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Cash Flow

If it doesn't pertain to metal, wood, wire or fabric—but it is about vintage Chris-Crafts, ask your question or give your advice here.

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gbraker
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Cash Flow

Post by gbraker » Mon Aug 22, 2011 3:21 pm

I can't start a thread where it needs to be, so I started it here. Bill Or someone can move it.

I started this thread to get ideas for saving the club money or increasing revenue. I have some ideas, and I will present each idea in a separate posting. I invite any of you to present your own ideas. Later if the club wants to move forward on a particular idea we can discuss it in a separate thread.
Gary R Braker

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cash flow

Post by gbraker » Mon Aug 22, 2011 3:23 pm

My first idea is to have an auto renew option. We would have to have an automatic process for reminding members that the time was coming close to renewing and that if they didn't opt out it would renew automatically.

This will save in mailings for dues.
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Post by gbraker » Mon Aug 22, 2011 3:25 pm

We should look at having 5 year and 10 year memberships.

Or 3 & 6 years whatever works.

Save some money and get a longer membership.
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Post by gbraker » Mon Aug 22, 2011 3:27 pm

Get the Brass Bell on line.

Its a lot easier to store a cd or dvd than to store 500 lbs of magazines.
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Post by gbraker » Mon Aug 22, 2011 3:29 pm

sell volumes of all the old Brass Bells. Get a years worth for $75.00 . We would have to have the issues scanned, but I would buy them. Get the whole set for $500.00.

Whatever it costs plus some extra for the club.
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Al Benton
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Post by Al Benton » Mon Aug 22, 2011 5:30 pm

Gary, thanks for all the ideas. I think there's a PayPal option for automatic renewal in place. I would need to check with Bill but I think it still works. One year I paid twice, having forgotten about the automatic one.

Paying for more than one year sounds interesting but at today's interest rates there's not much advantage and could lead to future cash flow situations as expenses keep increasing.

Lately we've been getting it on line in a preview. Eventually they are all digitized and saved in the archive. I frequently look through older issues for things of interest. I admit, I would much rather have a hard copy to enjoy and share, maybe I'm old fashioned about that. Maybe it could be an option at some point in the near future. If you want a hard copy, pay extra. I think the ACBS is considering that for their Directory now that it's available on-line.

Many of the old issues are available for purchase in the Club Store. Not all of them are in print. But I would think that a DVD could be created from the archives. Don't have a feel for the initial investment needed to do this in order to have them available. To make them as they're ordered would be a time consuming task for someone, probably Bill...

Thanks much for the thoughts and ideas, hope I didn't shoot too many holes in some of them.

Al

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Post by gbraker » Mon Aug 22, 2011 5:46 pm

To get all the issues scanned would no doubt be expensive. Once it was done it would be easy to make a copy & send it out. Maybe some of the issues are already in a digital format. Always the problem. it cast money to make money. You need money so you don't have enough to pay someone to scan the magazines in order to sell the copies.

Somehow we need a way.
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Post by gbraker » Mon Aug 22, 2011 5:49 pm

As far as automatic renewel. That's something you need to implement when the dues is renewed. Its automatically applied unless you check no.

Maybe the price should reflect which was checked.

Much more effective.
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Post by Stovebolt » Mon Aug 22, 2011 7:31 pm

I like the idea of automatic renewal. It saves me from trying to remember stuff. I'm no good at remembering stuff.

Also, I know that issues are heading towards digitalization, but I'm with Al, I like a hard copy to enjoy and leave on my coffee table. If I have to pay a little extra in the future to receive a hard copy, I would probably opt for that. Unless its a crazy amount.

If you guys wanna see what the Brass Bell COULD look like, this is a friend of mines online car magazine. This is a the kind of template that can be used for the BB.

www.deadendmagazine.com

While your there....feel free to DROOOOOOL 8)
1961 Chris Craft 17' Ski Boat
1973 15.6' Hourston Glasscraft

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Post by kwmpa » Tue Aug 23, 2011 12:07 pm

Same here I like the hard copy...if the club magazine was online only I probably wouldn't renew my membership. That mailed mag is one of the reasons I'm with the club...like I said in another thread....expand the club store...if we got some other stuff in there I'd buy it....also for some fund raising stuff if someone had some parts or memorabilia to auction off I'd do that especially advertising...start a thread with the auction specify an end time and people can bid in a reply...at the end of the auction they send payment to the club and then the item gets sent out...another forum I am on does that and it keeps things going...people would gladly pay a little more money for something when it goes to the club...

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Post by Wood Commander » Wed Aug 24, 2011 12:34 am

If the club would start charging for all those things mentioned above, I would consider not renewing my membership. I know, some of that is optional.

Seriously, I'd like to see the club gain enough help to get the Brass Bells, in printed form, out on time. I would be willing to accept a reasonable dues increase if needed to accomplish that objective. But all that extra payment? Sheez! To me all that is just a bit too much. What's wrong with things the way they are (other than late BB's)? Is the club in such absolute dire straights that those kind of things are necessary? If so it's news to me.

