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Ahmed Yousef 0892869

Mission Statement

Guala Guala Inc. is an exclusive medical and recreational elevated quality cannabis dispensary to help
provide the consumers with a unique experience and allow the clients to participate in the new market
of crypto currencies through our modern crypto ATM to acquire great limited time deals by purchasing
our products by crypto currencies.

• Objectives:
Keys to success

1. We have incorporated the company to save more taxes and to be more professionally managed
through our licensed managers.

2. Create a private method to purchase cannabis.

3. Provide security and privacy for buyers for a peace of mind.

4. Expand the market of crypto among cannabis consumers.

Estimated costs and location:

The estimated budget for the start up would cost approximately 200,000 CAD$ to employ, rent, obtain
permits and licenses, and buy cannabis products. The company has chosen a unique location which will
be close to western university while this area has a big percent of our target base.

1. Where will the business operate?

Business will be operated near the Western University (WU) in Ontario. Ontario has some of the highest
amount of Cannabis consumption in Canada, accounting for 23.4% of all cannabis sales in 2018. It was
found in one research that university students consume cannabis on a monthly basis, which is a major
reason why the location of the business was chosen to be near WU.
2. Who are your primary target customer groups?
Primary target customer groups are adults over the age of 18 who like to use cannabis for recreational
purposes and people struggling with depression that have been prescribed cannabis along with
pharmaceutical companies which need cannabis in its drugs.

3. How much do you anticipate in sales in the first year?

In 2019, 13.41% of the population bought cannabis. Spent a staggering $5.6 billion on marijuana. 10.4%
of marijauna use was for medicinal marijuana, 89.6% for recreational purposes. In 2018, 1.37 million
Canadians ages 18-24 bought marijuana, with 340,000 using it at least once a week. In 2018, 2.17 million
Canadians aged 25-44 bought marijuana, with 613,000 using it at least once a week. In 2019 Ontario,
Statistics Canada reported that Ontario had the fourth highest per capita usage of marijuana with an
average of 21 grams per person. Based on the statistics from the US, a mid-range dispensary in a good
retail area could easily expect to gross around $150,000-200,000 and net of 10-20%. Since Canadians
love consuming cannabis and with the high percentage of people in Ontario buying cannabis, it is safe to
assume similar results of sales will occur in the dispensary we are hoping to run near the university.

4. Estimate the amount of money it will take to launch this business.

Do you need to raise additional cash, and if so, how?

To run a cannabis dispensary, certain requirements must be met beforehand. The first requirement is to
upgrade the air conditioning or HVAC system to ensure air circulating through the store is cleaned
through a HEPA filter to reduce odours from the product. Secondly, a good point-of-sale (POS) system
will be necessary to run the store in order to keep track of what each customer purchases. This will also
be essential if the manufacturer or producer of the goods has to issue a product recall. Thirdly, all staff
will have to be given proper training and will be required to undertake an “official” course in cannabis
retailing. The fourth, and probably most important requirement is to get approval and acquire a
business license from the municipality, so writing a politically-aware business plan will ensure the
approval and license is given. The fifth and final requirement will be hiring IT experts who specialise in
cryptocurrency dealing and trading, to help run the cryptocurrency ATM and market it to the outside
world. The estimated budget for the startup was CAD$50,000. However, to hire properly trained staff,
and to meet all the requirements and lease a shop in a location near the Western University, the startup
budget should be around CAD$200,000. The extra CAD$150,000 needed can be obtained by obtaining a
business loan from the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC). Obtaining this loan and starting with CAD$200,000
will ensure all requirements are met before operating the business and also ensure the security systems,
display cases and leasehold improvements are all set and ready for business.
5. Include a short breakdown of the costs by category.
Installation of Air Conditioning system with HEPA Filter:
This can cost anywhere between CAD$2400-5400, depending on the power and performance of the
machine. The higher the performance and power (in kW), the higher the price. Given that the store is a
Cannabis dispensary and the products contain strong odors, it is assumed a higher performing and more
powerful air conditioning unit will be installed which will cost around CAD$4500 plus installation which
will be $160.

Point-of-sales system plus implementing cryptocurrency:

Buying and implementing a totally new POS system will cost around $6500 from Lightspeed.
Implementing the cryptocurrency can cost around CAD$15,000-25,000.

Training staff:
Training staff can be quite expensive, especially for small businesses with fewer than 500 workers.
Statistics show that on average, small businesses with fewer than 500 workers tend to spend roughly
CAD$1888 per employee to train and nurture them into becoming efficient staff members. Roughly 7
workers will be needed to start the business, with a group of workers working on the till and customer
service, selling the goods to the customers, deliveries, etc. Another set of workers will take care of the IT
and cryptocurrency side of things. Lastly, two security guards will always need to be on duty for security
purposes. If we assume to start with 7 workers fully trained and ready to go, it will cost around
CAD$13,216 to fully train the workers and have them ready to go.

Obtaining a license:
Obtaining a license will cost about $600.

