The spreadsheet _____ highlights the journey through initial development and release of Sienna 1.01. The sales force hunting new partners to profitability.

Then illustrates the growth potential within the niche travel sector.

Also included is further development to improve the software and tailor making it to fit other industries. Whilst I’d expect other industries to return profit about 6 months after the travel sector, the earnings from said industries has not been included, nor has money from software licensing. The $150,000,000 is just scratching the surface.

The spreadsheet has been calculated in Rand to loosely convert to the Pound just drop a zero.

The spread sheet wages mat seems low, but in South Africa they are fair wages, 4 or 5 times what a policeman would earn. There are good arguments for the initial development to be created in the UK but this would obviously increase costs.

In the 1st year I have allowed only a little development time into tailoring and introducing Sienna into other business, this will take further planning but probably well worth doing. I’d say we have 6 maybe 12 months before some bright spark really gets what were doing and replicates our business plan in either are own sector or another, by going into other industries earlier we can always be considered the first.

In the first year (technical)

It is possible to outsourced but in the long I believe a dedicated team is better,

$900,000 to create Sienna’s infrastructure, I require a team of 20 “PHP” programmers (the database language of websites) some of whom who can programme in “C” programmers (A more pure computer language) and some with a flair for design. Along with 5 webmasters and a Systems Architect.

$100,000 for the core design of Sienna’s database and interfaces.

$105,000 for creating the GDS connection

$105,000 for Property & Hotel Management systems. (Inventory management, partners with hotels or villas can look after all their bookings payments, arrivals, invoices. This is very important as it gives us direct access to the lowest rates, avoiding and GDS or ADS’s.)

$85,000 for data in putters

$150,000 for search engine optimisation (tricky as Google does not like duplicate content)

$110,000 for outsourced php programmers. (Based in India, working on creating data links with new business. This figure increases steadily as the demand to join our network increases.)

$270,000. For the sales team and managers. Climbing from 4 to these 25 in the year. Sales persons will be brand ambassadors and advisors to our affiliates businesses.

$350,000 for CEO, CFO & MD.  A fair salary in South Africa for an SME, but I’d really like some Virgin heavy hitters at the wicket, pay them what their worth.

$150,000 for PR and HR I’ve never really used PR but I’m sure there are some things you suggest that are worth doing.

Good HR is absolute essential, in Sienna’s Organiser or (CRM) will like to include psyche evaluation tests for staff to give bosses a better understanding of potential and positioning and what motivates them. Our HR & PR department will help create a wish list of what they want from the organiser

$85,000 Accounts. This may seem light, but I’ve already accounted for a CFO and I am adamant that our company will run completely through the Sienna system all communications and transactions recorded.  Doing this will test our skills in creating the financial modal. The only staff needed will be bank data capturers and someone to check for mistakes.

$150,000  Marketing, At first we are selling a tour operator idea to tour operators. A nice glossy brochure explaining the concept and another advertising the Game Lodges & Safaris Experience Africa represents distributed by Conde Nast UK & USA will create huge interest, both to the public and trade. That’s enough; the whole project is basses on affiliate then verbal marketing so I see no reason in print advertising.

$450,000 Offices and expenses.

After the first year

For most staff I have included over inflation pay increases. From a programming perspective keeping as many members of the original team is very important to achieve consistency.

I have kept to my original 25 programmers, as in the first year they will have only so much time to expand in to other industries, so allow for extra if we expanding in the direction at optimal pace.

The number of Data capturer’s increases significantly as we try to get all venues on the system looking and sounding as good as possible. Our soured Indian PHP programmers also increase as more companies wish to integrate. I’m pretty sure after a while we can charge for programming and this cost will be dropped. Or even profit made.

Our sales ambassadors also increase to deal with demand.

Incoming a quick word on the 3 different revenue streams.

There are 3 types of revenue accounted for here.

Revenue from Datalinked websites. (We feed information to their website and draw data from their database or they upload significant stock or join our PMS for others to display)

Revenue from data feed sites. We feed information to their website

and new business. We feed information to a new website. An out the box solution.

Calculating the income capacity is not an easy task. I have used $25,000 as a safe comfortable benchmark, the figure Cape Villas generated in residual income 09/10 from safaris without the website, companies will expect to make 5 times this or more some will some won’t so sticking to $25,000 is a safe option.

The figure 12,500 that appeared in row 3 of the income spreadsheet is half that of the companies estimated income as our mark up will be approximately 10% as opposed to the agents what will take 20%.

The 12,500 figure appears 5 times next to percentages, I estimate each company will take about 10 to 12 months to reach full potential so I have introduced a sliding scale to account for potential.

Colum B represents new users recruited to our system in that month. Staring at month eight with 20 going up to a total of 1730 by month 30. Each user generates $25,000 a year which makes  $6,312,500 in 30 months.

Just to recap the above figures are for data exchanging sites, sites where e have either tapped into their database, or most often, they manually load inventory into our database. 1730 users in 30 months so very achievable.

For data feed and Out the box figures I’ve used a vector of data link sites

Revenue from data feed sites.

Where we provide content for a company’s website but they do not add to our inventory I’d expect to generate about the same figures. Data feed sites are easier to produce so we will get more users, but without feeding there own inventory they will have spent less time on the set up and some might value its use less. On the other hand, agencies that do not have their own stock to sell, will not favour their own stock and so could many may perform better that data feed sights.

All in all more users, most performing less some more will come to about the same figure.

So another $6,312,500 in 30 months totalling $12,625,000 so far

Out the box software.

This is the complete package that people will use to start a new business or improve their business.

An out the box solution gives all the modules, finance, CRM, completely free with updates free as well for now,  

Completely new users who have downloaded the software for the CRM or Financial module alone will be obliged to set up a website and make a nominal amount of turnover to keep the CRM and Financial applications running.

For new users that see an opportunity to start a new business, from scratch. WE need to help them as much as possible. I propose making a game for them that is fun but educates the new user into not only understanding the software but gives marketing, staff and general business advice.

To make things more fun, they can opt to have their turnover displayed on a score board of new users, not only will this promote competition, it will be a huge boost in getting new users, as they see others genuinely making money in the real world. The game specifications are outlined in the Game section on Page.... (Programming of this game has not been included in the financials.)
Other users of out the box systems will be consierge companies and individual accommodation venues that do not have strong sites, that transfer the data for there own product onto the homepages of the Sienna site, using this new site as there primary window to the public,

Also franchises of big business may need individual out the box sits as they can not as yet convince there patent company to make a datalink, or take the feed. The Sotheby’s websites Africa Concierge on Page ? is a good example of this.

New websites will involve no programming from our side and minimal set up fron  the vendors side, and with some consentration on individual venues I’d expect far more users than both the datalinked and data sites put together, but a good number will fail or produce minimal results so I estimate at first that these sites will only generate half of that generate by the other methods.

This said there is an aregument that a new company selling just our stock , where the user is dedicated to this as there primary income will perform well especially if we teach them correctly, with plenty of tutorial marketing tips, business advise offer by brosing the tutorials and help menus or by mastering the game.

Whena new user starts . The user gets to choose what countries he wishes and the accommodation types displayed and imidiatly a full and extremely good looking website aprears. Each site will have slightly or dramatically different looks. And they can either leverade of an exsisting database of clients, potentially sending them magazines, or start from scratch with a Google PPC campain, or even small adds in local papers, in there travel sections., or piggy back of another business clients.
New users and some other smaller companies will have to run on a venues paid direct and commission paid by venue or camopany to prevent fraud or more likely simple over expansion, companies can trade with deposit money too a point where they can not pay there suppiers. I’ve been there and its not a nice palce to be.