2 BUSINESS DESCRIPTIONAccording to

2 BUSINESS DESCRIPTION

According to Calvin (2002) there exist three strategic alternatives for the people to become en- trepreneurs or to start a new business. These alternatives are as follow: developing and introduc- ing a new product or service; buying an existing business, managing it, and cloning an existing business model, possibly franchising someone else’s idea. In the same light Barringer and Ireland (2006) cited three reasons why people become entrepreneurs namely: be their own boss; pursue their own ideas and realise financial rewards. With the burning desire to be our own boss, pursue our own ideas and realise financial rewards, I act as the driving force of the team in transforming this idea that has been tested through a feasibility study and seen as an opportunity into action, in line with the reasoning of Barringer and Ireland (2006).

The founding members commence the establishment of BEFCO Trading Ltd through this busi- ness plan that meets academic and professional requirement. According to Barringer and Ireland (2006) a business plan is intended to be a living document that can change if the situation war- rants. Based on this postulate, three types of business plans were proposed namely: summary business plan (10-15pages), full business plan (25-35pages) and operational business plan (be- tween 40 and 100pages). This business plan falls within this framework and is a full business plan. The main purpose of this business plan is to provide a guide on what is needed and how to go about establishing a company that brings relief to the needy customers and satisfy the oppor- tunity driving quest of the entrepreneurs (Timmons, 2003).


2.1 General Description of the Business

BEFCO Trading Ltd shall be an import, export and car trading limited liability Company taking advantage of an opportunity by novel combination of resources, in ways which have impact on the use car market of Cameroon. Through this business plan the founding entrepreneurs intend to transform this opportunity into an operational company thanks to the enabling environment for this new venture and the willingness of the founding entrepreneurs. BEFCO is an acronym for BEsong Fred and Co.
With knowledge of accessing the website of second-hand products known already by the found- ing members by virtue of studying in Sweden, transforming the opportunity into action has giv- ing birth to BEFCO Trading Ltd as a solution to the problem of both the customers and the founding entrepreneurs. BEFCO Trading Ltd shall be a Small and Medium size Enterprise (SME). The Cameroon Ministry of Women and Social Affairs (MINASCOF, 1997) defined




5
SMEs as enterprises having between 1-10 workers, while Mead and Liedholm (1998) describe

SMEs as firms having between 1-50 workers.


BEFCO Trading Ltd as an SME will import used cars from Europe to Cameroon, with a focus on the Swedish Market for a start. The business shall have two sales points at the beginning (one in Buea and the other in Bamenda) and shall focus mainly on customers in the South West and North West provinces of Cameroon with a staff of less than 10 members. The founding entre- preneurs have experience in selling cars, knowledge on international business and adequate ac- counting know-how which happens to be among the most important elements in this business sector especially in Cameroon. This is because the tax officers of Cameroon can give up to a fine/penalty of 100% on tax due but not declared on time or under declared, therefore this risk area is reduced or minimized from start because it falls within the core competence of the found- ing entrepreneurs .

The founding members of BEFCO Trading Ltd already has a powerful network in Sweden and Cameroon that will be difficult to copy or establish by her competitors. The board of director shall include a general manager of a company to serve as strong person, when in comes to the ac- tive role of the board. More so the Second-hand car market of Sweden is a very good supply be- cause of the high living standard of the citizens and their taste for the best causing them to easily replace their used cars with little technical faults with new cars. The section that follows high- lights the potential for entrepreneurship in Cameroon. Entrepreneurship is defined according to Barringer and Ireland (2006) as the process by which individuals pursue opportunities without regards to resources they currently control, driven by an individual or a team and typically re- quires creativity, drive and willingness to take risks.

Hasil (Bahasa Indonesia) 1:

DESKRIPSI BISNIS 2Menurut Calvin (2002), terdapat tiga alternatif strategi untuk orang-orang untuk menjadi en-trepreneurs atau memulai bisnis baru. Alternatif ini adalah sebagai berikut: mengembangkan dan introduc-ing produk baru atau layanan; membeli bisnis yang sudah ada, mengelola itu, dan kloning model bisnis yang sudah ada, yang mungkin waralaba ide orang lain. Dalam sama cahaya Barringer dan Irlandia (2006) mengutip tiga alasan mengapa orang menjadi pengusaha yaitu: menjadi bos sendiri; mengejar ide-ide mereka sendiri dan menyadari imbalan keuangan. Dengan keinginan membara untuk menjadi bos sendiri, mengejar ide-ide kita sendiri dan menyadari imbalan keuangan, saya bertindak sebagai kekuatan pendorong tim dalam mengubah ide ini yang telah diuji melalui studi kelayakan dan dilihat sebagai sebuah kesempatan ke dalam tindakan, sesuai dengan pertimbangannya Barringer dan Irlandia (2006).The founding members commence the establishment of BEFCO Trading Ltd through this busi- ness plan that meets academic and professional requirement. According to Barringer and Ireland (2006) a business plan is intended to be a living document that can change if the situation war- rants. Based on this postulate, three types of business plans were proposed namely: summary business plan (10-15pages), full business plan (25-35pages) and operational business plan (be- tween 40 and 100pages). This business plan falls within this framework and is a full business plan. The main purpose of this business plan is to provide a guide on what is needed and how to go about establishing a company that brings relief to the needy customers and satisfy the oppor- tunity driving quest of the entrepreneurs (Timmons, 2003).2.1 General Description of the BusinessBEFCO Trading Ltd shall be an import, export and car trading limited liability Company taking advantage of an opportunity by novel combination of resources, in ways which have impact on the use car market of Cameroon. Through this business plan the founding entrepreneurs intend to transform this opportunity into an operational company thanks to the enabling environment for this new venture and the willingness of the founding entrepreneurs. BEFCO is an acronym for BEsong Fred and Co.With knowledge of accessing the website of second-hand products known already by the found- ing members by virtue of studying in Sweden, transforming the opportunity into action has giv- ing birth to BEFCO Trading Ltd as a solution to the problem of both the customers and the founding entrepreneurs. BEFCO Trading Ltd shall be a Small and Medium size Enterprise (SME). The Cameroon Ministry of Women and Social Affairs (MINASCOF, 1997) defined5 SMEs as enterprises having between 1-10 workers, while Mead and Liedholm (1998) describeSMEs as firms having between 1-50 workers.BEFCO Trading Ltd as an SME will import used cars from Europe to Cameroon, with a focus on the Swedish Market for a start. The business shall have two sales points at the beginning (one in Buea and the other in Bamenda) and shall focus mainly on customers in the South West and North West provinces of Cameroon with a staff of less than 10 members. The founding entre- preneurs have experience in selling cars, knowledge on international business and adequate ac- counting know-how which happens to be among the most important elements in this business sector especially in Cameroon. This is because the tax officers of Cameroon can give up to a fine/penalty of 100% on tax due but not declared on time or under declared, therefore this risk area is reduced or minimized from start because it falls within the core competence of the found- ing entrepreneurs .The founding members of BEFCO Trading Ltd already has a powerful network in Sweden and Cameroon that will be difficult to copy or establish by her competitors. The board of director shall include a general manager of a company to serve as strong person, when in comes to the ac- tive role of the board. More so the Second-hand car market of Sweden is a very good supply be- cause of the high living standard of the citizens and their taste for the best causing them to easily replace their used cars with little technical faults with new cars. The section that follows high- lights the potential for entrepreneurship in Cameroon. Entrepreneurship is defined according to Barringer and Ireland (2006) as the process by which individuals pursue opportunities without regards to resources they currently control, driven by an individual or a team and typically re- quires creativity, drive and willingness to take risks.