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Assignment 1

1) Our business idea is to start a company that embeds solar cells inside infrastructures to

produce solar energy which is a renewable source of energy. We want to do so to reduce

the wastage of non-renewable resources and protect our planet by fighting climate

change.

2) A) There is a gap that exists in this market as there are not a lot of companies that provide

affordable ways to generate solar energy. Providing solar energy at reasonable prices and

making it available to all is our idea.

B) Solar panels are usually put up on the roofs of houses but according to us, any ground

surface might be converted into a strong, dual-purpose electricity-generating surface that

uses solar energy. We want to make these surfaces dual-use and money-making so that

we can get a return on our investment.

C) We have an innovative product as the solar panels we will produce will be installable

on any surface. If utilized properly our product will be able to power the whole city. For

this, our solar would need to be installed on the sidewalks, public squares, and all other

establishments. This will enable us to meet clean power targets and make the earth a

better place.

D) Our solar panels could be implemented around the city by partnering with government

agencies so that all people can use solar energy for an affordable price. We could also

look to partner with franchises to install our panels at all their outlets.

E) We have explored the possibility of buying out a business but our product is very

unique so buying out a company would not be very reasonable for us. We want to build

our own company grounds up which will help us have all the control from the beginning.

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Assignment 2

3) Porter's five forces analysis –

Entry barriers are high – As developing solar panels efficiently requires significant R&D

expenditure and substantial investments to remain competitive. So there is little threat from

new competitors (Barrow et al., 2018).

Power of suppliers is high – It is High as there are not many companies in this field. Very few

companies in this sector are actually successful. Due to the lack of alternative sources the

power of suppliers is high.

Power of buyer is low – As lease contracts are lengthy and expensive to end, clients have a

difficult time switching providers. It is quite rare that customers who have purchased solar

panels will sell them and purchase them from a different supplier (Barrow et al., 2018).

The threat of substitutes is medium – This industry is threatened by substitutes to some extent,

mostly due to competition with power plant contractors for alternative energy sources (e.g.,

natural gas). However, due to government subsidies for renewable energy, competition from

contractors for fossil fuel power plants has decreased during the last five years (Barrow et al.,

2018).

Rivalry among existing competitors is high – Due to intense pressure to innovate across all

segments of the new sector, competition among existing competitors is high. When we

examine the profitability, we can find proof of this. In reality, most businesses in the solar

industry are losing money.

4) As our idea is unique, we will be the first ones in the market. This will help us gain first

mover’s advantage. Upon receiving customer feedback, we will be able to respond and

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make changes as soon as possible. Being first in this segment we will be able to gain

market share very fast if our product catches on.

5) Our primary strategic direction would be to make solar energy affordable for the masses

(Barrow et al., 2018). Currently, solar energy harvesting can be very expensive. Very few

people can actually such an amount of money but with our product, we will provide a

solution to this problem. Customer satisfaction will always be our priority. Our product

will also aid in the reduction of global warming which will help us fight climate change.

6) The strategic option we are going in for is cost leadership (Barrow et al., 2018). This is

due to our capability to reduce costs of production to deliver quality products at low

prices. We have conducted extensive research in this field which has enabled us to reduce

our cost of production significantly. We also plan on purchasing our raw materials in bulk

which will help us the in reduction of costs.

7) Global warming and climate change have caused extensive damage to our planet. When

non-renewable sources are used, they release harmful particles which pollute the

environment. Solar energy harvesting will enable us to preserve the environment while

going on with our lives as usual. We arrived at this proposition as We wanted to protect

the environment by providing solar panels to the masses at affordable rates.

8) We believe that the solar panel business will succeed as people want to contribute to

saving the environment as it is a clean, green source of energy. Solar power is a great way to

reduce our carbon footprint. This method of energy harvesting will be inexpensive for people

as they will not have to pay high electricity bills. The solar panels will enable people to use

their unutilized land to generate electricity. The business will succeed once people realize

how valuable solar energy harvesting is over traditional energy generation.

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9) The mission statement for our company would be 'Humanity's betterment through solar

energy.' This would be our mission statement as solar energy is for the future. People cannot

rely on non-renewable sources for too long as climate changes have already started affecting

our lives. People will have to shift to renewable sources of energy as soon as possible to

minimize global warming (Barrow et al., 2018).

10) The vision statement for our company will be 'We will be a premiere in this industry by

providing affordable solar energy solutions with extraordinary customer service while also

protecting the environment.'

