Making the Business Effective (Edexcel GCSE Business): Exam Questions

Last Course Patisserie Ltd is a small private limited company based in Devon which produces hand-made desserts and puddings. The business was established in 1986. Its owners previously worked in the food industry but felt they could offer better value for money to customers. All of the desserts are made fresh to order which has provided Last Course Patisserie with a reputation for being flexible when meeting customer needs.

Getting the best ingredients for the desserts is a vital part of the business. Last Course Patisserie found excellent suppliers of free range eggs and dairy products close to its business location. This means all ingredients could be delivered quickly when needed.

Last Course Patisserie has recently employed a new head chef from Switzerland who has introduced a new range of products to the menu. This has proved to be very popular with customers and the business now struggles to keep up with demand. Last Course Patisserie is receiving increased orders for desserts but, due to the size of its business premises, struggles to meet this increase in demand. The owners have decided that it is the right time for Last Course Patisserie to expand and possibly relocate to new premises

Sports Tours Ltd was established in 1989 and is one of the leading online specialist sports tour operators in the United Kingdom. It arranges tours for teams to destinations in the United Kingdom and Europe in sports such as football, rugby, hockey and netball. The business not only organises travel, accommodation and meals, but it also arranges games and entry to tournaments for the sports team whilst on tour

Sports Tours Ltd has very high standards. It carries out full risk assessments for all tours including possible pre-tour inspection visits. Tours are licensed and authorised through official agencies. All tours have regular contact with a member of staff from Sports Tours Ltd.

In recent years the business has faced increasing competition. This is not only from other sports tour operators but also from teams organising their own tours. Changing levels of consumer income and exchange rates have also had an impact on demand for tours by sports teams.

Sports Tours Ltd are confident that the high level of service they offer will help them to remain competitive. However, it is always looking for more ways to add value to its business activities.

Sarah is the sole owner of a sandwich shop located in a busy town centre. The shop opened two years ago and employs two part-time staff members who help prepare food and serve customers. The shop sells freshly made sandwiches, soups and hot drinks, which are prepared on site each day.

The business attracts office workers, students and shoppers. Sarah prides herself on the freshness and quality of her products, which are made to order. Her prices are slightly higher than pre-packaged sandwiches sold in supermarkets.

Recently, a large supermarket chain opened nearby, selling cheaper sandwiches. Since then, Sarah has noticed her sales have started to fall. In March, Sarah’s revenue was £8,000, but in April this dropped by 15%. Her costs, however, have stayed the same at £6,200 per month.

Sarah is considering ways to respond. One option is to lower her prices to match the supermarket. Another option is to emphasise freshness, quality and customer service to encourage loyalty. She is also looking at launching online orders with local delivery to reach more customers and boost sales.

Little Movers is a business that offers preschool dance and movement classes. It also specialises in themed birthday parties and provides workshops in many local authority children centres. The business was founded in 2007 by Melanie Buck and within weeks of opening hundreds of families were attending the classes.

Little Movers exceeded Melanie’s expectations. She struggled to keep up with the demands of running the business and her commitment to being a mother of two young children. Melanie originally started Little Movers as she felt she could run the classes whilst her children were at school. This independence would also help her achieve a key objective of enjoying all of the school holidays with her own children.

To keep up with the high levels of demand Melanie decided to expand her business through franchising. As a franchisor she believed that she could offer a proven business formula together with a wide range of support to franchisees. This included use of the Little Movers brand, being the only Little Movers franchise in a particular area, full training and a centralised online booking system. Franchisees also receive lesson plans each month for the classes. This approach proved to be highly successful. Little Movers now has franchises throughout the North of England and has recently had enquiries to open franchises in Poland and Dubai.

Little Movers is a business that offers preschool dance and movement classes. It also specialises in themed birthday parties and provides workshops in many local authority children centres. The business was founded in 2007 by Melanie Buck and within weeks of opening hundreds of families were attending the classes.

