Business Plan – SLS Wedding Consultants

1. Executive Summary

SLS Wedding Consultants provide consulting services for weddings, anniversaries, and engagement
parties. We have four full-time consultants who are experienced professionals with more than ten years
of experience in the field of event planning and they have been involved in the wedding industry for over
five years. We also have an in-house interior designer who has extensive experience in wedding decors.
Our range of services includes weddings, receptions, anniversaries, engagement parties and honeymoons.
We provide consultations on budget planning, venue, décor, hairstylist, makeup artists, entertainers,
photographers, videographers, catering, and florist. We also have the experience and expertise to cater to
a wide-range of themes, as required by our clients.

2. Company Mission and Objectives

2.1 Provide custom-made and tailored event planning based on the needs and requirements of our clients.
2.2 We aim to be a one-stop-shop for all wedding needs by providing a complete set of services which
includes budget planning, venue options, themes, décor, hairstylist, makeup artists, entertainers,
photographers, videographers, and florist.
2.3 We aim to serve our clients promptly and efficiently by consistently meeting deadlines as well as
delivering on our promises.

3. Industry and Competitors Overview

3.1 Wedding is a billion-dollar industry and wedding consultants are highly sought after as planning a
wedding can be very tiresome and time-consuming. According to an article in The Malaysian
Reserve, the wedding industry in Malaysia is worth approximately RM 7 billion per year (A Malek,
2018). Irrefutably, there is heavy competition in the market with a huge number of veteran wedding
planners as well as new and upcoming event planners.

3.2 Here are the Top 10 promising young event planners in Malaysia in 2018 (Top 10 of Malaysia, 2018):
 Sumo Eleven Sdn Bhd
 Ice Cream Events (M) Sdn Bhd
 MY Wedding Planner
 Latitude 5 Production
  Zebra Square
 Define International Sdn Bhd
 Jiggee Asia
 Genio Sdn Bhd
 Milestone Production Sdn Bhd
 The Party Project

These ten companies have been in business for some time and have grown over the years, making a
name for themselves in the industry. Some of this companies have over 2000 clients and have
extensive experience organizing a wide-range of events including weddings, birthday parties, annual
dinners, fashion shows, conferences, and exhibitions (Top 10 of Malaysia, 2018). Similarly, there are
many emerging, talented event planners and consultants all over Malaysia. As such, there is heavy
and tough competition in the market. As a new entrant, we anticipate difficulties in obtaining clients
and long working hours to get a place within the market.

3.3 The market structure of the wedding industry is Monopolistic Competition Market. It falls under this
market structure as there are many companies within this market and none of these companies
dominate the market. Having said that, it cannot be denied that some companies are more successful
and renowned in comparison to others. The companies involved in the wedding business generally
sell the same services and products, however, there is a differentiation in the form of reputation,
advertising and branding. In terms of breaking into the market, there are no restrictions or major
roadblocks and so, new businesses can enter the market with ease. However, the bargaining power of
customers are rather high and with many established competitors in the market, it will be painstaking
for new entrants to obtain clients, especially if our prices are not competitive. As such, we volunteered
our services for events hosted by NGOs as well as weddings of friends and family to spread the word
and generate a portfolio that our potential clients could refer to. We believe this is a good marketing
strategy and it will be able to put us on the map.
4. SWOT Analysis of SLS Wedding Consultants

4.1 Strengths and Weaknesses

Table 1.0
Strengths Weaknesses
Start-up cost is low as we do not require a As the business grows, we may require storage
storefront and we have a home-office with space for some of the equipment, printers, and
reasonable working space. marketing materials. The additional space
would require expanding our operational cost.
We have existing friends and family who run Dependency on experts such as makeup artist,
successful businesses such as makeup artist, photographer, decorator, baker, and caterers. It
photography, decorator, baker, and catering. can also be difficult to establish trust and
Thus, it is easy for us to collaborate with them relationship with unfamiliar service providers.
to organize an event. It is also difficult to anticipate the outcome
produced by this group of experts. If the client
is not satisfied, SLS consultants will earn a bad
reputation.
Many event companies do not provide all the We are required to put a lot of focus and effort
required services under one roof. As we are a into heavily marketing our company when we
one-stop-shop for wedding planning, it will first enter the market. This can be very time
ease the immense burden of the bride and consuming, hectic, and costly.
groom to source experts on their own.
More than ten years of expertise and
experience in the wedding industry as well as
event planning. We also have an interior
designer who has extensive experience in
wedding decors.
4.2 Opportunities and Threats/Restrictions

