Adopting the best strategy to start a business is guided by several factors such as understanding the type of client, the advertisement media, the availability of resources, among other playing core elements. In the wake of modern technology, small enterprises find it hard to determine the right approach to enter the market. Domination of large corporations scares the new entrants, as they find little space to occupy. Despite the challenges presented by large organizations, the management can leverage on the skills of the professionals to compete favorably.

Business Process Models

Process modeling is the activity of representing the business in manner that is easy for analysis by an expert. The approach is aimed to give a complete thought of how the business runs and probably recommended the best way to achieve the set objectives. In most instances, the professionals entrusted with this work ends up advocating for inclusion of the modern technologies and automation of the activities (Majzner 2015, n.p). The adoption results in high-quality services and heightens the rate at which deliverables are advanced to the clients. Despite the challenges that come along with the transition to more recent technology, the management can trace and reach out to the customers irrespective of geographic limitation.

A small enterprise such as CC Music could adopt certain models, which would help in determining the requirements regarding labor, physical assets, software among others (Krishnaiah 2012, n.p). To have a glimpse of what the business would entail, it is, therefore, paramount to discuss two models that are essential to CC Music. One is the model to check the payments of services offered to the preferred clients. To ease the processes of dealing with cash, it’s essential to have a system that will allow seamless communication between the CC Music directly, to avoid the time latency of collecting the payments. The figure below shows the existing structure.

Again, CC Music could segment its processes into different departments, in order to ease the flow of information and serve the customers better. Research conducted by SookLing (2017, p.9) opined that dividing the tasks into various sections allows the professionals to concentrate on what they know best. Also, identification of flaws in the process of service delivery is easily noted before the problem causes an overhaul in the company. With that, the figure below illustrates a typical proposed model of communications, connecting the management and the administration to the main server.

SWOT Analysis for CC Music

Just like any other industry, CC Music would be faced by a lot of issues while executing the task of offering the services to the customers. Some of the playing factors will come from within the business itself while others will be contributed from the external environment. Whichever the source, understanding the best way to handle them ameliorate the chances of being faced out of the huge music industry.  The SWOT analysis is represented below.

Strengths The CC Music has highly experienced top management. The two partners have been teachers of music and served a huge base of clients in their previous engagements. Due to this reason, the agent stands a chance of excelling in the market, due to the presence of the administration that understands the turmoil and opportunities in both local and international market.The agent has an able band that comprises of a team of six. This is enough to start off the business and probably increase the number depending with the future market.The CC Music has a chance to make more money from other bands, which have sought engagement with them at a fixed fee. Having managed all sorts of the band in different platforms such as TV, playing at parties among others, the agent stands a chance to leverage on the huge network. The output is translated into increased returns.

Weaknesses The agency lacks the modern software to market and conduct other activities such as payments and notifying the customers of the services.Lack of appropriate methods of keeping business records would increase the chances of making errors while documenting data from a plethora of clients. Software such as Enterprise Resource Management would improve the services at this point.Limited aggregation and analysis of the current market present the agency with the challenge of identification of rivals in the same industry. As a result, the management might end up making decisions that might harm the business in the future.The poorly developed business model would contribute to the failure of the main objective. The business lacks a proper model of digital content.

Opportunities There is a huge gap that has not been filled in terms of technology. The agencies can leverage on the modern technology to improve the service delivery and ways of doing things.New customer segments in the market present the company with the chance of growth. As it was noted in the case study, the two partners are experienced in the field of music. They have also conducted several presentations, and it’s clear that there is a huge untapped market. Uses of social Media platforms contribute to the improvement of the band.The music industry is ever growing. People are continually seeking entertainment as a way of spending luxury time and improve talents. CC Music has the potential to reach out to a huge number of willing stakeholders.

Threats Online piracy which threatens the gains of the agency. Presently, people can easily access the content via the digital platforms hence lowering the chances of buying the original content from the agency.Competitors might defame the band, and influence others to boycott the shows. This would affect the CC Music negatively, and cause it to lose ticket fees.The national wide legislative hurdles mitigate the coverage of the agency. Music bands are associated with immoral activities. Thus, the management has to take considerable time to explain their agenda to the public and the relevant authorities.

Open Source Software Comparison

Open source software are developed and deployed to the anonymous user because they are designed collaboratively (Dierynck and Labro 2018, p.112).  The source codes are made available to any person; hence they can be manipulated to the likeness of the individual or an organization. The modification is made depending on the type of work that the user intends to execute with the software. People prefer to use them because of reasons such as security, easy to control, allow training and are always considered stable. Due to the mentioned reasons, the startups such as CC Music can employ the same strategies to benefit from the programs. The following table compares the various open source software, based on selected characteristics.

