Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

I`m looking for some advice on what some consider a crazy notion. I started a business about 4 years ago, www.MoonTownCafe.com  This website has grown in popularity and become what some regard as the premier poetry and writing website. I`m in the process of building a new website using the exact model of our poetry site. The new website will use the same interactive features of www.MoonTownCafe.com but will be geared towards sports training.

I`m in the final stages of constructing this site, and plan to be live by November 1, 2006. My business partner and I are considering bringing in a 3rd partner for this project, one with marketing and advertising skills, skills that we lack. The questions are whether this makes economical sense and if so, what are some outlets for finding people would consider a venture like this. Thanks,

Kyle O.    

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Visit our poetry website today at:

www.moontowncafe.com

Maybe partnering isn`t an exact fit for this need.  It sounds a bit steep to create a partner to market.  Wouldn`t hiring someone, virtual marketer, be better suited at first?  You can always upgrade the candidate to a partner later.

If the monetary capital isn`t available to pay for services, then I presume this is why partnering is the vehicle of choice?

Take it slow.  Require any potential candidate to produce a portfolio of works, examples of successful campaigns, and lead-generating techniques.

Good luck!


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Kyle - you mentioned in the MoonTown Cafe thread (nice site btw) that you`re really in the poetry site for the love of it and the fun - not for the money - and that the revenues are small enough that you wouldn`t still be running the site but for your love of it.

Is this new sports training site designed to run on a different economic model? In other words - are you expecting it to turn a large enough profit to interest and incentivize a new partner who isn`t in it just for the love of sports training? If not, do you have a budget/funds that will allow you to hire a marketing/advertising person as a consultant and still get out of the new site what you need?

If neither of these are the case, your best bet might be to post some more details about what you`re specifically trying to accomplish and what hurdles you need to overcome to succeed - and see what ideas this community can offer. You also should be able to find a SCORE counselor (free service) with a marketing and advertising background.     

Michael

 

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Michael Zucker - Strategic Planning, Marketing & Communications info@zuckerconsulting.com · www.zuckerconsulting.com “Helping You Over The Hurdles – Keeping You Focused On The Finish Line”

William and Zman, thanks for the great advice. You both brought up points that I had not considered. I`m going to look into a SCORE counselor next week.

I am running www.moontowncafe.com because I enjoy it, but it does bring in a little money as well. It`s not enough to raise a family on, but every bit helps. With our new sporting site, I expect to make much more money. First, it`s a much more popular subject, so with a high quality, unique site our traffic will be much higher. Additionally, advertisers (like google`s adsense) pay websites based on how much people bid on keywords. On our poetry website, we serve primarily poetry keywords, for which we average about 8c per click. Sporting keywords, however, average closer to 30c per click. So with an increased traffic and more per click, this should do quite well based on advertising alone.

Someone with good marketing and sales skills could also help build the business side of this site. Maybe we could serve as a middleman for companies that sell sporting equipment. Thanks again for all your help,

Kyle
ceo@moontowncafe.com  

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Visit our poetry website today at:

www.moontowncafe.com

Kyle, it`s a good call to head to SCORE.  It sounds to me you are making a prudent choice.  Keep at it.  Your idea will grow.  Take care.

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