Stephan
Amazing site - thanks to you and the rest of the community for creating it and keeping it going.
I'm a novice at spearfishing but experienced in business, so I'd like to share a few things that may help....
1) I am in the process of signing up to become a supporter. I saw the option when I was posting a thread but navigated away and have spent 10 minutes searching trying to find the page again so I can sign up. Only managed to find it by searching 'supporter' and reading the threads. Suggest a 'Support Our Site' link is put on every page on the site to remind people about this. If it is there already I can't see it so maybe it needs to be moved as it's not obvious.
2) Paypal is a bitch for many. I have an account but hate using it. I know the issues with other payment methods and their costs. From experience, I believe PayPal is losing you £1 for every £1 you receive. Consider if a doubling of supporter revenue will outweigh the costs and make a decision based on this metric.
3) I'd like to put you in touch with two good friends of mine, Nick and Vanessa. Nick and V own and run another forum called Property Tribes. They were facing similar challenges in terms of time and money running their forum. I mentored them and through this and their own efforts and changes made, they have largely solved their financial challenges are are now in a much better place and so is their forum. I think you guys would benefit from speaking and meeting up to share experiences. You do the same thing, just with different audiences. They live close to London around the Basingstoke area. Happy to make the intro if you like.
I hope this helps and will now sign up as a supporter.
What I have learnt already from this forum and the money saved by not buying the wrong gear and from discounts on stuff I plan to buy, make this a no brainer investment. Unfortunately, the nature of this and most other forums means people can get these benefits for free, without having to become a supporter. However, this is a lose-lose situation, so we need more people to understand this, do the right thing, and sign up and support your great work.
Massive thanks again.
Steve
Amazing site - thanks to you and the rest of the community for creating it and keeping it going.
I'm a novice at spearfishing but experienced in business, so I'd like to share a few things that may help....
1) I am in the process of signing up to become a supporter. I saw the option when I was posting a thread but navigated away and have spent 10 minutes searching trying to find the page again so I can sign up. Only managed to find it by searching 'supporter' and reading the threads. Suggest a 'Support Our Site' link is put on every page on the site to remind people about this. If it is there already I can't see it so maybe it needs to be moved as it's not obvious.
2) Paypal is a bitch for many. I have an account but hate using it. I know the issues with other payment methods and their costs. From experience, I believe PayPal is losing you £1 for every £1 you receive. Consider if a doubling of supporter revenue will outweigh the costs and make a decision based on this metric.
3) I'd like to put you in touch with two good friends of mine, Nick and Vanessa. Nick and V own and run another forum called Property Tribes. They were facing similar challenges in terms of time and money running their forum. I mentored them and through this and their own efforts and changes made, they have largely solved their financial challenges are are now in a much better place and so is their forum. I think you guys would benefit from speaking and meeting up to share experiences. You do the same thing, just with different audiences. They live close to London around the Basingstoke area. Happy to make the intro if you like.
I hope this helps and will now sign up as a supporter.
What I have learnt already from this forum and the money saved by not buying the wrong gear and from discounts on stuff I plan to buy, make this a no brainer investment. Unfortunately, the nature of this and most other forums means people can get these benefits for free, without having to become a supporter. However, this is a lose-lose situation, so we need more people to understand this, do the right thing, and sign up and support your great work.
Massive thanks again.
Steve
