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Just been approached with this offer...

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Jason_Fisher

I have received a letter today from a business who are setting up a website to help rejuvinate my local town. They are wanting to get local businesses involved from the beginning and create a website that is a hive of activity.

Included in this letter/pack they have included plans they have, and all the profits the company make will be re-invested to make the website/service better, and they will also invest in community projects etc. I really do like the sound of their plan, however, they are looking for 'x' amount of businesses to invest £250 into this project, to get the best website they can get with some really good features for the customers.

In return for the £250 i will get advertising for the whole year, a full page that is customizable, so what do you think to this?

I like the idea of rejuvinating my local town, as i think all area could do with a boost, and the plans they have put forward are really good, and the profits will be re-invested so i do like the concept. I am just wary of the initial £250. Should i be sceptical as to why they are not paying for this? Are they doing it to get local businesses involved or just for the money?
 
Seems the wrong way round to me Jason, usually you pay to advertise on an established website that's proven. These guys seem to want you to fund their initial business expenses.

The only saving grace would be if was a local council/chamber of commerce website that are genuinely interested in promoting the town and will insure it's an ongoing project.
 
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I think that's a fab idea, but I also think you're right to be wary, I would've thought something like this, a community effort as it were, would have some sort of local meeting/whatever to discuss the plans, is anything like that mentioned?
 
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They did not promote it as an advertising cost to me. They said they wanted local businesses to get involved to make the website the best it can be. They were upfront in saying the money will be used to create the website etc, but they listed all their ideas for the website and the community when it is live, and they were really good ideas. They are local people who genuinely do want to do something good for the area, i think they just lack the initial funding (which i do know a little about myself).

I think £250, what if it is not as good as it initially sounds, waste of money, but then i think, you pay £250 for 1 months advertising in some places, what if this concept does work, then i have helped set it up and also i get 1 years advertising on the back of it?

I think its a tough one!
 
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Thanks Bridges, yes they mentioned that they are sending this letter/pack to all local businesses and anyone interested they are having a meeting at a local venue with free tea/coffee etc, dates to be confirmed. This will give them an opportunity to talk about their plans and i assume, overcome any issues/objections?
 
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Your interests need to come first. Don't advertise and don't spend a penny until it's proven that it is generating traffic.

You could very, very easily end up spending £250 and completely wasting every penny.
 
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Sounds to me that they are more interested in funding this project with yours & others money if you ask me :rolleyes:
 
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If it is a community enterprise then they will get funding. I am setting up one such enterprise in my locality. OK it is easy or me as I will get the site built etc. BUT there is funding available as it is being set up as a community enterprise.

No-one will make money from it., advertising and affiliate stuff will be involved, and ALL money will be distributed into community projects.

Sorry but seems to me like they have embarked on a fund raising excercise for their business venture.

Now I might be wrong here, but the question that needs to be asked is who is building the website, and will any of these 'community spirited' people be getting any form of remuneration.
 
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I am unsure of the exact terms, however, i expect they will take a salary from the business? They mention that PROFITS will be re-invested. I assume they take a salary and just re-invest the profits. They will surely be making money from the project?
 
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One of charities I am connected to was contacted in respect of advertising in certain local papers and magazines for the cost of £250.00.

Our less than savvy Patron, gave the go ahead - quess what - I have never seen or read anything further from said company.

It's a good idea only if it works, and whilst £250 does not sound a lot, if they manage to sign up a lot of people that could soon run into thousands.

Sit back and wait to see if the website takes off, my own view is, it will not.
Have you checked out whose these people are, and asked who else they have signed up, they should have no problems telling you, as their so called investors will be listed on the site if and when it happens.....

I also cannot see how one website, with a few businesses listed will help re-generate the area.

Poppy xx
 
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They have been open with who they are, included names, pictures, address, phone numbers etc. They are from the area. I have seen some scams in my time, but from the first sight they do seem genuine people, wanting to do something for the area, but make money themselves too. They have been open and honest thet they will take a salary from the website. Theri aim is to get the town online, so help the businesses that may not have an online presence, get everyone online, get people viewing the site into the town centre, buying from the local smaller shops, who offer great service. The rejuvination will come when the website makes money, so they can invest in community projects. They have one plan which will generate a few jobs too.

It is something the town could really benefit from, i am just wary of the initial outlay, but on sayingthat, they could genuinely not have the funds but have the ideas? Does that make me part with my cash though? ...
 
