Business Development Proposal

In our proposed business plan, the main methods or approaches that we employed in conducting an analysis about the Dubai’s tourism industry as well as the general comparison of major competitors in the sector included exploratory approach or research, market accessibility and market segmentation. Given the exploratory approach, we conducted an examination of Dubai’s economic status currently and then I segmented the research into VIP tour guide business and hotel booking business. In the process of segmentation, I was able to come up with the information about market leaders in VIP tour guide and in hotel booking currently. The information I came up with provided me with an idea that there was still a big gap in the VIP tour guide services and hotel booking services in Dubai’s tourism sector. After the analysis of the identified gap, I further identified the market and the opportunity in the gap of which I made a decision of accepting and venturing in the market. This is the point where I identified the opportunity and I proceeded to exploit it.

In the market segmentation approach, I split the employed research approaches into three broad sections namely, geographic, psychographic and demographic analysis. This research approach or process assisted me to acquire more data or information concerning the location of the tourism company offices and the type of customers that the company will be dealing with.

In the accessibility of the market research approach, I managed to understand the regulations involved in entering the Dubai’s tourism market. I also understood the procedures involved in acquiring the permission to enter the market.

Literature and sources

The proposal on the tourism start-up company relied on secondary data where all the relevant sources included websites, journals, as well as government books. According to my understanding, the sources that helped me to collect the secondary information were vital since the sources were published from the qualitative sources that were previously published and that were connected to the previous research approaches. Qualitative statistics concerning the overview of Dubai market such as the overall population, current providers of tourism services were the most crucial source that I employed. I retrieved the information from online sources describing the tourism industry in Dubai and UAE at large. The qualitative magazines and journals were used to access and analyze the information concerning current situations in the market. Other literature sources were considered to be very old and irrelevant for the market research that I employed in this proposal that is why I made a decision to use only qualitative sources and information of articles and journals.

During the business development proposal, I chose to dismiss all the literature sources that were authored and published by writers of marketing and business ideas. But I figured out their methods and theories they developed that were relevant for strategic management. In this section, the focus was on the theories of Mintzberg Henry, waterman H. Robert and Porter Michael. Their methods and theories have been of importance for years in the management subject. The qualitative sources of literature are currently found in several books which provided me with different dimensions of viewing the methods and theories. All the sources I used have their own importance and this importance was presented in various ways. I learnt about key issues on current market situations through statistics and data from these articles and journals. Despite these articles and journals, the theories and methods used are very trustable and dominate the management and marketing works for several years.

My acquired knowledge

This BDP allowed me learn on how an idea that has been drafted down in the business plan can be turned into a real business even though I do not have a lot experience in such a business. I also learnt that most successful ventures are normally based on well planned and structured ideas. On a further note, I realized that it is very important to conduct a prolonged and deep research and analysis if one wants to know everything about the business or the market. The secondary data that I acquired through the analysis of secondary information boosted my knowledge on how, where and when to get the information needed and how to extracted only important information from the selected sources. I also understood that a proper business structure enable the management make good decisions for good and successful business. A good structure will save time during decision making and implementation of ideas thus helpful during the management of business processes. I gain knowledge a lot especially on the part of doing a research and data analysis for a start up business as well as the approaches of implementing the business plan. I understood that for any business, it is very important to invest a lot on research and development so as to get rid of severe problems in the future that will negatively affect the business venture.

What I learnt

I deeply learnt, understood and boosted my acquired knowledge on various aspects of skills that I learnt in my MBA syllabus that are normally segmented into three major sections namely; theoretical, research base and practical. The MBA syllabus or programme changes the way an individual approaches a given problem like a seasoned engineer. My skills were boosted when I led and managed the project as a professional. I learnt in this MBA syllabus that possessing very strong leadership skills helps a lot in driving a company into a successful end in any situation. This research analysis has changed my perspective on how I should solve problems. Actually I have understood in a business setting, there is a way of looking at situations and solving problems which is totally different from other fields of study such as engineering and medicine. I also understood and knew that the overall market view is so vital in the business development proposal because one should approach the market situation step by step, deeper and deeper to extract key information important in the implementation of a written plan. During the development of the BDP, I realized that during theory practice and compatibility, everything should be executed in a structured manner. In any major proposal or project each content that is drafted in a business plan, the skills and methods learnt in MBA syllabus normally applies. The main point here is that every aspect that is learnt in every unit of MBA syllabus is integrated into a single idea when applied to a project.

