Shrestha Roshan
Shrestha Roshan
Shrestha Roshan
Bachelor’s thesis
August 2016
Degree Programme in International Business
Tampere University of Applied Sciences
ABSTRACT
Bachelor`s Thesis
Tampereen ammattikorkeakoulu
Tampere University of Applied Sciences
Degree Programme in International Business
Business Plan
Student Housing in Kritpur, Nepal
Completed: 01/09/2016
ABSTRACT
The main objective of the thesis was to establish the student housing in Kirtipur. In
addition, the main idea was to prepare a business plan and to apply the theoretical
knowledge that was gained during bachelor degree in International Business in TAMK,
in the practical arena of business. Furthermore, the Business Plan for Students Housing
in Kirtipur, Nepal was created to apply the theoretical knowledge and to discover the
deeper understanding in creating a business plan.
Primarily, the field visit and the observation methods were done during the writing of
the thesis and the data were collected from the primary and the secondary sources. A
survey was conducted and the information gathered in this thesis is from an academic
publication and online sources too. The data were collected from 96 students from
Tribhuvan University and the data were analyzed using quantitative content analysis.
The theoretical section of the thesis describes the situation of housing in Kirtipur where
one of the most popular and the central university is located but the students have not
been facilitated with the proper housing management, they need to manage in their own.
The target market is the students as they have the highest demand of the housing.
The finding indicates that the student housing should be established nearby the
university. The most important factor that determines the success of the housing is the
rent structure which the result suggests it to be in an average structure. Furthermore, the
result recommends the housing to have more shared apartments than the studio
apartment.
Key words: Business Planning, SWOT Analysis, PESTLE Analysis and Differentiation
Strategy
3
Table of Contents
1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 5
1.1 Background Information ...................................................................................... 6
1.2 Objective .............................................................................................................. 7
1.3 Research Methodology ........................................................................................ 8
1.4 Research Limitation and thesis structure ........................................................... 10
2 Business Plan in Theory ............................................................................................ 12
2.1 Concept of Business Plan .................................................................................. 12
2.2 Benefits of Business Plan .................................................................................. 13
2.3 External Uses of Plan ......................................................................................... 13
2.4 Internal Uses of Plan .......................................................................................... 14
2.5 Elements of Business Plan ................................................................................. 14
3 Business Plan in Practice ........................................................................................... 16
3.1 Business Idea ..................................................................................................... 16
3.2 Features and services ......................................................................................... 16
3.3 Location ............................................................................................................. 17
3.4 Business Structure.............................................................................................. 17
3.5 Expertise and management ................................................................................ 18
3.6 Rents fare and the rules ...................................................................................... 18
4 Market Research and Planning .................................................................................. 20
4.1 Market Research ................................................................................................ 20
4.2 The Target Market ............................................................................................. 21
4.3 Products and Services ........................................................................................ 22
4.4 Promotional Mix ................................................................................................ 23
4.5 Competitors ........................................................................................................ 24
5 Marketing Analysis ................................................................................................... 25
5.1 SWOT Analysis ................................................................................................. 25
5.2 PESTLE Analysis .............................................................................................. 26
5.3 Business Strategy ............................................................................................... 28
5.3.1 Differentiation Strategy........................................................................... 29
5.3.2 Pricing Strategy ....................................................................................... 30
6 Financial Analysis ..................................................................................................... 31
6.1 Startup Expenses ................................................................................................ 31
6.2 Startup Expenses Summary Statement .............................................................. 32
7 Data Analysis ............................................................................................................ 33
8 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 39
REFERENCES................................................................................................................ 42
4
Lists of Figures
1 Introduction
Education has a great significance in the human life as it creates progressive changes. It
is said that there is an impact of housing on educational outcomes. Affordable housing
can contribute to the student´s educational achievement if it can be comfortable,
accessible and provide peaceful and meaningful environment by reducing the unplanned
moves that the students are compelled to do it frequently. Well-constructed, maintained
and managed students housing can help the students prevent from housing related
hazards which has negative impact in the learning process of the students. Affordable
student housing if provided helps to reduce the mental pressure and stress in finding
shelter for the study, and facilitate the students to be more involved and remain
concentration in their study.
Nepal, a small but very beautiful country that lies in the high Himalayas occupies the
total area of 1, 47,181 sq km. It is surrounded by two big countries India and China.
There is diversity in its geography, culture, religion and people. The main features of
Nepal are the snow clad mountains throughout the year, green forest and fast flowing
river. The education system in Nepal has been rising and continues to develop. Though
Nepal has been adopting the traditional education structure but the literacy rate has been
improving in the recent years. The last official data, National Census 2011, puts Nepal´s
literacy rate 65, 9 percent. Baburam Poudel, executive director of the Non-Formal
Education Centre (NFEC), a government body that conducts literacy classes across the
country, said 3 million adults have been made literate in three years since the Census,
taking the literacy rate to 84percent (Aug 31, 2014, Kantipur).
Regarding the housing facilities, the government has provided the facilities for limited
number of students in the universities level. The facility has been provided for the
students who are from the distant area and have been deprived from poverty. Students
are forced to manage the housing facilities in their own and are they are facing a lot of
problems in finding a better housing during their study. Most of the students are
compelled to afford the housing which is overcrowded and they need to take care of all
the housing related problems which give birth to the negative development and results
into the poor educational outcomes. The housing scenario in Nepal for the students look
really miserable and are not been addressed and taken care by any concern authority;
students themselves are responsible for managing their housing. Despite all this hurdles,
students are still doing their best to achieve the good educational achievement. If an
affordable housing is provided to them, it would even boost the educational outcomes.
