ux

Table of Contents

Mission statement Objectives Keys to success Executive summary Venture history Venture description Venture organization Venture market Venture operations Industry Financial Profile US Market Research Branding

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mission statement
Flux35 is a leader in providing innovative interior design/ architectural services to our customers by creating a successful partnership with them throughout the design process. We aim to ensure the longevity of our company through customer satisfaction, by exceeding the expectations of our clients. Our mission is to continue offering the highest level of professionalism, honesty, and integrity to our clientele.

keys to success
Provided the highest quality of interior design/architecture consulting experience possible. Retain clientele to generate repeat services and initial referrals. Utilizing a diverse staff of architects and interior designers in order to provide a wide variety of design styles. Maintaining an array of local and international connections.

objectives
The objectives for the first three years of operation include: Develop an architecture/interior design agency that will grow to profitability within year two. Create a company whose primary goal is to exceed customers expectations. Create a firm that provides the target customers with valuable services and provides the owner with a flexible, creative, fun, and profitable business opportunity. Creating new niche in market by Year 4 of three dimensional construction documents and interactive digital presentation to clients.

executive summary
Flux 35 is a PA venture between that specializes in architecture/ interior design services for commercial and corporate office, hospitality, government, residential, and retail projects based out of Greensboro, NC. The firm focuses its efforts on client satisfaction, while serving as an instrument for economic growth. Through the use of technologically advanced processes, Flux 35 provides increased value for clients and enhanced design. The clientele we are seeking are segmented into the following categories: contractors, developers, government, and homeowners. After 10 years of successful practice, the firm is in a mature, yet ever evolving state of development. Flux 35s uniqueness stems from its innovation and design prowess. The firms current proprietary rights are our intellectual property, relative to our designs previously created, as well as currently evolving projects.

venture history
Flux 35 was formed in 2001 as a result of the collaborative efforts of fellow UNCG Alumni. After winning numerous design excellences awards in school, Flux 35 emerged from a collective of pre-existing friendship of talented designers. Following the completion of multiple successful interior design projects together in school, Fluxs partners Dasso, Willis, and Linn decided to form a firm. What followed was innovative projects that caught the eye of the public worldwide. Marketing promotion has been driven by word of mouth promotion, as well as the reputation earned via positive press.

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venture description
Flux 35 is in the business of designing buildings, interiors, and everything that falls under the category of built environment. After 10 years of successful practice, the firm is in a mature, yet ever evolving state of development. Flux 35s uniqueness stems from its innovation and design prowess. The firms current proprietary rights are our intellectual property, relative to our designs previously created, as well as currently evolving projects.

venture organisation
Flux Thirty-five is an Architecture and Interior Architectural Design Firm established as a PA, (professional association). Principal designers are: Brittany Dasso, Tiffany Garber, Kurt Huizenga, Jeff Linn, and Kristen Willis. Principals biographies and credentials are as follows:

Brittany Dasso principal

Brittany Dassograduated from UNCG with a degree in Interior Architecture in 2012. She is a partner in the firm FLUX 35. When working on the project for Stockholm, Sweden she primarily focused on model making and form making. She worked in furniture and product design, and also focused on residential interior design. She has a focus on sustainability and biomimicry.

Tiffany Garber partner

Tiffany Garber has 10+ years of professional experience in the design field. Starting as a college graduate from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in Interior Architecture. From there she went straight into Haute Design located in Charleston, SC. Over the course of her next 3 years there she had much experience working with not only residential interior design, but commercial including small local banks, health care and retail design. She also specialized in hospitality design during her time there. After leaving Haute Design she transferred to Archer and Buchanan Architecture Firm where she worked for the next 5 years on many Historical preservation projects for private residences as well as commercial work on higher education projects and continued her specialty in hospitality design. During her time at Archer and Buchanan she received her NCIDQ as well as LEED accreditation. She has now been at Flux 35 for the past 2 years and has continued to show exceptional work for our team in not only her specialty of hospitality design, but all over the spectrum as well.

Kurt Huizenga partner

Kurt Huizenga specializes in GSA projects and has been a practicing architect for the past ten years. He has been a member of the Flux 35 team heading up the GSA division for the past two. Previously working for the Bjarke Ingels Group, he was a principal member of their team developing experimental architectural solutions for environmental design. This experience allows him to bring a new, innovative approach to GSA services and is reshaping the direction of Flux 35s sustainability programs. Kurt graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2011 with an undergraduate degree in interior architecture, and has continued his education at The Catholic University of America earning masters degrees in architecture and urban planning in 2016.

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Jeff Linn principal

With 15 years of practice, Principal Jeff Linn brings award winning ideas to Flux 35. Inspired by the natural world and how humans relate to it, Linn has an eye for innovation. Blurring the boundaries between interior and exterior, and daring to question the status quo, Linns work for Flux 35 is driven by his ability to build on precedents set by the past in order to design for the future. Linn has dedicated his work with the Flux 35 design team to creating iconic monuments of architecture that stand the test of time.

Kristen Willis principal

Kristen Willis received her Bachelors Degree in Interior Design from UNCG where she graduated Magna Cum Laude. As an undergrad, she served on the Interior Architecture Professional Advisory Board [1999-2003] She then went on to receive her Masters in Architecture at NC State University. Upon graduation, she was offered a job at HMC Architects in Los Angeles, CA where she worked for 5 years. In her last two years at the firm she served as a project manager of the interiors studios. In 2007 she was awarded Designer of the Year when she entered into and won the Mecklenburg Pro-Design Competition amongst 500 other talented designers. In 2008, she received the National Interior Design Award for exceptional and exemplary work in interior design. She is currently a practicing interior designer at architectural/interior design firm FLUX35 in, Greensboro, NC where she is one of 4 principals. She has adapted to many aspects of design as her range of expertise varies from interiors to landscapes. She is a member of AIA, ASID, IIDA, and is LEED Accredited.

