Dink Law Firm Business Plan Answers

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• Subject Name : Management

The Real Mission of The Mission Statement

Abstract on Dink Law Firm Business Plan

A business plan is an official document that outlines the future objectives and strategies of a business and setting out the cause of action to be followed for the realization of objectives set out in the business plan. It is also a formal written document containing goals and the methodologies of how this goal can be realized, giving a time frame within which the set objectives should be realized. In this paper, a discussion of the Dink Law firm business plan is brought forth and discussed in detail. The first aspect discussed in this business plan is the business itself. The other aspects include financial analysis, market analysis, analysis based on the people, and the future of the business. In the discussion also the business name, business structure, location, date for the establishment, and the solstice experience are discussed in detail. The next chapter outlines the financial analysis whereby a summary of financial information and a brief recommendation plan for profitability improvement. The market analysis is discussed herein paper with a thorough analysis of the target market and the marketing strategies that should be put in place to realize the practice goals and objectives. A discussion about attraction and retention plans is given herein, and explanations of how this plan improves turnover are presented in a precise and comprehensive manner. Learning, development, and team management plans are discussed in detail in this paper. The future of the practice is discussed in light of the vision statement, mission statement, and values statement. Finally, the discussion culminates with the succession plan. The succession plan outlines the appropriate procedure of choosing the right to take over the business after the retirement of the business president.

Table of Contents

Abstract

The Business

1.1 Business details

1.2 Registration details

1.3 Business premises

1.4 Organization chart

1.5 Management and ownership

1.6 Services

1.7 Operations

The finances

The market

3.1 Customers

3.2 SWOT analysis

3.3 Competitors

3.4 Marketing Plan.

The People

4.1 people and culture strategies

4.2 Team management

4.3 Recommendations

The future

5.1 Vision statement

5.2 mission statement

5.3 values statement

Succession plan.

1. The Business

1.1 Business Details

Dink Law firm will be offering a variety of services and which will denote its specialization that will differentiate it from its anticipated competitors. The services to be provided by this firm will range from criminal law services, personal law services, property law services, divorce law services, real estate law services, legal audits, legal consultancy, legal seminars, and corporate law services. All these services shall be offered under the invigilation of the firm's quality assurance team to ensure delivery of quality services and ensure timely responses to customer queries. Through this approach, the firm will gain a tremendous competitive advantage over its competitors to enhance its market share.

1.2 Registration Details

The proposed business name shall be "Dink Law firm." There are several considerations for choosing this name because it is thought to be the best among the alternatives. Firstly, "Dink" would mean "high quality," and the "law firm" stands for the services the firm will be offering to its customers. Another consideration is that "D" in the word Dink stands for the owners' name who will be responsible since it is a sole proprietorship firm and only the owner is responsible for every liability whatsoever.

The firm shall be registered under Dink legal consultancy as the trading name. The firm shall also be registered on 12th may 2021 adhering to the requirements for business registration as stipulates in the Law and the business activities. The firm's main office shall be situated in Sydney, and this is where the CEO shall be managing the other branches to ensure the firm's prosperity. The other offices shall be set up in Melbourne, Lismore, and Broome cities. Every branch will be under the management of the branch manager, who shall be reporting directly to the chief executive officer in Sydney.

Dink Law firm shall be a sole proprietor organization under the management of the CEO, who will be the owner and the chief leader of the business organization. This decision is that the sole proprietor shall exercise full control and holds power for decision making in all aspects of the business. All the business activities shall be managed by the sole proprietor who will give the authority of selling, purchasing, and transfer of business property. Through sole proprietorship, the business shall avoid payment of corporate tax, corporate meeting costs, and minimize legal costs for the business registration. The Australian business number (ABN), goods and services tax (GST), and the Australian firm number (ACN) shall be given during the initiation of the business. The domain name for the business shall be ".net.au." the firm shall be registered under all business permits and licenses that will enable it to run its activities from different parts of the state, comply with taxation, occupation, and safety loss. The charges will also regulate the kind of activities and contracts the business shall be engaged in the operation. The firm shall register to environmental controls that shall show that it complies with the environmental laws. Therefore, this ensures the cleanliness of the environment surrounding the business. All the waste materials shall be disposed of reasonably. Those which can be burned should be done so daily and in incinerators to avoid smoke and other harmful emissions. The business premises should always be kept clean to keep the place suitable for both workers and customers.

