Brookbarn Business Case Study
Brookbarn Canine rehabilitation centre is located in the heart of Somerset and managed solely by Hannah Meekers, who has been running the business since it was established four months ago. Brookbarn is a private limited company, meaning that the ownership of the business is distributed up into shares, all of equivalent parts (BBC, 2014). There are several positives to choosing this type of business, one being that any debt is against the business, where as with a sole trader the owner is personally liable for any debts obtained (Business debtline, 2017). Therefore personal assets are covered with a limited company (Halon, 2015). However as a limited company accounts can be more easily accessible to competitors due to them being of public record (Lawpack, 2012), this could potentially be a major disadvantage to a business.
So far Hannah has continuously been carrying out advanced studies to advantage herself withher career. She has gained several qualifications to reach her current career of a canine hydrotherapist, these include, a diploma in small animal hydrotherapy and a diploma in therapeutic canine massage, which awarded her the title of a clinical canine massage practitioner. To progressive further in her career Hannah is currently part way through a diploma in animal physiotherapy.
Prior to starting her own business she had been practising as a canine hydro-therapist for 4 years and a canine massage practitioner for a further 2 years. Although she has been practising for 6 years now she states that it has been a lot harder starting her own business as appose to working for another business, this is predominately due to wanting all the finest equipment yet money restrictions have not allowed for this.
Due to obtaining these qualifications and experience it means that Hannah can now qualify to be part of certain associations, one of which being the canine hydrotherapy association (CHA). However it is not stated on her website if she belongs to any associations, but after some further research I discovered that Brookbarn was actually associated with CHA and can be easily found on their website alongside other canine hydro-therapists in Somerset (see appendix 1). I was slightly confused as to why Hannah had not stated being apart of CHA on her website, being apart of an association can help to increase the reputation of the business and prove reliability. Though I believe it is not on the Brookbarn website as the website is still under construction (see appendix 2),
The above accreditations have also allowed for Brookbarn to an offer a range of services (see appendix 3), similar to those of competitors such as h20 canine therapy, however Brookbarn does offer an extra service being therapeutic techniques but lacks a canine hydrotherapy pool found commonly with other competitors, which could benefit Hannah further.
Advertising is an important part of any business especially new businesses like Brookbarn; it is valuable way of communicating with potential customers, informing them of the services you provide and therefore gaining new clients (Greene, 2017). Nonetheless Hannah stated that her business advertising was presently minimal and included flyers in local vets. Although she is not advertising enough, especially for a new business the area she is advertising in prime locations for the services she offers therefore directing it at the correct clientele. Despite this there are many different, more effective methods of advertising such as social media, which is a wider spread method, and also a very commonly used one as it is easy for potential clientele to search for services. However it would be important to keep Hannah’s personal page separate from her business one. Other methods of advertising could include public speaking or sponsoring local canine based events such as dog shows (Lovering, 2015).
Websites are a valuable assist to running your own business it works as a way of advertising as well as a way for clientele to get into contact with your business. First impressions with websites count, if your website looks professional people are more likely to chose your services as appose to one which isn’t, this is because people will make judgements of you based on your website (Leinbach-Reyhle, 2014). Upon first viewing Brookbarns website I was very impressed with its professional looking logo (see appendix 4), with the rest of the website having a clear colour scheme which could easily be remembered. All the text on the website was of an efficient size and easily readable therefore potential clients will find it simple to read information regarding the services on offer. The website is easy to navigate through with more information on each service being provided following one simple click (see appendix 5). However on trying to discover more information on the services the website stated it was still under construction (see appendix 2), this could affect the influx of potential clientele, they may see this and assume the business isn’t experienced. The website could also benefit from a testimonial page like the one found on another local company ‘h20 canine therapy’ (see appendix 6), the use of a testimonial page may help to reassure clients on the businesses competence. A positive to this website is the ‘how to find us’ section, not only does it list the address it also shows it on a map, making it helpful for new clients to find the business (see appendix 7). There is also no mention of Hannah on the website itself where as other businesses in the area have sections on the website giving more information on who works there as well as there qualifications, this is useful for reassuring clientele of the qualifications of the hydrotherapist.
Brookbarns slogan suggests it is ‘focused on the recovery, conditioning and well being of your dog’, Hannah stated to me that her main canine patients either require pre and post-surgical rehabilitation, management of neurological and orthopaedic conditions as well as also working on injury prevention and optimising performance of dogs. The vast amount of these clients are found to come from veterinary referrals or through word of mouth, all having to had completed a vet referral form which is downloadable through the website (see appendix 8). By vets referring their patients to Brookbarn it shows the trust the veterinarian has in the business this can help to reassure clients. Word of mouth can also be very effective if the things spread are positive, however if they are the opposite they can have detrimental effects on the business and bad word of mouth can ruin a businesses reputation quickly.
When owning a business legislations are vital to follow as it not only protects staff but also customers. There are numerous different legislations that Hannah must abide by when running Brookbarn as her own business, some of these relate to the animals that she would be treating, such as The Animal Welfare Act 2006. This act aims to improve the welfare of animals including protection against unnecessary suffering (GOV, 2006), which could occur if the wrong treatment was given to an animal. Other legislations Hannah must follow relate more to owning her own business such as the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 which relates to protecting employees and anyone on the premises from potential health and safety risks. Hannah identified to me further legislations she abides by including The Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966, Electricity at Work Regulations as well as the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSSH) 2002.
Overall this business has only been established for a few months therefore Hannah is still constructing the website and promoting her business steadily. Though she is still trying to further her career with extra studies, which I feel, will give her a further edge on other businesses that do not offer such services. Eventually I feel Hannah will benefit massively from having a hydrotherapy pool, however due to costs this will be more feasible further in her career.
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