Would you pay $5.00 to be a member of MCC (read first, then answer)
Lots of people have been suggesting that Motor City Connect should charge $5.00 per month for membership. When asked why, the responses have been:
It will make apparent who is serious about being a member
It increases the value of membership*
You (well me, Terry) will spend more time focused on it
We can do more good for our community
The potential downside is we go from a group of near 4000 to a group of a hell of a lot less. Arguments have been made that the group is a lot smaller regardless (I am inclined to agree).
I would love to hear from you all on this topic but especially from the people who don't chime in often.
*I look at how the value of this group has increased since we were a small yahoo group and know that with a bit of an income from it, we could do GREAT things for all of our supporting members.
If we did it, the change would go into effect September 1. We would give all members who sign up September-December for $15.00 and you would have the choice if you wanted to do it again in 2010.
Be connected-
Terry Bean
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Terry, let me say that the discussion has been quite active and robust. Many different sides have been presented regarding the proposed $5 fee.
As the main point person here for MCC (I know you don't like ever being called the leader et al.) ... I'm curious if there is any clarity or direction you can offer the MCC membership at this at this time.
Said another way, if this was a press conference and I was a reporter, I would ask if you: "Would like to make a statement on the direction for MCC and the proposed $5 at this time?"
I am definitely not the most active member in the group. However, the beauty of the internet is that you can choose to chime in on topics that interest or relate to you. I know that great amounts of time and effort have been put forth by Terry, Charlie, and several other great people to make this great group what it is. Thank you!
Like many free services offered there has to be a business model involved. You reach a point when you have to monetize somehow just to stay alive in the game by covering costs and expenses. The knowledge, experience, input, and help that is provided by MCC far exceeds the value of $5/month or $60/year. No argument there, but here's how I feel about it... There are several services/sites like MCC that provide the same kind of value and are not charging for it, yet. The members that need the most help (even though may not be the most active) are the ones that might not be able to swing the fee or are not well off right now.
Ok, getting to my point now (sorry)... I recently came back to my business full time again and because of my rebuilding phase, my budget for associations/services is on the small side. I rely on free and low cost apps and services to accomplish many tasks. To lower costs, I network online, at coffe shops, and at Tweetups. A lot of the services/web apps I use have different levels of memberships with different limitations. One of the levels offered is a limited free account. Maybe MCC should offer a limited free membership account as well.
These are just my constructive thoughts. Thanks for taking the time to hear them.
Dominic
I'm not too sure how I feel about a fee to join or a fee a month but $5 isn't really a bad price in the end. For me, I'm pretty new to MCC so I'm just breaking into the business arena and I don't really like limitations such as that. If you're paying for the domain name then it makes complete sense and no doubt that I'd support it, even if I didn't have the money. I don't see a problem with the fee but I would, if you had to, send out a poll to every member and see who responds. It's not that people aren't serious but I'm also not going to make any excuses. Just when you start talking about paying out money, you always get a very mixed bag. I guess people really do care LOL.
Personally, I'm glad to see that MCC is still free. In case you're wondering on the statistics, if you charge (at all) the standard drop in membership is at least 95%.
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I joined to network to look for work. Unfortunately I have not found work for an extended period of time which makes it difficult financially to attend lunch meetings. It also makes it difficult to pay for memberships.
I think $5 fee is reasonable though I might make it a joining fee and not every month, at least for those who are unemployed.
I would say that as someone that has used the free model to start up, it was fine for what I needed at the time. Members! There comes a point though were it is a value to participate and be a member.
$5 isn't much to ask. But if you are looking for active, participating members I have to put my barter hat on and ask this: why limit it to cash basis only? After all, barter is what I do! :-)
What if membership costs something - but offer alternative forms of paying. Perhaps you need something done or an errand that might save you an equivalent amount of time (and therefore money) or maybe you need office supplies (on an annualized basis, $60 in office supplies can be helpful!)
Just a couple thoughts. I would say no to free at this point. There is a lot of value add in being a member. But no reason we can't be creative!
Why in the halibut was it $5.00?
My goodness.