Key support groups for the Flux 35 design team include the following Junior Designers: Charese Allen, Young Moon, Katie OBoyle, Tristan Olarti, and Brittany Styles. Marketing and branding services for Flux 35 are handled exclusively by global firm, EYE ARC 451. Account managers and creative directors for Eye Arc 451 include: Michelle Bodon, Brianna Cerame, Hannah Daugherty, Kevin Lahti, Alyssa Thrower, and Missy Wicker.

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venture market
Market competition analysis - see attached US MARKET RESEARCH document. Major competitors include but are not limited to: Tertia Design Studios, Trace Ink, Helix Design, as well as a variety of other firms from Austria, Denmark and the United Kingdom. Some of these firms strengths come from their background in interiors as well as their global perspective of design. Flux 35 distinguishes itself from the competition via its innovative approaches to merging interior and exterior environments.

venture operations
Flux 35 operates on an annual budget of $500,000. Ten percent of annual gross profits are dedicated to reinvestment in bidding on new projects, marketing and promotional opportunities, as well as market research and development. Within the next three years, we expect to reach $102,000 on the first year and increase to $500,000 by the third year of operation. We will be profitable within three years of starting. The most significant challenges ahead include securing a suitable location, establishing the initial client base, and ultimately positioning the firm to be able to have a presence in a larger, global market. This business plan outlines the objective, focus, and implementation of this start-up firm.

venture financing
Flux 35s startup costs were initially financed by each of the firms founding principals in 2001 when the firm was created. The five founding partners each brought an equal investment of $100,000 to finance the companys first three years of operation. Since the start-up costs have been recovered, Flux 35 operates on a 6 equal shareholder model for any annual net profits. Each partner receives a full share, while the remaining sixth share is divided among the firms junior designers on a seniority basis. Architectural Services Industry Analysis - see attached INDUSTRY FINANCIAL DOCUMENT.

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Industry Financial Profile

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Income and Expense- Profit and Loss ($)

2005 Business Revenue Cost of Sales Gross Margin Officers Comp Salary-Wages Rent Taxes Paid Advertising Benefits-Pensions Repairs Bad Debt Other SG&A Exp. EBITDA Amort-Deprec-Depl Operating Expenses Operating Income Interest Income Interest Expense Other Income Pre-Tax Net Profit Income Tax After Tax Net Profit 4,544,386 1,556,907 2,987,479 239,489 1,019,306 121,790 179,958 18,632 135,877 14,088 10,907 867,523 379,909 152,237 2,759,807 227,672 28,175 51,806 127,697 331,738 112,628 219,110 2006 4,676,372 1,506,727 3,169,645 222,128 1,134,488 106,154 183,781 21,511 131,874 15,432 8,417 858,582 487,278 138,888 2,821,255 348,390 35,073 62,196 107,089 428,356 145,641 282,715 2007 4,766,174 1,546,147 3,220,027 219,721 1,153,414 102,949 181,115 23,831 139,649 15,252 6,673 960,861 416,562 111,052 2,914,517 305,510 34,793 59,577 161,573 442,299 150,382 291,917 2008 4,728,041 1,596,659 3,131,382 217,963 1,075,157 93,142 181,557 32,151 139,477 15,130 8,510 969,248 399,047 95,979 2,828,314 303,068 26,477 87,942 82,268 323,871 109,560 214,311 2009 4,861,270 1,756,377 3,104,893 183,756 1,084,063 87,989 166,255 25,279 143,407 17,501 6,806 951,837 438,000 99,656 2,766,549 338,344 17,014 80,697 147,296 421,957 143,465 278,492 QII-10 4,912,175 1,794,418 3,117,757 187,645 1,109,660 89,893 169,961 26,035 146,874 17,684 6,877 972,119 391,009 101,682 2,828,430 289,327 5,403 39,789 187,645 442,586 150,479 292,107

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Income and Expense- Profit and Loss %

2005 Business Revenue Cost of Sales Gross Margin Officers Comp Salary-Wages Rent Taxes Paid Advertising Benefits-Pensions Repairs Bad Debt Other SG&A Exp. EBITDA Amort-Deprec-Depl Operating Expenses Operating Income Interest Income Interest Expense Other Income Pre-Tax Net Profit Income Tax After Tax Net Profit 100.0% 34.26% 65.74% 5.27% 22.43% 2.68% 3.96% 0.41% 2.99% 0.31% 0.24% 19.09% 8.37% 3.35% 60.73% 5.01% 0.62% 1.14% 2.81% 7.30% 2.48% 4.82% 2006 100.0% 32.22% 67.78% 4.75% 24.26% 2.27% 3.93% 0.46% 2.82% 0.33% 0.18% 18.36% 10.41% 2.97% 60.33% 7.45% 0.75% 1.33% 2.29% 9.16% 3.11% 6.05% 2007 100.0% 32.44% 67.56% 4.61% 24.20% 2.16% 3.80% 0.50% 2.93% 0.32% 0.14% 20.16% 8.73% 2.33% 61.15% 6.41% 0.73% 1.25% 3.39% 9.28% 3.16% 6.12% 2008 100.0% 33.77% 66.23% 4.61% 22.74% 1.97% 3.84% 0.68% 2.95% 0.32% 0.18% 20.50% 8.44% 2.03% 59.82% 6.41% 0.56% 1.86% 1.74% 6.85% 2.32% 4.53% 2009 100.0% 36.13% 36.53% 63.87% 3.78% 22.30% 1.81% 3.42% 0.52% 2.95% 0.36% 0.14% 19.58% 9.01% 2.05% 56.91% 6.96% 0.35% 1.66% 3.03% 8.68% 2.95% 5.73% 63.47% 3.82% 22.59% 1.83% 3.46% 0.53% 2.99% 0.36% 0.14% 19.79% 7.97% 2.07% 57.58% 5.89% 0.11% 0.81% 3.82% 9.01% 3.06% 5.95% QII-10 100.0%

