel this is the best way to access my market, Starting locally with the mail shots, after sending them i shall take advantage of personal selling by phoning them just to make sure they got it and to generally pester them to see if they need any work doing.

What other marketing methods would be effective for you?

Personal Selling

Promotions

Public relations

Direct Marketing (Targeted marketing)

Internet

The internet will be an effective means of advertising myself, i shall produce my own website to get a web presence, showcasing my helvetica works, my philosophy and contact details.

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6. Total set up costs

1. Marketing

Cost of promoting your business for the first year

With direct marketing and a plan for a mail shot, expenses will incur. Roughly i think £1500 to 2000 should cover the costs of designing them and the printing and sending of them. Depending on design development and what not this cost might dramatically decrease, as it is something i would look to save on, So one colour print process could be a good idea to reduce costs.

2. How will you finance the business start up?

Name a suitable source for the kind of funding you need.

If it’s a grant – give evidence that your are eligible. You are NOT eligible for Prince’s Trust

Working from home reduces a lot of costs, so in terms of start up i dont need much. I wouldnt want to get involved with banks straight away so unfortunately my father would receive a phone call. I believe they would be financially stable to give me a loan of about £5000, this covering new software, printer/ printing costs and my marketing plan.