Business Plan: Lynn-Lurie Ministries
Lynn-Lurie Ministries:
Business Plan
MBM 520
Professor Sheila Boysen-Rotelli
Bellevue University
Summer Semester 2013
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Business Plan: Lynn-Lurie Ministries
Introduction
The Lynn-Lurie Ministries will be an internet based, non-profit organization that
will be geared toward women, providing sound Biblical answers to everyday issues such
as divorce, drug/alcohol abuse, abortion vs. right to life, rearing children and many more
subjects to be determined as the ministry grows.
In today’s face paced society there is an expectation for immediate information.
The Ministry’s role will be to link answers with issues using Christian based sources
such as Teen Challenge, AAA Pregnancy Counseling, Open Door Mission and
countless links to other Ministries that serve a specific need as related to Women.
Market Assessment
The value of an Internet ministry is the fact that the information can be retrieved
anywhere and the audience is limited only to those who do not have Internet
capabilities. In addition to the information that will be supplied by Lynn-Lurie Ministries,
the website will also include pertinent links to other organizations who share the same
interests of providing services to women of all ages which will include public websites
such as the Council on Aging or Every Woman Matters.
The marketing will start with the six Christian Missionary Alliance (CMA) in
Omaha and will expand as the organization gains credibility.
There are over 450
Christian and Missionary Alliance Churches in the United States.
Although this will be a non-profit organization, capital will still be needed to
provide materials and services as well as fund the webpage, updating regularly to keep
it modern. It has not been determined at this junction whether to put material in book
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Business Plan: Lynn-Lurie Ministries
format and charge for the books or to put the material in PDF format and appeal to the
users for donations. A third possibility will be to set up the website and have advertisers
fund the organization.
There really won’t be competitors for this market in that the intent is to work in
harmony with other Christian organizations for a common good. There are more than
enough women with problems looking for solution to be shared by all who desire to
provide such as service.
The market environment is wide open with opportunities to serve women’s needs
on almost any level. As with any Internet based organization, the size of the market is
difficult to determine because of the huge possibilities. Determining the share of the
market is very similar to the determining the size of the market due to the venue being
used.
We will start with local (Omaha) CMA Churches and expand outward across the
districts of CMA.
We fully expect to speak at ladies retreats and promote our website
as those opportunities present themselves. The website will be updated on a regular
basis. There will be a page of questions and answers. While the theme will be to help
women develop an inward beauty as their walk with the Lord strengthens, there will also
be a page dedicated to the outward beauty providing makeup tips, hair style
suggestions as well as what colors work best for the skin type as examples.
The timeline for establishing Lynn-Lurie Ministries will be starting within the next
year, allowing for slow and quality growth. Both founders of the ministry will be retired
and have the time to spend developing the ministry within the next eight years.
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Business Plan: Lynn-Lurie Ministries
There are both opportunities as well as many obstacles associated with Internet
based ministries.
The trend toward the use of the Internet has become more
acceptable as the practicality has revealed. People are becoming used to doing their
own research on topics. They like not having to go to a library and invest in books when
there is instant access to answers available via the Internet.
The upstream marketing aspect of this venture is the extracting information that
will be posted on the website.
As previously mentioned the answers provided on
various topics that Lynn-Lurie Ministries will be handling will not be considered politically
correct but will be truthful and will be delivered in a respectful manner of love and
understanding.
The benefit being offered to women is a solid source of Biblical answers to
everyday issues. Women from all ages and incomes will benefit. The purpose of a
ministry to women is the fact that they are the primary nurturers of the next generation.
All anyone has to do is look around there is a real need for women who have to deal
with aging parents, teenage issues, raising grandchildren, income challenges, age
challenges and the list continues.
The business profile of the Lynn-Lurie Ministries will include two full time partners
as well as a number of volunteers who share the same desire of women serving
women.
Because this will be an Internet based service, location does not matter.
Because it will be a non-profit Organization, income and spending habits of the users
also does not matter. What does matter is that real time solutions are provided when
the user is in need of answers.