6
The main idea of this Thesis came into my mind during my practical training in Nepal,
after I started learning about the theoretical and practical methods of making business in
real world. The realization of the importance and differences that the successful
business makes in an individual life and the society helped to create this business plan.
To make a successful business an innovative and long-term planning is the most
required factor. I, as a student of International Business, started to focus my study in
understanding the business with a critical point of view.
As an international student living in Finland has been easier for me and the reason
behind this has been the comfortable, accessible and affordable housing facilities. After
gaining the deeper understanding of the business in the practical world I realize to apply
some of the business models and its principles of Finnish market in my home country,
Nepal. In the beginning, I started to find the differences of housing facilities provided to
the student who moves from one place to another in Finland and Nepal for better or
higher education.
Apartments
Common
solely for
housing system
students
Non-subsided
Subsided by the
by the
government
government
The figure above describes the differences of housing facilities provided in Nepal and
Finland. After the completion of my study in International Business, I realize that this
business plan also can be introduced in Nepal as the demand of better housing has been
increased.
7
1.2 Objective
The main objective of this thesis is to create a business plan for the establishment of a
Student Housing in Kirtipur, Nepal. There lies the country´s central university named
Tribhuvan University and thousands of students get enrolled in an academic year. It is
the university where only master courses are taught and has been the favorite
universities among all as it has been the central university. Most of the students, who
get enrolled there are away from that city. Unfortunately, there has been no housing
apartment that operates the housing facilities only for the students.
The other main reasons behind this thesis is to study the problems of the students that
they face from the housing facilities currently available and find the solutions for the
betterment of housing that makes their life and study go in easier and convenient way.
The main research question that the thesis intends to answer is mentioned below:
What factors are considered as the most important in the establishment of
students housing in Kirtipur, Nepal?
In order to find the answer to the main research question some sub-questions are also
formed so that answers accumulated at the end can answer the main research question.
My major focus remains to find out the answer to the research questions with the
appropriate use of research tools which are the primary and secondary data. At the end
of thesis, the results from the research will be able to provide the solutions to the
problems that the students are facing in Central University.
8
The research methodology conducted in this thesis is the combination of both the
primary and the secondary data. Primarily, the thesis is conducted with both the
quantitative and the qualitative research methods. The information related to the thesis
and the solutions to the research problem was collected by the methods of primary data
collection such as observations and the questionnaire was made about regarding the
research problem.
In this thesis, secondary data collection was also used. Different kinds of books, report
writing, journals were used. It provided a comparison instrument with which the
primary data collection could easily be interpreted and understood well. In other sense,
it helped saving in time. It is not the first hand data rather it is collected by others. This
method helped to understand the research problem better and formulate the scientific
conclusion.
Observations
Primary Research
Questionnaires
Research
Methodology
Books, Journals,
Secondary research Internet, Newspaper
and Magazine
(Pant, 2012). It uses methods like observation, open interview, interpretation, case study
and many others.
Quantitative Research Methods: It is an approach that deals with areas that can be
expressed in numbers. This kind of research method is involved when a large sample is
involved and it is useful in experimental and survey studies. In quantitative research
methods social problems, events and process are shown by the use of mathematical
terms. The research methods like surveys, structured observation, interview and
questionnaires are conducted in quantitative research methods.
Observations: Pervez, Kjell & Ivar states that observation is a data collection tool that
entails listening and watching other people´s behavior in a way that allows some type of
analytical interpretation. The main advantage is that we can collect first-hand
information in a natural setting. Moreover, we can interpret and understand the observed
behavior, attitude and situation more accurately, and capture the dynamics of social
behavior in a way that is not possible through questionnaire and interviews (Pervez,
Kjell & Ivar 1995, 57).
Observation is the most common method to get the information about the things around
us. It is simply not about only seeing the things and moving ahead, it is all about seeing
the things carefully and understanding the things in better way. There are different kinds
of observation methods like participant observation, non-participant observation, and
uncontrolled participants and structured of controlled participants. Among them, the
participant observation method was followed and actively watched the things related to
the topic.
study larger population group, convenience, free and valid information, early receipt
information and it is convenience method. Finally, the statistical treatment is possible in
this method.
There are different types of methods for designing questionnaire which are shown
below in the figure. Among them the mixed questionnaire method was chosen in which
different types of questionnaire are mixed in same question paper in which one can
notice about the respondents’ age, education and the objective of the research studies.
Questionnaire
It is said that everything that exists in this universe has pros and cons. It is also believed
that every researcher has their own limitations, so there were some limitations regarding
time in writing this thesis. As the thesis is based on the Business Plan in Nepal, I spent
around 45 days in Nepal for the study of this plan but I had wished to spend more time
in making research but it was thesis written for the bachelor degree course which I had
to take care of. Writing thesis and conducting the surveys at the same time was really
tough. Gathering information and formulating it and finding a conclusion from it was
also not an easy job.
