Justice4All

Justice4all Lawn Care and Outdoor Maintenance

For the People

Executive Summary

Justice4all is a business that has grown out of a perceived niche in a large market. The business itself isn’t a new concept, but the way that its services are provided to the people is. A no-contract, flat-rate mowing service is unheard of in today’s lawn care and outdoor maintenance world, and Justice4all hopes to change that.

Justice4all is able to offer contract-free lawn care at prices that beat the competition’s because the fixed costs of the company are almost non-existent. This is due in large part to the motivated and experienced management and ownership within the company.

As will be evident in the following analysis, Justice4all is a well thought out business with all of the pieces needed to become successful on every level. The company is already funded and the majority of its necessities have already been purchased. It is predicted that within the next two weeks, Justice4all will be fully functional and will be bringing a much needed service to the greater Jacksonville area.

Product Definition

Justice4all aims to provide quality lawn care services with ease and at discounted rates without the hassle of long term contracts and hidden fees.

Company Description

Justice4all aims to satisfy residential and commercial residencies within the greater Jacksonville area with a focus on middle to high-income areas of said location. Justice4all targets those looking for an alternative to traditional lawn care. The company plans to implement this through expedient service, flexible scheduling, and versatile equipment and workers. Justice4all services are available to any urban residence or facility with outdoor maintenance needs. Justice4all will provide superior customer satisfaction through a lack of long-term contracts and an easy-access online ordering system.

Market Analysis

Upon door to door survey collection, we found that the industrial outlook of lawn Care services in Jacksonville looks very strong. All persons surveyed said that their willingness to purchase said services was at least a seven on a scale of one to ten. Several residents also stated that they had been turned away by companies because demand was too high. While historical data on the size of the lawn care industry is unavailable, it would not be very helpful, as a large portion of the industry is hinged on the weather patterns from year to year.

However, Justice4all is able to withstand more fluctuation in the market due to its competitive advantage in lower overhead. A list of the largest competitors follows:

○ Jacksonville Lawn Care INC.

○ Jacksonville Lawn Care

○ Sam’s Mowing

○ GTS Mowing

○ Hembrough’s Tree and Lawn Care

The exact market shares are unavailable, but it is clear that Hembrough’s has the corner on market share. It is the plan of The Justice4all Company to provide cheaper services that are easier to access. This is how we plan to gain a significant portion of the market share quickly. The goal of the company is to obtain 15% of the market share, and to reach $20,000 in total sales during the first year.

The breakeven point for Justice4all will be much lower than its competitors. With no storefront and a concentrated workforce, The Justice4all Company is the “clicks” in a “bricks and mortar” industry.

This being stated, the target market will be middle to upper class households within the city limits of Jacksonville. This geographic market area was chosen due to the central location of the business. Leaving this area lessens the competitive advantage of the company, but will come with growth. This financial market has been selected because of survey collection and national data on the lawn care industry. Lawn care is a luxury good, so the approach of The Justice4all Company will take this into account. Market trends are dependent mostly on weather patterns, but the economy is also a factor. However, the overall market should grow as the population ages.

Market test results were very helpful in the market analysis in that it verified the product that our company has built. The biggest problem with lawn care services (as our survey results indicated) is contracts. Households pay for lawn care monthly, but dislike being charged for months the service is not used. This is in sharp contrast to the goal of Justice4all, which intends to only charge a one-time fee for when the service is actually used.

The market test also showed that there is a very high interest in purchasing lawn care in general. Participants were also very receptive to the idea of an online order system with short lead times. In fact, the goal of Justice4all is to provide service within 24 hours after an order has been placed. This is baring no unforeseen circumstances such as inclement weather.

While the competitive advantage has been discussed, the competitive disadvantage of The Justice4all Company is the limited range of services. The solution to this is to partner with TruGreen. TruGreen has the ability to cover fertilization and aeration without competing against Justice4all for the actual maintenance of lawns.

The way our company plans to penetrate the market leads to relatively low barriers to entry. Justice4all has the financial resources to purchase all equipment, insurance, and advertising. It is also able to withstand a slow start-up (due to any customer loyalty with other companies or a slow growing season) because the only fixed costs will be insurance.

Marketing and Sales activity

In the chart below, the major advertised advantages of using Justice4all are listed. These will be the competitive advantages that the company has over the competition, but these points will also be the center of major advertising campaigns.