1.3 Business Premises

The business will take place in a permanent building located in Sydney. The business consists of two big rooms. They will be partitioned to contain clerks, lawyers, advocates, customer help desk, accountant, marketing team, and project management team. On the front side of the office, reception of clients will be located indoor A and door B attended client queries shall be handled. The firm shall be located at the CBD, where all people can access the services provided by the firm. Many people presume that firms and businesses located in the CBD offer quality and legit services. Therefore, this shall create a large customer base leading to an increased market share. All the firm premises shall be leased for 50 years. The leased premises should accommodate all the firm services and offices without financial and space strain. The reasons for leasing the premises are apparent and are to avoid buying and building the premises. Also, leasing will allow the firm to relocate after the lapse of time if the prevailing conditions become adverse and unreliable for business growth and prosperity.

1.5 Management and Ownership

Dink Law firm will be a sole proprietorship firm under the central management of the owner. Although the total management will be under the CEO, the business firm will employ other stakeholders to manage daily activities. The employed managers will be reporting directly to the CEO about the core activities of the business. The CEO will be the president of the firm. The roles of the firm's president shall include envisioning the firm goals and objectives, delegating business responsibilities, assessing firm managers, linking business to the government and other business stakeholders, chairing business meetings, and funding the business. The firm shall employ a vice president in finance, operations, and marketing. Each vice president shall meet a specific range of qualifications before been employed in the firm. After been employed, the vice presidents will perform different office roles depending on their specifications.

The vice president finance shall be held responsible for helping in budget preparation, management of firm records, reconciliation of annual business transactions, and preparation of business invoices. The finance officer will be required to hold academic expertise in finance and business management to qualify for the VP Finance position. The VP Operations will be accountable for all the firm's processes and operations. The operations officer shall be in charge of the day to day operations of the firm to ensure the provision of quality and satisfactory services. .Also, the officer shall combine reports about the operations concerning the organizations. The VP operation will act as a link between the management unit and the marketing department.

The vice president Marketing will be responsible for planning, preparing, and managing all the publications and overseeing the activities held by junior managers. The officer shall be devising business campaigns, organizing business market calendar events, and representing the firm on marketing events. The senior accountant shall be responsible for activities related to finance such as gathering, recording, accuracy, analysis, and presentation of the firm's budgets. They shall also be accountable for all accounts payable and receivable. The chief auditor will ensure that every manager complies with the established firm's control procedures via examining operating practices, documentation, records, and reports. The auditor will always verify the firm's liabilities and assets by following the documentations drawn by other management officers. The auditor shall be auditing firm operations annually to ensure that the management officers uphold transparency and accountability of their responsibilities.

For the acquisition and maintenance of a large market share, the firm shall be required to hire a National sales and account managers. Their responsibilities shall include advising the sales representatives, motivating the marketers, hiring, and training new sales representatives. They shall be responsible for planning sales goals, analyzing the sales data depending on period performance, and making future decisions to improve marketing and customer retention. The national sales manager will be responsible for reporting to the management about the customers' feedback.

1.6 Services

Table 1: services

1.7 Operations

Technology

Since Dink Law firm shall be offering critical services, it requires integrating robust systems for enhancing the smooth exchange of services between the firm and its customers. It will require a website, a database management system, a network, and an enterprise resource planning system. All this software shall be one-off purchases, and their cost shall depend on the quality and the software vendor.

