Case Study 9

eCommerce

The Internet is the gold rush of the 21st century. Start-up costs for becoming an eCommerce mogul are relatively small. When compared to brick and mortar businesses setting up your own eCommerce Web site is relatively easy and inexpensive. If you want to start simple you might consider selling your product(s) through ebay, Amazon, Google, or the Apple store, as well as many other popular Internet shopping destinations. You can market your site or sell your product(s) using many different Internet marketing strategies including creating a presence for your business on social Web sites like Facebook and YouTube. All it takes is a little Internet savvy, a dedication to being successful, and a product or service that consumers want.

For this case study you will be writing a business plan to pitch to a venture capitalist (VC). If you have watched the reality show Shark Tank or Start-Ups: Silicon Valley, then you have seen examples of what it takes to get financial backing for your business start-up. Even if you haven't seen these shows, you can imagine that a prospective investor in your business is going to want to see an iron clad business plan with all of the details of how it will operate and what the expenses will be. In order to sell on ebay, Amazon, or the like you'll need to know what it takes to setup a seller account and how much the cost is to sell products through these sites. If you want to create your own Web site you'll need to know about Web hosting, what services are offered and what it costs monthly or annually to have your site hosted. In order to conduct eCommerce if you want to accept credit cards, you'll need a payment gateway. Or, you might want to accept payments through PayPal. The point is you need to research what the costs are of getting your product or service sold via the Internet and consider any other monthly costs your business will incur as part of its daily operations.

Instructions

Step 1: Outline your strategic business plan

Step 2: Research the costs involved in marketing and selling your product or service

Step 3: Consider overhead costs like computer, software, electricity, employees, etc.

Step 4: Identify how much your product will cost you to purchase or service will cost you to operate.

Step 5: Put all of the above information together in a professional looking business plan which includes:

• An executive summary of your idea

• Details of what Internet technology or services are needed in order to get your business started and demonstrate you know how to use or integrate these technologies or services into your business operations.

• One or more table(s) detailing your itemized costs and projected income.

• How much money do you want the VC to invest.

Step 6: Post your business plan to the Case Study 9 Blog by the due date listed on the syllabus.

TIP: Use the create table button on the blog toolbar to add a table to your business plan (see image below).

Rubric

• 250 word executive summary - 25 points.
• Details of your research of at least one eCommerce technology or service - 25 points.
• Table(s) of expenses and income projections - 25 points.
•  Impressing the venture capitalist to back your business plan (making it professional looking) - 25 points.