Software	Linking	Distribution	Modification	Sub-Licensing
Mozilla	It allows linking of the code licensed under a different entity. This way, the individuals or organizations are able to make modifications based on what they want the customers to search on their website. Again, the linking is fast and gives the user an excellent experience(Urbinati 2018,n.p)	The distribution is copylefted. The users are allowed to distribute the product to the third party while maintaining the same rights as the owner is preserved.	The organizations and individual willing to use Mozilla as the browser are allowed to modify the source code, and integrate what they feel would suit their business well. The allowable space gives a startup a greater advantage in marketing the products.	Again, Mozilla can be sublicensed based on the user’s likeness. The organization willing to do so should connect with the original developers, to have some of the inclusions done to favor the business operations.
Netscape	Linking of Netscape with another code is limited. The developers of the software only allow the user to a certain level of access, which limits the authority to use it efficiently. It is rarely utilized due to minimal freedom attached to it compared to others like Chrome, Mozilla, and Firefox.	The distribution is not well defined. Due to its limitation, third parties have little access to the source code. The rigidity of operation makes it hard to make modifications.	The modification is also limited to only a few elements that are stipulated in its operation manual. The organization or individual cannot insert codes of their choice.	Sub-licensing of this software is also not clearly defined, making its usability hard for the clients.
Word press	It allows linking of another code that is licensed under a different name. The users can, therefore, design the word press to appear the way they want. The software contains features, which make it easy to be modified to improve the marketing capabilities.	The distribution is permissive, allowing more than one party to modify the similar software.  One single word press site can be used by same people, which is a plus to the users.	The modification is easy and user-friendly. One does not require any form of training to post content or change the settings of the word press.	Sub-licensing is allowed, as the original copyright is not affected.  The users can add more insightful and useful information, which might improve the functionality of the software.
Microsoft	The software allows linking with other licensed codes. The capability has enabled the users to be able to do their tasks effectively. More features can be added to improve the usability.	The distribution is permissive. The organizations have an unlimited capability to allow the third parties to make any meaningful changes.	The modification of Microsoft is not restrained by any contributing factor. The organizations and individuals can alter the source codes to improve the efficiency.	Sub-licensing is not allowed. The owner aims to retain the full control of the software to maintain the security.

Report

The music industry is changing with time, and the ability to retain the competitive edge succumbs to a lot of deception from the rivals. A new entrant in the market is expected to override the current hurdles, through investing in research and analysis of the markets they aim to venture into(Jain and Yadar 2017,p.53). Despite the availability of the modern platforms to popularize the business, the management should always strive to cause internal disruption, by investigating some of the factors that might impede its growth. The CC Music, as an entrant in the industry is exposed to technical feat and challenges, considering that it has never operated on its own.

The major challenge is representing other bands effectively and determining how to charge the fees while still retaining the membership. As it was eluded earlier, the partners have enough knowledge in the sector of music, as they have represented various bands in different levels. Again, they taught music thus has a complete understanding of what is needed to make the listeners happy. However, the essence of management in totality is not fully represented in the agency. Aspects such as the proper keeping of accounts and effective use of appropriate management software have not been wholly  integrated into the company. The following paragraphs will outline how the proposed changes can be achieved for the benefit of the business.

Current Situation of CC Music

The current position of CC Music is presented with a lot of opportunities that have not yet been tapped. In the realm of technology, much has not been done, which positions the agency at the possibility of immediate growth should the management allow integration of the appropriate software. According to the research conducted by Karmarkar and Apte (2007, p.432), the modern businesses are competing by strength and stability of the technologies that they use to execute the services. As at now, the agency has a plethora of options to choose from. With the availability of experienced staff, CC Music can leverage on experience to enter new markets that have never been explored before.

McClain and Thompson (2014, p.533) opines in his study that most of the startups are failing to experience tremendous growth due to lack of skilled professionals to offer guided decisions. According to his assertion, the new entrants prefer the use of cheap labor, which in most instances comprises of inexperienced individuals. As a way to remain on top of others, human capital is an important asset, for any business, since it directs the direction in which the organization takes in regards to decision making and offering the services(Rekhter 2012,p.35).  The experts can research the prevailing music industry, and evaluate the content to play at specific events. Furthermore, CC Music is highly connected to diverse clients from different geographic regions. Having been engaged in various events, the partners understand what the people want at specific seasons of the year. As a result, utilizing this chance could lower the marketing cost. Although relying on word of mouth could be tasking to popularize the business, it is proven as one of the best ways to retain loyalty (Sohn and Jeon 2010, p.386). The previous clients spread and recommend the organization to others who might be in need of the similar services.

