NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA

EYE CARE HOSPITAL BUSINESS PLAN

NAME: OMOSHOLA EMMANUEL IKUDEHINBU

MATRIC NO.: NOU173014759

LEVEL: 300 LEVEL

SEMESTER: 2020/1

FACULTY: MANAGEMENT SCIENCE

DEPARTMENT: BSc ENTREPRENEURSHIP & BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

INCUBATION CENTRE: NORTH CENTRAL

STUDY CENTRE: (N.U.R.T.W) SPECIAL STUDY CENTRE ABUJA

EMAIL: [email protected]

PHONE NO.: 08034877473

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOAL: GOOD HEALTH & WELL BEING

FOR PEOPLE

IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT FOR THE

REQUIREMENT FOR BUSINESS GROWTH AND CREATION (GST302)

Business Overview

Eye care hospital business is a subset of the Optometrists industry and players in this industry
includes practitioners with a Doctor of Optometry (OD) degree. ODs examine, diagnose, treat
and manage diseases, injuries and disorders of the eye and associated structures.

Operators may also prescribe and sell eyeglasses, contact lenses and vision therapy. These
practitioners operate private or group practices in their own offices or in facilities like hospitals.
Please note that the Optometrists industry does not include ophthalmologists (i.e. medical
doctors who are trained to perform eye surgery).

If you are a close observer of the Optometrists industry, you will notice that the industry
exhibited steady growth over the past five years due to increasing demand from an aging
population and increasing awareness of eye health. On the retail front, intensifying competition
from optical retailers, most notably online distributors, cut into the industry’s ancillary product
sales.

Medical care services, however, continue to provide a reliable source of revenue to the industry.
With the elderly population growing faster than other age groups, industry operators are expected
to benefit over the five years to 2023.

Recent statistics has it that the Optometrists industry in the Nigeria is worth over $7 billion, with
an estimated growth rate of 3.1 percent between 2013 and 2018. There are over 7,073 eye care
hospitals in the Nigeria, and they are responsible for employing about 146,719 people that
comprises of optometrists, opticians, nurses and other health and non – health workers. It is
important to state that there is no eye care hospital with a lion share of the available market in the
Nigeria.

A recent research conducted by IBISWorld shows that the Optometrists industry exhibits a low
level of capital intensity. In 2018, for every dollar spent, the industry is expected to incur $0.07
in capital expenditures. The research shows that labor costs are high due to the personalized
nature of eye care services, with wages expected to account for 34.9 percent of industry revenue
in 2018.

Further exacerbating this trend, according to Vision Monday, optometrists administer an

estimated 88.0 million refractive eye exams each year, thus stimulating demand for optometrists
to provide eye care.

Nevertheless, optometrists can hire assistants to perform routine tasks (i.e. helping dispense
contact lenses), thereby keeping wage costs relatively low. Comparatively, the industry has
limited use of fixed assets (depreciation accounts for 2.3 percent of revenues generated in the
industry).

If you are considering starting your own eye care hospital in the Nigeria, then you should try and
work around the industry barriers. The truth is that, the barriers to entry in the eye care hospital
are high due to the significant regulatory requirements and the experience and strength of
incumbents. For example, medical licensure creates a barrier to entry in the healthcare sector.

As a matter of fact, it is absolutely compulsory for any investor who is looking towards starting
an eye care hospital to meet extensive federal, state and local laws and regulations. These
regulations relate to the adequacy of medical care, equipment, personnel, operating policies and
procedures.

Regulations also involve maintaining adequate records, preventing fires, setting rates and
complying with building codes and environmental protection laws. These regulations make it
difficult and costly for aspiring entrepreneurs to enter the industry.

Over and above, if you have made up your mind and you are ready to go all the way, you will
surely succeed in establishing your own eye care hospital in the Abuja and you will be glad you
did because it is indeed a profitable business.

Executive Summary

Eye Foundation Care Hospital is a licensed and certified eye care hospital that will be located in
the heart of Karu– Abuja. We have successfully leased a small but standard facility that is highly
suitable for the kind of eye care hospital we want to operate.

Eye Foundation Care Hospital is in the industry to examine, diagnose, treat and manage diseases,
injuries and disorders of the eye. We are also in business to prescribe and sell eyeglasses, contact
lenses and vision therapy et al. We are trained and equipped to service the market segments that
require eye care services in and around Karu.

We are in the eye care business to deliver excellent eye care services to all those who will
patronize our services. We will also ensure that in the line of carrying out our duty, we comply
with the laws and health regulations in Abuja.

