Amy Louisa Riley
Unit 19 Assignment 1 – Pitching for a New Business
Introduction
In considering the potential for a new micro-business my group considered four start up ideas and
internal and external factors associated with those chosen ideas to settle on our final choice. This report
will evaluate each idea giving details about the activities of each business, the business processes, and
an explanation of their organizational form by reference to an example. I will then go onto review some
of the important factors that need to be considered by a startup micro business.
Potential business opportunities for a micro start up business.
Firstly, Café Nero franchise. The UK’s coffee shop sector is worth more than 10.1 billion pounds and
café Nero are one of the big players. The company operates a franchising network which is a lucrative
micro business opportunity that many people would jump at. This coffee shop chain has seen its
popularity significantly increase and has grown to around 670 stores in the UK. It serves authentic Italian
coffee, sweet treats, and Savoury snacks from primary high street and shopping center locations from
most of the UK’s largest towns and cities. Expansion of the café Nero chain is strictly controlled, and the
brand facilitates its expansion by signing master franchising agreements with organizations and
individuals who have a strong understanding of economic conditions in their target market. Café Nero
focuses on providing its customers with high quality coffee products and is interested in the quality of
the bean.
Although café Nero is often thought of as a franchise there are currently no franchise opportunities
available in the UK and those which do exist now are only in the international market. There have also
been some very high-profile press releases recently e.g., in the Sunday time February the 28 th in which it
was reported that a number of large players are in the process of negotiating a buyout of café Nero’s
entire business such as the ASDA supermarket chain and Waitrose who would put a café Nero in every
one of their stores. It is therefore unclear as to what form the organization will take as it progresses into
the future medium and long term. For this reason, we discounted this idea for a micro business.
Secondly, a car wash was considered by my group whereby each of the three members would be equal
partners in a business set up to wash cars both internally and externally. The business would be set up in
the negotiation with Sainsbury's, Watford Highstreet branch operating in the car park. By leasing part of
the car park space from Sainsbury's for a fee. The business would offer Sainsbury's customers a service
whereby instead of just parking and leaving their cars in the carpark while sopping they could leave the
car with the car wash for it to be cleaned and then parked for them ready and waiting when they have
completed their shopping. All three members of the team would be equal partners in the business and
would all contribute equally to the set-up costs and performing the work involved.
This location was chosen because no such service is currently provided at this location and it has
proved highly successful in car parks of other supermarkets in less high-profile locations. Therefore, the
model of those successful car wash businesses would largely be copied on the basis that this location is
Unit 19 Assignment 1 – Pitching for a New Business
Introduction
In considering the potential for a new micro-business my group considered four start up ideas and
internal and external factors associated with those chosen ideas to settle on our final choice. This report
will evaluate each idea giving details about the activities of each business, the business processes, and
an explanation of their organizational form by reference to an example. I will then go onto review some
of the important factors that need to be considered by a startup micro business.
Potential business opportunities for a micro start up business.
Firstly, Café Nero franchise. The UK’s coffee shop sector is worth more than 10.1 billion pounds and
café Nero are one of the big players. The company operates a franchising network which is a lucrative
micro business opportunity that many people would jump at. This coffee shop chain has seen its
popularity significantly increase and has grown to around 670 stores in the UK. It serves authentic Italian
coffee, sweet treats, and Savoury snacks from primary high street and shopping center locations from
most of the UK’s largest towns and cities. Expansion of the café Nero chain is strictly controlled, and the
brand facilitates its expansion by signing master franchising agreements with organizations and
individuals who have a strong understanding of economic conditions in their target market. Café Nero
focuses on providing its customers with high quality coffee products and is interested in the quality of
the bean.
Although café Nero is often thought of as a franchise there are currently no franchise opportunities
available in the UK and those which do exist now are only in the international market. There have also
been some very high-profile press releases recently e.g., in the Sunday time February the 28 th in which it
was reported that a number of large players are in the process of negotiating a buyout of café Nero’s
entire business such as the ASDA supermarket chain and Waitrose who would put a café Nero in every
one of their stores. It is therefore unclear as to what form the organization will take as it progresses into
the future medium and long term. For this reason, we discounted this idea for a micro business.
Secondly, a car wash was considered by my group whereby each of the three members would be equal
partners in a business set up to wash cars both internally and externally. The business would be set up in
the negotiation with Sainsbury's, Watford Highstreet branch operating in the car park. By leasing part of
the car park space from Sainsbury's for a fee. The business would offer Sainsbury's customers a service
whereby instead of just parking and leaving their cars in the carpark while sopping they could leave the
car with the car wash for it to be cleaned and then parked for them ready and waiting when they have
completed their shopping. All three members of the team would be equal partners in the business and
would all contribute equally to the set-up costs and performing the work involved.
This location was chosen because no such service is currently provided at this location and it has
proved highly successful in car parks of other supermarkets in less high-profile locations. Therefore, the
model of those successful car wash businesses would largely be copied on the basis that this location is