Business Revenue
Includes receipts from core business operations. Interest Income and Other income (such as rents and royalties) are generally detailed separately below Operating Income. While Business Revenue is separated from Interest Income for most classifications, Business Revenue includes interest income from the private sector where it is central to financial industry operations, including Depository Institutions (60xx); Non-Depository Credit Institutions (61xx); Holding and Other Investment Offices (67xx except 6794).

Cost of Sales
Includes materials and labor involved in the direct delivery of a product or service. Other costs are included in the cost of sales to the extent that they are involved in bringing goods to their location and condition ready to be sold. Non-production
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overheads such as development costs may be attributable to the cost of goods sold. The costs of services provided will consist primarily of personnel directly engaged in providing the service, including supervisory personnel and attributable overhead.

Gross Margin
Represents direct operating expenses plus net profit. In addition to the labor portion of Cost of Sales, wage costs are reflected in the Officers Compensation and Wages-Salary line items. In many cases, SG&A (Sales, General and Administrative) costs also include some overhead, administrative and supervisory wages.

Rent
Covers the rental cost of any business property, including land, buildings and equipment. The Taxes paid line item includes payroll other paid-in tax items, but not business income taxes due for the period. Although it can be calculated in many ways and is a controversial measure, the EBITDA line item (Earnings before Interest Expense, income tax due, Depreciation and Amortization) adds back interest payments, depreciation, amortization and depletion allowances, and excludes income taxes due to reduce the effect of accounting decisions on the bottom line of the Profit and Loss Statement. Since some firms utilize EBITDA to add back non-cash and flexible expenses which may be altered through credits and accounting procedures (such as income tax), paid-in income taxes from the Taxes Paid line item are not added back in the EBITDA calculation.

Pre-Tax Net Profit

Represents net profit before income tax due. Income Tax calculates the federal corporate tax rate before credits, leaving After-Tax Profit at the bottom line. Advertising includes advertising, promotion and publicity for the reporting business, but not on behalf of others.

Benefits-Pension

Includes, but is not limited to, employee health care and retirement costs. In addition to varying proportions of overhead, administrative and supervisory wages, some generally more minor expenses are aggregated under SG&A (Sales, General and Administrative).

Operating Expenses
Sums the individual expense line items above, yielding the Operating Income or net of core business operations, when subtracted from the Gross Margin.

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Balance Sheet - dollar-based

Assets Cash Receivables Inventory Other Current Assets Total Current Assets Gross Fixed Assets Accumulated DepreciationAmortizationDepl Net Fixed Assets Other NonCurrent Assets Total Assets Liabilities Accounts Payable Loans/Notes Payable Other Current Liabilities Total Current Liabilities Total Long Term Liabilities Total Liabilities Net Worth Total Liabilities & Net Worth 306,910 382,415 457,920 1,147,245 552,378 206,637 146,767 524,875 878,279 549,288 247,431 120,020 573,350 940,801 902,085 315,734 267,382 496,515 1,079,631 877,201 1,041,767 38,113 617,262 1,697,142 1,323,456 424,610 144,548 644,013 1,213,171 1,209,299 2005 451,806 1,058,902 44,630 194,112 1,749,450 1,222,879 535,868 2006 524,875 881,186 36,619 200,824 1,643,504 1,217,316 501,248 2007 530,411 972,126 36,956 271,365 1,810,858 1,551,637 481,542 2008 494,350 1,151,078 44,022 254,753 1,944,203 1,422,388 434,619 2009 635,224 1,155,231 44,247 344,773 2,179,475 1,915,530 527,465 QII-10 572,169 1,211,020 41,299 305,014 2,129,502 1,893,971 522,593

686,880 620,547 3,056,877

716,109 546,672 2,906,285

1,069,972 638,816 3,519,646

987,617 676,574 3,608,394

1,387,855 813,524 4,380,854

1,371,378 801,145 4,302,025

1,699,623 1,357,254 3,056,877

1,427,567 1,478,718 2,906,285

1,842,886 1,676,760 3,519,646

1,956,832 1,651,562 3,608,394

3,020,598 1,360,256 4,380,854

2,422,470 1,879,555 4,302,025

Cash

Money on hand in checking, savings or redeemable certificate accounts.

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Receivables
A short-term asset (to be collected within one year) in the form of accounts or notes receivable, and usually representing a credit for a completed sale or loan.

Inventory
The stockpile of unsold products.

Current Assets
The sum of a firms cash, accounts and notes receivable, inventory, prepaid expenses and marketable securities which can be converted to cash within a single operating cycle.

Fixed Assets
Long-term assets such as building and machinery, net of accumulated amortization-depreciation-depletion.

Total Assets
The sum of current assets and fixed assets such as plant and equipment.

Accounts Payable
Invoices due to suppliers within the current business cycle.

Loans/Notes Payable
Loan amounts due to suppliers within the current business cycle.

Current Liabilities
Measurable debt owed within one year, including accounts, loans and notes payable, accrued liabilities and taxes due.