Process improvement

Upon initiation, the operations manager shall be keen on monitoring all the firm's operations and processes to ensure a smooth flow of services from the firm to the end-user. In the case of process interference, the operations manager will give a qualified plan for combating the process challenges before ruining the other operations of the firm. Also, the firm will have consistent plans for improving the quality of the services they shall be offering.

Operating hours

Upon opening the business, it should be expected to run 24 hours daily to accommodate and satisfy the needs of the customers at any time of the day. The firm will be hoping to be busy during the peak seasons, such as holidays since other firms in this industry normally close on holidays. The business does not wish to close down at any time of the year.

Communication channels

The customers shall communicate to the firm administration and the employees via provided office emails, telephone calls and instant messaging, and the firm's website. The customers shall also use social networking platforms.

Payment terms

The salaries for the firm employees shall be billed monthly, and payment is made on the second day of the month. The clients will pay for services offered depending on the type of service and the time the service is requested.

Quality control

The firm shall have a quality assurance team that shall be working to ensure that the services offered are of the highest quality. The team will be keen on customers' feedback to determine their satisfaction levels and advise them on the best solutions for customer complaints.

Membership and affiliations

After initiation, the firm management team shall assess the affiliate firms and decide whether it can form membership.

2. The Finances

Start-up capital

Machinery Tools and Equipment.

Charge out rates and billable hours

Working capital

Projected cash flow in dollars

3. The Market

3.1 Customers

Client targets:

The Dink Law firm solution shall focus on acquiring customers from all parts of Australia. Since the business shall target offering both individual and corporate services, it shall have a great chance of getting a large market share. The immediate customers shall be people living near the main office and the branches. Online clients shall not be limited to Australian clients. The firm will also accommodate international clients. The served clients will act as our ambassadors responsible for referring more clients to our firm.

Market research and analysis:

The choice of Dink Law firm comes after adequate research to determine whether the areas support the favourable conditions of business growth. Population and easy access to the offices are among the factors that significantly influence the development of an organization. Our main office and branch location have consistently experienced a 20% growth in population for the last three years. Therefore, the growing community will offer immediate business clients and help the business to grow rapidly. The firm will be set to embrace all trending activities that can positively influence its growth. 

Market targets:

Upon initiation, the Dink Law firm solution will be targeting to invest in the market heavily. Setting up a substantial investment base will likely help the firm to acquire a larger market share in the market. The firm shall invest approximately $5000 in individual law activities and not less than $3000 in the corporate law sector. Since in the next 12 months, the firm will not have fully stabilized, it won't be possible to bill more than $2000 for all services rendered. Therefore, most clients will be urged to pay for services on delivery.

3.2 SWOT Analysis

Strengths

Dink Law firm solution is anticipating to enjoy several strengths after initiation. The strengths will significantly contribute to the success of the firm.

1. Strategic location- The firm's main office and branches shall be located in areas experiencing continuous population growth and expecting a consistent flow of customers.
2. Uniqueness- the firm shall stand out as a unique alternative for offering faster and quality services. The firm will offer to follow up service to determine levels of customer satisfaction.

• Strong management- Since Dink Law firm shall provide a sole proprietor organization, it will have an assembled management team embracing different disciplines with continuous expertise.

1. Relationship selling- the firm will be creating a good relationship with the clients to serve as the ambassadors of the firm.

Weaknesses

The firm is anticipating to experience some weakness while establishing in the new markets. The weaknesses include:

1. History- The firm will be very new in town, and hence many clients will not be able to recognize it. The mitigation approach for this weakness shall be focusing on building on the property of newness; that is, the firm will not be known to possess a lousy reputation; hence it will be able to acquire many clients by offering quality services.
2. Lack of enough capital- All startup funds will be expected to be from the sole proprietor. The challenge shall be curbed by looking for more fund sources such as loans and other family supporters.

• Price and volume- the business will be struggling to fit in the already set prices of services. The mitigation of this weakness will be optimizing the prices of goods and services to avoid making significant losses.