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Jason_Fisher said:
They have been open with who they are, included names, pictures, address, phone numbers etc. They are from the area. I have seen some scams in my time, but from the first sight they do seem genuine people, wanting to do something for the area, but make money themselves too. They have been open and honest thet they will take a salary from the website. Theri aim is to get the town online, so help the businesses that may not have an online presence, get everyone online, get people viewing the site into the town centre, buying from the local smaller shops, who offer great service. The rejuvination will come when the website makes money, so they can invest in community projects. They have one plan which will generate a few jobs too.

It is something the town could really benefit from, i am just wary of the initial outlay, but on sayingthat, they could genuinely not have the funds but have the ideas? Does that make me part with my cash though? ...
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Jason the company that ripped our Charity off, had an office, landline etc, and sounded 'genuine' they even printed a glossy brochure.

There appeal to the Charities they contacted was 'we will get you noticed, and hopefully by investing £250.00 your Charity will reap the rewards".

I wonder how many charities gave of their money - and saw zilch.

I am not saying these people are not genuine, but some people go to a lot of trouble to make a scam seem genuine, its not all hooky emails and badly spelt letters - they also appeal to your weak and passionate areas, ie with you, your business and your Town.

Poppy xx
 
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I have suggested to them, instead of getting businesses to fund the idea, why not search for a local web Development company who could maybe partner the project, as they say the money is mainly needed for the website. When they have got the site online, if its what they say it will be then i'm sure businesses will then get involved.
 
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Poppy, thanks. I did try and thank you for your post but there was no tab to do so :)
 
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They said they needed £6k for the website, and to be honest for the features they want to include i would say it is about right. They have had quotes as high as £11k if you can believe that.

When i was looking for a website i got quotes from £250 all the way to £4k. I know someone in America who has done something similar and his site cost £15k to develop, but he did it gradually.
 
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Jason_Fisher said:
I have suggested to them, instead of getting businesses to fund the idea, why not search for a local web Development company who could maybe partner the project, as they say the money is mainly needed for the website. When they have got the site online, if its what they say it will be then i'm sure businesses will then get involved.
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Yes, flush them out a bit more, I take it they are not approaching any local papers!!

POppy xx
 
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If they are drawing a salary, then it is not really a community project is it! What they want is for people to fund their business venture to earn them money, while removing all the risk from themselves.

Now don't get me wrong here, I am not saying it is a scam, I am not saying they are poor, I am just saying that many ventures fail, and most of them fail with good intentions.

If they were spending their OWN money I bet the would be doing things differently.
 
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I don't know much more than i have already mentioned. I am still wary, so i will take the advice, not invest but monitor and see if the site does appear.

It does sound like a great idea! If its done right it could work well in our area.
 
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What it will be is just another local directory

See ours will be a completely different beast. We don't NEED advertisiers as I am carrying the cost. we DO need to help OTHERS raise funds. so the way WE are doing it is to empower people by having a regular newsletter, having a whats on section (also promoted in the mailshot) to encourage people to attend and support events.

We are allowing businesses to advertise pretty much for free, which in turn encourages them to support the local activities financially and physically (although if they fail to support they will find themselves being asked to pay to continue the advertising.

We are helping people get in touch, we are working to encourage groups to be successful by ensuring they use a forum to bounce ideas off the people who will be the ones attending.

Funds will be raised through external advertising and affiliate deals etc. Also donations from community spirited individuals.

On a regular basis, funding donations will be handed out by ourselves to other community projects.

people are encouraged to contribute to the site with their content about everything from WI to cake mamking to junior rugby. We will in effect be a community newspaper online. AND, because of this, we can get some funding, which will go into marketing it around the area via offline methods.

Honestly I believe this project you speak of is a pure business project, riding on the back of a community project, but ultimately , set up to make the owners money.
 
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OldWelshGuy, Where are you based? That sounds great what you are doing, i like how instead of charging for advertising you are getting businesses to support events etc, so their money is going directly into the community.

I told my friend who does alot of Social Media work for local businesses in my area about this letter/pack i received and he said that is something he has been looking into for a while, but has just been a little busy to move things forward.

Where would he apply for funding for a community project like this and what is the criteria. I would love to help him with something like this. We both have really good contacts in the local area...might even be able to show the guys who sent this letter how to do it properly ;)
 
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Hi Jason

I am in this marketplace and can confirm that I am in agreement with most of the other posters, that it is a risk free way for these people to make money.

If after meeting them you really do feel it is a great opportunity, offer to pay monthly on standing order, starting only when the site appears include a clause on any agreement stating you may cancel your mandate should they not deliver what they promise.