The thesis has been divided into mainly into four parts; the main and first part of thesis
consists of introduction, background information, purpose and objectives, research
11
methodology and the research limitation and the thesis structure. In this part we are
explaining about the logics behind creating this idea and writing thesis. To provide the
complete framework to the thesis we also need the research process which is included in
this part.
INTRODUCTION
MARKETING STRATEGY
BUSINESS STRATEGY
DATA ANALYSIS
FINANCIAL REPORT
CONCLUSIONS
The second part of the thesis consists of business plan in theory and business plan in
practice. Business plan in theory consists of theoretical part of the business plans like
what is the main purpose of the business plan and what are the uses and the elements of
the business plan. Whereas the description about the modality of our business plan; the
detail information about the plan such as the mission, idea, ownership, location and
features of the plan are mentioned in the title under business plan in practice.
The third part of the thesis consists of the marketing and the business strategy. In the
market strategy we discuss about the market research and the types of tools used in the
business plan. SWOT analysis and PESTLE analysis and the kinds of sales promotion
are also being discussed in this part. The different modes of the business strategies are
also being discussed in this plan and the best that suits for the business plan has also
been described.
The final part of the thesis consists of financial report, data collection and the
conclusion. In this part the statement of financial report has been presented and the
details about the data has been analyzed and presented through pie chart.
12
Although the exact structure of business plan varies, some major requirements for plans
include the following components:
13
An entrepreneur uses a business plan for a various benefits and purposes but the uses
of business plan consists the external uses and internal uses. It is also a written
document that outlines the future activity for an existing or proposed venture. It helps
the entrepreneurs to explain the goals of the firm, how it will operate and the likely
outcomes of the firm too.
The business plan is a company´s first-line tool for obtaining funding and other types of
outside support. In this chapter, we discuss about the external factors like investment
fund, bank financing, strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions and customer and
distribution relationships.
14
Writing a business plan must be managed just as most other important business projects
are managed. It requires advance preparation, delegation, refinement and discipline. The
process of preparing a business plan involves identifying likely users, gathering
accurate and convincing information and carefully outlining the plan before writing.
The most important elements that a business plan must include are mentioned below
with the figure shown below.
The most important part of the business is the executive summary where we write about
the detail information of the business plan in few paragraphs mentioning about the
firm´s strategy, management team, brief description about the market and the service
and product that we are providing or launching and the pre-assumed financial data.
Company description contains the main idea, mission and vision of the business plan
where we describe about the current situation of market and write our company´s
strategy and plan for the future. In management and organization, we describe about the
mode of ownership and the management team. In most of the firm it also describes the
background of the members of the management team. Many entrepreneurs believe that
their management team to be the most important predictor of the firm´s success.
15
Executive Summary
Company Description
Financial Information
Critical Risks
Operation Schedule
Appendices
In the section marketing and sales, the description about the methods that the company
is trying to implement. Information about how the company will promote the products
or service to the consumers is communicated to the customers. The company also needs
to adapt the most cost-effective methods. The next important element in the business
plan is the financial forecasts. In this section, the description about the budget that is
supposed to be spent in each section is listed and the results must be profitable.
In appendices the additional documentation which cannot be included in the main part
of the business plan like references, bibliographical information, photos diagram,
financial forecasts that supports the business plan are included.
16
The main idea of the business plan is to establish a student housing in Kirtipur, Nepal.
The reason behind that is the most reputed and the Central University named Tribhuvan
University lies there. Thousands of students get enrolled there and they come from
different parts of the country for higher education. Housing has been a difficult factor
for the students to deal as they get admissions in the university. Tradition way of
housing is available where people engaged in different professionals need to adjust in
the same kinds of housing meaning that students have to adjust in the same housing
where many families lives and need to act accordingly.
The main mission is to provide comfortable, accessible and affordable housing facilities
to the students. The housing apartment is located near the university and provides the
service that are most essentials for the students and it is solely for the students and the
facilities are provided to the students till the end of their course in the university.
To enjoy the facilities provided by the student housing; students ought to provide the
admissions certificate from the Central University. The service is provided to the
students on the basis of ``First comes First service``. The priority is given to the
students who are physically challenged.
In the starting phase, the plan is to establish 25 rooms’ student housing apartments. All
the rooms will be shared apartment meaning that the students will have their own rooms
but they need to share the kitchen and the bathroom among two or three of them. Most
of the rooms will be three room shared apartment and the rest two room shared
apartment regarding the price. The main mission of the plan is to provide the affordable
housing to the students.
Modern equipment and the technology available in the Nepalese market are used to
build the infrastructure of the housing apartment. It is established for the sole purpose of
business. The salient features of the housing are mentioned below:
Affordable price and convenient housing for the students.
Free internet services and manage the required spaces needed for the students.
Proper management for the lack of electricity and drinking water.
17
3.3 Location
It is located in Kirtipur, one of the ancient cities of Nepal. The distance from the
Kathmandu valley is 7 km south-west to the housing apartment. Among the five
municipalities in the valley, it is one of the famous municipalities for the temples and
the ancient architecture. Originally, the people from Newar community started residing
in this city and still the city is the center of the Newari culture. The presence of
Tribhuvan University has made the city more famous and the out-of-town professors
and students stay there for the purpose of education and profession, and they are the
major contributors to the local economy.