Long Term Liabilities

Debt which is due in more than one year, including the portion of loans and mortgages that become due after the current business cycle.

Total Liabilities
Current Liabilities plus Long Term Liabilities such as notes and mortgages due over more than one year. Net Worth: Current assets plus fixed assets minus current and long-term liabilities.

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Balance Sheet - percentage-based

Assets Cash Receivables Inventory Other Current Assets Total Current Assets Gross Fixed Assets Accumulated DepreciationAmortizationDepletion Net Fixed Assets Other NonCurrent Assets Total Assets Liabilities Accounts Payable Loans/Notes Payable Other Current Liabilities Total Current Liabilities Total Long Term Liabilities Total Liabilities Net Worth Total Liabilities & Net Worth 10.04% 12.51% 14.98% 37.53% 18.07% 7.11% 5.05% 18.06% 30.22% 18.90% 7.03% 3.41% 16.29% 26.73% 25.63% 8.75% 7.41% 13.76% 29.92% 24.31% 23.78% 0.87% 14.09% 38.74% 30.21% 9.87% 3.36% 14.97% 28.20% 28.11% 2005 14.78% 34.64% 1.46% 6.35% 57.23% 40.00% 17.53% 2006 18.06% 30.32% 1.26% 6.91% 56.55% 41.89% 17.25% 2007 15.07% 27.62% 1.05% 7.71% 51.45% 44.09% 13.68% 2008 13.70% 31.90% 1.22% 7.06% 53.88% 39.42% 12.04% 2009 14.50% 26.37% 1.01% 7.87% 49.75% 43.73% 12.04% QII-10 13.30% 28.15% 0.96% 7.09% 49.50% 44.03% 12.15%

22.47% 20.30% 100.00%

24.64% 18.81% 100.00%

30.40% 18.15% 100.00%

27.37% 18.75% 100.00%

31.68% 18.57% 100.00%

31.88% 18.62% 100.00%

55.60% 44.40% 100.00%

49.12% 50.88% 100.00%

52.36% 47.64% 100.00%

54.23% 45.77% 100.00%

68.95% 31.05% 100.00%

56.31% 43.69% 100.00%

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The Balance Sheet reflects average balance sheet percentages and dollars for the industry segment analyzed. Liabilities, net worth and ratios are calculated for each industry segment and class, while asset line items are blended with the closest four digit industry segment.

Sources & Uses of Funds

Change in: Cash and cash equivalents Worksheet: Accounts receivable Inventory Net Fixed Assets Other Non-Curr Assets Accounts payable Loans/Notes Payable Other Current Liabilities Long-term debt Net Worth Total Sources & Uses Cash: Beginning period Cash: End period 177,716 8,011 -29,229 73,875 -98,745 -233,814 69,400 -338 112,905 73,069 451,806 524,875 -90,940 -337 -70,541 -353,863 -92,144 40,504 -27,038 47,894 351,925 200,076 5,536 524,875 530,411 5,536 -178,952 -7,066 16,612 82,355 -37,758 68,303 147,362 -76,835 -24,532 -25,550 -36,061 530,411 494,350 -36,061 -4,153 -225 -90,020 -400,238 -136,950 726,754 -228,547 121,830 448,420 -295,997 140,874 494,350 635,224 140,874 -55,789 2,948 39,759 16,688 12,168 -618,909 106,435 25,436 -116,786 524,995 -63,055 635,224 572,169 -63,055 2006 73,069 2007 5,536 2008 -36,061 2009 140,874 Jan 2010-June 2010 -63,055

Other Curr Assets -6,712

Change in Cash & 73,069 Cash equivalents

Sources and Uses

The Sources and Uses of Funds table tests the accuracy of the balance sheet and distinguishes the sources of funds from their use. It is the basic worksheet preliminary to a formal cash flow statement examining the liquidity of a business. A multi-year industry benchmark common size balance sheet, which includes overlapped but not identical sets of firms in each year, is not well-suited for the presentation of a formal cash flow analysis.

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Financial Ratios: Cash Flow-Solvency

2005 Accounts Payable: Business Revenue (%) Current Liabilities: Inventory (%) Current Liabilities: Net Worth (%) Current Ratio (%) Days Payable (%) Quick Ratio (%) Total Liabilities: Net Worth (%) 0.07 2006 0.04 2007 0.05 2008 0.07 2009 0.21 QII-2010 0.09

25.71

23.98

25.46

24.52

38.36

29.38

0.85

0.59

0.56

0.65

1.25

0.65

1.52 71.95 1.32 1.25

1.87 50.06 1.60 0.97

1.92 58.41 1.60 1.10

1.80 72.18 1.52 1.18

1.28 216.49 1.05 2.22

1.76 86.37 1.47 1.29

Accounts Payable
Business Revenue: Accounts Payable divided by Annual Business Revenue, measuring the speed with which a company pays vendors relative to business revenue. Numbers higher than typical industry ratios suggest that the company may be using suppliers to float operations.

Current Liabilities
Inventory: Current Liabilities divided by Inventory: A high ratio, relative to industry norms, suggests over-reliance on unsold goods to finance operations.

Current Liabilities: Net Worth

Current Liabilities divided by Net Worth, reflecting a level of security for creditors. The larger the ratio relative to industry norms, the less security there is for creditors.

Current Ratio
This is the same as Current Assets divided by Current Liabilities, measuring current assets available to cover current liabilities, a test of near-term solvency. The ratio indicates to what extent cash on hand and disposable assets are enough to pay off near term liabilities. The Quick Ratio is applied as a more stringent test.

