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Shap · 11-24-2016, 04:35 PM

I had some great conversations today with webmasters that sparked this post. Hope it has some value for you.

I know times are tough. Paysites have it harder than ever. Affiliates are hanging on trying to figure out how to survive. I know the industry went from being the greatest biz to being really really hard. I get that.

Over the past few months I?ve talked with quite a few owners to see if there was a way to work together. My thinking in each and every case was the following "maybe with my experience i can help these guys make some more money.? I like the industry and I like the idea of getting back involved. I never once thought "hmmm I have to make $x amount to talk to these guys." I?ve always thought about business long term. Provide value long term and money will follow.

What?s interesting is the response from almost everybody has been the same ?Hey Shap, I?d love to work together want to buy x% of my company?? or ?Shap I have a great idea want to invest $50k in it.? Some of the offers are well established businesses so I understand their approach but at the same time some of them are guys who don?t even have a site up and just want my money. When I ask if they?d like help instead of money the answer is no they just need the money and it will bring great riches to all of us. I?ll be honest I?m somewhat surprised that there has not been one existing business to approach me to ask about doing something together that did not involved me giving them my money first.

When I started Twistys I launched with average non exclusive content. I basically got Jokersx, Matrix and Phoenix Content and loaded up the site. The content was weak. Our strength was our long term vision. Our goal was to do our best to provide our members with the best possible value for their dollar. As time went our content improved but we were never the ?BEST? content on the web. I?m the first to admit it. But the attention to detail and the level of caring we showed our members, models, photographers, and affiliates was the key to our success. We never worried about making money today. We focused on the long term. I always made sure everyone I did business with was taken care of before I was.

My advice to you all is to take some time to look at your business and think about where you are today and where you?d like to take it in the next 12, 24, 36 months. Write out your vision. Make decisions based on where you want to go. Plan ahead and plot your course. If you are doing the right things then when things change you?ll be better positioned to react to them (in fact in most cases you?ll already be a step ahead). So many people fail to plan ahead and as a result when something changes (visa regs, google, etc) they are completely screwed.

The industry is harder than ever but there is still a lot of money to be made in it but the key is to be focusing on the right things. If you look at the most successful companies around they are almost all thinking long term. They don?t take short cuts. They weren?t built overnight. They are where they are as a result of a lot of hard work and well calculated risks and moves. Think long term, provide long term value and you?ll have a much better business.

11-24-2016, 04:35 PM
Shap Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: May 2001 Posts: 8,313	Some Business Observations and Advice :) I had some great conversations today with webmasters that sparked this post. Hope it has some value for you. I know times are tough. Paysites have it harder than ever. Affiliates are hanging on trying to figure out how to survive. I know the industry went from being the greatest biz to being really really hard. I get that. Over the past few months I?ve talked with quite a few owners to see if there was a way to work together. My thinking in each and every case was the following "maybe with my experience i can help these guys make some more money.? I like the industry and I like the idea of getting back involved. I never once thought "hmmm I have to make $x amount to talk to these guys." I?ve always thought about business long term. Provide value long term and money will follow. What?s interesting is the response from almost everybody has been the same ?Hey Shap, I?d love to work together want to buy x% of my company?? or ?Shap I have a great idea want to invest $50k in it.? Some of the offers are well established businesses so I understand their approach but at the same time some of them are guys who don?t even have a site up and just want my money. When I ask if they?d like help instead of money the answer is no they just need the money and it will bring great riches to all of us. I?ll be honest I?m somewhat surprised that there has not been one existing business to approach me to ask about doing something together that did not involved me giving them my money first. When I started Twistys I launched with average non exclusive content. I basically got Jokersx, Matrix and Phoenix Content and loaded up the site. The content was weak. Our strength was our long term vision. Our goal was to do our best to provide our members with the best possible value for their dollar. As time went our content improved but we were never the ?BEST? content on the web. I?m the first to admit it. But the attention to detail and the level of caring we showed our members, models, photographers, and affiliates was the key to our success. We never worried about making money today. We focused on the long term. I always made sure everyone I did business with was taken care of before I was. My advice to you all is to take some time to look at your business and think about where you are today and where you?d like to take it in the next 12, 24, 36 months. Write out your vision. Make decisions based on where you want to go. Plan ahead and plot your course. If you are doing the right things then when things change you?ll be better positioned to react to them (in fact in most cases you?ll already be a step ahead). So many people fail to plan ahead and as a result when something changes (visa regs, google, etc) they are completely screwed. The industry is harder than ever but there is still a lot of money to be made in it but the key is to be focusing on the right things. If you look at the most successful companies around they are almost all thinking long term. They don?t take short cuts. They weren?t built overnight. They are where they are as a result of a lot of hard work and well calculated risks and moves. Think long term, provide long term value and you?ll have a much better business.