As previously stated, Justice4all intends to penetrate the middle to upper class economy in Jacksonville, Illinois. It will do so through a commanding marketing strategy that contains, but is not limited to, door hangings, phone book advertisements, newspaper advertisements, and various promotions. The introduction of The Justice4all Company will be completed through the use of door hangings in areas identified as having a high potential to purchase lawn care services.

The sales force driving the company forward will be the customers that choose to use our services. Promotions incentivizing current customers to do so will include a free lawn mowing to those who successfully recommend a paying customer. This strategy puts free publicity at the forefront of the market strategy.

The Justice4all Company also plans to use social media as a source to distribute certain promotions (such as a Fourth of July Special), along with clearly labeling itself while in the community. This with a combination of paid advertising will maximize the number of potential customers reached.

The lack of a formal “sales force” will give The Justice4all Company a competitive advantage in that it reduces overhead and makes our operation cheaper. We believe that the product and quality of service will sell itself once the initial phase of market penetration has been completed.

As the company looks to penetrate its first market, it also looks ahead to a horizontal growth pattern. This means finding markets in surrounding communities and cities to grow the overall reach and profitability of the company. While this growth is inevitable, it will come only after a secure market share is held in Jacksonville.

Products and Services

The services offered by Justice4all are basic lawn care and outdoor maintenance services that make having a perfect lawn easy and affordable. With the main competitive advantage being price, there is also the advantage of personal service. Justice4all offers lawn care with a smile by people that genuinely care how customers’ lawns look. The present stage of the basic lawn care package and other packages are still in the developmental and test phases, but they are promising. Thus far, services are of professional grade and should be priced considerably less than a similar product offered by any of our competition.

While the product life cycle of lawn care is hard to judge, most reasonable estimates put it in the growth quadrant. Lawn care is a growing industry in the United States, but especially in smaller communities. This has a great deal to do with the aging population and the distribution of wealth.

To date, there are no copyrights or patents that will be needed for this company to complete its day to day operations. There are also no legal agreements or trade secrets that require non-disclosure.

As any successful business knows, research and development is very important. Justice4all intends to constantly better its services by offering specials and by adding equipment that can grow the repertoire of the company. Frequent polling will be done on current and noncurrent customers in order to find exactly what services are not being utilized. Staying current on lawn care and outdoor maintenance around the nation will also be a big part of research and development for the company.

Business and trade shows will be another outlet that can be utilized. As of today the owner and CEO of Justice4all is already booked for a John Deere showcase in Iowa. It is conferences such as this that will help Justice4all stay on top and ahead of the competition.

Operations

Service delivery for basic lawn care and outdoor maintenance will be received one of two ways: 1. The customer can order over the phone 2. The customer can order via our easy to use website. Both of these ordering systems rank the same as far as when the customer gets serviced.

From the order point, the customer will then be marked on the company’s digital calendar on the date of their requested service. This will ensure that customers have a time slot that fits with their request. From this point, the service will be provided, weather permitting.

All orders that deal with chemical treatment or aeration will be subcontracted by TruGreen in a pre-disclosed business agreement.

With this simple order and tracking system the potential capacity is very high and timing will only be mostly based on weather and number of clients. Because the service is quickly provided, multiple simultaneous orders shouldn’t provide a problem for the system. Also, there are no outside cost factors that will impact the delivery of services.

The actual operation of lawn care and outdoor maintenance will be very similar to the operations of competition. The basic lawn trim will be a double, bi-directionally cut lawn with standard trimming and cleanup. The service itself doesn’t need to be distinguishable from our competition because the price offers the distinction. As long as the finished product is one that appeases the customer, Justice4all has done its job properly.

The biggest operating competitive advantage is that JUSTICE4ALL has much lower direct costs than the competition. With only one worker, the company is able to provide a high capacity while still maintaining lower overhead. The only fixed cost per month is the insurance payment of $70. This means that the company could be competitive in a small economy. It could also be extremely profitable in a large economy. These low costs mean that JUSTICE4ALL can charge much less to make the same profit as its competition. Thus, our competitive advantage is born.

Because Justice4all relies on a set of standard equipment there are really no supplier issues. However, the issue of mechanical failure is certainly possible. In the case of mechanical failure, the only necessity is the lawn mower itself. With this in mind, Justice4all was able to come to an agreement with Toro (our mower provider) that in the event of mechanical failure, we would receive a replacement until ours was fixed. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, this should eliminate any supply chain issues that may have previously existed.

Management and Ownership

As it stands now, Justice4all will have one main employee and one employee with a lesser role (Resumes are located in the index). Employee one is Owner and operator Matt Justice, while employee two is the accountant Michael Elliot.