Days Payables
365/(Cost of Sales: Accounts Payable ratio): Reflects the average number of days for each payable before payment is made.
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Quick Ratio
Cash plus Accounts Receivable, divided by Current Liabilities, indicating liquid assets available to cover current debt. Also known as the Acid Ratio. This is a harsher version of the Current Ratio, which balances short-term liabilities against cash and liquid instruments.

Total Liabilities
Net Worth: Total liabilities divided by Net Worth. This ratio helps to clarify the impact of long-term debt, which can be seen by comparing this ratio with Current Liabilities: Net Worth. Creditors are concerned to the extent that total liability levels exceed Net Worth.

Financial Ratios: Profitability

2005 EBITDA: Business Revenue (%) 8.36 2006 10.42 2007 8.74 2008 8.44 2009 9.01 QII-10 7.96

Pre-Tax Return 10.85 On Assets (%) Pre-Tax Return 24.44 on Net Worth (%) Pre-Tax Return on Business Revenue (%) After Tax Return on Assets (%) After Tax Return on Net Worth (%) After Tax Return on Business Revenue (%) 7.30

14.74 28.97

12.57 26.38

8.98 19.61

9.63 31.02

10.29 23.55

9.16

9.28

6.85

8.68

9.01

7.17

9.73

8.29

5.94

6.36

6.79

16.14

19.13

17.40

12.97

20.48

15.55

4.82

6.05

6.12

4.53

5.73

5.95

EBITDA
EBITDA: Business Revenue: Earnings Before Interest, (income) Taxes due, Depreciation and Amortization divided by Business Revenue. EBITDA: Business Revenue is a relatively controversial (and often criticized) metric designed to eliminate the effect of finance and accounting decisions when comparing companies and industry benchmarks. Tax credits and deferral procedures and non-cash expenditures (Amortization and Depreciation) are not deducted from the profit equation, as are interest expenditures.

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Return on Assets
Pre-Tax or After Tax Net Profit divided by Total Assets, a critical indicator of profitability. Companies which use their assets efficiently will tend to show a ratio higher than the industry norm. The ratio may appear higher for small businesses due to owner compensation draws accounted as net profit.

Return on Net Worth

Pre-Tax or After Tax Net Profit divided by Net Worth. This is the final measure of profitability to evaluate overall return. This ratio measures return relative to investment, how well a company leverages the investment in it. May appear higher for small businesses due to owner compensation draws accounted as net profit.

Return on Business Revenue

Pre-Tax or After Tax Net Profit Net Profit divided by Annual Business Revenue, indicating the level of profit from each dollar of business revenue. This ratio can be used as a predictor of the companys ability to withstand changes in prices or market conditions. May appear higher for small businesses due to owner compensation draws accounted as net profit.

Financial Ratios: Efficiency-Debt-Risk

2005 Assets: Business Revenue Cost of Sales: Accounts Payable Cost of Sales: Inventory Days Receivables Days Working Capital EBITDA: Interest Expense Fixed Assets: Net Worth Gross Margin: Business Revenue Net Working Capital: Business Revenue 0.67 2006 0.62 2007 0.74 2008 0.76 2009 0.90 QII-10 0.88

5.07

7.29

6.25

5.06

1.69

4.23

34.88

41.15 8.87 68.78 59.73 7.83

41.84 8.72 74.45 66.63 6.99

36.27 10.06 88.86 66.74 4.54

39.69 9.20 86.74 36.22 5.43

43.45 8.40 89.99 68.09 9.83

Days Inventory 10.46 85.05 48.37 7.33

0.51 0.66

0.48 0.68

0.64 0.68

0.60 0.66

1.02 0.64

0.73 0.63

0.13

0.16

0.18

0.18

0.10

0.19

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Assets:Business Revenue
Total Assets divided by Net Business Revenue, indicating whether a company is handling too high a volume of business revenue in relation to investment. Very low percentages relative to industry norms might indicate overly conservative sales efforts or poor sales management.

Cost of Sales
Accounts Payable: Measures the number of times payables turn over in the course of the year. High measures may indicate cash flow concerns. Cost of Sales: Inventory: Reflects the number of times inventory is turned over during the course of the year. High levels can mean good liquidity or business revenue, or shortages requiring better management. Low levels may indicate poor cash flow or overstocking.

Days Inventory
365/(Cost of Sales: Inventory): The average number of days of items in inventory.

Days Receivables
365/ (Receivables Turnover): Reflects the number of days that receivables are outstanding. Target average or lower.

Days Working Capital

365/ (Working Capital Turnover): Expresses the coverage in number of days of available working capital.

EBITDA: interest expense

Earnings before Interest, (income) Taxes due, Depreciation and Amortization divided by Interest expense. Assesses financial stability by examining whether a company is at least profitable enough to pay interest expense. A ratio >1.00 indicates it is. See cautions in the listing for EBITDA.

Fixed Assets: Net Worth

Fixed Assets divided by Net Worth. High ratios relative to the industry can indicate low working capital or high levels of debt.

Gross Margin: Business Revenue

Pre-tax profits divided by Annual Business Revenue. This is the profit ratio before product and business revenue costs, as well as taxes. This ratio can indicate the play in other expenses which could be adjusted to increase the Net Profit margin.

Net Working Capital

Business Revenue: Net Working Capital divided by Business Revenue. Indicates if a company is maintaining a reasonable level of liquidity relative to its business revenue volume. A high ratio indicate an overly conservative reliance on liquid assets, while low ratios suggests the opposite.