Lease of shop:
A good spacious commercial shop of about 1500 square feet will cost around CAD$1200 per month
which will equate to $14,400.

Goods and products for the store:

The remaining CAD$100,000 will be used to purchase goods and products plus inventories for the store
to start and run the business and rest for petty cash.

6. What kind of management team will you need to lead

this business?
It is important to have someone who has experience with selling and handling cannabis. He can then
also pass on his knowledge to the newer and less experienced staff members. IT experts will be needed
to keep track of the cryptocurrency users. A team of two security guards will also be needed to stay on
duty during trading hours and to ensure all security systems are up to date.
7. Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of your group.
Since you will be running the company, comment on what
external supports you might need to run this business.

The strength of our group, we are all students who are students studying how to plan a business and run
it effectively by using various tools from marketing and operations management. We do not have
expertise in programing a point of sale software for the company neither can we set up a cryptocurrency
and its ATM machine so we will have to outsource these jobs. Weakness that can be converted into
strength with time is experience. None of us has any experience in the industry and type of business but
as time goes by, we will learn and gain experience.

1. Outline your marketing plan, with a brief summary of

the 4 P’s

The unique selling point of this business is that customers will be able to enjoy a different futuristic
experience using cryptocurrency. This technique will plant an interest towards this special way of
purchasing marijuana.

Cannabis is a recreational drug that people consume for relaxation purposes, However, it has some
medical health benefits such as relief of chronic pain. It helps people fight cancer, depression, anxiety,
autism and helps prevent diabetes. The product is a high-quality drug tested and approved by the FDA
hence it is easy to say that it is safe to consume.

Marketing plan consists of one major marketing technique. Digital marketing which involves social
media, video ads, mobile displays, bulk SMS, email marketing and influencer marketing. Sponsored ads
would be uploaded on all social media websites including YouTube, Instagram, Facebook etc. Few
famous personalities will be handed out free samples of the product to further spread the product
among elites and youngsters.
Few stalls will be placed on campus inside Western university and pamphlets will be handed out to the
students to further market the product. Pamphlets would include pricing along with guidance on how to
purchase through cryptocurrency.

FOUR Ps OF Marketing:
Product:
The product we are offering is recreational elevated quality cannabis to our customer with the unique
payment method of crypto-currency instead of just regular cash or digital payment. It would be an
experience from the future where the normal cash and bank transactions would be redundant long ago
and the world would be digitized with cashless economies using crypto-currency. So its not just cannabis
being bought but a full experience of the future.

Price:
The average price of cannabis in Ontario is around $10 – 14 per gram according to a study conducted by
a professor at McMaster University. We will have 1 gram pack for $14 and a 5 gram pack for $60. we will
also offer a pack of pre rolled cigarettes with different pack sizes with Tabaco as filler. 3 pre-rolled
cannabis small size joints with 1 gram of cannabis would cost $18 dollars. 6 of them would have 2 grams
of cannabis and 6 small joints will cost $32 and 12 of them having 4 grams of cannabis and tobacco filler
too would cost $50 and a full 25 cigarettes pack pre rolled with 9 grams of cannabis in the pack in total
and would cost $120.

Placement:
The outlet would be in Ontario near western university as it is the biggest consumption of cannabis in
the city. It would provide a huge customer access and also would be available in drive thru and delivery
over call within a few kilometers.

Promotion:
We will go for non-conventional ways of promotion. Social media marketing with geo-fencing over the
university and surrounding university student residences, endorsement from some university famous
students and also try to make a deal with some renown students who smoke joints and are known for it
in the community to smoke from our packs with branding so others also try our products and we
eventually plan to making them long term customers. Posters and standees or free sampling are a thing
of the past.

The business will operate in Ontario and in close vicinity to western university.
2. How will you design your operations? Are
special facilities required?
The business will operate through a walk-in window which includes a cash window and pickup where
customers pay for the product and pick it up. The product will also be sold online, a website would
consist of all the products that company offers, orders would be delivered to the customer’s house for
free. The special facilities which will be required include an air conditioning system with a HEPA filter to
ensure the odours of the products. Other special facilities include having a POS system to keep tracks of
customers, an updated security system and an informative and interactive online website to give
customers the option to purchase the products online. The most important is to have a cryptocurrency
system implemented in the business and an ATM installed nearby.

3. Describe your staffing plan. How many people with

what skill sets will you need at what time?
There should be at least 2-3 people with customer service and communication skills. These staff
members will interact with the customers and sell the goods to them including delivery. They will be the
face of the shop. 2 workers must be experienced in IT, they will deal with the cryptocurrency side of
things and the online website. 2 people must be experienced in security to work as security guards for
the store and take care of the security systems.

4. Will the marketing plan, operations plan and HR plan

fit within the budget you submitted in Part 1? If not,
please include a revised cost outline.

Yes, all of these operation would fit in the budget, including fixed and annual costs and 35,624 CAD to
start in bank and petty cash.