Opportunities

1. Area growth- the main target towns will be growing by over 15% annually
2. Training- established law firms do not offer training; therefore, as the firm grows, it shall focus on offering training responsible for quality services.

• Service- the target market requires law services more than what the anticipated competitors shall be able to offer.

Threats

1. Competition- the established law firms have loyal customers who have established strong relationships with them. The customers trust so much in the competitors; hence it will be challenging to shift to Dink Law firm. The mitigation approach to this challenge shall be offering quality services to our new customers and using the customers as firm ambassadors.
2. Unprepared for the opening- the initial services might poor or of low quality; hence customers deter from returning to the firm in the future. The threat shall be handled by carrying out customer assessment plans to determine their levels of satisfaction.

3.3 Competitors

The firm is anticipating to have competitors who are in the field of Law and offering similar services. Over the years, different firms have been establishing in the field of Law. Some firms have been in the field for over 50 years and have acquired more than 60% of the market share. They have many strengths and a few weaknesses; hence it will be challenging to beat them. Their strengths include a stabilized customer base and a robust funding system, while their weaknesses include poor leadership and technology. Some of the anticipated established competitors shall be Blue Dawson, Free Hills, Mallesons, Minter Ellison, and Allens Arthur Robinson.

3.4 Marketing Plan

Marketing strategy

Since Dink law services shall require maximum customization to satisfy the client's needs, it shall be necessary to organize the marketing activities by customer groups. The approach will enable the firm to focus on each target group exclusively specifically. The firm will emphasize its efforts on customer groups, real estate groups, marriage groups, criminal investigation groups, and corporate groups. In each group, a set manager will take the total head responsibility and report to the CEO. In each group, the employees shall be responsible for advertising the firm's groups. The groups shall also hold the full responsibility of making decisions. The diverse decision making will help Dink Law firm to be more flexible and creative in satisfying the customer's needs.

Activity plan

The implementation of marketing activities shall begin at the start of the first fiscal year on May 12, 2021. The firm president will be responsible for the activities unless advised otherwise by the management. They will include:

On May 15, create and advertise marketing director and five customer manager positions.

On June 1, the market analysis team to conduct a customer needs survey and determine the satisfaction gaps.

On June 30, the analysis team will report the results of the market analyses.

On August 15, the firm will develop and integrate a marketing information system responsible for monitoring customer satisfaction levels.

On October 20, implement a new service channel, begin advertising activities to the available customers. The business analysis team will be held responsible for that action.

April 12, re-establish the goals regarding the next fiscal year set by the firm analysis team. The operations manager shall be responsible for the activity.

Progress and review

In keeping good market progress, the management should schedule a consistent analysis of the effectiveness of the marketing plan. Dink Law firm shall develop a monitoring program to keep an eye on all the procedures and ensure that all the activities become fruitful. The monitoring procedures include the project management concept that will be focused on evaluating the implementation of the marketing plan by identifying human resource needs, time requirements, and finance expenditures. The firm shall also plan for a perpetual comparison program to access current activities and compare them with the marketing goals. The firm's project team shall hold the responsibility of determining the changes to be made on the market procedures, services, and other operations. Each project team will be responsible for reporting all their project expenditures to enhance transparency and accountability. The firm accountant will be held accountable for full adherence to project budgets and shall be reporting to the president every month. The firm shall be evaluating all the services it shall be offering quarterly to determine its profitability.