Critical thinking and application of my ideas

In this research proposal, I viewed it and saw it to be very difficult doing an investigation about tourism industry in Dubai. But after the commencement, I discover that it was feasible to conduct such a research. The theory that I had in mind was annihilated by a wide range of market research. The exploratory research that I conducted proved to me that there was a wide potential for the business and the customers are looking for online services on hotel booking and VIP tour guide. I came up with a conclusion that there is a gap in the tourism industry in Dubai. The existence of the gap was as a result of the construction of man-made islands, new world hotels in the region and the government is supporting the industry very much. I viewed the industry critically and realized that if a company invests a lot in technology, it will exploit the opportunities that the industry has presented to its players. Finally, I made a decision to convert my idea to the kind of business to tourism industry in Dubai and I am confident that the business will be a success because I have done a good study of the market and I have understood absolutely every important part in the industry.

The barriers I encountered

The business proposal made me land on difficult situations and this was as a result of the kind of topic that I took. One of the many barriers that I encountered during the process of coming up with the with this Business Development Proposal was the complexity of the industry as well as understanding the processes involved in registering the company in the country that is dominated by Shariah law. There were difficulties in understanding the market trends because some of the information I was looking for was highly classified. The company that I chose to partner with has not put in public their complex means of operations in the market. There products have been stated but the way to go about the products is not provided. I was not able to understand the system that the company uses in coordinating its business. There were a lot of difficulties in finding primary information about the industry and the market in general. I therefore relied on secondary data in coming up with the proposal. Another difficult situation that I found myself in is that I did not find the current state of the market and this was as a result of the data that is normally released annually and not monthly. I relied on the data that was released in 2017.

My professional development

The proposal has provided me with a wide range of skills and ways of doing things. Being a professional is a good thing. I have acquired general skills and know-how about management and I am confident that I can lead a project. I have come to understand that a good project requires good planning, delegation, problem solving and decision-making. The only vital success factor is the structured process of the proposal. Managing, planning and understanding key areas and factors is a good correlation to skills employed in any business. Through the proposal I was able to assess my strengths and weaknesses that I possess and I was able to know the opportunities and threats that surround me. The proposal thought me on how to go about data collection. I knew that in any data collection there must be a structure that will guide you. The proposal I did was so complex that I was forced to change it every time to fit to whatever I wanted to know and to whatever that was relevant to the business. The professional skills that I have acquired from this proposal will help me do more complex projects that will be helpful to the concerned parties.  

Objectives

During the commencement of the Business Development Proposal, it was very difficult for me to choose good topic, I had difficulties to come up with a business venture until the time I discovered that I need to understand the aim and objectives of the proposal. After highlighting the aims, I found a topic. I found out that the objective of the research proposal was to apply the skills and knowledge I have acquired in my Masters program in this project. The main subjects that I learnt in my program were how to go about research methodology, marketing management, and entrepreneurship, and how to be creative and how to plan my work. The objectives of the proposal are to show how to apply marketing management skills, entrepreneurship and how to apply various techniques in research methodology. All I applied the marketing management skills to segment the customers, diversify the products and understand the market. The models such as SWOT analysis, PESTEL, and Porter’s five forces were very important in my research because they helped me come up with a good strategy in approaching the new market and defining the products. The research methodology that I learnt in my MBA program assisted me with the skills to pick only relevant information and ignore irrelevant information. It was through the skills I learnt in the program that I understood that primary data was not necessary in the proposal and the only requirement was to exhaust the secondary data about the economy in Dubai.

Finding and outcome

I found an idea that there is a good business opportunity in Dubai and I went ahead to generate a proposal that could be like a guide in opening up a company in Dubai. I have confident that if the company is launched in the areas it will penetrate the market very fast. The business is able to break-even in the third month. The research showed that the government is encouraging foreign companies to invest in the industry and gave a go ahead for foreign companies to choose local companies in penetrating the marking. This was very good because there would be no difficulties registering the business in Dubai. All a company wanted is a professional to provide guidance on the way to go about Shariah law during the signing of contracts. The main problems that the research extracted was the exchange rate issues and this came about because the business receives many customers from all over the world using different currencies. The problem forced the company to employ out-source a professional financial analyst to deal with the situation. I also realized that the city is expanding very fast and that the company will be well positioned to exploit the presented opportunity.