There are different types of firms with different types of business structure. Private
sector business organizations are classified into unincorporated businesses and
incorporated businesses. In unincorporated business, there is no legal difference
between the owner and the firm and it is also classified into sole proprietorship and
partnership. In Sole proprietorship one cannot separate the business from the owner. In
partnership business structure, the business is run for profit by the association of two or
more people and it is also classified into open partnership and limited partnership. In
open partnership business structure, the members are fully liable for the debts and
obligations of the partnership whereas in the limited partnership business structure, the
partners are like investors in partnership they have no rights to say in the management
of partnership.
In incorporated business structure the business has a separate legal identity from its
owner and is classified into private limited company and public limited company. In
private limited companies the shares are not bought and sold in the open market but in
the public limited companies the share are bought and sold in the open market.
The business structure of the plan is a sole proprietorship meaning that the business is
handled alone as it is a small business in the beginning. In Nepal, most of the business is
conducted in this kind of form as it is easy to operate and we can enjoy greater
flexibility in management. Regarding the legal control and taxes, it is easy to handle.
18
Such kind of business structure are simple to form and are also legal costs are
inexpensive to obtain licenses and the permit. The other major advantage of this kind of
structure is that an individual has full control over decisions, or any kind of unnecessary
conflict in making decisions or changing the decisions in favor of the business does not
occur.
It is a sole proprietorship business so all the decisive rights and power goes to an
individual. And few people are hired for the security of the building and to handle the
account section including the reception where the online application are received and
proceed accordingly. An office is established in the same building.
Regarding the cleanliness, people are hired on the basis of an hour and the building is
cleaned twice in a week. The electrician and plumber are hired on the contract basis
when necessary. Compliant and maintenance are given the most priority and addressed
immediately. The students can either make a request, complaints and the maintenance to
the owner directly via email or call the owner of the housing apartment.
The waste materials are handled according to the rules of the government and the owner
is responsible for the management.
There has been establishment of different kinds of financial institutions but people still
do make business in cash. Due to the lack of modern technology the facility of net
banking has not been operated though small initiation has been made.
The students can pay the rent in cash in the office or an account number is given to them
and they can make a deposit in the bank. The paying rules differ from Nepal to Finland.
In Finland the room rents are paid in the first week of the month in advance but in
Nepal room rents are paid at the end of the month after they use it for a month.
Rules of the Housing that is to be strictly followed:
Housing rent is supposed to be paid at the end of every month.
Waste materials are to be disposed accordingly such as bio into bio group and
plastics and paper to their own basket.
Time for library and the laundry are to be pre-booked and handle with care.
If any serious intentional damages are noticed, the tenants are responsible for it.
19
Tenants should notice the office a month earlier before they end their contract.
20
In this part, the processes of market research, identifying suitable market segments, and
then designing a marketing plan are described. Secondly, some basic sales skills and
techniques to meet the objectives of the marketing plan are also examined.
Before an entrepreneur start to set up a new business, one needs to be clear about what
goods or services are to be provided to the customer, the production cost is to be
roughly calculated, resources are to be identified and discovered and one should have
worked hard in marketing environment to prepare a marketing plan. The potential
customers are to be investigated and find what are they demanding for and what quality
they desire to have. The two most important factors in making business are marketing
and sales. Most of for the goods or services, entrepreneurs do not realize that they are
two different topics.
Butler writes that sales is about actually persuading the customer to buy the goods, to
pay the right price for them, and then come back to you for more at a later date. It is
quite possible to make excellent goods for which there is a potentially high demand in a
ready-market, but without the sales skills to actually make the customer buy them they
will just sit on the shelves. Similarly, without having worked in a sales capacity, they
are likely to be unaware of the skills needed to identify potential customers, to
investigate and match their needs, and to close the sale. (Butler 2006, 75)
Marketing is concerned with identifying the level of demand for the goods or services,
where potential customers might be found, the competition which exists, and creating a
mixture of product features and means of delivery that will ensure the goods or services
will be desirable.
Market research is an on-going process which seeks the answers to a range of questions
in the ever-changing market environment.
How large is the market for my goods or services?
Is the market growing, static or shrinking?
What proportion of the market do I command?
What potential proportion could I achieve?
What would I need to do to achieve it?
Are there any barriers to entering the market or to expanding within it?
What resources will I need, and over what time-scale?
What problems can I anticipate?
Is the effort worthwhile, or should I consider an alternative?
Who are my competitors and what are they offering?
Are their goods or services as good as mine?
What are the key features my customers are looking for; can I meet
these?
What are the prevailing prices, and can I meet or beat these and make a
profit?
If we summarize, the main aspects which are covered by the range of questions above,
we are looking at four main areas: the size and nature of the market itself, the proportion
which we hope to gain, our competitors, and their offerings and the prospects for our
own goods or services within the market. We need to examine these in more details
(Butler 2006, 76)
In general, it can be said that the more an entrepreneurs know about their customers and
markets, then the more chance there is of maximizing opportunities and minimizing
risks, which has got to improve the chances of survival and growth of any business.
The main target of the business is the students who are enrolled in the Tribhuvan
University. Tribhuvan University is the university where the students get enrolled for
the master courses, meaning that most of the students are from the academic
background and are focused on their career. Primarily, it is focused on the students from
the middle class family students and the students aged 20-30.
Concentrated Marketing which is also known as niche-marketing approach is
implemented. This approach helped in concerning on being the very best within a single
22
tiny segment. This approach is the most suitable because the business has small
resources and it is difficult in the beginning to make the company voices heard in the
mass simply because it is unable to afford the promotional expenditure.