Don't get me wrong, having archives available in digital form is cool. But I'm not ready to give up my old fashioned magazines yet.
Bret

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Al Benton
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Post by Al Benton » Wed Aug 24, 2011 11:01 am

I don't feel that anything brought up so far has included assessing extra payments by the membership. My plea was for those that are willing and able to help the CCABC through the present cash flow situation so that the Brass Bell can get back on track. Once it is, I feel that renewals will level out and membership will again be on the increase, IMHO.

Very unfortunately, this hump does exist. It's causes are multiple, the largest being the loss of the Brass Bell Managing Editor over a year ago. Another may be producing a high quality quarterly publication that stresses the present annual budget.

On the other hand, the CCABC has overcome the loss of the Managing Editor and the Brass Bell remains one of the finest publications available. Albeit almost 2 seasons out of sequence it's still the best of the best and remains one of our most prized assets.

To reduce the quality of the Brass Bell is a choice but one that I would not favor. I like just the way it is. It's a real bargain at our present dues rate. Another choice would be to increase the rate but we would likely experience another reduction in numbers. The ACBS still hasn't recovered from their enormous increase in dues of a few years ago.

The other side of this, the CCABC increased dues over 5 years ago but quickly recovered and began to grow. Expenses have increased tremendously, as Bill pointed out. The government's cost of living index certainly hasn't kept pace with reality over the past few years, especially with increases that affect us as a club.

So, there's a difference in assessing the membership and a simple plea. Maybe both need to be seriously considered.

Al

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Post by farupp » Wed Aug 24, 2011 11:43 am

I would gladly pay more for the annual CCABC membership dues. We are a bargain compared to ACBS and our magazine and member message/information site (Boat Buzz), Trading Dock, Archives and Hull Registry (i.e. everything) are 1000% better. I am a member of both organizations but I visit the CCABC web sites more than once a day while I go to the ACBS site maybe once a month.

Frank
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Post by kwmpa » Wed Aug 24, 2011 12:39 pm

Well I guess my big question is what do our two sponsors do for the club...we need to see a total cost analysis....where all the monies come from....like advertising...I know the magazines I advertise in a full page ad is $4000 a year..half page is $2000 and so on....if advertisers stepped up there would be no issues and the mag would be paid for in just advertising leaving membership to benifit the club in other ways...as much as everyone hates to say it the costs need to increase some place we have to grow with rising costs...

Now to get a membership increase we need to look at some programs to get younger people involved...it's that way in the car restoration field as well...no shift is being made to younger generations because they simply can't afford it....I know it's how things are I'm only 26 and I have 3 friends my age into the old stuff...we need to figure a way to bring the younger generation in at a cost effective way and can increase membership that way

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Post by Chad Durren » Wed Aug 24, 2011 1:17 pm

Shoot my wife Andrea an email. She works for the Brass Bell selling ad space. She'd like to sell you a full page ad for $4,000. It doesn't necessarily need to be a boat related ad. :D
1952 CC 18' Sportsman
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Post by Stovebolt » Wed Aug 24, 2011 2:01 pm

kwmpa wrote: I'm only 26 and I have 3 friends my age into the old stuff...we need to figure a way to bring the younger generation in at a cost effective way and can increase membership that way

I have had this discussion witha few people around here. I have lots of friends into old cars and vintage and retro stuff. I'm 40, and have friends from 19 and up in the custom car circle. The funny thing is, they go through the all the trouble of staying "period correct", but then go and buy a brand new $80,000 wake board boat! I say to them, "wft!?!?". Turns out they never bothered looking for a wood boat, even though they love em, because they think the prices are crazy, and there is no financing or warranty. THEN, I tell them how much I payed for mine, and how much I could find them one for, and put thier heads down and kick the sand in shame. That and theuy think only "old people" have classic boats. I have met PLENTY of people into classic boats that aren't old.


As for $'s to help with the BB, I belong to a message board called the H.A.M.B. (Hokey Ass Message Board), and those guys don't charge for membership or anything like that, they do auctions and sell swag, just like kwmpa had stated in his post. I don't know if there is a person that deals with the mechandise for the CCABC, but some diff hats and some T's, and all of a sudden, money is being made. My car club does a run of "Support" shirts every couple months. We sell em at shows, and they go fast, because they are not only cool, but their isn't alot of them. That could be done here, with great success. There are people on here that can probably draw or paint something cool, or a professionally shot photograph that can be put into a frame. Auction it off, and there is some cash for the club, and someone gets a nice peice for thier wall.

I do it for my car club, and we can do it here. That way there is no raise in dues, nobody has to get worked up over the raising of dues, people get something out of it, besides the Brass Bell, so there is the plus there.

Every club is having funding issues. The good ones will find a nice, clean, crisp way to raise some extra revenue, without offending the whole membership.