Table 2.0
Opportunities Threats/Restrictions
Many young couples are keen on having an High levels of competition in the market as
outdoor or beach themed weddings as these there are many event planning companies
wedding themes are quite popular now. We within Klang Valley and many of these
see this as an opportunity as we have planned companies have established a place within the
over twenty beach and outdoor themed events market.
and our experience is highly valued by clients
we have already served.
The ease of marketing our products and Websites and online blogs on self-planning a
services through social media platforms. wedding such as WedResearch, Style Me
Pretty, Plan Your Wedding, Jet Fete, and
iKahwin (Ram, 2014).

5. Target Customer Group

5.1 The wedding industry is a sizeable market with over 150,000 marriages recorded in Malaysia in year
2017 (Department of Statistics Malaysia, 2018). The excitement of imminent nuptials can be very
exciting but at the same time, it can be overwhelming, especially for the couple who are tying the
knot. Thus, we primarily market our products and services to the bride and groom.

5.2 Our market segmentation would include the bride and groom, family members, and guests attending
the events. The biggest chunk of our services will be focused on the needs of the bride and groom
which includes (but is not limited to) budget planning, event venues, bridal dresses and suits, hair and
makeup, and pre-wedding photography. Some couples wish to get their parents and family members
involved in the wedding plans to ensure the customary and traditional requirements are met. So, we
will also keep a close tab on what is required by them and cater to their conditions in reference to the
wedding rituals. We would also focus on the guests who are attending the event by throwing in gift
ideas and etiquette tips.

5.3 We will position ourselves as an experienced provider of wedding planning services and exhibit the
wide range of services that we offer through our advertisements and social media platforms.
5.4 As with any product and/or services, there is the elasticity of demand factor at play. The elasticity of
demand for our services can be broken down into three areas:

5.4.1 Price elasticity of demand

As mentioned before, the wedding industry is highly competitive, and it comes under the
Monopolistic Competition market structure. Businesses in such a market structure can set
their own pricing based on their differentiated products and services (Pettinger, 2017). As
such, the price elasticity of demand in this industry can be quite inelastic. However, we will
not be able to sustain our business if our prices are too high in comparison to the market
especially when we first enter the market. Thus, we maintain reasonable pricing of our
products and services so we can stay competitive in the market.

5.4.2 Income elasticity of demand

Our products and services can be categorized as normal necessities. As the income of a
potential client or client increases, they will consider spending more on our services to plan
a grand or expensive wedding. However, if their income drops, they may require us to lower
our prices or they could choose to drop our services if they are cannot afford it.

5.4.3 Cross elasticity of demand

As a wedding consultant, we deal with heavy competition in the market and our products and
services can be easily substituted by another consultant or event planner. The cross elasticity
of demand for goods that can be substituted is always positive – as price of one product
increases, the demand for the cheaper substitute increases (Investopedia.com, 2018). If our
prices are not competitive and affordable, we will lose potential clients to other consultants
whose services are affordable. Subsequently, if our prices are fair and affordable, and our
competitors are raising their prices, we could potentially have more clients come our way.
6. Potential Costs – Startup, Operational and Marketing Costs

As a consulting company, our startup cost is fairly low as we can operate from home and most of our
appointments with clients can be done at their homes, offices or even coffee shops (Gregory, 2018).
However, we would need to spend a large amount of our investment on marketing and advertising
(Gregory, 2018). Our estimated start-up cost is MYR 25,000 for legal costs, business registration,
advertising, social media marketing, company logo designing, and other miscellaneous expenses. All the
costs for setting up our business will be financed by myself, Sasikala Sannibabu and my business partner,
Ms Sivasankari. The funding will be done with our personal funds. We also estimate that the cost of
continuously running our business for the next five years to be approximately MYR 15,000 – 25,000 per
year, depending on our client base.