The firm plans to segment narrowly by starting in the small area of the country where
the service is demanded. And gradually plans to expand the business after the firm gains
the high number of market share and the resources became available.
Evaluation of
Delivery and
Decision to buy Commitment to service:
consumption of Pay for service
services supplier satisfaction or
services
otherwisw
Blythe explains that the promotional mix is like a recipe, in which the ingredients must
be added at the right time and in the right quantities for the promotion to be effective.
Messages from the company about its product and itself are transmitted via the elements
of the promotional mix to the consumers, employees, pressure groups and other publics.
Because each of these groups is receiving the messages from more than one transmitter,
the elements of the mix also feed into each other so that the messages do not conflict
(Blythe 2008, 193).
The basic promotional mix consists of advertising, sales promotion, personal selling and
public relations. When the concept of the promotional mix was first developed, these
were only elements available to marketers, but in the past years more promotional
methods have appeared which do not easily fit within these four categories. The
important word here is mix.
The following promotional tools are used in the business plan and are discussed below:
Advertisement: It is most often defined as a paid message inserted in a medium. The
company mainly focuses the social media for advertisements. The websites of the
company is operated which gives the necessary information for the people. Facebook is
the most used app in Nepal and is the most popular one too. So, the company has
planned to give more importance to the Facebook page and update it in timely and
responsive. The other tools like flyers, printed ads, advertisements in local radios and
the local newspaper are to be used.
Direct Marketing: The firm will identify their regular or potential customers and keep
their contact information and let them know the offers that the company provides
through emails, messages or social media.
Public Relations: During the enrollment period of the university, the firm is planning to
visit the university and inform the students about the facilities that are being provided
and sometimes even planning to have the feedback from them. The most important
thing that the firm is planning is to donate a small portion of profit to some social
organizations which are helping in raising the life standard of the orphans and the
physically challenged people.
Sales Promotion: In the opening of the business, the firm is planning to offer 10%
discount offer for the first month rent fee. The transportation facilities is provided free
of charge for transporting the students´ utensils in the beginning of the business.
24
4.5 Competitor
The main competitors in this business are the local housing that the local people built
for their own living purposes. There is huge demand of housing each year as the new
academic year starts but the housing has not been taken as a business. It has been done
in the traditional way, create a space in the house and rent them. Even though most of
the family in the valley make their livelihood from such kind of business but any
initiation has not been made. This kind of business as a competitive structure falls under
perfect competition where there is large number of supplier but none has been powerful
enough to influence the supply level. In this kind of business, market entry is easy and
both the consumer and supplier have full knowledge of what everybody is doing.
The marketing concept states that to be successful, a company must provide greater
value and satisfaction than its competitors. It is believed that the firm has to do more
than simply adapting to the needs of the target markets. The firm needs to discover the
methods that the customers can get hooked with the service provided. The next strength
about the business plan is the firm is trying to gain strategic advantage by positioning
their offerings strongly against competitors´ offerings in the mind of the consumers.
Competition takes place at two levels which are as follows.
Industry Market
Competition Competition
Number of sellers
and degree of Product Class
differentiation
Entry and
Brands
Mobility Barriers
vertival
Integration
Global Reach
5 Marketing Analysis
In today´s world still the Nepalese marketing is directed by the supplier, it is all because
of the Nepalese Marketers who are not able to pay attention on the affecting area of the
consumer market. Even today Nepalese marketers or the bigger organization or the
companies in Nepal do not make an effort to find the answers of the questions like:
Who the real buyers are? What do they need and want? Where do they need and want?
Where do they find it or want to buy it from? Or how do they buy? Because of all these
questioned being unanswered the Nepalese market has been controlled by the
middlemen, the government agencies or the foreign marketers.
In this chapter it is discussed mainly about the marketing environment which consists of
the external and internal components of business. External environment mostly
concerns about the marketing factors that occurs outside the company whereas the
internal environment focuses about everything that happens inside the company or the
organization. Most often, the company concentrates on the external environment rather
than the internal environment, although both the factors are given the importance.
External environment is also classified into two further division micro-environments
and the macro-environment. In micro- environment the factors are close to the
organization and are involved in examining the internal state of health of the
organizations by the SWOT analysis method. Macro-environment consists of the factors
that are close to the society. To have the detail information on those elements PESTLE
analysis method has also been conducted for the business plan.
SWOT stands for Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats. This analysis is done
to measure the internal position of an organization. It also helps to identify the
company´s internal and external influences. Strength and weakness are regarded as the
internal factors and the opportunities and threats are regarded as the external factors of
the SWOT analysis. Strength and the opportunities are the positive factors and the
weakness and threats are regarded as the negative factors of this kind of analysis.
It is an analytical framework that can help the company face its greatest challenges and
find its most promising new markets. The method was created in the 1960s by business
gurus Edmund P. Learned, C. Roland Christensen, William D. Book and Kenneth
Andrews in their book ``Business Policy Text and Cases``(R.D Irwin, 19).
26
PESTLE Analysis is a marketing tool or a framework used to measure and analyzes the
external environment which is also called as the macro-environment in the marketing of
business. It is filled with the factors and variables over which the organization has little
influence or control. This is a wider environment that consists of factors and conditions
surrounding the organization.
