CC -- I have been trying to ask some relevant questions in a effort to learn more about how and what you are doing and how you plan to execute on your goal. But, like before, it appears as though you are ignoring some incredibly rational arguments as to why you need to rethink some of this.
1. First of all, job openings that require my skill set that are also in my borough don't pop up every single day. In addition, there are others competing for the same jobs. I'm also not looking to get a full-time position so my options are further limited. I had one bad interview because they were looking for someone to make a longer commitment than I was willing to. My resumé was also quite terrible until recently I started receiving help fixing it. There's a lot of dead time between applications and interviews. The business I'm starting is a side income in case things remain dry on the job front. There are plans to grow the business to make a lot more than $900 monthly.
OK, this is fair, so a better question is.... What is your skill set? Have you considered, instead of working towards a goal of earning $900/month with a skill set that can't land you a job, that you should instead develop another skill set?
I'll bet that if you took a couple of vocational courses, offered by the state or otherwise, you will develop a skill set that can land you a job much sooner.
If your skill set can't get you employed,
you need another skill set.
Why strive for $900/month? Are you expecting your brother and mother to support you indefinitely?
2. Entertainment is entertainment. My primary targets for marketing are people who can afford spending $21-25 per person on a night of entertainment. Geez, a corn beef sandwich can go for that much in a Manhattan eatery. The Broadway ticket price is just one example of many to illustrate how pricey things can get in the city yet people continue to spend on those things.
I am sorry, this just isn't true. Many people are telling you that this is not true, yet you insist on assuming that because people are willing to buy a cornbeef sandwich, they will pay you to game. There is a complete disconnect between these two assumptions and I hope, for the sake of your family, that you aren't really assuming that people will pay you this much to play D&D just because they go to Broadway shows. Can you provide some evidence to support your theory?
3. On the gaming front, I'm building up my skills and reputation through the local gaming community. Anyone can go to the meetup.com site to see that I'm being active in practicing and improving my craft. On the storytelling front, I have been a volunteer children's Sunday School teacher/children's play director. That service will be ready next week. I'm still tweaking the site (it's only the first week the site has been up after all).
OK, being paid to game with minors might REQUIRE that you have a particular set of licenses or be bonded. What happens if a young teen claims you touched him funny after a game? What happens if a minor comes to your game, pays, and then somehow hurts himself? Will you have liability insurance? Will you have a licensed professional there in case something happens? Do you even know how important it is to have the proper credentials when getting paid to privately entertain or teach minors?
Regarding team building... What are your skill sets and expertise in team building? Do you have certificates or a degree in Human Resources? Do you even have any human resource related college education?
Why would a company hire you for teambuilding exercises (especially when they see your professional photo on the website), when there are companies that do this with MBAs and trainers certified by ASTD or the Society for Human Resource Management?
Can you compete with:
TeamBuilders WorldWide or with
http://www.teambuildinginc.com ?
4. Yeesh, I just started the site up. The full service menu won't be ready until next week. Ask me again the week after that.
He asked a valid question. How much feedback have you gotten on the quality of your team building or your storytelling skills? Do you have testimonials that you can put up or share with people?
Have you received any offers from the business cards you handed out? Did you socialize with some of the other at the networking meeting? Did you wear a suit and tie, or at least a business-appropriate dress? How did the other corporate professionals react to your ideas?
5. Exactly how much personal information do you expect me to share here?
OK, so I guess EnWorld readers aren't your target market? He is asking what your marketable skills are, and what references you have? If I am going to pay you, I want to know. If EnWorld readers aren't your target market and you aren't willing to share this with us, then you are biting the hand that (potentially) feeds you.
6. Have you SEEN the differences between this plan and the one before it? I've taken A LOT of the arguments (the ones that were valid anyway) into consideration as I've developed this current venture.
Granted the differences are great. But that doesn't make it a marketable idea. With what you have shown me, I wouldn't pay you, and I make very good money.
7. The reasons for the costs are not as important as the fact that people in NYC pay them anyway plus even more like snacks, t-shirts, etc. I don't know about where YOU live but life in THIS CITY can be a lot more expensive than other places.
And therefore, because life is expensive in the city, you find your prices justifiable? You should have done market research, like polling gamers or companies or these "wealthy socialites" you talk about. Do you know any wealthy socialites? And did they tell you it was a great idea to market to them?
8. The team-building benefits of playing a team-oriented game where you have to work together to overcome obstacles and solve problems together are kind of obvious. I'll be posting some more on the business site to elaborate further (again I emphasize that this is only the first week that the site has been up). A lot of team-building exercises don't tend to be very complicated in their structure (word games, board games, building a car together, etc.). Build trust. Build cooperation. Build communication. It's pretty straightforward.
This is patently false.
I am guessing that you have never worked for a small, mid-sized or large corporation. Nor have you ever taken a team building course. Did you know that, in order to even get in the door, you need to provide a portfolio of past team building successes, documented processes that describe how you will proved measurable results, and a follow-up of each team-building exercise with metrics that support your results?
Have you ever done a training class? I was a corporate trainer for 7 years prior to getting into large scale application development. I had certifications with the American Society for Training & Development, I ran Train the Trainer programs and even traveled around to companies like Saturn and Ford doing soft-skill management training.
If you pitched ANY of the managers or HR professionals I have met over the years with a team building exercise around playing a war game or D&D with some guys around a table, they would politely end the interview and wish you luck with a fake smile on their face.
Seriously, you need to rethink the whole corporate team-building thing. YOU DON'T HAVE THE CREDENTIALS.
I mean this a fellow gamer to another, and as a genuinely concerned person... I beg you, for the sake of your mother and brother, to go get a more marketable skill set and find a real job. Earn money GMing D&D games on the side, but until you land a real job and make some money to help around the house, you really should let this go. At least the corporate team building and child/teen storytelling stuff.
