RUNNING HEAD: CREATING AN E-COMMERCE BUSINESS 1

CREATING AN E-COMMERCE BUSINESS 6

Assignment 1: Creating an E-commerce Business

Courtney Nelson

BUS 402

Professor Adrienne Garabedian

May 4, 2021

An Idea for a Prospective Small Business

The whole idea of starting up a business requires some considerations to be sure that you are ready. According to Entrepreneur.com, It’s easy to feel ready much earlier than you actually are, and it’s equally easy to let fear hold you back long after you should have jumped (Sujan, 1). I can understand what is meant by that statement, so they have listed 15 signs to help you know. I felt the current wave of the natural hair and skin care products would be a good idea for a small business. It is important to start something that you are genuinely passionate about since much of your time and money will go into it. The last few years have been amazing seeing a positive trend of women as well as men embracing their natural beauty.

The small business idea will be a black-owned hair store specializing in natural hair and skin products. The store will be named Natural Hair Goals located here in Huntsville, AL where there aren’t many natural hair care product options. The staff would comprise of people with a background working with natural products so that they can help recommend products for customers based on their needs. The versatility of the staff would help with the customer base because there will still be something for everyone. In my town, most of the hair stores close around 7 pm, but from my experience, that seems to be a bit too early. The main issue is on the weekends when people are getting ready to go out with friends and need last minute hair items. For this reason, it seems necessary to have later hours available.

Key Competitor’s Strengths and Weaknesses

There are not many stores centered on natural hair products, but there are retailers who sell some of the more popular brands. These retailers are Classy, Target, Walmart, Ulta, and Sally Beauty to name a few that have started making a mark in this industry. Retailers such as these are competitors for what I would be trying to do with the store. For example, one of Target’s strengths is selling natural hair and skincare products similar to what my store would have. A weakness of this retailer is that the selection is on a much smaller scale than what Natural Hair Goals would have. According to Retail Wire, Each participating store will have a Target Beauty Concierge, a highly-trained, brand agnostic beauty enthusiast to answer guests’ questions in-store about cosmetics, hair care and skin care (Ryan, 2). Due to Target making this change it places it as one of my top competitors. Some strengths of my store would be the variety of products to choose when coming to the shop.

The store will have samples of new items given out during check out. Staff at Natural Hair Goals will know of different hair types and be able to suggest products for a hair care routine that will work for your hair type. Also, skincare routines would be important because not everyone has the same type of skin. Embracing these natural routines will be easy with on-site staff who are knowledgeable in those areas. Weaknesses to opening up this business would be trying to break into an industry-owned majority by Korean’s. A lady by the name of Karen Coffey opened up a black-owned beauty and hair store named Bella Beauty and Hair.

There has been an article written about her experience on a website called MPR News. She described her experience as challenging because she feels due to Korean’s dominating the hair industry the suppliers have not been fair in partnering with her in receiving products. Coffey stated, All of it is run by Korean’s a lot of them don't make it easy for blacks to get in. I didn't know it would be this challenging (Sapong, 3). She is not the first to make this type of statement from what I have researched so far. Having this type of difficulty could be a weakness if not thoroughly investigated and considered before getting into the industry. There are some loopholes and ways around getting hair and skin products without only going through those type of retailers.

Natural Hair Goals Company Mission Statement

Our mission at Natural Hair Goal is to provide a friendly atmosphere where you can enhance your individuality by embracing your natural beauty without breaking the bank. We have professionals here for all your hair or, skincare questions no matter how simple or complex. We take pride in ensuring high-quality products to be fully stocked when needed most. Our staff is highly trained professionals with a background in various hair care so our customers can shop with confidence in their purchases. Each shopper is sure to love their products, but if for some reason something is wrong we do have a return policy to suit your needs.

Business Ownership Type

For the ownership type for this Natural hair store, it will be a Sole Proprietorship. This type has been chosen because I prefer to be solely responsible for my business. There is a lot of hard work not to mention financial investments that would be required which is why I would instead choose to enjoy the profits of my labor. The thing about being solely responsible for the business means knowing a little bit about all aspects of running it alone. I would need to file the store on my tax return. If sued for any reason it means the money would be coming out of my pocket also. Having money coming out of my pocket isn’t ideal, but I feel it is worth the risk with the chances of having a successful business overall with an immense amount of profit.

I initially considered a partnership, but that would be too challenging for the vision I have set for the store. It would be highly frustrating trying to get two people to always agree on everything without any issues. Having a business is said to be pretty stressful in the beginning, so the last thing I would need is to be continually trying to work out agreements with someone else about what I want to happen with my business. There is a requirement for registering the business name then getting a license after that it is pretty much set up. I know I would have to have all the contracts set up in my name then be mindful of debt since it is possible to be sued and personally liable, so that is something else I considered. Overall a sole proprietorship would work best for the vision I am going with, so I have no reservations towards my decision.”

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