PESTLE stands for Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental and
Legal factors. All those factors are inter-related; those factors cannot be analyzed as
independent factors. This kind of analysis really helps entrepreneurs to decide what
factors has greater influence in the business and which factors are to be regarded as the
most important. These factors affect the functioning of a business organization and also
provide opportunities and threats to the marketers.
Political: Nepal is a developing country and the entrepreneurs are always appreciated
and supported by the government. The entry market is quite easy because of the support
27
of the government for the entrepreneurs. There is not any kind of difficulties in taxes as
the company will pay the taxes accordingly. The main problem is the instability of the
government; it sometimes can make the problems as the policies may change as the
government changes. Frequent change in the government leads to frequent change in
government policies which is a major challenge. For example, in Nepal, democratic
government is in favor of privatization and communist governments are against it.
Though whatever the scenario is in Nepal, there have been significant changes in
Nepalese marketing environment after the Nepal Government has adopted the economic
liberalization policy.
Economical: It is also one of the most important factors that influence the business. The
loan system in Nepal is flexible but the interest rate is high in Nepal which directly has
impact in the business. This kind of business directly impacts the economy of the local
region. The main problems like high unemployment rates and inflation can affect this
business. The economic environment consists of factors that affect consumers´
purchasing power and spending patterns. Changes in major economic variables such as
income, cost of living, interest rates, savings and borrowing patterns have a large impact
on the marketplace.
Social: Social factors in these tools also refer to the demographic factors. The target
group of the business is the educated people; students enrolled for the master degree
courses. The education system and the literacy percentage of Nepal are improving every
year. The larger portions of population migrate to the capital city for further education
as Nepal has centralized government system.
Technological: Today´s era is the technological era and it helps the business run
efficiently. But the changing trend of the technology has been expensive and investment
rises up. Modern technology available in the market is used in building the
infrastructure for the business and keeps the quality maintained to the demand of the
customer. Technology is used for research and communication for the development of
business. Technology transfer has brought the development in the production processes.
But the unfortunate fact of Nepal is that it has to rely entirely in the imported
technology for almost all sectors.
28
Business strategy is the process of designing, co-coordinating and developing all the
different activities to lead the company to the path of success. It also helps the company
to shape the mission and vision and strengthen the economical and social perspectives
of the firm. In business strategy, a framework is built that helps to meet the objectives
and goals of the firm by developing the strong plan and policies.
There are different kinds of strategy that a firm implements. In business the strategies
like integration strategy, intensive strategy, diversification strategy and defensive
strategy. Integration strategy is also known as the expansion strategy in which the
activities of one company are combined with the other and strengthen the market
conditions. It is further divided into forward integration, backward integration and
horizontal integration. In intensive strategy the company tries to sell its product to the
customers through many outlets located in the markets so that the customers get
encounter with the products wherever they are and wherever they go. The strategy is
also divided into market penetration, market development and product development
strategies.
There are other alternative business strategies implemented in the business which are
diversification strategy and defensive strategy. In diversification strategy, the firm
develops a new product or service and expands it into the new market to get them safe
when the economic situation goes down by providing the alternative product or the
service. It is also classified into further division concentric diversification, horizontal
diversification and conglomerate diversification. Whereas in defensive strategy, the firm
provides profit to the customers and prevent them from being attracted by the
competitors. They are also classified into retrenchment, divestiture and liquidation.
Besides those business strategies, some firm also implement the red ocean strategy and
blue ocean strategy. In red ocean strategy, the firm tries to beat the competitors and grab
the larger market share as the boundary of the firm is defined and accepted. In this type
of strategy, the firm needs to compete with the same kind of firm where to remain in the
race of the competition, the firm either needs to differentiate their product or implement
the low cost strategy. In blue ocean strategy, the form believes in the value innovation
and it creates uncontested market space that makes the competition irrelevant. This
strategy is all about growing demand and breaking away from the competition. It also
donates all the industries not in existence today.
29
Among them the most important strategy that the firm plans to implement are discussed
below.
5.3.1 Differentiation Strategy
According to Porter´s generic strategies, in business there are four kinds of strategy
which are cost leadership strategy, differentiation strategy, focus strategy (low cost) and
focus strategy (differentiation). In cost leadership strategy, the firm sells their product at
average industry price to earn the profit or they sell below the average industry price to
gain the market share. In differentiation strategy, the firm develops the product or the
service with the unique features rather than those available in the market which are
offered by the competitors. In focus strategy, the firm targets the certain segment of
market and within it they try to achieve the cost advantages or the differentiation.
Industry
• Differentiation Strategy
Force
Supplier
• Supplier prie increases can be passed to the customers
Power
The complex thing in the business is setting the price because it is difficult to be sure
about the price that the competitors set. It is really difficult to identify the closest
competitors, but it should be borne in mind that no products is entirely without
competition; there is almost always another way in which customers can meet the need
supplied by the product says Jim Blythe. Different customers have different needs and
demands and their view and opinion about the price of the products also varies unless
we can provide them the product with quality and the brand loyalty they have nothing to
say and do about the price. Before setting the price of service of the product or services,
we need to segment the customers and know what value they can pay for.
