NORTHERN CONQUEST: TEXT EDITION

The Budgetblack Corporation Business Plan

Prepared by:
Nathan Zhang, entrepreneur, on 23 Dec 2011 CE. Condential! By reading beyond these lines, you agree that all information in this publication is the sole property of Budgetblack Corporation and that you release and waive all rights and claims to it. Although this document itself is Public Domain, some information contained herein is sensitive and MAY NOT BE USED ELSEWHERE! Violation will result in prohibition from access or joining to of the Budgetblack Zine Scene distro network and may include legal proceedings against said violators. You have been warned!

ONE MINUTE BUSINESS PLAN + MARKETING ROADMAP

Prepared for Budgetblack Corporation, a zine distro & comic bookstore from Michigan, USA.

Executive Summary
Budgetblack Corporation is a zine distro from Southeast Michigan USA which sells noir, anarchist, conspiracist and mind-puzzle zines. Budgetblack Corp is looking to build a large customer base by the end of the year in 2012 and to break even by the middle of the same year. Budgetblack has many competitors and little trouble keeping its place in the market. Budgetblack Corporation is not looking for funding; rather, this business plan is being written as a roadmap for 2012 operations. A graphical version will soon be made available.

Description of Business
Budgetblack Corporation is a zine distro & pocket-sized comic books bookstore from Troy, Michigan, operating on the internet and via a network of zine distributors (distro[s]) around the world.

Prime Goal of This Business for 2012

Budgetblack Corps prime goal for 2012 is to break even, attain ROI, and be on-course to take a significant share of the noir-comics niche or the zine market by EOY 2012. This goal must be accomplished by Mid-Year 2012, or no later than Halloween.

Financial Plan
Current Financial Situation
Currently, Budgetblack Corporation has one (1) bank account for corporate business use with a bootstrapping total cash availability. It has around a dozen (12) product titles to sell or giveaway, and a customer base of four (4) prospective customers. These conditions would be abysmally horrible for most bookstores, but at 1/2 a year old, this is excellent for a normal, secretive zine distro. Operating keyword is secretive.

Financial Goal for 2012

Break even by Mid-Year 2012 and earn no less than a $500K (USD) return for the business as a whole, and support the entrepreneur in his quest to find an apartment and live independently & sustain this lifestyle.

Marketing Plan
Antimarketing: The Ideal Customer
The ideal customer for Budgetblack Corporation and of its product lines would be a young male of any ethnicity, preferrably living in the United States, Canada, the wealthier (and more politically stable) regions of Latin America, or any other developed or fast-developing / borderline developed nation, and whom has a gross annual income of between $5K & $10K (counting by USD), has a college education with a minimum of a bachelors degree, and is interested in novelty comic books, such as zines. This ideal customer would also preferrably have a secular worldview and be interested in helping others. Most important, this ideal customer takes an interest to our Four Prime Niche Markets.

Prime Niche Markets

We have four (4) of these, mainly, the spy-noir (or just noir), anarchist, conspiracist, and Food For Thought (FFT) niches of the zines and comic books market. A brief explanation of each is herefollowing: Noir comics are comic books and cartoons that are based on the storylines and characterizations commonly found in Film Noir cinema, only presented in comic book format. Anarchist zines are pocket-sized comic books that disucss political and anti-governmental, and sometimes just plain-jane philosophical issues that are currently operative. Conspiracist zines revolve around popular conspiracy theories, and may or may not support or debunk them. FFT comics and zines are booklets that get people to think and to enjoy thinking. These are usually very confusing in content, but once one gets through to the end sans cheating, they will feel great accomplishment. FFT zines are the crack (as in drug) of the zines world.

Marketing Environment
The current environment is somewhat plagued by economic troubles. The economy is still just recovering from a massive recession, and the sales ability of any firm is not good, mindless of whether it is a small distro like Budgetblack or a large discounter like Wal-Mart. The competition in the zines market is fierce (literally anyone can setup a distro), but most distros do not have business plans, and thus most fail after the first year. Customer stats for zine marketing is nonexistent, but hearsay reveals there is humongous demand for zines! And finally, zines have been made for millennia using a variety of media, so it isnt likely a extinctable good any time soon.

SWOT Analysis (Budgetblack Corporation)

Our Strengths lay in our size and product depth; we have a single-person sales force, expandable to no less than half a hundred given the right time and conditions, but most days its one person, but there are at least a dozen titles (if not, then half a dozen [6] available), so we have more products to sell than our competitors. Our Weaknesses are our size, as has been mentioned before; also, we have a weakness in the website, namely that spammers could hit it if the blog / distro site is not updated daily. Our Opportunities involve completing this marketing plan sections goals, reaching

the Ideal Customer, and utilizing free giveaway-based promotions via other zinesters and distros to expand our customer base and gain increased exposure; social media and networking sites are also an option. Our Threats include bigger publishers / bookstores like Amazon; however, they are not entering the zine market anytime soon. Another BIG threat is the constantly impending American Congress epic fail, which, if it happens, ensures the end of the American economy, and the end of Budgetblack via outside (i.e. no-control) factors. Weaknesses are converted to strengths by utilizing force multipliers and constantly updating the distro blog. Threats are converted to opportunities by taking the initiative to build a mass-distro network and helping returning war vets to set up their own businesses selling zines.

Prime Marketing Goal for 2012

To reach the Ideal Customer, and to sell to no less than around a double hundred (200+) of them, is our prime goal for marketing this coming year. It is expected each will purchase at least one and a half hundred (150) zines over the course of the year. With each zine at $5 USD flat via Distroblack, this equates to a $150K cash in-flow over the year. Other products will be sold to cover any deficiencies prior to reaching the EOY financial goal.

Operating Plan
Management Team
The current management and sales team is one person, Nathan Zhang. This team is expected to split off into the Management Board and the Sales Force by Mid-Year 2012. There will be roughly three (3) Board Directors (CEO [Nathan Zhang], CFO, & COO) and two (2) salespersons in the company prior to EOY.

Hiring / Firing Policy

Employees will be hired to a max quota (across all categories classifiable) of 5 employees by EOY, unless conditions get better and allow for the hiring of more employees. Employees will be chosen from old friends, relatives, and known acquaintances of the current manager and entrepreneur, and will be filled from this trustworthy group until the group runs dry of willing candidates; after which, the general public will be able to apply for Corporate jobs. The mass public can, however, start their own distros, partner with us, and then become Budgetblack Zine Scene associates, at which point theyd be considered employees and entrepreneurs of satellite firms, but in certain cases, may be eligible for Budgetblack Corporation job positions and contracted projects. Letting go of Corporate workers will be made possible by means of the cheapest local (Southeast Michigan) outplacement firm available. Hiring will be handled by a low-priced Human Resources supply firm.

Ethics Code
We do not engage is any activity that would otherwise ruin or hurt the lives of one another, and we do not endorse any activity or speech that is considered hateful, slanderous, an overt and deleterious omission or commission, nor do we allow any censorship of our own views. We will refuse to operate in nations which permit such censorship of views, with the exception of China, Libya, and the Middle Eastern countries, in which cases we will only allow a restricted and extremely-limited amount of core services to be administered via Budgetblack Corporation, except in the event of emergency, in which case well behave like any normal human being would.

Slogan
Budgetblack - Like a spy!

Have a nice day!