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Financial Ratios: Turnover:

2005 Cash Turnover (X) Current Asset Turnover Fixed Asset Turnover Inventory Turnover (X) Receivables Turnover (X) Total Asset Turnover (X) Working Capital Turnover (X) 10.06 2.60 6.62 101.82 4.29 1.49 7.55 2006 8.91 2.85 6.53 127.70 5.31 1.61 6.11 2007 8.99 2.63 4.45 128.97 4.90 1.35 5.48 2008 9.56 2.43 4.79 107.40 4.11 1.31 5.47 2009 7.65 2.23 3.50 109.87 4.21 1.11 10.08 QII-10 8.59 2.31 3.58 118.94 4.06 1.14 5.36

Cash Turnover
Business Revenue divided by Cash. Indicates efficiency in the use of cash to develop business revenue . A more stringent ratio than Working Capital Turnover (below). Target at or slightly below industry level.

Current Asset Turnover

Business Revenue divided by Current Assets. A general indicator of the efficiency of asset use. Target at or slightly below industry level.

Fixed Asset Turnover

Business Revenue divided by Fixed Assets. An indicator of the efficiency of investment in fixed asset such as plant and equipment. Target at or slightly below industry level.

Inventory Turnover
Business Revenue divided by Inventory. This ratio gives a picture of how quickly inventory turns over. Ratios below the industry norm suggest high levels of inventory. High ratios could indicate product levels insufficient to satisfy demand in a timely manner.

Target
At or slightly above industry level.

Receivables Turnover
Business Revenue divided by Receivables. An indicator of how efficiently invoiced sales are collected. Target at or slightly above industry level.

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Total Asset Turnover

Business Revenue divided by Total Assets. Target: at or slightly below industry level.

Working Capital Turnover

Business Revenue divided by Net Working Capital (current assets minus current liabilities). Ratios higher than industry norms may indicate a strain on available liquid assets, while low ratios may suggest too much liquidity. Target: at or above industry level.

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US Market Research

ux

Industry Population Analyzed

2007 Firms: Establishments: Small Businesses: Startups: Branches: 143,273 144,366 142,255 13,018 1,093 2008 110,589 111,529 109,447 11,860 940 2009 130,051 131,034 128,818 11,718 983 June 2010 140,221 141,218 138,964 17,222 997

The Industry Population table displays the number of firms in the industry for five groups:
Establishments
Firms plus Branch operations.

Firms
Independent companies.

Small Businesses
In order to focus the analysis on the small businesses of greatest interest to our users, the analysis defines small businesses as single site firms with fewer than 25 employees. All small businesses are also firms.

Startups
In order to reduce distortion and focus the analysis on the startup population of greatest interest to our users, the startup sales and employment analysis limits the definition of startups to single site firms with fewer than 50 employees, with less than $10m annual sales and reporting one year or less of operation. All Startups are also firms; The overwhelming majority are also small businesses.

Branches
Subsidiary facilities of firms; non- headquarters operations.

The Time Series

The report analyzes trends in three running years, each for the twelve months (real time) ending [2007], [2008] and [2009]. Content is adjusted to account for time lags in raw data. We adjust the time series to compensate; the dates shown generally reflect the actual time series shown in the Time Series table. In some tables 2009 denotes the snapshot at the end of the time series. 2007 is the snapshot at the start of the time series. 1

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Failure Rates
2007 Firms Firms: Establishments: Small Businesses: Startups: Branches: 143,273 144,366 142,255 13,018 1,093 2009 Survivors 73,116 73,835 72,237 7,165 1,234 Failure Rates 48.97% 48.86% 49.22% 44.96% -12.90%

Failure Rates
Failure rates track the actual experience of business establishments, firms, small businesses, startups and branches doing business at the start of the time series, and still in operation today. Survivors are business operations within a given category which have maintained operations for at least three years. Throughout the report, Survivor measures isolate and report on these ongoing firms. As a result, these Survivor benchmarks display experience- rated measures, rather than snapshots of the industry at a particular point in time. Firms which have experienced a transfer in ownership but continue as independent firms are considered survivors. Firms which relocate but maintain independent operations are considered survivors if they do not move out of the jurisdiction being analyzed. Firms which are purchased or merge and become subsidiary locations, or whose location is terminated, are grouped with the failures. Any business entity which does not evidence ongoing operations (for example, by registering with government agencies or credit reporting services) is considered to have ceased viable operations and is classified with the failures. The Failure rate analysis is developed for discrete business segments by segregating the original pool of tracked firms by industry classification, location, and population segment (all firms, small businesses, startups etc.) That beginning universe is segregated and tracked to develop the failure rate for that group. As a result, failure rates occasionally reflect performance above 100% or below 0% due to business migration among industries (changes in primary business line) or (in the case of location- specific failure rates) due to business relocations during the analysis period.

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Industry Market Volume, Average Sales and Sales Class Trends

QII-10 data refers to the 12- months ending June 30. Annual Market Volume ($)
as of 2007: 2008: 2009: June 2010: 25,484,909,253 26,404,765,732 22,043,769,197 25,446,894,255

Industry Market Volume

Reported Annual Market Volume includes industry sales figures from multi- site firms classified in the selected industry, generally including branch revenues. The Market Volume figures include sales of US firms and US- reporting subsidiaries of firms headquartered outside the US. The volume figures are for the industry (firms identifying this as their primary classification) not the product or service. As an example, a report for retail furniture stores analyzes sales of stores whose predominant revenue stream is furniture sales; That data would not include furniture sold at a general department store, for example. Consequently, more detailed industry segments may under- report volume due to the choice of companies to identify a higher level parent classification as their primary line of business.

