Ok. First of all, lay off MO for once guys/ gals. MO, like any other business, is trying to SURVIVE. Sure, they love motorcycles as much as we do, but, in the end, a mere passion for motorcycles doesnt put bread on the table (well, unless, of course, your name is something like Rossi, Edwards, Bostrom, Corser, Bayliss, etc
). As such, I think MO should be commended for providing free content for the past several years. I for one enjoy reading MOs articles and their insights as well as witty banter
Now, the following is directed more to MO
The term business model is often misunderstood and has a plethora of definitions by all kinds of professionals
In general, a business model is how the company makes money so as to stay afloat. Plain and simple. The idea of subscription based or advertising based models is misleading; they are but several ways to generate cash flow/ revenue
that does not necessarily show how a business actually creates a PROFIT. A company can only stay afloat if you have a PROFIT. Though people with a finance background will swear by cash flow, what good does cash flow do if you cant hang on to? Obviously, there are tremendous expenses that are incurred with running any kind of business; as one poster said, just trying to keep the site up and running costs MO thousands of dollars. Never mind the office, servers, bandwidth, etc., etc., etc. somebodys gotta pay the bills
subscription/ advertising revenue is but one way to solve that problem; what that doesnt address is how you turn a profit
To that end, what you guys really need to do is figure out what your strategy is. What is the purpose of your existence? Are you a content provider? Retailer? Portal site? Etc., etc., etc. You need to ask yourselves, "What BUSINESS are we in?" Your answer to that question will make it quite clear what direction you need to take.
Furthermore, you need to address key issues that MUST be dealt with. Competition is one; you have numerous print magazines, not only from the U.S., but, globally. Then there are the hundreds of online e-zines that provide what most consumers perceive to be the same thing
information. How are you going to deal with them? What sets you apart from them? What can you do to set yourselves apart from them?
What about technology? From hackfus post, Im assuming you guys are running a SQL backend to this site with numerous other web-technologies that in and of themselves are difficult (and expensive) to implement and upkeep. Is there anything that MO can take advantage of and use to create a competitive advantage over your competitors? And for the record, the sites design is LONG overdue for a change. Your competitor, MCN, has changed the look of their site something like 3 times over 2 years or so (very generous approximations
). Your site, however, looks EXACTLY the same as it did in 1997! From there, your adoring readership may sense a lack of value
almost if they are getting second rate stuff when they really arent. Presentation counts for something nowadays on the Web ya' know
Your hits are tremendous. Can you attract INVESTORS, not advertisers, with that? By addressing some of the above mentioned issues, MAYBE you can attract venture capital and infuse it into your company.
No, I am not the CEO of MO and by no means am a pro at solving business problems
Im just another dude who happens to like motorcycles who doesnt what to see MO go down the tube
Whatever the case, Im hoping MO can figure out what they want to do and begin to make improvements as a company. And no, you cant hold me responsible if you try out what I said and nothing works out! =) As hackfu said, you guys read all the posts and Im just trying to help out
but, hey, what do I know about running a business
Flame away if yall want, nit-pick if you must; but remember, minime wanted informed posts
. Im not arguing with anyone here nor do I intend to. But, perhaps at this critical juncture, MO really needs to refocus instead of just trying out the latest because everyone else is doing it
Oh, btw, the person who demanded to know MOs financial information should be caned. A donation is just that; A DONATION. Once you give it, thats it. That does NOT make you a shareholder in the company with vested interest and MO doesnt have any social responsibility to divulge company information like that to anyone especially so in a public forum. Shame on you.