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Business Plan: Lynn-Lurie Ministries
Competitive Assessment
Since Lynn-Lurie Ministries is a Christian non-profit organization whose goal is to
serve women, there are no real competitors on the service side.
Meaning, any
organization be it Christian or non-Christian who can provide goods and services for
women in need would be most welcome.
It would be only prudent to point out that there are many other women ministries
such as the Joyce Myers Ministry based in St. Louis, MO. Her ministry, tend to appeal
to women, however, she has many programs for men and youngers. She markets both
her personal speaking skills as well as 80 books that she has written. She has a
Women’s conference coming up in September. I purchased tickets on line in early
March and have received emails and letters almost every week requesting donations for
the ministry. I do not see Lynn-Lurie Ministries primary focus to be on money, but on
helping women resolve issues based on only Biblical answers.
If you were to go on to the Internet and type in Women’s Ministries, the search
would reveal hundreds of women’s ministries.
Again, there is no real competition
between these ministries. Some are denomination specific as will Lynn-Lurie Ministries
will be, some are general in nature, all have a similar goal in helping women.
The market, outlook is strong because of the many issues that face women
today. The advantage of starting local, with speaking engagements and basic books on
current topics such as divorce, drug and alcohol addiction provide a prime opportunity to
gain credibility as well as a following.
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Business Plan: Lynn-Lurie Ministries
It will be exciting working with other mega organizations that can provide services
and funds such as meals on wheels for shut-ins or helping a new Christian by directing
them to a Church in their locality.
As indicated before, the intent is to provide quality and free or near free books
and articles as well as direction as the need is presented. While money is not a huge
issue, it would be nice to be able to be self funded either through donations, advertising
or the sale of books or speaking engagement, the cost will be nominal.
Marketing Strategy
While Lynn-Lurie Ministries is a charitable cause nonprofit Christian organization,
there will still be a need to develop a marketing strategy so that the organization can
achieve its end goal of providing services to women.
Lynn-Lurie will be using the
Internet webpage as its “storefront”. It will be imperative that its web site be effective
because not only will we be promoting our organization as a whole, but we will be
promoting various events around the country as they pertain to women’s issues such as
Focus on the Family Marriage Seminars, Joyce Myers Annual Women’s Conferences
as well as local events and seminars.
The first step is to register the domain name, Lynn-Lurie Ministries and then
actually develop the website.
The cost of development can be free or nearly free
depending on the skills and abilities of “subject matter volunteers.” The actual cost of
maintaining the website can vary, but with basic links and the ability to incorporate sales
within the website, the estimated cost would run approximately $100 per month.
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Business Plan: Lynn-Lurie Ministries
There are search engines such as Google that offer Google grants: In-kind
advertising for nonprofit organizations providing the ability to have essentially a free
state of the art website.
Most websites have a similar format linking the site to other social media such as
Twitter, Facebook and Blogs. This type of social media can attract visitors back to the
website depending upon the topic being discussed.
Lynn-Lurie Ministries has no intentions at this time to use the traditional
advertising mediums of radio, television, magazines or newspapers since we are not
selling a product but offering services. However, we will utilize public awareness, since
we will be community focused, through sharing success stories that we hope will reach
print. We will also secure email addresses for all television and radio stations with the
Omaha/Lincoln Nebraska and send email updates on programs and services as those
become established. We will be utilizing word or mouth starting at a local level within
our Church, within the denomination and then spreading.
One aspect of Lynn-Lurie Ministries will include speaking engagements again
starting within the Church and spreading as our networking techniques gain credibility.
The cost of the speaker, at least at this juncture, will be nominal with the intent to just
cover the cost associated with materials, transportation, lodging (if needed) and meals.
There will be no need for sales people, however it is fully conceivable that LynnLurie Ministries will utilize In-Kind seminars to promote the website just as we would
promote other Christian ministries.