Average Annual Sales

as of 2007 Avg Sales: 2008 Avg Sales: 2009 Avg Sales: Change: June 2010: Site Sales 182,902 197,651 194,201 6.2% 180,465 Firms 184,297 199,331 195,669 6.2% 181,748 Small Business 169,135 179,512 180,203 6.5% 167,296 Startups 156,314 156,231 152,142 -2.7% 152,834

Average Annual Sales

The Average Annual Sales table displays snapshot average dollar sales for all industry sites (including branches), firms, small businesses and startups in each of the three years in the time series. The Change rows express the growth or decline of these snapshots in percentage terms. Sales will often fluctuate most radically in the startup category (both snapshot and survivor), in part because startup operations are less numerous and differ dramatically in size, growth and, in many cases, failure. While there is significant overlap of firms in each category between years, results can be affected by business failures, mergers and the migration of companies between the three categories. Migration between business classifications has a much lesser impact in most cases.

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Company Sales Class Trends

as of $1 - $500k $500k - $999k $1m - $2.49m $2.5m - $4.99m $5m - $9.99m $10m $24.99m $25m $49.99m $50m $99.99m $100m $249.99m $250m $499.99m $500m$999.99m > $1b unknown Total 2007 firms 140,630 1,749 628 130 60 25 7 3 2 2 0 0 37 143,273 2008 firms 106,956 2,317 691 136 67 32 41 12 3 2 0 0 0 373 110,589 2009 firms 125,804 2,830 734 166 66 0.02% 10 3 1 0 0 0 396 130,051 2007 % 98.16% 1.22% 0.44% 0.09% 0.04% 0.03% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.03% 100% 2008 % 96.71% 2.10% 0.62% 0.12% 0.06% 0.03% 0.01% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.34% 100% 0.01% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.30% 100% 2009 % 96.73% 2.18% 0.56% 0.13% 0.05%

Company Sales Class Trends

This large table classifies the number of industry firms which fall into each of thirteen sales classes. Data is displayed as the number of firms in each of the three years of the time series. The fourth column displays the distribution of Survivor firms (only those tracked from Yr1 and still in operation) through the same sales classes. Each of the final four columns corresponds to the first four by year, and displays the distribution as a percentage of all firms for that year. Firms which do not report sales are noted in the unknown row, while the final row sums the total number of firms in the industry in each of the years and for the survivor category. The analysis in the Company Sales Class Trends table is deepened by reading it in conjunction with the Market Share by Sales Classand Average Annual Company Sales by Class tables on the following page.

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Market Share by Sales Class ($ million)

as of $1 - $500k $500k - $999k $1m - $2.49m $5m - $9.99m $10m $24.99m $25m $49.99m $50m $99.99m $100m $249.99m $250m $499.99m $500m$999.99m > $1b unknown Total 2007 21,803.8 1,219.0 907.2 401.8 370.4 235.3 195.1 206.3 617.2 0.0 0.0 6.2 26,404.8 2008 16,862.5 1,659.3 976.0 451.5 435.6 483.8 399.6 194.2 220.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 361.2 22,043.8 2009 19,750.4 2,055.3 1,043.7 552.2 413.9 646.2 340.7 189.3 100.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 355.1 25,446.9 2007 % 82.58% 4.62% 3.43% 1.68% 1.52% 1.40% 0.89% 0.74% 0.78% 2.34% 0.00% 0.00% 0.02% 100% 2008 % 76.50% 7.53% 4.43% 2.05% 1.98% 2.20% 1.81% 0.88% 1.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 1.64% 100% 2009 % 77.61% 8.08% 4.10% 2.17% 1.63% 2.54% 1.34% 0.74% 0.39% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 1.40% 100%

$2.5m - $4.99m 442.5

Market Share by Sales Class

This table displays the total reported dollar sales volume (market share) captured by firms in each of 13 sales categories in each of the three years of the time series. The percentage of total sales is displayed in the four corresponding columns on the right. Projected sales for non- reporting firms are displayed in the unknown cells.

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Average Annual Company Sales by Class

as of $1 - $500k $500k - $999k $1m - $2.49m $2.5m - $4.99m $5m - $9.99m $10m - $24.99m $25m - $49.99m $50m - $99.99m $100m - $249.99m $250m - $499.99m $500m- $999.99m > $1b unknown 2007 155,044 696,970 1,444,586 3,403,846 6,696,667 14,816,000 33,614,286 65,033,333 103,150,000 308,600,000 0 0 167,568 2008 157,658 716,142 1,412,446 3,319,853 6,501,493 15,118,750 33,300,000 64,733,333 110,050,000 0 0 0 968,365 2009 156,993 726,254 1,421,935 3,326,506 6,271,212 15,760,976 34,070,000 63,100,000 100,100,000 0 0 0 896,717

Average Annual Company Sales by Class

This table displays the average firm sales within each industry sales class, indicating a benchmark within that peer group. The average sales figure is derived by dividing the total market share within each sales class by the number of firms in the class. Reported sales are utilized, capturing revenue from all headquarters and branch operations of multi- site firms.

Market Share by Segment (% total industry sales)

as of 2007: 2008: 2009: Firms 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% Small Business 91.12% 89.13% 91.22% Startups 7.71% 8.41% 7.01%

Market Share by Segment

The share of total industry market volume captured by each category of firms is displayed as a percentage for each year of the time series. Naturally, the (all)Firms category captures 100% of the snapshot sales in each year. To the right, the Small Business and Startup shares of total market volume is displayed.

