Dear BeoWorld Members,
It's with a heavy heart that i'm going to have to admit that the prize draw is really becoming too much for me. It takes a huge amount of time to source, clean, test, then photograph products and upload images and descriptions. Then, it takes two whole evenings to write, draw, prepare and then actually sit in front of a computer for the evening actually doing the draw (giving Botty moral support you understand) - then it takes me 2-3 weeks to collate everyones info, get shipping quotes, pack and post - then collect shipping payments and make sure everyone is happy with their prize.
It's usually the third week of the month by the time this is done, whereupon i have 5-7 days off - then it all starts over again.
I'm pleased to say (in a way) that LifeStyle AV has gone into the stratosphere and is expanding over the coming months in many ways, which is taking around 12 hours a day, 6 days a week of my time. Sundays are the only day off to spend with my wife and children - and when i end up spending the day catching up with BeoWorld Prize Draws instead of seeing them, it makes me quite sad.
Whilst I'm doing all this and not seeing my children grow up, i find it somewhat disheartening when we get no more than a handful of people bothering to turn up online for the draw. It all started as a big buzz and people were genuinely excited - but now i feel nobody really cares that much. It's just a 'hold your hand out and see what lands in it' once a month for many people. I fully understand this - it's a normal human reaction and is commonly phrased as 'the novelty has worn off'. These things happen and i fully accept that.
What i'm proposing is a quarterly draw - starting at the end of January 2013 and three-monthly from there on. The reason for this is that nobody can then feel aggrieved or cheated that they joined as Gold for the monthly draw over the last few months, only to find they'd been 'duped' and the goalposts have changed during their membership period. If we make it clear from January 2012 that in 12 Months time the draw will be quarterly, nobody can complain and can choose to opt in or out of Gold Membership as they see fit.
This will also save BeoWorld a fortune. We constantly have absolutely no money in the bank as the draw sucks the life out of it - and when bills come in it's always myself who ends up paying them out of LifeStyle AV's money. We're talking about thousands of pounds a year here, so when people moan that BeoWorld isn't independent - that's correct LifeStyle AV props it up, to the tune of around £1,000 a month on average.
In all the time BeoWorld has been re-launched in its current format the membership prices haven't gone up by a penny. However, operating costs sit at five times what they used to. Without a small surplus of cash in the bank we can't buy the lastest software, develop the site and move forward. This has always been the main aim for me with regards to BeoWorld. Always improve, always have the very best.
Anyway - that aside, there are my thoughts. If i was retired, i'd have no problem at all as i'd have all the time in the world to devote to the Prize Draw and find ways of the site becoming more financially independent. However, I haven't - and something has to give. This is my suggestion and i'd appreciate your feedback. It's taken me almost a year to get to this decision and write this post - and i'm very sorry as i feel i've let everyone down.
Kindest Regards
Lee