Here is a breakdown of our estimated startup cost for SLS Wedding Consultants (refer to Table 3.0):

Table 3.0
Category Estimated Cost (MYR)
Legal Fees 5,000.00 – 7,000.00
Business Registration Fee 60.00 per annum (Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia, SSM, n.d.)
Company Logo 500.00 – 800.00
Advertising Costs – Newspaper 500.00
Social Media Marketing 10,000.00 – 12,000
Miscellaneous Expenses 5000.00

Here is a breakdown of the estimated operating cost for the next five years (refer to Table 4.0):

Table 4.0
Category Estimated Cost (MYR)
Legal Fees – Client contracts, 3,000.00 – 5,000.00 per annum (Opting to prepare contracts
third party service provider through Legal Document Services) (Shakeup, 2018)
contracts, employee contracts etc.
Business Registration Fee 60.00 per annum (Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia, SSM, n.d.)
Advertising Costs – Newspaper 500.00 per annum
Social Media Marketing 7,000.00 – 10,000.00 per annum
Miscellaneous Expenses 5000.00 – 8,000.00 per annum
7. Potential externalities

We have anticipated a few externalities that maybe caused by the operations of our business. We have
identified both the positive and negative externalities as detailed in the table below (refer to Table 5.0):

Table 5.0
Positive Potential Externalities Negative Potential Externalities
More exposure for service providers who work If an event is unsuccessful, there will a ripple
with us on events and weddings organized by effect that would impact our company along
us such as photographers, caterers, florists, with all our third-party service providers.
makeup artists, etc.
Job opportunities for new and upcoming
business owners in the related field such as
videographers, part-time photographers,
bakers, etc.

Identifying these positive and negative externalities will allow us to take pre-emptive actions towards
reducing or eliminating the negative externalities that we have discovered.
References

1. Top 10 of Malaysia., (2018) Top 10 Promising Young Event Planners in Malaysia [online]
Available at: top10malaysia.com/main/malaysias-top-10-event-planners/ [Accessed on 15
February 2019]

2. Gregory, A., (2018) Learn the Highs and Lows of Starting a Party-Planning Business [online]
Available at: https://www.thebalancesmb.com/the-pros-and-cons-of-starting-a-party-planning-
business-2951491 [Accessed on 15 February 2019]

3. Department of Statistics Malaysia, Official Portal., (2018) Marriage and Divorce Statistics,
Malaysia, 2018 [online] Available at:
https://www.dosm.gov.my/v1/index.php?r=column/cthemeByCat&cat=453&bul_id=ZFAzVjE1
Ny93VlZXenloWXJBQmYyUT09&menu_id=L0pheU43NWJwRWVSZklWdzQ4TlhUUT09
[Accessed on 18 February 2019]

4. A Malek, N., (2018) Wedding industry gets dynamic │The Malaysian Reserve [online]
Available at: https://themalaysianreserve.com/2018/03/01/wedding-industry-gets-dynamic/
[Accessed 20 February 2019]

5. Pettinger, Tejvan., (2017) Monopolistic Competition – definition, diagram and examples

[online] Available at: https://www.economicshelp.org/blog/311/markets/monopolistic-
competition/ [Accessed 20 February 2019]

6. Investopedia.com., (2018) Cross Elasticity of Demand [online] Available at:

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/cross-elasticity-demand.asp [Accessed 21 February
2019]

7. Ram, Sadho., (2014) 8 Must-Visit Wedding Websites For The Internet Savvy Bride [online]
Available at: https://says.com/my/tech/8-must-visit-wedding-websites-for-the-internet-savvy-
bride [Accessed on 21 February 2019]

8. Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia (SSM)., (n.d.) Table of Fees [online] Available at:
https://www.ssm.com.my/Pages/Services/Registration-of-Business-(ROB)/table-of-fees/Table-
of-Fees.aspx [Accessed 22 February 2019]
9. Shakeup.online., (2018) How Much Should Businesses Pay for Legal Agreements [online]
Available at: https://www.shakeup.online/resources/articles/how-much-should-businesses-pay-
for-legal-agreements [Accessed 22 February 2019]