airkooledchris wrote:
It's a business, not a charity.
Aye, there's the rub.
This endeavor has had smatterings of both.
The 'flexibility' that has been part of the process has, IMHO, contributed to the end result. Colin has fully accepted the responsibility for this.
Go ahead and give yourself a swift kick in the pants and then reevaluate when yer bum stops hurtin'.
The loosey-gooseyness with regard to financial commitment of, and potential loss of, deposit funds is easy to understand as the desire to share the knowledge base and empower AC aficionados is a benefit (ie 'income') that is not easy to quantify.
It would be interesting to explore the possibility of a 501(c)3...
This acumen has, unfortunately, run the itinerary smack dab into 'viability'. Lessn' yer a philanthropist with resources to spare to keep things going, something has to change to keep the itinerary.
It's hard to see what needs to change without knowing the figures, but the numbers and logistics are not necessarily needed to know that a slight correction toward the business model is needed to sustain the endeavor.
Not trying to figger it out for you, or tell you that you're doing it wrong, but here are a few thoughts about some changes that may allow for some continued flexibility and perhaps some other income streams:
1. multi car/people work days: several folk go in on a day (perhaps those work days are a charged at a little more than a one on one day, or maybe same fee for the group day with the understanding that there will be focus on several vehicles); an item (or two) are identified as needing attention for each, and several get the benefit of dealing with some overview of other problems and can assist each other in some wrenchin' (community building).
This is just a thought bubble that would need further refining but there are some folk, I'm sure, that don't need a whole day and would like to have the itinerant experience.
-Or-
perhaps a host could get a break on a day of a particularly tricky, yet common, repair task that could have a "seminar" flavor. Attendees would pay to attend, perhaps several rigs with similar issues could be attended to on that day.
Of course both of the above suggestions make for a different kind of work day for you and puts you into a group rather than the one on one. It also starts to make things get more complicated.
2. Realize that holding fast to deadlines and the "deposit" principal is not a choice that the big bad Colinwolf is making. It is part of the foundation of the enterprise's sustainability. If you can't fund the current travels and the ability to make it to next year's itinerary, then everyone is impacted. If you can keep it rolling on the community as a whole is benefited. "It's out of my hands..."
3. Premium days: Saturday and Sundays must be the highest demand days and as such may be worth more.
4. Kick-Starter campaign. Nickels into dimes into dollars. This may be a tough pill to swallow but I would think on it with the 'community benefit' as the sugar that makes it easier to swallow the 'hey brother can you spare a dime' feeling.
2 cents.
Sorry to hear that these issues are creeping into your dream.