We have a standard medical call center that is manned by trained health workers. Our work force
are going to be well trained to operate within the framework of our organization’s corporate
culture and also to meet the needs of all our customers.

Eye Foundation Care Hospital will ensure that all our patients are given first class treatment
whenever they visit our hospital. We have a CRM software that will enable us manage a one
on one relationship with our customers.

Eye Foundation Care Hospital, is owned and managed by Mr. OMOSHOLA EMMANUEL
IKUDEHINBU and has grown to become the head of eye care unit at the city Hospital.
Our Services

Eye Foundation Care Hospital will ensuring that our patients are properly taken care of and our
services will be carried out by highly trained professionals in the optometrist industry. These are
the eye care services that Eye Foundation Care Hospital, will be offering;

 Conduct eye examinations

 Diagnose, manage and treat disorders of the eye
 Prescribe and sell eyeglasses and contact lenses

Our Vision Statement

Our vision is to become the number one choice when it comes to eye care service delivery in
Karu and also to be amongst the top 20 eye care service providers in the Abuja within the next
10 years.

Our Mission Statement

Eye Foundation Care Hospital, is in business is to establish a first class eye care hospital that will
take care of both highly placed clients and lowly placed clients as long as they can afford our
services. We want to become one of the leaders in the optometrist industry in Abuja, and in the
whole of Nigeria.

Our Business Structure

From the outset, we have decided to recruit only qualified professionals in the optometrist
industry to man various job positions in our organization. We are quite aware of the rules and
regulations governing the optometrist industry which is why we decided to recruit only qualified
employees. We hope to leverage on their expertise to build our eye care hospital brand to be well
accepted in Karu.

When hiring, we will look out for applicants that are not just qualified and experienced, but
honest, customer centric and are ready to work to help us build a prosperous business that will
benefit all our stake holders. As a matter of fact, profit-sharing arrangement will be made
available to all our management staff and it will be based on their performance for a period of
five years or more.

These are the positions that will be available at Eye Foundation Care Hospital,

 Chief Medical Director/Chief Executive Officer

 Optometrist
 Pharmacist
 Nurses/Nurse’s Aides
 Admin and Human Resources Manager
 Sales and Marketing Executive
 Accountant/Cashier
  Customer Care Executive
 Cleaners

Roles and Responsibilities

Chief Medical Director / Chief Executive Officer:

 Increases management’s effectiveness by recruiting, selecting, orienting, training,

coaching, counseling, and disciplining managers; communicating values, strategies, and
objectives; assigning accountabilities; planning, monitoring, and appraising job results
and developing incentives
 Creates, communicates, and implements the organization’s vision, mission, and overall
direction – i.e. leading the development and implementation of the overall organization’s
strategy.
 Responsible for fixing prices and signing business deals
 Responsible for providing direction for the business
 Responsible for signing checks and documents on behalf of the company
 Evaluates the success of the organization

Optometrist (Doctor of Optometry (OD)

 Responsible for providing eye care services

 Responsible for prescribing and selling eyeglasses, contact lenses and vision therapy et
al.
 Handles any other duties as assigned by the Chief Medical Director

Pharmacist:

 Responsible for processing prescriptions and dispensing medication

 Handles any other duty as assigned by the Medical Director.

Nurses/Nurse’s Aides

 Responsible for managing our patients

 Handles eye care management
 Assists the optometrist in treating patients

Sales and Marketing Manager

 Writes winning proposal documents, negotiate fees and rates in line with organizations’
policy
 Responsible for handling business research, market surveys and feasibility studies for
clients
 Develops, executes and evaluates new plans for expanding sales
 Creates new markets cum businesses for the organization
 Empowers and motivates the sales team to meet and surpass agreed targets
Accountant/Cashier:

 Responsible for preparing financial reports, budgets, and financial statements for the
organization
 Provides managements with financial analyses, development budgets, and accounting
reports
 Responsible for financial forecasting and risks analysis.
 Performs cash management, general ledger accounting, and financial reporting for one or
more properties.
 Responsible for developing and managing financial systems and policies
 Responsible for administering payrolls
 Ensuring compliance with taxation legislation
 Handles all financial transactions for Eye Foundation Care Hospital.
 Serves as internal auditor for Eye Foundation Care Hospital.

Client Service Executive

 Welcomes clients and potential clients by greeting them in person or on the telephone;
answering or directing inquiries.
 Ensures that all contacts with clients (e-mail, walk-In center, SMS or phone) provides the
client with a personalized customer service experience of the highest level
 Through interaction with clients on the phone, uses every opportunity to build client’s
interest in the company’s products and services
 Manages administrative duties assigned by the chief executive officer in an effective and
timely manner
 Consistently stays abreast of any new information on the organizations’ products,
promotional campaigns etc. to ensure accurate and helpful information is supplied to
clients when they make enquiries.

