The Future of the Game Itself:
I've had a ball creating and running the
game. And I plan for that to continue and to grow the
game. But I'll be frank in that for the amount of time
invested in this each season, I do look toward some return.
(If not, I'd just "settle" for one of our competitors and do
without the hassle. If I can do this and in the
meantime help pay off my student loans, credit cards, etc.,
all the better). A lot of the behind-the-scenes
improvements over the last few years are designed to
allow for both expansion into new leagues and to eventually
free up my own time - allowing me to have a real life, take
vacation in the summer - you know - normal stuff.
To that end, BWB expanded to a second
league in 2004 and more in every year since then.
League fees basically cover expenses (or less in the first
few years). The stat services in 2007 & 2008 were very
expensive and BWB lost a lot of money (but an alternativeIn order to make this a viable and
sustainable corporate exercise, we probably need to grow to
at least about 20-24 leagues at minimum.
Other items:
- Web Advertising. This started in
2004, though I haven't been as aggressive yet in
maintaining and expanding it as originally intended.
Hey, I'm not a big fan of ads myself, but they can be
useful. Currently, I'm using a couple services that
line up web sites with advertisers - they provide the
content and handle all the details. I don't get a
cut per view like in a standard situation - but I do get a
small commission if you actually purchase anything.
So if you're actually going to sign up with Netflix, or
buy a book online at B&N, or order some sports equipment
from Fogdog anyway, get there through one of my ads
and you'll help support the site.
- Employment. BWB will provide free teams for help with
various tasks (for example, keeping up to date with
transactions and providing user assistance). As far
as getting someone else to help run the game / web
site...there's a lot of stuff still done by hand and "just
because" so I'd need to make the setup a little less
Jon-centric to do that. At some point, if the game
grows enough, this may expand to include cash payment.
- Prizes. There was never an
original intention to have physical prizes, but I decided
after that first season to get some small trophies as a
small reward. I fell behind on that after a couple
years and am deciding whether or not to continue.
I don't list all this as a warning that
BWB is about to go away or is in any danger of that soon
(certainly not while soliciting for new owners and
expounding on the value of perpetual franchises!).
Just a heads-up for you though that there are some other
considerations here that may one day take greater
priority
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