What is the use of the Occupational analysis of the population in a business plan for a Plumbing and Heating Contractor?

The occupational analysis of the population is key. It gives a business like Central Plumbing & Heating Inc. a very good idea about what the demographics of the target market of Mecklenburg County looks like as it relates to the nature of work. The reason this is important is that as a small business owner you want to see if there is a significant amount of folks working in any one occupation or not - in the event you see that more than 50% of the target market population works in the construction occupation, you may have to adjust your own business model to accommodate for that deviation. Thus if you are a firm that is in the fast food business, you may want to start very early in the morning with coffee and breakfast since construction workers tend to begin work earlier than most and finish up earlier than most.

How would you compare the trends in Mecklenburg County with those in other target markets?

When looking at the business plan for Central Plumbing & Heating Inc. we look at the occupational analysis of the target market of Mecklenburg County and compare it to the occupation analysis of the state of North Carolina. The idea is to get an understanding of just how different or similar Mecklenburg County is compared to North Carolina. For example in rural areas of the North Carolina, we could expect to see a higher amount of the population working in the farming, fishing and forestry occupations as opposed to the urban and developed areas of the state of North Carolina. While the population and households summary gives the reader of the business plan a good idea about the size of the local market, the occupational analysis of the population gives the reader a sense of what kind of customers the business will be marketing its products and services to.

The six major classifications for occupational analysis used by us in this business plan for Central Plumbing & Heating Inc. are:

1. The percentage of the working population of Mecklenburg County and North Carolina engaged in management, business & financial operations.
2. The percentage of the working population of Mecklenburg County and North Carolina engaged in professional and related occupations.
3. The percentage of the working population of Mecklenburg County and North Carolina engaged in service occupations.
4. The percentage of the working population of Mecklenburg County and North Carolina engaged in sales & office occupations.
5. The Percentage of the working population of Mecklenburg County and North Carolina engaged in farming, fishing and forestry occupations.
6. The Percentage of the working population of Mecklenburg County and North Carolina engaged in construction, extraction and maintenance occupations.
7. The Percentage of the working population of Mecklenburg County and North Carolina engaged in production and transportation occupations.

Why has manufacturing been on the decline in target markets like Mecklenburg County County?

Mecklenburg County County like many other parts of the United States has been facing a decline in manufacturing for the following reasons:

1. Automation - we just don't need as many people to manufacturing things as we used to thanks to advancements in robotics and automation.
2. Cost Arbitrage - Cheaper to manufacturer overseas - abundant cheap labor available overseas than in local markets like Mecklenburg County County.
3. Labor Laws Compliance - No problems with labor law compliance. Companies simply shift that burden to third party manufacturers.
4. Lower prices of imports into the United States.
5. International Trade agreements like NAFTA that allow countries with lower wages like Mexico to benefit from financing and subsidies.

What does a high proportion of Management, Business & Financial Operations jobs imply for a business like Central Plumbing & Heating Inc.?

In the event the target market of Mecklenburg County has a large amount of jobs in the management, business and financial operations occupation it almost certainly implies that the target market must have relatively good schools and colleges in the vicinity and that the population is relatively well educated. What this means for a business like Central Plumbing & Heating Inc. is that they will have to make sure that they are able to service their clients needs, and so in the case of business like automotive repair, the business would have to be able to handle repairs for foreign made cars since the folks employed in the management, business and financial operations occupations of the economy may tend to own more foreign made cars due to a higher disposable income when compared to others in the state.

If there is a high degree of Farming, Fishing and Forestry jobs in the Mecklenburg County - what businesses will be affected?

A high degree of jobs in the Farming, Fishing and Forestry jobs in Mecklenburg County simply means that that sector of the local economy is thriving and therefore small businesses that cater to the needs of that occupation will do better than say financial services.

As a general rule, when data for the occupational analysis of the population of Mecklenburg County was collected, the questions were asked of people about their employing organizations; occupation describes the kind of work the person does on the job; and class of worker categorizes people according to the type of ownership of the employing organization. For employed people in Mecklenburg County the data refers to the person's job during the previous week. For those who worked two of more jobs, the data refers to the job where the person worked the greatest number of hours. For unemployed people and people who are not currently employed but report having a job within the last five years, the data refers to the last job.

Occupational classification developed in 2002 were the basis for the classification of the responses to the American Community Survey of Mecklenburg County. The system consists of 509 specific occupational categories, for employed people, including military, arranged into 23 major occupational groups. Some occupations groups are related closely to certain industries. Operators of transportation equipment, farm operators and workers, and healthcare providers account for major portions of their respective industries of transportation, agriculture and health care. However, the industry categories include people in other categories. For example, people employed in agriculture include truck drivers and bookkeepers; people employed in the transportation industry include mechanics, freight handlers and payroll clerks; and people employed in the health care profession include janitors, security guards, and secretaries.

Quick Links:

1. Go to the Corresponding Template section for this industry.
2. Go to the Corresponding Business Plan section for this industry.