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Facility Employment Class

as of 2007 2008 2009 June 2010 % 2007 2008 2009 June 2010 81.55% 72.54% 75.24% 75.78% 12.81% 18.88% 16.54% 16.23% 3.24% 5.18% 5.00% 4.90% 1.51% 2.26% 2.12% 2.04% 0.43% 0.63% 0.57% 0.54% 0.14% 0.20% 0.17% 0.16% 0.04% 0.05% 0.04% 0.04% 0.01% 0.01% 0.01% 0.01% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.29% 0.26% 0.29% 0.30% 1 emp 117,726 80,898 98,590 2-4 emps 18,491 21,052 21,670 5-9 emps 4,674 5,777 6,558 6,919 10-24 emps 2,173 2,515 2,784 2,878 25-49 emps 618 699 750 760 50-99 emps 200 224 220 224 100-249 250-499 500-999 > 1000 emps emps emps emps 51 53 58 54 14 15 13 13 4 4 5 4 0 0 0 0 N/A 415 292 386 427

107,014 22,925

Facility Employment Class

Using the same general format as the previous Sales Class Trends table, the Facility Employment Class analysis displays the distribution of industry establishments (not just firms, and including branches) among ten employment size categories. An eleventh column on the right reports the number of industry establishments which do not identify employment data. In the second set of rows in the table, the row labels are repeated and table cells display the percentage of establishments in each year which are distributed among the same employment categories. This analysis method makes it possible to observe significant shifts in employment, toward larger or smaller operations in a more granular way than average employment data alone (below) can indicate. In this regard, survivor percentage changes between employment categories may be especially noteworthy.

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Branding Guidelines

ux

corporate signature
The flux 35 corporate brand is simple and easy to read. Consistency of the signature is paramount to keeping flux 35 a recognisable name. The number 35 features overlapping characters to represent the companies fluid design. text

graphic

colour palettes
The colour palette represents core identifiability of the company. In print, or online materials, colour codes should be used in order to ensure precision of colour consistency.

Orange
tint: 100% - 75%
cmyk: 0,35,87,0 rgb: 251,176,60 hex:FBB03C

Grey
tint: 80%

Black
tint: 100%
cmyk: 0,0,0,100 rgb: 35,31,32 hex:231F20

cmyk: 0, 0, 0, 80 rgb: 51, 51, 51 hex:333333

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headings
For all documents of correspondence branding is to be used in the fullest. With alternatives for black and white, personal stationary, and any other aspects in which colour is not availiable or cost effective.

1. standard header

2. personal stationary

3. black and white header

footers
On the footers of any page the standard footer should be used, if there are multiple pages, a page number should be issued to the designated area.

1. standard header 1
branding page number

2. personal stationary 1

3. black and white header 1

branding

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typography
For titles and headers helvetica neue has been selected due to its modern style and ease to read. In all cases kerning should be set to +5 to improve legibility at smaller sizes. Helvetica neue ultralight has also been selected for in text annotations. In these cases the graphic style should still be followed.

helvetica neue ultralight ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789!@$%#^&*() helvetica neue light ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789!@$%#^&*()
headline option 1 all lesser case helvetica neue ultralight 18 headline option 2 normal title case helvetica neue ultralight 14 annotation/subtext option 1 lower case helvetica neue ultralight10 annotation/subtext option 2 this is a sample of annotation/subtext lower case helvetica neue ultralight 8

This is a Sample of Headline Text

This Sample of Headline Text

this is a sample of annotation/subtext

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typography
For body type hoefler text has been selected for its, serifed font giving excellent contrast of shape style to helvetica neue. It has been reserved for body text of phamphlets or letters, or other text based applications.
body text option 1 normal case hoefler text 10

hoefler text ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789!@$%#^&*()

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer quis erat turpis. Proin et fringilla tellus. Sed scelerisque sodales nulla quis iaculis. Vivamus turpis orci, congue vitae adipiscing in, bibendum sodales nisi. Maecenas neque diam, aliquam id eleifend sed, tincidunt facilisis nibh. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. In varius sagittis augue, ut mollis nisl consectetur nec. Proin consectetur est sed nisl dictum placerat. Proin convallis rutrum dignissim. Maecenas rhoncus ornare lectus ac iaculis. Morbi luctus nulla id est aliquam sodales. Aenean sed aliquam eros. Aliquam auctor sagittis sapien, in faucibus turpis molestie sed. Etiam tristique facilisis turpis id vestibulum. Curabitur eu dui in nisl ullamcorper placerat. Nam semper risus justo, vel dignissim elit. Duis eu ante et leo volutpat consectetur nec non dui. Phasellus fringilla pulvinar congue.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer quis erat turpis. Proin et fringilla tellus. Sed scelerisque sodales nulla quis iaculis. Vivamus turpis orci, congue vitae adipiscing in, bibendum sodales nisi. Maecenas neque diam, aliquam id eleifend sed, tincidunt facilisis nibh. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. In varius sagittis augue, ut mollis nisl consectetur nec. Proin consectetur est sed nisl dictum placerat. Proin convallis rutrum dignissim. Maecenas rhoncus ornare lectus ac iaculis. Morbi luctus nulla id est aliquam sodales. Aenean sed aliquam eros. Aliquam auctor sagittis sapien, in faucibus turpis molestie sed. Etiam tristique facilisis turpis id vestibulum. Curabitur eu dui in nisl ullamcorper placerat. Nam semper risus justo, vel dignissim elit. Duis eu ante et leo volutpat consectetur nec non dui. Phasellus fringilla pulvinar congue.

body text option 2 normal case hoefler text 8

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business cards
Business cards issued to associates of flux 35 will follow a consistent outline as illustrated.

front side

flux
john smith | principle
reverse

branding

name/title

portrait

DEEL ,ABIR ,AIA 4321.765.633

qualifications/contact

moc.53xulf@htimsj anilorac htron | orobsneerg

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