Proposal to Acquire Funds For BeautyKat

1. Proposal to Acquire Funds For BeautyKat.com Winston Leong ETM 5121 July 14, 2004

2. Introduction • A online retail beauty care website • Started business in April 2004 • Mission is to provide customers with hard-to-find products from outside of America • Also provide product reviews • Intended website goal is to be a customer focus website that allows customer interactions through discussions, consultations and customer demand input

3. Problem Statement • BeautyKat is at the startup phase of its operation • A lot of the work being done now is unplanned and without clear objectives • Internal operations are poorly managed and inefficient • Key reason for this is a lack of funding to purchase software, hire contractors and outsourcing of operations • BeautyKat is now operating with one full-time and one part-time staff

4. Measures of the Problem • Website content and Editorial Design – Intended goals of the website is not accomplished. Example, interactive sections of the website is not set up yet. • Technology – Web hosting and merchant solutions are provided by third party company. Shopping cart ‘checkout’ process is standardized and cannot be changed. As a result, promotional tools which are effectively placed in ‘checkout’ process cannot be implemented. • Merchandising and Supply Chain – Unable to place big lot orders. Shipment are billed per cubic meter. • Sales and Marketing – Advertising have been low budget ones. Unable to hold PR events with newspaper and magazine publishers. • Customer Relation Management – No tools available for online shoppers and existing customers. • Finance, Accounting and Enterprise Processes – Back end operations are not integrated with front end operations. These are currently being done manually.

5. Project Objectives • Final objective is to prepare BeautyKat on the path towards acquiring funds to grow the business • Final report (ETM 5131) is a comprehensive business plan detailing all aspects of BeautyKat operation, visions and market objectives and market studies and forecast. • Several sub-objectives are to be met before presentation to investors • Prepare a comprehensive business plan • Have an updated cash flow statement • Complete implementation of website • Plan for future launch of products • Prepare a clear strategy on entry and exit of merchandise • Draw out suppliers terms and conditions • Determine a set of metric to measure the business • Determine a clear pricing structure for its merchandise

6. Specific Deliveries • Present a defendable business plan • Ensure smooth and stable operation of business • Have a clear strategy in terms of executive of different functions

7. Alternatives to Consider • Completing all sub-objectives before presenting business plan • Not likely, since current funding is an issue. • Also, may not have the expertise and experience to achieve smooth operations in the first place • Completing part of the sub-objectives before presenting business plan • The most likely path to take, since it will allow time for further iteration of business operations • Presenting business plan with BeautyKat at its current state • Not a consideration at all

8. Approach and Criteria for Evaluating Alternatives • Prioritization of sub-objectives • Must be accomplished • Must be accomplished but need not be complete • Can wait • Approach will be multiple processes with each process using some or all of the steps listed below, • Define • Analyze (Cause and Effect Studies) • Design and Document • Implementation • Measure • Control

9. Project Plan • Start of project is August 2004 • Presentation of business plan is December 2004

10. Planned use of ETM Materials • IEM 5113 • IEM 5823 • IEM 5763 • ACCT 5103 • MKTG 5113