Cleaners:

 Responsible for cleaning the eye care hospital facility at all times
 Ensure that toiletries and supplies don’t run out of stock
 Handle any other duty as assigned by the admin and HR manager.

SWOT Analysis

Eye Foundation Care Hospital, is set to become one of the leading eye care hospitals in Karu
which is why we will take our time to conduct due diligence prior to setting up the business.

Even though our Chief Medical Director (owner) has a robust experience in optometrist industry,
we still went ahead to hire business consultants that are specialized in setting up new businesses
to help our organization conduct detailed SWOT analysis. This is the summary of the SWOT
analysis that was conducted for Eye Foundation Care Hospital, ;

 Strength:
Our strength lies in the fact that we have a team of qualified professionals manning various job
positions in our hospital. As a matter of fact, they are some of the best hands in the whole of
Karu. Our location, the business model we will be operating on, multiple payment options, well
equipped medical call center and our excellent customer service culture will definitely count as a
strong strength for us.

 Weakness:

Our perceived weakness lies in the fact that we are just starting out and we may not have the
required finance to sustain the kind of publicity that we intend giving the business and also the
finance needed to acquire some of the latest medical and eye care surgical equipment et al.

 Opportunities:

The opportunities that are available to eye care service providers are unlimited and we are going
to position our eye care hospital to make the best out of the opportunities that will be available to
us in Karu.

 Threat:

Just like any other business, one of the major threats that we are likely going to face is economic
downturn and unfavorable government policies. Another threat that may likely confront us is the
arrival of a new eye care hospital in same location where our own is located.

MARKET ANALYSIS

 Market Trends

The eye care industry has benefited from favorable government policies, favorable demographic
trends, technological advances and of course continuous awareness of eye hygiene. Nevertheless,
better eye care has slightly suppressed the revenue generated in the industry.

So also, limited patient access to eye care, due to nearly one-half of states in the United States
only covering emergency eye care for Medicaid patients, has caused some eye care hospitals to
lower prices and cut into profitability.

The industry has recently begun consolidating due to the pressures of healthcare reform. The
truth is that the demand for eye care services has steadily grown over the last five years, as eye
care reform legislation broadened insurance coverage and the plummeting unemployment rate
increased disposable income.

As an investor in the Optometrists cum eye care industry, in order to maintain an advantaged
position in this competitive industry, you should source for the most skilled and specialized eye
care professionals.
One thing about this industry is that labor costs is on the high side. However, hospitals have also
faced nurse and optometrist shortages and have struggled to recruit qualified personnel. Industry
profitability has generally risen over the past five years due to increases in service prices. No
doubt, the industry will continue to grow and become more profitable because of the increasing
awareness of eye hygiene.

 Our Target Market

We will ensure that we target but self – pay customers (who do not have health insurance cover),
and those who have health insurance cover. The fact that we are going to open our doors to a
wide range of customers does not in any way stop us from abiding by the rules and regulations
governing the industry in the United States. Our customers can be categorized into the following;

 The whole residents within the area where our eye care hospital is located
 Corporate organizations such as banks, insurance companies, manufacturing companies,
oil and gas companies et al
 Schools
 Health Management Organizations (HMOs)

Our Competitive Advantage

Aside from the competitions that exist amongst various eye care hospitals, they also compete
against other healthcare service providers such as hospitals, health centers and community
hospitals that provide eye care services. To be highly competitive in the industry means that you
should be able to deliver consistent quality eye care service and should be able to meet the
expectations of your patients at all time.

Our eye care hospital facility is well positioned (centrally positioned) and visible, we have
enough parking space with good security. Our staff are well groomed in all aspects of eye care
service delivery and all our employees are trained to provide customized customer service to all
our patients.

We are going to make use of specialist equipment and facilities, we have good proximity to key
markets and we can boast of maintenance of excellent customer relations.

Lastly, all our employees will be well taken care of, and their welfare package will be among the
best within our category in the industry. It will enable them to be more than willing to build the
business with us and help deliver our set goals and achieve all our business aims and objectives.

SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY

 Sources of Income

Eye Foundation Care Hospital will ensure that we do all we can to maximize the business by
generating income from every legal means within the scope of our industry. Below are the
sources we intend exploring to generate income for Eye Foundation Care Hospital;
  Conduct eye examinations
 Diagnose, manage and treat disorders
 Prescribe and sell eyeglasses and contact lenses

Sales Forecast

Our sales forecast is based on the data gathered during our feasibility studies, market survey and
also some of the assumptions readily available on the field.