This narrows your risk significantly and if these guys are genuine they shouldn't object.
 
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furrycoat said:
...I am in agreement with most of the other posters, that it is a risk free way for these people to make money.

If after meeting them you really do feel it is a great opportunity, offer to pay monthly on standing order, starting only when the site appears include a clause on any agreement stating you may cancel your mandate should they not deliver what they promise.

This narrows your risk significantly and if these guys are genuine they shouldn't object.
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100% agree.

I have been running a site like this for a few years now. Our subscribers pay by standing order and may cancel at any time.

It does, on the face of it, sound like it is being run as a 'business' with the intention of making money for the owners but there is nothing wrong with that as long as they are up front about it.

Assuming they are genuine I am very pleased to see this happening. IMO this is far better than having companies like thebestof.co.uk suck money out of your local economy with their centrally-controlled, one-size-fits-all directries etc.

Regards

Dotty
 
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I could set up a website like that for peanuts. I think you'll find its just going to be another local web directory. If they can't set it up themselves for a couple of hundred, then how internet proficient are they really?

50 businesses paying £250 is a cool £12,500. Nice little earner with no guarantees.

I would avoid it, if it were me. But up to you
 
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steviemac said:
I could set up a website like that for peanuts. I think you'll find its just going to be another local web directory. If they can't set it up themselves for a couple of hundred, then how internet proficient are they really?...
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Without seeing the specifications how can you say it could be set up for peanuts.

You could not get the functionality we have for under 12.5k unless you had somebody working for peanuts. :rolleyes:

Regards

Dotty
 
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DotNetWebs said:
Without seeing the specifications how can you say it could be set up for peanuts.

You could not get the functionality we have for under 12.5k unless you had somebody working for peanuts. :rolleyes:

Regards

Dotty
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Without going too in depth into that site that I could quite easily get that done for under 12.5k, probably for half!
 
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Smarter Webdesign said:
Without going too in depth into that site that I could quite easily get that done for under 12.5k, probably for half!
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Really? How about these features:

A bespoke parser that converts rightmove .blm files to local data model.

Coupons generated on-the-fly with unique serialised barcodes.

A REST based web service / API exposing JSON data for the entire directory, coupons and local news.

A bespoke data model and back end admin system allowing businesses to administer their own data, issue coupons etc. etc.

The data model itself compasses every business and location in the town and is tightly-coupled to all other features like the coupons and property etc..

The data component itself runs to over 6000 lines of C# code (albeit that includes some whitespace).

Regards

Dotty
 
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DotNetWebs said:
Really? How about these features:

A bespoke parser that converts rightmove .blm files to local data model.

Coupons generated on-the-fly with unique serialised barcodes.

A REST based web service / API exposing JSON data for the entire directory, coupons and local news.

A bespoke data model and back end admin system allowing businesses to administer their own data, issue coupons etc. etc.

The data model itself compasses every business and location in the town and is tightly-coupled to all other features like the coupons and property etc..

The data component itself runs to over 6000 lines of C# code (albeit that includes some whitespace).

Regards

Dotty
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Don't get me wrong I was not doubting the site or saying anything bad about it but if you could get 12.5k just for the code then fair play to you. I assume you developed it all when you thought of the idea so you were the correct person for the job. Rather than a representative of the Town or a company trying to market it who pays you 12.5k and THEN has to make a profit themselves.

Sorry if I caused offence.
 
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Smarter Webdesign said:
... if you could get 12.5k just for the code then fair play to you...
Click to expand...

What I am saying is that if somebody came to you with the specification for this site, which includes a lot of things I haven't even mentioned, (e.g custom, approved Facebook application etc.) I honestly don't think you could do it for £12.5K - and if you could you would be selling your self massively short.

Or are you saying you could do it for this amount? because if you are I think OP should ignore his existing offer and take you up on yours.

Regards

Dotty
 
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Smacks of local directory website to me. There are thousands out there, Whitby has about 10 different websites at the moment run by businesses, individuals or charities, or even the tourism association. What tends to happen is that you have 200 businesses in the area but they each advertise on the different directories, so each directory reaches a saturation point at just 20 businesses max, you won't get any more paying customers than that.

If you're willing to hand over £250 then..just don't..sorry to the person who's setting this thing up but we couldn't even get a business to pay £36 a year for a fully customisable webpage on our directory a couple of years ago, they just weren't interested, they were already on several different directories as it was, some were free, why pay.
 
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