Little Movers exceeded Melanie’s expectations. She struggled to keep up with the demands of running the business and her commitment to being a mother of two young children. Melanie originally started Little Movers as she felt she could run the classes whilst her children were at school. This independence would also help her achieve a key objective of enjoying all of the school holidays with her own children.

To keep up with the high levels of demand Melanie decided to expand her business through franchising. As a franchisor she believed that she could offer a proven business formula together with a wide range of support to franchisees. This included use of the Little Movers brand, being the only Little Movers franchise in a particular area, full training and a centralised online booking system. Franchisees also receive lesson plans each month for the classes. This approach proved to be highly successful. Little Movers now has franchises throughout the North of England and has recently had enquiries to open franchises in Poland and Dubai.

Adikoggz is a small business based in Leeds. It offers the customising of trainers. It was set up by Keilan Kogut in 2018. The business designs personalised trainers including those associated with the colours and images of football teams or music bands. Customers can either supply their own trainers to be customised or pay Adikoggz to source and design a new pair of trainers to meet their needs. Adikoggz charges up to £200 for a new pair of customised trainers. It also offers a service to deep clean trainers. The price for this is £20.

The business started as a hobby but after showing off the designs on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, Keilan started to receive follower requests asking him to customise or source unique styles of trainers. This gave him the inspiration to start Adikoggz and the business now receives orders from all over the world.

Keilan still carries out much of the work himself, but the growing number of orders has led him to struggle to keep up with demand. He now employs four people to help him with customisations. However, he still feels that the USP of Adikoggz is the personalised service it offers and that every customer will receive a unique product at the end of the process.

Aphrodite is a clothes shop that was formed in 1994 by two brothers, Andrew and Duncan McKenzie. They opened the shop because they had a lifelong enthusiasm for new fashion.

Andrew and Duncan visit Paris, Milan and London each year to buy their stock. They aim to buy well-known brands, such as Stone Island and Hugo Boss, and to also stock clothes from new designers. This range of stock helps provide them with an advantage over their competition.

Customer service has always been an important part of Aphrodite’s success. A polite and friendly attitude greets all customers on arrival at the shop. In 2007 the business launched its website, which sells its range of clothing using e-commerce. The owners looked to maintain existing high standards of service for customers using their website.

A new opportunity was created when the shop premises next to Aphrodite became available to buy. Andrew and Duncan are considering buying the shop in order to convert the two shops into one large premises. They have calculated that this will cost them £250 000 but are undecided on the best way to finance this.

That Feeling is a unique barber shop in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire. Its owner, Justin Carr, started the business, aged 25, because of his passion for being a barber. When he left school after his GCSEs he was advised to follow a different career path. However, he wanted to work in a creative industry. This ambition led him to opening a barber shop where his regular customers include England international footballers such as Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier and Dele Alli.

The unique nature of That Feeling not only comes from the high quality haircuts but also from the way it looks after its customers. They can play on arcade games and get drinks whilst waiting for their appointment. The shop also sells That Feeling branded clothes and vintage glasses frames.

When asked about his business objectives Justin was very clear that non-financial objectives are crucial. Justin stated:

‘It is important to be passionate about what you do and always try to be the best you can. The financial rewards of running a business will come if you get the other things right.’

Justin now acts as a mentor to staff members at That Feeling by giving help and advice about their career. Most of the employees are aged between 19 and 22. Justin feels that if they are given the opportunity to develop their skills they will bring new ideas and creativity to the business.

Stand up paddleboarding is a sport which is similar to surfing but the riders use a paddle whilst standing on the board. Joe Thwaites opened Loco in 2012 as he spotted a gap in the market manufacturing stand up paddleboards (SUPs). Joe felt that he could compete using innovative designs and by changing the shape of the SUPs he made. He spent a few weeks in Fuerteventura, Spain, working with professional SUP riders where he developed designs for three Loco boards.