Sorry for the long windedness.......hehe...
1961 Chris Craft 17' Ski Boat
1973 15.6' Hourston Glasscraft

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Post by kwmpa » Wed Aug 24, 2011 2:05 pm

Keep in mind the $4,000 I'm spending goes out 12 times a year with a distribution of 70,000 copies a month....I was just using it as an example....but if you expand the magazine a little and take on a couple more advertisers and increase the ad price slightly...it could pay for a big chunk of advertising...obviously the club mag doesnt get that big...but you get where I'm coming from...maybe I'll put an ad in brass bell in our advertising budget...it's not far off topic we are an automotive restoration shop but out speciality is period camping outfitting for people with woody wagons etc...we sell a full line of restored original gas pumps original parts and acc. Nautical antiques hunting fishing camping stuff all pre-1950 and I would gladly pay $4000 to get our club back on track even if I didnt make a dime off of it...

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Post by Chad Durren » Wed Aug 24, 2011 2:22 pm

Now you're talkin'. A "tow vehicle" restoration service displaying one of your cool wagons and one of your boats in tow. I can see it working.

I suspect a lot of the BB readers are car nuts or crossover from the antique and classic auto hobby.

It's worth a shot.

Shoot me a PM and I'll put you in touch with Andrea.
1952 CC 18' Sportsman
1969 CC 19' Commander Super Sport

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Al Benton
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Post by Al Benton » Wed Aug 24, 2011 2:53 pm

That's fantastic and the kind of offer that may help the club get through this cash flow situation.

Ads in the Brass Bell keep our annual dues to a minimum and benefit the businesses and and the hobby. If you're curious of the amount, go to Club Home, then click on Brass Bell at the top, then click on Information about Advertising in The Brass Bell. Then grab the Winter 2011 issue, count the ads and sum them up. I think you'll find that it's less than 4 dollars per issue per member, not much.

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Post by Stovebolt » Wed Aug 24, 2011 2:54 pm

Here are some of the examples of support shirts we have had for my club. These are directed towards custom car guys, but you get the idea.



Image

Image

Image

Image

The blue gauge and the white gauge are the latest ones. I believe we went with the blue gauge. I just threw them up as an example.
1961 Chris Craft 17' Ski Boat
1973 15.6' Hourston Glasscraft

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Post by kwmpa » Wed Aug 24, 2011 2:55 pm

Sounds good I actually just finished a 1941 Ford Woody for a client who uses it to tow a 37 Chris craft we took some amazing shots at his lake house...he has a 100' conCrete dock and his Chris craft was offset in the picture with them unloading the camping and fishing gear from his 30s Waco float plane into the woody...it was fun we were dressed in our line of vintage clothing everything looks period even had rope fenders on the Chris craft...I have a great customer base and 90% of them have vintage boats of some sort so it is a cross over...I'll send you a private message maybe I can get in brass bell and I have some friends that deal in the same thing maybe I can talk them into it too

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Post by Stovebolt » Wed Aug 24, 2011 3:02 pm

^^^ You got any pictures of that?? ^^^
1961 Chris Craft 17' Ski Boat
1973 15.6' Hourston Glasscraft

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Post by kwmpa » Wed Aug 24, 2011 3:24 pm

Not that I can post...copyrights

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Post by Stovebolt » Wed Aug 24, 2011 3:59 pm

But of someone was to PM a picture, to another like minded individual, who would obviously keep it under wraps due to copyright concerns, that might be ok, yes? :D Image





Sorry for the thread hijack, guys.... back to the topic at hand...Image
1961 Chris Craft 17' Ski Boat
1973 15.6' Hourston Glasscraft

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Post by kwmpa » Wed Aug 24, 2011 4:31 pm

I would definitely like to see some new stuff in the club store...t-shirts and hats with some nice logos I think would sell...when I wear a Chris craft shirt I always get asked about it what better way to promote the club

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Post by kwmpa » Wed Aug 24, 2011 5:06 pm

Stovebolt I was curious if you were on the hamb

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Post by Stovebolt » Wed Aug 24, 2011 6:58 pm

Yah, I go on there. I have a station wagon thread on there that I started in '03. I spend most of my time on here, and my club board, which I admin. Here is the address,

www.losboulevardosmessageboard.com
1961 Chris Craft 17' Ski Boat
1973 15.6' Hourston Glasscraft

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Stovebolt
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Post by Stovebolt » Wed Aug 24, 2011 7:01 pm

Back to the topic at hand, who IS in charge of the club store? Like, if we wanted to shoot them some ideas, who would we contract?
1961 Chris Craft 17' Ski Boat
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Post by kwmpa » Wed Aug 24, 2011 7:04 pm

i have a graphic designer that would donate time to designing some t-shirts and can probably get a company to donate screen printing and t-shirts...if notill put the money up

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tom king
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Post by tom king » Wed Aug 24, 2011 7:14 pm

If a boat is donated to the CABC could the person donating the boat write off the value for taxes?

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