4. The People

4.1 People and Culture Strategies

Culture strategies

The practice framework in Dink Law firm will encourage, guide, and allow the face to face customer conversation either through phone or using digital platforms. Such platforms include instant messaging, skype, twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, among other platforms that the firm may consider. The communication can also be conducted through the process of customer engagement. The practice value framework is founded on the cross-functional alignment of the firm on value drivers and the differentiators that are at the top-notch of the buying clients that are considered to be the most influential. Then the practice framework is clearly defined; it defines the topics of the clients and the messages of the services that will help increase the levels of the customer organization and service delivery for the satisfaction of the customers. The firm's practice framework shall help the team and the employees to engage in consultative conversations that put the client at the centre and consider them as the central focus. The practice framework shall integrate the current and future operations of the firm. The key characteristics that carry the practice framework are that the practice framework shall be outlining what is presumed to be important to the clients. It shall be categorizing the aspects that differentiate Dink Law firm from its competitors, and it shall be providing a tool that shall be uncovering business pain. The other characteristics are that is shall be outlining the success metrics of the firm, and it shall be useful to the whole organization. Leadership is considered a core strength in supporting the culture in this business. The firm leaders shat promote and help the culture of the place and shall be examples to reckon with as far as the organizational culture is concerned. The firm shall be encouraging every person working within the organization to become leaders. Promoting leadership in every individual will be a motivating factor for employees to work and go the extra mile for the betterment of the organization. The people and the employee teams shall be working hard to uphold the organization's values to ensure that it meets its short and long-term goals and objectives.

Attraction and retention plan

The firm shall have a practical method for the attraction and retention of the right people in the business. The high-quality services that the firm shall be provided, the customer care team that shall be on place and the quality assurance team that shall be put in place an attraction to potential customers will be the best course of action. The recruitment plan shall be aligned with the firm goals and the outlet oy the practice. That recruitment shall be conducted and based on the qualifications rather than the work experience. There shall be a retention plan that shall dictate how the employees shall be retained.

The people will be happy and pleased to work with Dink Law firm due to its strategic position, the terms of work, and the excellent working conditions. The management shall also not be pressurizing the employee's nut in the case of a problem. There shall be the right channels to investigate the issue and get it fixed with immediate effect. At initiation, there shall be set exit statements and how the feedback shall be acted upon, and also, the succession plan shall be done to allow the next of kin to take over the business.

Learning and development plan

The firm shall set development plans based on the revenue realization that shall be prevailing at the time. There shall be regular seminars and pieces of training shat shall boost career and development. There shall be no set programs for CLE in the firm, but it shall acquire accreditation certificates for litigation lawyers.

4.2 Team Management

Team

The Dink Law firm shall have a team of thirty-six members. The team management shall be divided into various levels depending on the seniority of the team members. The team management shall be divided into four groups, and each level is assigned a team leader. The specific team leaders shall be reporting directly to the general team leader at the top of the management scheme. The four levels shall be the operations level, marketing level, customer relations level, and the top rank team management level.

The teams' operations level shall be handling the day to day operations of the firm, such as procurement, the marketing team shall be responsible for advertisement and selling the firm services. The customer relations team shall be handling customer queries and ensuring that customers are not exploited. The firm presumes that the team and its members shall be working harmoniously to realize the firm's goals and objectives. The firm management desires to have high returns on their investment. The other desire of the control that the firm should break even in a short period.

Team performance

For the team to work effectively, there will be better communication between the firm stakeholders, effective collaboration, and the methods of conflict handling shall be constructive. For better communication, the firm management shall set profitable channels of communication among the stakeholders. There shall be uninterruptible communication between the employees and the administration to air out their grievances on what they need to be done to offer quality services. The channels of communication that shall be used in the firm's communication include instant messaging, face to face communication, and communication through social media, among others. The methods of handling conflicts that shall be used are mediation, arbitration, and any other that the management will find constructive. Negotiation is another method of conflict resolution that the firm shall put in practice if any conflict arises.

4.3 Recommendations

Attraction and retention plan

The recruitment and retention plan and strategies are essential. This calls for the firm to identify the strategy it will be pursuing to ensure that they recruit and retain the current employees with the remaining loyal to the firm. Recruitment and retention strategies shall improve revenue turnover. The anticipated revenue turnover for the firm for the first two years after initiation if 70% and 80% consecutively. The recruitment shall be based on qualifications and no work experience. The aspect of recruiting based on qualifications will attract many potential employees to have the willingness to do with the firm. Therefore, this aspect will encourage the employees and make them engaged, and many shall be willing to apply for employment in the firm. The employees shall be retained based on their performance in their field of specialization.