As has already been established, the target market is women from all ages,
backgrounds and income who simply need sound Biblical answers to their immediate
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Business Plan: Lynn-Lurie Ministries
problem. For those who have material needs, Lynn-Lurie Ministries will be prepared to
assist in research for the individual to find resources in their immediate area.
Funding is still to be determined and may come from a variety of avenues such
as donations, website advertising and/or fees for books and training materials.
The logo or branding has already been established by applying the meaning of
both names of the ministry. Lynn means pool of water or waterfall, while Lurie means
fragrant plant or leaves. The logo will be a branch overhanging a pool of water.
Marketing Plan
Timetable
Our goal within 6 months after establishing the website will be our local Church
and spreading to other churches within the domination within Omaha and continuing the
spread throughout other districts within the domination.
Estimated Startup Costs
Start up cost a minimal requiring less than $12K. More detail is covered in the
financial planning section of the plan.
Tracking of Progress and Costs
The ability to track interest in the ministry can be determined first by the number
of hits that the website gets and then by the needs of those seeking information.
Evaluation and Adjustment from Customer Feedback
Once the ministry is up and running, there is the anticipation of having a popup
screen with a mini survey being offered to help determine if the information found was
helpful and what, if anything, is suggested for improvements.
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Another avenue of
Business Plan: Lynn-Lurie Ministries
tracking is the amount of donations that will be received as well as invitations from
various women’s group requesting information on the Ministry through speaking
engagements.
Operational Requirements
When considering the operational requirements necessary for Lynn-Lurie
Ministries, a non-profit organization, the needs are minimal. The initial ministry will
consist of two retired woman who have a heart for women’s ministries. As the Ministry
gains credibility and a following, more people will be added to serve in a volunteer
capacity, which will be decided as the Ministry grows.
While the two founders, Barbara and Monte, are essentially equal in ownership,
Barbara has extensive background in Biblical studies and would probably be in the
senior leadership role. Monte, on the other hand, has more business experience, would
be more prone to handle the administrative end of the Ministry such as fund raising and
promotional objectives. Both have speaking skills and both would do presentations at
various women’s functions and retreats, promoting the Ministry and soliciting volunteers
as needed.
Both would serve on the Board of Directors, with Barbara taking more of CEO
role and Monte more in a vice leadership role.
The bottom line of the Ministry would be to serve the stakeholders, which in this
case, would women with various needs.
Both Barbara and Monte have research
backgrounds and would share in the capacity as the need presents itself.
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Business Plan: Lynn-Lurie Ministries
Again, this is a small non-profit Organization that for the most part will initially be
self-funded with intentions to seek donations for expanding.
Our success will be measured in terms of “hits” on our website and interest
shown by the user. The desire is to have the website user friendly and to a certain
extent interactive with short turnaround answers in anticipation of crisis type information
needs. Further measurement of success will also be determined by the ability to go
from self-funded to outside funds that will allow the Ministry to Grow.
Assessment of Business Risk
Because the Ministry is nonprofit, it does not necessarily face the same type of
risks that for-profit company, however that does not mean that there are some
similarities. The Ministry will need to be constantly identifying and analyzing the legal
and ethical conduct of those Organizations that we have decided to promote and/or
endorse as links on our website.
The Ministry will need to review and research various published items that will be
endorsed as supporting articles in answers to various questions and concerns. One of
the goals of the Ministry will be to contact various Churches in the same location as the
woman in need to provide hands on counseling and to help draw that person to a group
that will provided emotional and spiritual growth.
Those Churches that will be
recommended will need to be researched and screened to ensure they follow sound
doctrinal practices.
Once the Ministry starts soliciting donations, there will need to be an accounting
of those funds. The use of an independent auditor will be used to ensure the funds are
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Business Plan: Lynn-Lurie Ministries
not misused or fraud occurs. An accountant will also be used to ensure the Ministry
follows applicable state and federal tax laws.
The greatest risk is loss of credibility or reputation with the public and those we
desire to serve. All activities of the Ministry will need to have transparency to maintain a
reputation of credibility.
