ABSTRACT
Background: The current condition of the U.S. housing market has created a
possible shift in the way people are purchasing homes today.
U.S. housing statistics show that the average person moves
every five years, but now with a cooling market people are no
longer making quick capital gains off of their property. This
means that people are now becoming more conscious of what
they buy and why they are buying. People are realizing that
home ownership may be moving towards a long term
investment rather than a quick flip.
Housing is the Seattle, Washington area is expensive.
Environmentalists are urging U.S. residents to research ways
they can make their homes more efficient and friendlier to the
environment. However, the problem really lies in the
construction techniques of the U.S. housing industry. People
pay enough for their poorly constructed homes as it is, most
families are unwilling to pay the extra expense that is necessary
to increase the efficiency of their home. StålbroHouse noticed
this gap in the U.S. market and wants to bring Swedish
prefabricated homes that are superior in construction and
design elements. They also require a fraction of the energy
U.S. homes consume and are affordable for the average middle
class family.
Before beginning operations, to get some initial knowledge
about the industry, trends, customers etc., we contacted the
Washington State Housing Finance Commission. In addition,
an informal interview was conducted to enhance our
knowledge on the typical customer and what customers
commonly base their purchasing decisions on. In order to get
an even better understanding about the customers, we visited
the annual Home Show at the Seattle Convention Center in
January of 2008. We distributed feasibility surveys to get an
even better understanding for what people want in a home.
This enabled us to get closer to the target group. To get a better
idea of competitors and in particular their marketing efforts, we
called a couple of them directly. In some cases, we spoke with
their marketing managers.
Purpose: The purpose of this Thesis/Business Plan is to outline the
direction StålbroHouse plans to take in its first years of
operation as well as explain why we think this is a viable
business. This document will also serve to communicate the
companies ideas and projections to future investors and (or) so
that we can obtain a bank loan to assist in the capital necessary
to begin operations.
Method: We used a combination of relevant theory that was applicable
to the desired outcomes of the Thesis/Business Plan. Relevant
industry statistics, charts, and information was incorporated
with the theory that enabled us to produce a business plan that
was backed up by academic findings as well as market
research. This aided in the creation of a Businesss Plan that
would allow StålbroHouse to demonstrate their projections for
the first years of operations.
However, as with any business plan, it is important to
remember that outside factors, market changes etc. can mean
the need to deviate from the initial plan.
Sonna Stålbro & Yanko Todorov
2008. , p. 60