Regarding the housing business in Nepal, government has introduced rules and
regulations but it has not been successfully implemented. The rents fee has been set in
the agreement between the owner and the customer either in person or in phone. So, it is
really hard to set the price for the service. Competitor-based pricing is set to be
implemented as it recognizes the influences in the market place. Strategically, the firm
must decide how close the competition is in providing consumers needs; if the products
or service are close, then price needs to be similar to those of the competition.
Competitor-based pricing suits to this kind of business because most of the housing in
Kirtipur is built for the sole purpose of rents. There are many substitutes for the service
that the firm provides like. The target group of the business is the economical people so
whatever the best quality the firm provides they even consider the pricing the next
major factor. Therefore, in this kind of strategy the firms need to look at the prices set
by other competitors in the same service level, and set the price with some plus or
minus percentage according to the service and the quality being provided.
Though there are some disadvantages of this pricing strategy like this method can be
adopted by everyone that can create pricing group think, the firms need some extra
research and hard work to maximize the profits and the revenue but it also has the
advantages like it is fairly simple, has low risk and it can be accurate.
31
6 Financial Analysis
Startup Expenses
Student Housing, Kritipur
Sources of Capital
Investor
Roshan Shrestha 100,000 €
Other Investor 0
Other Investor 0
Total 100,000 €
Bank Loans
Bank 1 50,000 €
Bank2 0
Total 50,000 €
Other Loans
Family 30,000 €
Source 1 0
Total 30,000 €
Summary Statement
Sources of Capital
Owners Investment 100,000 €
Family 30,000 €
Bank loans 50,000 €
Startup Expenses
Land 60,000 €
Administrative expenses 1,000 €
Infrastructure 70,000 €
Labour charges 20,000 €
Transportation 5,000 €
Promotional expenses 2,000 €
Decorative expenses 5,000 €
Other expenses 4,000 €
To summarize the financial analysis, all the financial reports hereby have been reported
by consulting the engineer for the approximate prices and consulted with the people
who has experienced in building the infrastructure.
33
7 Data Analysis
Quantitative Research method was primarily used in this thesis. Regarding the data
collection methods, primary data sources is collected via survey. The survey
questionnaire was short and the respondents could answer it in less than 3 minutes. The
survey was conducted only for the research purpose on the thesis topics.
The survey was intended to be conducted among 150 students where 96 of them
responded to the survey and the rest did not answer the questionnaire. The survey was
mainly focused on what kind of student housing do the students wish to have in
Kirtipur, what price are they ready to pay, which facilities do they think are the most
important to be included and how far are they likely to live in.
Gender Dispersion
46%
Male
54%
Female
The pie chart mentioned above describes the gender distribution of respondents. In the
figure mentioned, the percentage of the female respondents is 54% which is 11% higher
than the male respondents’ percentage.
34
Age Dispersion
8%
18%
Age Group
20-22
23-25
35%
26-28
30+
39%
The following pie chart shows the age dispersion of the respondents. The largest groups
of the respondents were of 26-28 years old which include 39% of the total respondents
and 23-25years old respondents follows the largest group with 35%. The lowest groups
of the respondents were from 20-22 years of age which occupied the 8% of the total
percentage and 18% of the total respondents were the age group of 30+ years.
Faculties Dispersion
17%
32% Faculties
Humanities
Education
21%
Management
Science
30%
The pie chart shown in the figure no.14 shows the faculties dispersion of the
respondents. The respondents were mostly from four faculties. The highest numbers of
35
Housing Dispersion
6%
16%
Types of Stay
Rent House
Hostel
78%
Own House
The pie chart shown above describes the housing dispersion of respondents meaning
that the types of housing they live in during their study. The results show that 78%of
respondents live in rent house whereas 6% of the respondents only live in their own
house. 16%of the respondents live in hostel.
Possibility Of Housing
6%
8%
Possibility for housing
Yes
21% May be
Not really
65%
I have no Idea
The figure shown above clearly describes the dispersion of possibility of Housing of the
respondents. It was asked that whether the students think that the student housing would
be a success or not in Kirtipur. 65% of the respondents were clear that the housing
would be a success and it is the utmost need of the student. 21% of them said that it may
be a success. 8% of them said they were not sure of it and 6% of them said that they
have no idea on it.
Types of Apartment
Apartments
24%
Shared Apartments(3)
The pie chart in figure no.17 clearly describes about the dispersion of types of the
apartment that the respondents wished to live in. Majority of them wished to live in
shared apartments with three people as they think that it is the cheapest one, which was
51% of the total respondents. 25% of the respondents wished to live in the apartment
and were ready to share among two people. 24% of the respondents responded to the
studio room.
37
Dispersion of Rent
Rent in Rs
16%
26%
2000-3000
20%
3000-4000
38% 4000-5000
5000+
The pie chart shown above clearly describes about the dispersion of price of the rent of
the housing. 38% of the respondents chose the lowest price as Rs 2000- Rs3000. Half
the percentages of the students were ready to pay the price stating from Rs 3000- Rs
5000. The lowest percentages of the students were ready to pay Rs 5000 which was
16% of them.
Information Channel
16% 17%
Information channel
Television
12%
Newspaper
20%
Radio
Internet
Leaflets
35%
The pie chart above describes about the information that the respondents has responded
to. Most of the students wished to know the information about the housing from the
38
radios advertisement. 20% of the respondents wanted the advertisement from the
newspaper whereas 17% of the respondents from the newspaper. As the students are
away from their houses, they may not have access to the internet each moment, only
12% of the respondents responded to the internet. They also wanted to have the
information from the leaflets too.