Learning and development plan

There shall be organized and fully paid seminars and pieces of training that shall be geared to boosting the professional and technical development for employees. The workshops and activities will boost the career development and equip the employees with new skills required for the growth of the firm and increase the profitability of the firm. The time frame for the seminars and training shall be dictated by nature and the scope of workshops and training.

Team management plan

The team management plan is geared to improving team performance; the employees shall be entitled to incentives, salary increments, allowances such as transport, medical, housing, among others. Also, to motivate the employees, there shall be commissions to sales over $300 per day. The weaknesses in this plan are that it is anticipated to be hard to have sales above $300 at the initiation of the business. The team management shall be done following the firm norms and rules set. The leadership shall be based on upholding the firm's cultural strategies. There shall be regular reviews for the firm's progress to ascertain that it is on the right track to meeting its goals and objectives. The budget shall be a useful tool to reflect on and review the progress toward the set goals and objectives.

5. The Future

5.1 Vision Statement

Any organization must have a vision statement that dictates the general direction that the organization should follow (Center, 2016). The vision statement for my firm shall be "to be the most recognized and the top-notch law practice in the area." The mission statement paves the way for the firm to become a leader in its sector of operation. The vision statement also provides a good platform for becoming a specialist in a particular area of Law. Becoming the lead in such a specific segment of the market, I will be able to realize some revenues that will enable me to cater to my daily expenditure and to finance my lifestyle. The vision statement for the practice and the business shall be useful in marketing the products and services offered to the society and the esteemed clients.

5.2 Mission Statement

The mission statement of the practice and the organization is the driving vehicle that shall help to meet the vision and lead to the realization of the goals and objectives set in the vision statement (Alegre et al., 2018). The mission statement for this practice is "to be the best organization offering the best solutions to the day to day encounters." Therefore, the mission statement outlines aspects that are supposed to be considered so that the vision may be realized.

5.3 Values Statement

The core values that the team and the employees in the firm should uphold to realize the vision, goals, and objectives of the practice. The core values that need to be maintained include integrity, transparency, honesty, accountability, reliability, and objectivity. All these virtues give the practice a positive image, and a good picture is portrayed to the public. These core values contained in the value statement should be realistic and practices by all the team members so that the organization realizes growth and profitability.

6. Succession Plan

After ceasing to be the president and overall manager of the firm, I shall choose a suitable heir to replace my position. The process of selecting the firm heir shall be governed by a succession plan which shall be prepared immediately after initiating and registering the firm. The succession plan shall be filed with the other registration documents and kept under a government law office. The plan will be responsible for selecting the appropriate heir to replace the president in unexpected emergencies such as death. The succession plan shall outline all the qualifications for the post suitability. The capabilities shall be varying from one individual to the other. The heir should be competent and meet all the managerial qualifications before choosing them to replace my office. The heir of the firm will be most probably my child or any close family member. If all my family members fail to qualify for the office of firm president, the succession plan shall allow another qualified employee or friend to take my position.

My son, daughter, or a close family member will be less than the qualifications a friend or an employee will have to achieve before winning the position. Before an immediate family member qualifies for the job, they will have to show their competence in managing the firm and possess a higher interest in running the firm. The heir should also possess quality leadership skills to lead with transparency, accountability, and competency. The second group that will consist of friends and competent employees will have to show consistent leadership skills and sign ethical documents of serving the firm without looting, misleading, or transferring the firm possession. In case the firm lacks a suitable heir for the job, the firm shall be sold to other entrepreneurs, and the benefits shall be shared with my family.

References for Dink Law Firm Business Plan

Alegre, I., Berbegal-Mirabent, J., Guerrero, A., & Mas-Machuca, M. (2018). The real mission of the mission statement: A systematic review of the literature. Journal of Management and Organization, 24(4), 456-473.

Center, S. S. F. (2016). Vision Statement. AGENDA, 10.

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