The main duties of the owner and operator will be to manage the accounts available to the company, pay all bills, and perform the required labor at job sites. The owner and operator will be paid an hourly wage of $10 an hour, as this has already been built into the cost structure that clients get billed for.

Mr. Justice is uniquely suited for this venture, as he is currently finishing an economics, finance, and management degree at Illinois College. He has also had three full years of experience mowing for a commercial level company. It is this set of skills, along with his love for people, which will allow him to be the face and workhorse of the company.

If need be, more laborers will be brought into the company. However, this will be on an as needed basis.

Financial Data

Financial data for the company will be divided up into two parts: Monthly data and yearly data. This is done so as to make the distinct patterns of the mowing season easier to identify and isolate. The monthly breakdown of costs is as follows.

First 14 lawns of each month Lawn 15 and up

The reason monthly data is broken down into "first 14 lawns" and "lawn 15 and up" is because the company has only one fixed cost: Insurance. Insurance will cost the company $70 a month. This cost will be taken out of the first 14 lawns that the company mows in each month.

Because Justice4all will be charging $30/acre with a minimum of one acre, the company will have a profit of $10 during the first 14 lawns and a profit of $15 from that point out. It is predicted that during the first 3 months of service, Justice4all will service 75 1 acre lawns as a part of the basic package. As is shown in the table below, this would lead to a $3,615 profit in the first three months.

The number of basic lawn care package is expected to increase to 125 lawns for the remainder of this mowing season. This would result in a monthly take-home of roughly $1,850 for the company.

Now that the monthly portion of the data is covered, the yearly data is fairly easy to quantify. Based on the monthly calculations above, the first full year of service for Justice4all should yield $11,015. While this may be an optimistic dollar amount for a start-up company, the number of lawns mowed/month is a very conservative estimate.

Exhibits

Exhibit 1- The following exhibit is the resumé of owner/operator Matt Justice

EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE

Illinois College, Jacksonville, IL

• Bachelor of Science Candidate May 2014
• Major: Economics Minor: Management and Organizational leadership, Finance
• Cumulative GPA: 3.8360/4.0 Dean’s list all semesters

INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE

DOT Foods Inc. Summer 2013

· Business Development Manager Intern

· Used statistical analysis to determine cost drivers of suppliers, customers, and product lines

· Programs used: Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Publisher, Outlook

· Skills attained: Management of time and resources, analytical skills in a business setting, understanding of corporate culture

Green Nissan Winter 2012

· General Manager and Sales Manager intern

· Used personal, professional, and financial skills to oversee and aid in the sale of inventory

· Programs used: Microsoft Excel

· Skills attained: Customer relations, inter-business relations, inventory management

Calhoun Mohawk Floorz January 2010-2011

· CFO intern and Assistant CFO

· Coordinate billing invoices and prepare bi-monthly profit loss reports

· Programs used: Microsoft Excel, QuickBooks

· Skills attained: Budget preparation, inventory management, invoice management, preparation of p/l

Newman-Alton Construction Fall 2009

· Used analytical skills to compare profitability of projects

· Programs used: Microsoft Excel

· Skills attained: Personnel management, work with strict deadlines, preparation of bids, advertising

COLLEGE EXPERIENCE

Sigma Pi- President 2011- present

• Skills attained: Project management, organization of personnel, financial management

Campus Writing Center- Associate Head Consultant

· Skills attained: Shift scheduling, budget preparation, formal presentations

Student Forum- President 2011-present

• Skills attained: Robert's Rules of meeting order, professional resolution writing,

SAAC – Student Athletes Advisory Committee- President 2010- Present

• Skills attained: Budget preparation, project management, teamwork

SIFE- (Students in Free Enterprise)- President 2010- Present

• Skills attained: Financial management, professional presentations, multiple project management, MBWA

Illinois College Soccer Team- varsity two years 2010- Present

• Skills attained: Teamwork, work ethic, motivational leadership

FORTE- Treasurer 2011- present

• Skills attained: Budget preparation, timeline management, working across organizations

Additional Employment

Assistant SID, Illinois College, August 2010-present

In-store model, Hollister Company, summer 2011

Lawn Mowing service, Self-employed, 2008-2010

Tri-City Community Unit School District #1, 2007-2009

Farm Hand, Sangamon Prairie Pork, 2008

Field worker, Monsanto, 2006

Exhibit 2- The following exhibit is the survey completed by Justice4all. It is an analysis of three residential neighborhoods in the Jacksonville city limits