Starting a business becomes challenging for potential owners. A business requires much attention, from planning to implementation. Poor business planning may lead to poor business operation and management, which eventually might cause the decline or collapse of the newly started business (George et al., 2019). Therefore, to start and run a successful business, the owner should ensure a proper plan is set, which will guide the implementation process of the business idea. Moreover, a business plan is essential as the plan can help one access funding through bank loans which help one organize the business.
Egypt is one of the best countries, and its environment and cultural setting support the establishment of the bakery business. Business security is an important factor that guarantees owners the success of their businesses. In Egypt, bread is one of the most consumed products, as evidenced by the high consumption rate of Egyptian bread (Abdelmageed et al., 2019). Therefore, an individual or organization considering setting up a bakery business in Egypt should have bread and biscuits as one of the priority products. In addition to bread, the business plan should include cakes such as birthdays, graduation, and wedding cakes, among others, because such cakes are in high demand during such ceremonies. Such products are highly recommended for a bakery business in Egypt because the Egyptian population considers bread a staple and a cultural diet. Therefore, bread is among the products consumed daily in the country.
The bakery business should be set up and branded so that the baking products, including bread and cakes, suit local and international market preferences. Egypt’s local market has a high population that supports the bakery business. Bread is among the most consumed products; therefore, the local market will significantly boost the business. Moreover, international markets are also crucial in boosting revenue and capital for a business. Thus, having baked products that meet both local and international market preferences will help the bakery business maximize its sales, thereby raising the bakery firm’s profit margin (Ferrell et al., 2019). A business gaining profits from its operation has a high chance of expanding its production output. Therefore, the profit gained should be utilized in opening bakery outlets within the rural areas to help the main firm counter competition from other firms engaged in bakery operations and acquire a significant market share.
The main bakery business should be located in the urban center with branches spread within the rural areas. Urban areas have a high population of wealthy class people, and thus there will be more demand for loaves of bread in the town than in rural markets. The high income of the urban population boosts purchasing power because most people can afford bread. However, in rural areas, residents are highly engaged in agricultural activities. Thus, having branches in rural areas will help the main, and the mini bakery branches have access to cheap raw materials such as wheat and local labor (Ferrell et al., 2019). In addition to access to cheap raw materials, branches in rural areas act as a boost to increase sales and gain a considerable market share. The sales and income accumulated from the rural branches are essential in boosting and backing up the financial stand of the entire firm. Furthermore, opening branches in rural areas will help potential customers access bakery products and provide employment opportunities to rural residents.
Starting a new business requires huge capital, which might be challenging for an individual to raise. Everything from machinery, labor, raw materials, and general operation demands huge finances. A sole proprietorship business might need more capital because the limit of loans a sole proprietorship can acquire can be small compared to the capital needed to set up the business. Therefore, people planning to set up a bakery firm within urban areas are highly encouraged to adopt the American joint business type to raise enough capital to fund the acquisition of machinery, raw materials, and the general production activities of the bakery (Porter, 2015). Additionally, joint businesses have access to a higher amount of loans than sole proprietorships. The fact that joint businesses have access to higher loans than sole proprietorship businesses makes it possible for a joint bakery to manage and fund its business activities, including employing experts and applying high technology that guarantees quality production.
The top management positions, the executive level, should be preserved for American expatriates who are old enough to possess the required management experience that guarantees the bakery firm’s successful performance. The positions should incorporate males and females to ensure gender representation and balance, a requirement by the labor unions. The assistants to the directors should be experts in Egypt nationality to help the top management understand the business culture and the culture of the local market of Egypt. American expatriates are known to have a greater understanding of technology, and thus they will provide the technical support required for international operations. Production machinery for making bread and other wheat flour products should be given to young, energetic, skilled foreign national males to fasten and boost the production process. The production team should have a lead production manager responsible for monitoring the production rate.
Moreover, activities requiring manual and physical energy should not be given to females because some manual and physical jobs might seem exploitative. Such jobs that require males entirely are the loading and the offloading activities. In order to foster a good relationship between the bakery firm and the citizens of Egypt, the bakery firm should employ local women to support staff in offering packaging and marketing services (Diab et al., 2022). Employing local women in packaging will be an essential way of utilizing the available labor and controlling the unemployment rate among the local population of women who are denied the chance to work abroad after marriage by cultural norms.
Moreover, the management team of the bakery firm will organize and fund training for the newly hired employees. Training newly hired employees is an essential factor for performance improvement. During the training, the newly hired employees should be facilitated with proper knowledge and be undertaken through the company’s policy and objectives to express their efforts in promoting the bakery’s goals. Therefore, employees should be facilitated with performance-centered training that enhances cultural diversity and perfect teamwork.
Proper layout design in business ensures smooth and steady work and raw materials flow throughout the production process. The layout design is essential in minimizing space and time wastage during the movement of materials in the production room. The bakery firm should emphasize proper process layout to ensure that resources are arranged and arraigned concerning functions and similarities (Kumar, 2022). Further, the process layout is essential in bakery firms because the bakery will produce many different products ranging from bread to various types of cakes and biscuits, which have unique and different processing requirements. The different products and the difference in production needs of products baked in the bakery make it difficult for the firm to dedicate the entire facility to a specific product. Therefore, it will be more efficient to group resources according to functions and move products from resource to resource concerning production needs.
Egypt’s traditional norm that denies local women chances to work out the village after marriage might deny the firm access to a quality and skilled workforce. Such norms make it necessary for firms to have flexible working hours and demand that firms guarantee to pick up and drop female employees back home after work. Another challenge the business might face might be a lack of common language, thus interfering with the understanding between the local employees and the American expatriates (Abdurahman, 2020). Moreover, the language barrier and cultural diversity interfere with teamwork. In sum, communication and cultural differences might cause poor customer service, which is responsible for poor competition.
The business operating in Egypt will differ from that in the United States regarding operating and working hours. Bakery in Egypt will have fewer operating hours to allow local women employed in the firm to return home early for other home chores. As highlighted in this business plan, the knowledge of the business environment in Egypt will help potential investors understand the market and the local labor state available. Understanding such labor conditions and the local market is essential for bakery business success.
References
Abdelmageed, K., CHANG, X. H., WANG, D. M., WANG, Y. J., YANG, Y. S., ZHAO, G. C., & TAO, Z. Q. (2019). Evolution of varieties and development of production technology in Egypt wheat: A review. Journal of integrative agriculture, 18(3), 483–495.
Abdurahmana, A. J. (2020). Communication Barriers and their Effects on the Operations of Administrative and Academic Employees in Tawi-Tawi Regional Agricultural College (TRAC).
Diab, O., & Hindy, S. I. (2022). Women and Economic Reform in Egypt: Impact of Production Changes on Female Waged Labor Force Participation. Middle East Critique, 31(1), 61–79.
Ferrell, O. C., Harrison, D. E., Ferrell, L., & Hair, J. F. (2019). Business ethics, corporate social responsibility, and brand attitudes: An exploratory study. Journal of Business Research, pp. 95, 491–501.
George, B., Walker, R. M., & Monster, J. (2019). Does strategic planning improve organizational performance? A meta‐analysis. Public Administration Review, 79(6), 810–819.
Kumar, R. (2022). Operations management. Jyothis Publishers.
Porter, M. (2015). The competitive advantage of the inner city. In The city reader (pp. 358–371). Routledge.
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