Since then Loco has surrounded itself with creative talent. This includes world class SUP shapers, graphic designers and team riders, who compete in competitions using its boards. Within months of its new SUPs becoming available, one of the team went on to win the British National Championship and represent Team GB in the World Championships.

Loco now sells an extensive range of SUPs, surf and kite boards throughout the UK and Europe and is ready to further extend its brand. Joe feels that the use of digital marketing using social media is vital in this growth. This combination of creative marketing and Joe’s active role in the business, by offering advice to customers, has provided him with a firm belief that Loco can compete against larger manufacturers.

Digital Allies is a private limited company. It supports clients to create marketing materials that can be used in a wide range of digital communications. This includes online advertising, web design, and digital data analysis to ensure clients are getting the most from their digital communications. It also offers training to businesses on how they could use social media and digital communication to improve their marketing.

The use of social media is something Digital Allies believes is becoming a major influence on how customers interact with businesses. It manages marketing campaigns across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and LinkedIn. This allows its clients to target a wide range of consumers and to analyse these communications on social media to give businesses a competitive advantage over their rivals.

In February 2019, Digital Allies announced a three-year expansion plan which involved doubling its workforce to 40 employees and moving to new offices. The business believed that this move would allow it to employ people with the most up-to-date knowledge and to become one of the main digital marketing companies in the UK.

Amelia Cooper trained as a plumber six years ago. Since then she has worked for a building company that carries out repairs to houses and business premises in the Birmingham area.

Amelia is now in a position where she wants to start her own plumbing business called Lili Heating Ltd. Even though there are many plumbers in the Birmingham area, Amelia feels she has a unique selling point – she is a woman. Many female customers feel that they can relate more closely with a woman doing repairs in their homes.

As part of her business plan, Amelia has identified some clear aims and objectives and conducted a large amount of market research using the internet. Her target market requires clear advice on what work needs to be done and how much she will charge. Amelia also thinks she can cut down on advertising costs by getting her customers to recommend Lili Heating Ltd to their friends and families. For this to happen she knows that her work must be of the highest standard.

Amelia’s business plan also included a wide range of financial information to help her forecast the potential success of the business and see if she would need an overdraft.

Performance Fitness Centre (PFC) is an independent gym and fitness studio. It has been open for seven years and has over 200 members. Members pay a fee of £39 per month for unlimited access to the gym and fitness classes that take place five days per week. Non-members can also pay to use the gym for each individual session they attend.

The gym at PFC is stocked with high specification equipment and weight machines. As a result, it has become very popular with customers interested in maintaining a high level of personal fitness. It has an equal number of male and female customers, but the owner has noticed that there is a lower number of members from people aged over 50. He believes that this may be because they feel out of place amongst the younger membership.

Over the past year a new gym that is part of a large national chain has opened nearby. It is much larger and membership fees at the new gym are only £19 per month. PFC has seen a reduction in new members joining the gym and is now considering what it can do to compete with its larger and cheaper rival. Its current members are loyal and enjoy the high quality offered at PFC.

Ripple is an energy company aimed at providing green and renewable energy to homes and businesses across the UK. It is the country’s first consumer-owned wind farm, generating green energy that does not have a damaging effect on the environment.

Instead of customers paying Ripple to supply them with energy, they become members of the business and buy a part of a wind farm located in a remote area of South Wales. Customers are then supplied with energy to their homes based on the amount of money they invested. The amount of money that customers can invest varies on their energy needs, but Ripple claims that it can supply energy cheaper than its competitors.

The process of becoming a member is very simple. Firstly, Ripple will ask customers a few questions to identify their energy needs. It will then create a green energy plan to establish how much each customer should invest into the wind farm. Ripple manages the wind farm and provides energy to each customer’s home or business.

Ripple’s business plan fits in with the UK government’s cleaner energy strategy. This strategy includes plans for the country to have net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and to create 220,000 new jobs in the green energy sector of the economy.