We have been able to examine the eye care market, we have analyzed our chances in the industry
and we have been able to come up with the following sales forecast. The sales projections are
based on information gathered on the field and some assumptions that are peculiar to similar
startups in Karu.

Below is the sales projection for Eye Foundation Care Hospital, it is based on the location of our
hospital and of course the wide range of our services and target market;

 First Fiscal Year: #9,550,000 (From Self – Pay Clients / Patients): #650,000 (From
Health Insurance Companies)
 Second Fiscal Year: #3,800,000 (From Self – Pay Clients / Patients): #550,000 (From
Health Insurance Companies)
 Third Fiscal Year: #860,000 (From Self – Pay Clients / Patients): #300,000 (From
Health Insurance Companies)

N.B: This projection was done based on what is obtainable in the industry and with the
assumption that there won’t be any major economic meltdown within the period stated above.

Marketing Strategy and Sales Strategy

The marketing and sales strategy of Eye Foundation Care Hospital will be based on generating
long-term personalized relationships with customers. In order to achieve that, we will ensure that
we offer all – round eye care services at affordable prices compared to what is obtainable in
Karu.

All our employees will be well trained and equipped to provide excellent and knowledgeable eye
care services and customer service. We know that if we are consistent with offering high quality
eye care service delivery and excellent customer service, we will increase the number of our
customers by more than 20 percent for the first fiscal year and then more than 30 percent
subsequently.

We hired experts who have good understanding of the optometrists cum eye care industry to help
us develop marketing strategies that will help us achieve our business goal of winning a larger
percentage of the available market in Karu.

In summary, Eye Foundation Care Hospital, will adopt the following sales and marketing
approach to win customers over;
  Introduce our business by sending introductory letters to residents, business owners and
corporate organizations in and around Karu
 Advertise our eye care hospital in community based newspapers, local TV and radio
stations
 List our eye care hospital on yellow pages’ ads (local directories)
 Leverage on the internet to promote our eye care hospital
 Engage in direct marketing
 Leverage on word of mouth marketing (referrals)
 Enter into business partnership with health management organizations, government
agencies and health insurance companies.
 Attend health care related exhibitions

Publicity and Advertising Strategy

We have a long term plan of opening our eye care hospital in key cities around Wisconsin which
is why we will deliberately build our brand to be well accepted in La Crosse before venturing
out. Here are the platforms we intend leveraging on to promote and advertise Eye Foundation
Care Hospital.

 Place adverts on both print (community based newspapers and magazines) and electronic
media platforms
 Sponsor relevant community health programs
 Leverage on the internet and social media platforms like; Instagram, Facebook, twitter,
YouTube, Google + et al to promote our brand
 Install our billboards on strategic locations all around Karu.
 Distribute our fliers and handbills in target areas
 Ensure that all our workers wear our branded shirts and all our vehicles are well branded
with our eye care hospital’s logo et al.

Our Pricing Strategy

Eye care hospitals, hospitals and health care service providers usually leverage on the fact that a
good number of their clients do not pay the service charge from their pockets; private insurance
companies, Medicare and Medicaid are responsible for the payment. In view of that, it is easier
for eye care hospitals, hospitals and health care service providers to bill their clients based in
their discretion.

 Payment Options

The payment policy adopted by Eye Foundation Care Hospital is all inclusive because we are
quite aware that different customers prefer different payment options as it suits them but at the
same time, we will ensure that we abide by the financial rules and regulation of the Abuja.

Here are the payment options that Eye Foundation Care Hospital, will make available to her
clients;
  Payment via bank transfer
 Payment via credit cards
 Payment via online bank transfer
 Payment via check
 Payment via mobile money transfer

In view of the above, we have chosen banking platforms that will enable our client make
payment for our services and products without any stress on their part.

Startup Expenditure (Budget)

If you are looking towards starting a standard eye care hospital, then you should be ready to raise
enough capital to cover some of the basic expenditures that you are going to incur. The truth is
that starting this type of business does not come cheap.

You would need money to secure a standard eye care hospital facility, acquire ophthalmic
medical equipment and you would need money to pay your workforce and pay bills for a while
until the revenue you generate from the business becomes enough to pay them.