Another business risk is the ability of the Ministry to continue after the two
original founders have fully retired. The intent is to eventually set up the Ministry so that
it is self perpetuating in anticipation that younger women will want to come on board as
the need for additional personnel develops. Once established, a succession plan will be
developed and implemented.
Lastly, the risk assessment will be an ongoing venture with anticipation of
adjusting as the Ministry grows. The intent will be to keep a proactive mind set to
address issues before them become problems.
Financial Planning
Lynn-Lurie Ministries is a non-profit organization that will needs funds to do an
initial start up and then to cover monthly costs. Because it will be an Internet based
organization with volunteers supplying the manpower, the initial monthly costs are
minimum. As the Ministry grows and the need for paid staff the monthly budget
needs will be covered by anticipation of donations, advertising and sales of materials.
The start up costs is estimated to be approximately $12,110 and the monthly
costs are estimated to be approximately $1000 per month. The Ministry has already
secured a monthly commitment of a $1000 for an indefinite amount of time.
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Business Plan: Lynn-Lurie Ministries
Start Up
Cost
Design Web
Page and
Maintenance
Monthly Expense
$5,000.00
$150.00
Register
Domain Name
$10.00
$10.00
Register Logo
$2,000.00
Cost of Setting
Up Non Profit
Status
$1,000.00
Equipment (2
Laptops and 2
Printers)
$4,000.00
$200.00
Supplies
(paper, ink,
postage etc.)
$100.00
$200.00
$1,000.00
Commitment
$440.00
Growth Budget
Total
Monthly
Income
$12,110.00
$1,000.00
$1,000.00
The cost of the web design is factoring in the future plans of being able to sell
merchandise via the Internet. The merchandise currently under consideration are
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Business Plan: Lynn-Lurie Ministries
books on discipleship as well as topic specific on what to do or how to do types of
books.
Research has already provided the Ministry name of Lynn-Lurie to be unique
and is free and clear for registration. The logo consists of a tree branch hanging over
a pond of lake. The logo is being designed free of charge, but there is still a cost to
register.
Setting up the Ministry in non-profit status consists of filing fees with both the
stat and with the IRS. Research has revealed that this can be done without the need
of an attorney or tax consultant, although a CPA may be required for annual filings,
depending up the amount of financial support that the Ministry is able to secure.
Obviously since this is an Internet based organization the need for computers
is a requirement. Since we may be doing our own publishing, a high speed high
quantity printer will also be required. The initial thought is to purchase one, but if
demand of materials supports the cost of leasing a better printer, that will also be
considered in the future.
As already indicated, the ministry has already secured a $1000 per month
commitment, we will be soliciting donations to continue to support and expand the
ministry as our credibility and reputation grows.
The missing expense in the table shown above is the cost of labor which will
be available through volunteers initially, but it is conceivable that a paid staff will be
established as funds allow.
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Business Plan: Lynn-Lurie Ministries
Also missing in the expense table is the cost of publishing and the potential
for income from published materials. The extent to which Lynn-Lurie Ministries
intends to enter the publishing realm has yet to be established.
Lynn-Lurie
Ministries
has
already
established
an
email
address
of lynnlurieministries@gmail.com. This was done at no cost.
The growth budget as shown above is very rudimentary and is basically the
difference between the monthly expenses vs. the current monthly commitment. Once
the Board of Directors is established and operating, the direction of the Ministry will
be established in a priority basis with the intent of drawing financial support,
reinvesting it back to the Ministry and expand programs as finances allow.
Conclusion
The two, soon to be new founders of Lynn-Lurie Ministries, for several years, has
shared the concept, of serving in a women’s ministry. This class has provided the
vehicle to allow the Ministry to be discussed and the concepts to be developed over the
past two months. This is a real Ministry that is in its infant stages. The intent of actually
putting it together as laid out above will start sometime next spring.
There is no doubt that there is a real need for this type of ministry. The ability to
provide God centered solutions and directions will make this Ministry successful.
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Business Plan: Lynn-Lurie Ministries
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Business Plan: Lynn-Lurie Ministries
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