Data is one of the most important aspects in every industry. Presently, organizations are competing on how to make meaningful interpretations, from the raw information presented in the complicated market (Rekhter 2012, p.28). The music sphere has revolutionized as the time progress, due to the availability of modern technologies. Traditionally, people could gather at common places for concerts and listen to their favorite bands, but the system has metamorphosed. The modern world of social media has made it easy for people to live stream the events, without the need of paying the entry ticket. The big question is how then the CC Music agent should retain its relevancy and attract the people? The question draws to the need of use of efficient software and marketing channels to stay ahead. The agent has not set in place the important tools of aggregating the data from different markets, to study the trends of the content consumption. 

Based on the research conducted by Urbinati (2018, n.p), he noted that the economic performance of different industries could be well understood by analyzing the impact of every component on a certain company. Alongside, the music industry is faced with challenges such as defamation through social platforms like Facebook, Instagram among others (Rekhter 2012, p.37). Such information can lower the performance of the agents, hence affecting the returns negatively. With a stable IT team, the startup can brace the opponents by responding to negative publicity.

Recommendation and Conclusion

The CC Music should invest in the most recent technology to market their services locally and internationally. This could be achieved through the use of available Medias such as Facebook, Whatsapp, among others. Again, the strategy can be achieved through the creation of blogs by use of Word press. In the modern times, people are attracted more to what they can read and see. Educating the populace on the use of brand through the blogs would raise their standard to another level (Urbinati 2018, n.p). Moreover, the management should fund promotional methods in TV, Radios and other Media, to make the agent alive and recognized by stakeholders and event organizers. Third, more performers are needed to supplement the current number. As it was indicated in the previous paragraph, the CC Music has a total of six performers, who are not enough to cater for the future demands. With the kind of network and professional experience that the two partners have, the agent is expected to grow immensely. Having a reserve of employees would improve the efficiency whenever more contracts are signed. Furthermore, the management should invest in reliable methods of accounting (Rekhter 2012, p.38). The services can be accessed from already established accounting companies or employing an in-house expert. The possible challenges are based on finance and the level of competition from other established music companies.

The internal and external analyses of the factors that influence the CC Music indicate that the agent has an opportunity to grow. Understanding the concepts of the markets and the likes of the stakeholders would significantly lower the chances of making errors while positioning the business to the clients. In this regard, what matters in the music business is how well the management can liaise with partners, clients and the recipient altogether. The success of running a viable music industry is pegged to the quality of the content, before focusing on the returns.

Reflection

Small-medium enterprises are faced with a lot of challenges of entering the new market. If the management has never done a similar business before, it becomes a challenge to establish the right channels of communication, to popularize the company to the potential customers. Again, the challenge of choosing the correct software to make the work efficient further heightens the roles of the administration. While the music industry is perceived to be growing at a rapid rate, the ease of accessing the client is blurred by impeding factors such as lack of will by the targeted clients, defamation by rivals and ever-changing technology. Jain and Yadar (2017, p.52) argue that tools that were used to reach out to the clients and stakeholder for the past five years have changed.  Interactive Medis have changed the tradition of consolidating concerts in popular halls, hence the need to change the mode of operation.

In the same vein, the business services model can influence the direction the business heads to. As a startup, it’s difficult to adopt a model for an already running organization. SookLing (2017, p.7) informs that the small enterprises should design their own made strategy to serve the clients, based on the availability of the resources. However, the true elements of running a new business should not be eliminated. For example, the management should focus more on marketing through free media, instead of injecting huge funds to paid platforms. Again, working in terms of milestones would help the company to gauge the short-term achievements, hence forms the basis of shifting decisions to fit the major objectives.

Appendix A: Reflection Self-Assessment Proforma

	80+	70-79	60-69	50-59	40-49	0-40
Quality of contributions	Made several good contributions and one or more outstanding contribution.	Made several good contributions.	Made a few good contributions	Made a few valid contributions	Made 1 or 2 postings, of poor quality	Did not contribute.
Attribution of references	Clear referencing of well-chosen and highly relevant sources	Clear referencing of all sources, some relevant.	Clear referencing of all sources.	Sources generally referenced.	Used ideas/ words of others without attribution.	Cut and paste or absent contributions.
Evidence of collaboration/ facilitation skills	Skill is shown in weaving contributions into the discussions and wiki, and following up on contributions of others.	Skill is shown in weaving contributions into the discussion and wiki or following up on contributions of others	Some evidence of links to contributions of others.	Basic recognition of contributions of others.	Little or no recognition of contributions of others.	None
Reflection on online contributions (in reflective summary)	The deep reflection showed, with clear and substantial evidence from online discussion and wiki	Good reflection, with clear evidence from online discussion and/or wiki	Reflection and evidence offered, limitations in one of these	Reflection and evidence offered, limitations in both of these	Superficial reflection, very limited evidence	Very little or no reflection/evidence.