10%
Distance
1-3km
4-6 km
31%
57% 7-10 km
10+km
The figure shown above describes the dispersion of distance of the housing of the
respondents. 57% of the respondents answered that the housing should be located 1-
3km away from the university. 31% of the respondents answered that they prefer to live
if it is 4-6km away from the university. 10% of them only answered that 7-8 km away
from the university does not bother them.
To know more about the opinion of the respondents about the student housing they were
asked two open questions. Most of the respondents replied that they wanted the housing
to be very peaceful and the basic fundamental needs to be fulfilled easily. They were
like asking for very fundamental needs like the 24 hours´ facility of the electricity and
proper management of the drinking water and the sanitation. Most of them also added
that they would want to have the internet availability in the housing. They also wished
to have the information of the housing most probably from the radio or the newspapers.
39
8 Conclusion
The main objective of the thesis was to establish the student housing in Kirtipur, Nepal.
In addition, the thesis aims to develop a business plan for students housing. The thesis
was conducted to discover whether the business plan like student housing can be
established or not in the locations where there are huge number of students or the
renowned university. Furthermore, the thesis also aims to support the entrepreneurs
stating the current scenario of housing in Kirtipur and overcome the challenges. The
thesis also provides solutions and recommendations about the housing that is supposed
to be run for business purposes.
To support the thesis, the research was also conducted by visiting the locations and
meeting the students. The survey with the questionnaire was also conducted among the
students who were enrolled in the university but were away from the family. It was also
conducted to understand and find out how the business plan works in the practical
world. The research clearly defines the vision of the business plan and the structure it
follows and also the methods of functioning the business. The research was conducted
with the combination of primary and secondary data collection. The qualitative and
quantitative methods were also implemented to make the research part more
constructive.
The main research question of the thesis was to find out the important factors that the
students think the housing should facilitate. It has been discovered that 51% of the total
respondents preferred to live in shared apartments. The result shows that 16% of the
total respondents wished to pay the highest rent structure as mentioned in the
questionnaire. The result indicates that 84% of the students prefer to pay the average
rent structure. 57% of the students answered that the housing should be located 1-3 km
away from the university. The results from the survey states that the housing should be
established near the university, which the students preferred. Regarding the rent
structure, the result from the survey suggests that an average rent structure in between a
Nepali rupee ranging from 3000-5000 is affordable price for the students. Furthermore,
the result also shows that the shared apartment type of the housing is suitable to
establish concerning the students wish to pay an average price for the rent.
40
The interest and the involvement of the students shown in the research process were
surprisingly high and it helped in making the process of research more meaningful and
versatile. Few open questions were also asked in the questionnaire during the survey.
The opinion of some the students are quoted in their own words. The student from the
first semester of master degree writes, ``The student housing based in Kirtipur must
have proper electricity facilities with proper access of internet. The housing owner
needs to be liberal and understand the student’s basic needs. The management of the
room must be based on learning environment``. The next student writes, ``The housing
should have learning environment, accessible from the market and share the apartments
with one or two students``.
After the research, the results show that there is great potentiality for students housing
in Kirtipur, and that can bring many social and economic changes of that locality too.
Most common features that the housing should provide are the basic needs for the
students. The research has proved that the business for the company like student
housing can be a great success. The only things that the firm needs to provide are the
services like electricity as Nepal has been facing a problem of load shedding since
several years, proper management of drinking water and the sanitation. There is housing
provided in the traditional methods where the students need to share the apartment with
41
the owners and the people from different professions which is the most difficult part of
living for the students. The research also revealed the surprising fact that most of this
kind of services are not taken as the business. They are taken as granted and people
never thought it could be a form of business and most probably they were running this
sector in very traditional methods.
The results and the findings discovered from the thesis clearly shows that the business
plan can be a success. The things that an entrepreneur needs to learn is to find out what
the demand is and how can they meet them. The entrepreneurs also need to be clear
about whom they are focusing to provide the services for and what strategies are to be
adopted. During the process of writing the thesis, reporting, writing, re-writing,
analyzing and meeting people helped me to learn a lot in me and it also helped me to
gain the knowledge and better understanding in the field of the business. It has helped
me to widen the horizon of practical knowledge in business and the outcome of the
thesis has provided personal satisfaction in education.
42
REFERENCES
5. Prem P. Pant. 2012 Social Science Research and Thesis Writing, Sixth Edition.
Buddha Publication Pvt. Ltd.
10. Dr. Mahendra P. Shrestha, Dr Gangaram Biswakarma, Lal Prasad Aryal. 2016
Entrepreneurship.
13. http://smallbusiness.chron.com/importance-purpose-business-plan-760.html
Retrieved 06.06.2016
Appendix- I
Questionnaire:
1. What is your gender?
Male Female
4. Are you the first year student or the second year student?
6. Do you think it would be better if there would be a housing facility for the students
only?
7. How far do you think that the student housing should be located for your
convenience?
9. How much would you like to pay for a rent per months? ( in rupees)
10. From where would you like to get the detail information about the housing
facilities? ( You may choose more than one)
11. What facilities do you think are the most essentials that a student housing must
provide?
12. Do you have any suggestions or opinion about the student housing?
THANK YOU
45
Appendix-II
Tribhuvan University
46
Kirtipur; Nepal