Small Business Start Up Business CaseProfessional SituationMr. Ramirez is a marketing major with a creative side; he plays musical instruments, and as a youngster he developed a passion for photography. As he got more qualified and trained in professional photography, he began to obtain contracts as a photographer. To Mr. Ramirez photography was just a paying hobby and a source for supplemental income. But after a few years, his photography engagements increased substantially—to the point that he decided to create Legendary Photo. Legendary Photo’s goal was to create legendary memories for its customers and to become an artistic leader in South Texas. Mr. Ramirez had a clear idea of the artistic vision he wanted for Legendary Photo, but he was not clear on how to differentiate Legendary photo and turn it into a successful and sustainable business.
Start Up ProblemThe main problem we found when Mr. Ramirez contacted us was the absence of a long term vision and a focused business plan detailing execution strategy and deadlines. Given the absence of a formal business plan Legendary Photo did not have a defined business model that would differentiate it from the typical photography studios; in such business model, Mr. Ramirez would express that his artistic photography was to thrive without the constraints of the traditionalist school of thought. Legendary Photo did not have a healthy balance between business management and photography. Finally, Mr. Ramirez not only desired to have a sustainable business but a leading place for new photographers to network, interact, and learn from each other.
Business SolutionOur first step was to interview Mr. Ramirez in order to get to know him along with his vision, his artistic ideas, his business expectations, and his life plan—pretty much all the information we could gather. Once we knew his expectations, strengths, weaknesses, and the areas where he could compromise, together we created the business model that respected the artistic vision without depending one hundred percent upon Mr. Ramirez’s abilities. Within the business model we created a differentiator based on Mr. Ramirez’ expectations—Legendary Photo would be a culture, a place for contemporary photography and arts, where photographers and clients would feel at home. We focused on a strategic positioning between a photography studio and an arts gallery because it would have some artistic elements of a gallery along with the commercial elements of a photography studio and the environment of a trendy contemporary café. So, the first critical decision was to separate the business image from the personal image. We proceeded to create a business plan emphasizing all the business and management elements as well as the focus on marketing, quality control, customer service and the execution discipline. In this phase we focused heavily on creating a balance between artistic expression and business. Mr. Ramirez would have to become more disciplined in the business arena as well as improving his post sale customer service. Financially, the first objective was to create a positive cash flow by modeling the marketing and promotional activities to match the budgeting. This meant that Legendary Photo would need to start an accounting system and keep it current as the business began to grow.
Project EvaluationWe have remained a professional resource for Mr. Ramirez for the last two years, and we are still providing business advice on an “as needed” basis. The evaluation after the business plan was delivered and the exit interviews conducted is mixed. We can conclude that the artistic expression of Digital Republic (Name chosen by Mr. Ramirez as part of the new business concept) is a complete success; the enterprise has gained recognition, the clients are extremely satisfied, referrals have increased substantially. Mr. Ramirez has done photography for magazines, specialized publications and international social events; meanwhile, his following continues to grow. From the business management perspective, Digital Republic still has a lot of work to do to consolidate its management processes, create stable cash flows and become more disciplined in the creation and analysis of its financial statements. The artistic goal of the company has predominated in multiple endeavors Mr. Ramirez has engaged in. We must disclose that Mr. Ramirez has made decisions fully aware of the pros and cons, and like every entrepreneur he is taking calculated risks when building a strong artistic foundation first in order to then build the full business management side. As we write this case, we remain pleased to be part of the Digital Republic team. |
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