Our value statement will be 'Our company operates by the following guiding principles:

excellence, innovation, customer support, and environmental conservation.'

11) Our short-term goal is to provide an immediate alternative to non-renewable energy

generation methods. Our goal is to reach as many people as possible and spread our idea.

Another short-term goal is to achieve profitability by the end of the year.

Our long-term goal is to become one of the most recognized companies in the industry.

Another long-term goal is to help people reduce their carbon footprints. Our company will

contribute to a sustainable future.

12) Business Action plan for our company –

Goal – Setting up and running the company.

Tasks – getting all the paperwork done for the registration of the company, setting up a

production and assembling facility, getting the raw material quotations from the suppliers and

choosing the one which suits our demands, hiring employees for the purpose of production,

and advertising our product to the customers.

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Assignment 3

13) We got the idea of setting up this company when we read a report about how the use of

non-renewable energy was destroying our planet. Non-renewable energy sources release

pollutants into the environment which causes the depletion of nature and wildlife around us.

This made us think about how we could help in this situation. We came up with the idea of

releasing affordable solar panels in the market which would enable the people to make their

contribution to saving the planet. It has been realized that solar panels can be used as a source

of renewable energy in the future.

14) The name of our company is Solar Earth. We chose this name as our solar panels can be

put anywhere. Earlier solar panels were only put up on the roofs of buildings but our solar

panels are very versatile and can be put anywhere like on rooftops, sidewalks, roads, parking

lots, and more.

15) We have prior experience in this field as we studied solar power engineering in college.

We have an understanding of electrical systems which assists us in the development of these

products. We have earlier worked for a company that used to produce solar cookers so we

have some prior experience in this field. We have also attended a course where the topic of

discussion was solar power schematic development. We are also familiar with the safety

guidelines that apply to the solar power engineering sector.

16) We will be starting this venture with a friend of mine who was in the same college as me.

He also studied solar power engineering in college. He has prior experience working in a UK-

based company that produces solar water heating systems.

17) We plan on hiring a lawyer to help us file all the required documents for setting up the

business. A lawyer can provide us with timely legal guidance on how to handle compliances

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required by both the law and different agreements. We will also file for a patent and for that

we will be hiring a patent agent who will help us in this process.

18) The legal form of our business would be a private company. In the future, we will decide

if we would like to continue as a private company or become a public company.

19) Our business has not yet started trading but we plan on starting as soon as the

documentation process is completed. We have already started contacting the raw material

providers to start our business We have also started the marketing process for our business.

By conducting research, we got to know that more than 43,000 solar (PV) energy installations

on residential, commercial, and industrial rooftops in Canada currently supply these

buildings' homes and businesses with electricity. This tells us that very few people use solar

energy in Canada. This suggests that a large part of the Canadian market is still untapped.

Assignment 4

20) We plan on starting our business in Vancouver and then spreading it to other parts of

Canada. After Canada, we plan on supplying our products to the neighbouring countries.

21) Our product can satisfy the needs of various customers. It can help people reduce the

hefty electricity bills that they need to pay every few days. It will also help in satisfying the

need of people that want to be environmentally conscious. It will help them satisfy their need

of protecting the planet by using renewable sources of energy. Customers who are enthused

at the possibility of not needing electricity from another source will also benefit from our

solution. This indicates that they seek to control the production, storage, and use of

electricity.

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22) Types of customers for our product –

Individual customers – These customers would purchase our solar panels for their homes or

offices to reduce their electricity bills or to play their part in the conservation of our planet.

Business owners – The business owners might be one of our major customer bases as they

may purchase our solar panels for their place of business (shops or factories) to reduce the

electricity bill to lower their cost of production. Using solar panels will also play a part in

their corporate social responsibility initiative.

23) Our priority will be serving the business owners as their energy consumption is much

higher compared to that of individual households. As the business will start using solar panels

the pollution problem will reduce a lot in a short amount of time. By making serving the

businesses a priority we will get lots of orders in a short time in contrast to serving individual

customers one by one.

24) The market segments that we have chosen are individual households and businesses. The

feature of our product that will provide the most benefit to the individual households is the

reduction of electricity charges that they have to pay on a regular interval as harvesting of

solar energy is free and the customers only have to pay a small amount for the management

of the solar panels. The feature that will provide benefit to businesses is that the solar panels

do not produce any sort of pollution and this enables the business owners to fulfill the

requirements of corporate social responsibility.