The items listed below are the basics that we would need when starting our eye care hospital in
the United States, although costs might vary slightly;

 The Total Fee for Registering the Business in the United States – #271,000.
 Legal expenses for obtaining licenses and permits – #521,500.
 Marketing promotion expenses for the grand opening of Eye Foundation Care Hospital,
in the amount of #83,500 and as well as flyer printing (2,000 flyers at #300 per copy) for
the total amount of – #121,580.
 The cost for hiring Business Consultant – #92,500.
 The cost for Computer Software (Accounting Software, Payroll Software, CRM
Software, Microsoft Office, QuickBooks Pro, drug interaction software, Physician Desk
Reference software) – #247,000
 Insurance (general liability, workers’ compensation and property casualty) coverage at a
total premium – #123,400.
 The cost for payment of rent for 12 months at #900,076 per square feet in the total
amount of #4,105,600.
 The cost for eye care hospital remodeling (construction of racks and shelves) –
#4,207,000.
 Other start-up expenses including stationery (#105,000) and phone and utility deposits
(#2,500).
 Operational cost for the first 3 months (salaries of employees, payments of bills et al) –
#2,300,000
 The cost for Start-up inventory (stocking with a wide range of contact lens, lens, glass
frames and pharmaceutical items et al) – #150,000
 Storage hardware (bins, rack, shelves,) – #83,720
 The cost for Drugs Supplies (Injections, Bandages, Scissors, et al) – #983,000
 The cost for eye care / ophthalmologist medical equipment – #500,000
  The cost for the purchase of furniture and gadgets (Computers, Printers, Telephone, TVs,
tables and chairs et al): #865,000.
 The cost of Launching a Website: #90,700
 Miscellaneous: #410,000

We would need an estimate of $700,000 to successfully set up our eye care hospital in Karu.

Generating Startup Capital for Eye Foundation Care Hospital

Eye Foundation Care Hospital is a private business that is solely owned and financed by Dr.
Elena Pedro. She has decided to restrict the sourcing of the startup capital to 3 major sources.
These are the areas Eye Foundation Care Hospital intends to generate our startup capital;

 Generate part of the startup capital from personal savings

 Source for soft loans from family members and friends
 Apply for loan from the bank

N.B: We have been able to generate about #2,400,000 (Personal savings #1,650,000 and soft
loan from family members #850,000) and we are at the final stages of obtaining a loan facility of
$500,000 from our bank. All the papers and documents have been signed and submitted, the loan
has been approved and any moment from now our account will be credited with the amount.

Sustainability and Expansion Strategy

The future of a business lies in the number of loyal customers that they have, the capacity and
competence of their employees, their investment strategy and business structure. If all of these
factors are missing from a business, then it won’t be too long before the business closes shop.

One of our major goals of starting Eye Foundation Care Hospital, is to build a business that will
survive off its own cash flow without the need for injecting finance from external sources once
the business is officially running. We know that one of the ways of gaining approval and
winning customers over is to offer our eye care services a little bit cheaper than what is
obtainable in the market and we are prepared to survive on lower profit margin for a while.

Eye Foundation Care Hospital, will make sure that the right foundation, structures and processes
are put in place to ensure that our staff welfare are well taken of. Our organizations’ corporate
culture is designed to drive our business to greater heights and training and retraining of our
workforce is at the top burner.

We know that if that is put in place, we will be able to successfully hire and retain the best hands
we can get in the industry; they will be more committed to help us build the business of our
dreams.
Check List/Milestone

 Business Name Availability Check: Completed

 Business Registration: Completed
 Opening of Corporate Bank Accounts: Completed
 Securing Point of Sales (POS) Machines: Completed
 Opening Mobile Money Accounts: Completed
 Opening Online Payment Platforms: Completed
 Application and Obtaining Tax Payer’s ID: In Progress
 Application for business license and permit: Completed
 Purchase of Insurance for the Business: Completed
 Leasing of facility and remodeling the facility to suit the design of our eye care hospital:
In Progress
 Conducting Feasibility Studies: Completed
 Generating capital from family members: Completed
 Applications for Loan from the bank: In Progress
 Writing of Business Plan: Completed
 Drafting of Employee’s Handbook: Completed
 Drafting of Contract Documents and other relevant Legal Documents: In Progress
 Design of The Company’s Logo: Completed
 Printing of Promotional Materials: In Progress
 Recruitment of employees: In Progress
 Purchase of Eye care/Medical Equipment et al: In Progress
 Purchase of the needed furniture, racks, shelves, computers, electronic appliances, office
appliances and CCTV: In progress
 Creating Official Website for the Company: In Progress
 Creating Awareness for the business both online and around the community: In Progress
 Health and Safety and Fire Safety Arrangement (License): Secured