25) One of the biggest innovators in this field is Elon Musk who is the owner of Tesla Inc.

Over the last few years, Tesla Inc. has worked to expand its presence in the alternative energy

sector. With their design-stage offers, Tesla is advancing the solar power business, but the

market is also occupied by industry veterans who are hoping to profit from its steady

expansion.

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26) The most important factor in a customer's decision to buy or not to buy our products is

the one-time installation cost. This cost can be a bit high for the customers so they might not

want to pay it. Another factor is their electricity bill. If they are already paying very less for

the electricity they might not switch to our products.

27) The market that we are aiming at has seen a rapid rise over the past few years. Over the

last five years, there has been an upward trend in the market.

28) Initially, we are aiming for a 3% market share. As this sector is very young, gaining

market share early will enable us to have significant control over the market.

Assignment 5

29) The biggest market share holder in the Canadian solar energy industry is Canadian Solar

("Canadian Solar – Global", 2022). This is the main company that we will be competing with

directly.

30) Canada Solar is Canada's biggest solar company. It is a public company listed on the

stock market. It has two factories and employs over 9000 employees. Canadian Solar

reported a gross profit of $480 million and a net income of $114 million for the second

quarter of 2022, compared to a gross profit of $234 million and a net income of $11.5 million

for the first quarter. Canadian Solar sells its products both to individual buyers and

multinational companies.

31) Canada solar is one of the most recognized companies in Canada. Given its position as a

global leader in both module production and solar project development, Canadian Solar has a

distinct edge in capturing significant market prospects for energy storage ("Canadian Solar

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Inc. [SWOT Analysis] Weighted SWOT Matrix", 2022). This is likely to make the

competition more difficult for us as we are a new company.

Canadian Solar's profitability ratio is below the industry average ("Canadian Solar Inc.

[SWOT Analysis] Weighted SWOT Matrix", 2022). This will enable us to capture the market

share faster.

32) The critical factors for success in this industry will be branding strength to convey the

value of our products to our clients, cost structuring to maintain the cost of production, and

vertical integration to create firm partnerships with others in the value chain.

33) The unique thing about our product is that it can fit anywhere. By embedding solar cells

throughout that infrastructure, it can function on sidewalks, highways, car parks, terraces,

harbours, and more. Our product has endless possibilities.

Assignment 6

34) We have the following pieces of information –

Customers – More and more customers are looking to purchase solar panels as people are

tired of paying high electricity bills. As climate change is also a pressing issue now more

people are realizing the benefits of solar energy.

Competitors – Competitors are making rapid developments in this field. They are working

hard to make solar panels a mainstream product in Canada.

Market – The market for solar energy harvesting products is expanding at a rapid pace.

Individuals and businesses both are looking to purchase solar panels for their establishments.

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35) We need to find out the approximate percentage of people that would be interested in

purchasing our solar panels. This information is needed to understand how many pieces we

need to produce as over or underproduction can hurt the business.

36) For the desk research, we plan on checking the customers' reviews online in regard to

solar panels. This will help us understand what customers want in their solar panels. Upon

learning this we can design our products according to their needs.

37) For the field research, we will be conducting surveys using questionnaires to identify our

potential customers. By doing so we will be able to know how many people would be

interested in buying our product.

38) The market research will take approximately two months as we plan on conducting this

research in all the Canadian provinces. The marketing research will cost us around $10,000.

39) Due to their expertise in this area, we intend to hire a third-party business that specializes

in market research.

40) All the key marketing research information will be available in ten weeks. The data

collection will take around eight weeks after which it will take two weeks to analyse the

collected data and derive conclusions from it.

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Reference

Canadian Solar – Global. Canadiansolar.com. (2022). Retrieved 1 October 2022, from

https://www.canadiansolar.com/.

Canadian Solar Inc. [SWOT Analysis] Weighted SWOT Matrix. Fern Fort University. (2022).

Retrieved 1 October 2022, from http://fernfortuniversity.com/term-

papers/swot/nyse/3457-canadian-solar-inc-

.php#:~:text=Weakness%20of%20Canadian%20Solar%20Inc.&text=Days%20invent

ory%20is%20high%20compare,a%20lot%20to%20be%20desired.

Solar Earth Company – Powering the pathway to Net Zero. Solar Earth. (2022). Retrieved 1

October 2022, from https://solarearth.ca/company/.

Barrow, C., Barrow, P., & Brown, R. (2018). The Business Plan Workbook (9th ed.). Kogan

Page.

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