We received the following: Presented to: HMGS EAST Board of Directors Working Draft #4 – December 31, 2003 An effective business plan focuses thinking, establishes realistic business strategies and improves performance in operations, finance and marketing. A business plan for HMGS East’s convention program serves as a basis for determining new markets, sound long- range decision-making and a logical deployment of limited financial and volunteer resources. Creation of a business plan represents a process rather than a document. As part of this process the board and officers must thoroughly assess our current capabilities and then develop a convention package that meets the current and future needs of the marketplace. When completed this plan will represent the core strategies, goals and objectives for the next five years. The following information is designed to stimulate discussion among HMGS East’s various stakeholders. This working draft offers more questions than it does answers. Its purpose is not offer the ultimate solution, but rather examines a wide variety of options. No matter how we decide to handle the decision making process remember that the ultimate decision and responsibility of our decisions for the future of our convention program rests within the seven-member board. WHAT IS OUR BUSINESS? According to one of our founders, Leo Cronin, HMGS East’s mission is “to promote the historical miniature gaming hobby and its relationship to the study of military history.” That may be true, but our business is running three conventions, whose primary focus is to allow our members and other interested parties to play games, socialize with other wargamers, and buy products from our vendors. If we examine how we use the time of our volunteers we can safely make the argument that at least 85% of our time is dedicated to running our three conventions: Historicon, Cold Wars and Fall In! These conventions also drive our membership numbers which ebb and flow depending on when people sign up for their favorite convention. Finally, a check of our membership numbers over the past 20 years would clearly show a marked increase in the number of members when we began to offer convention discounts as an incentive to join. The society’s income is also driven by our convention business. According to our 2004 budget almost 90% of our income is derived from our conventions. Conversely, we spend the bulk of our funds on running our conventions. Nearly, 70% of our expenses are dedicated to our conventions. The good news is that our convention program provides the best showcase we have for furthering the mission of the society. While there are other approaches to promoting historical miniature gaming what we do is unique and, considering the parameters of the hobby, spectacular. We do something that is often imitated but never equaled. And we do it at a price that almost any novice can afford. We are a not-for-profit corporation, but we are also a business with a product and customers. WHO ARE OUR CUSTOMERS? For the purposes of this working draft our customers are defined as those people who are familiar with historical miniature wargaming, and who have attended one or more of our conventions in recent years. Critical characteristics of our customers include: 95% of our customers are members of HMGS East indicating more than a passing interest in the hobby. The majority of our customers purchase most of their wargaming products at one or more of our three conventions. One third of our customers attend all of our conventions, one third attend two conventions and one third attend one convention annually. Historicon is still the convention of choice for the majority of our customers. The demographics of the historical miniature hobby have changed little in the past 35 years. The hobby has been and continues to be primarily a suburban, male, middle class activity. The wargamers who founded HMGS in 1981 matched this demographic, and our Historicon ’01 survey coupled with observing attendees at our conventions would substantiate this profile. For several years we have heard about the ‘graying of the hobby.’ According to the results of the Historicon ’01 survey our largest category of customers is between 41-50 years of age. The average age of The HMGS founders in 1981 was 44. We may not be getting younger, but we are not getting older. HOBBIES AND NICHE HOBBIES Model railroading and stamp collecting are hobbies. Collecting duck decoys and building wooden ships in a bottle are niche hobbies. For whatever reason certain hobbies catch on with the general public while other never get beyond the passionate few. The reasons why some hobbies becoming mainstream and others do not are many and varied. These may include timing, a concept that is easily understood by the general public, outstanding marketing and corporate support and promotion. Historical miniature gaming is a niche hobby. In the 60’s we were the stepchildren of toy soldier collectors. In the 70’s we were the stepchildren of board gaming. In the 80’s we were the stepchildren of D & D (the original rules appeared as an appendix to a set of historical rules). In the 90’s we were the stepchildren of Magic. Now we find ourselves the stepchildren of Games Workshop. We trace our roots to H.G. Wells and have had over 100 years to make an impact on the general population. In the last 20 years our hobby has grown (HMGS East has had a major role in that growth), but we have failed to breakthrough to a significantly wider audience. Being a niche hobby is not necessarily a good or bad. It is what we make of it. On one hand we will never break into the big leagues. Conversely, because we are such a niche hobby potential competitors such as GenCon and Origins will have a very tough time capturing our market share. Being a niche hobby also allows us to focus on finding ways to promote our hobby in clearly defined market areas. One of the lesions of Fall In! ’03 was that mass marketing will not have a major impact on attendance. We will not suddenly be discovered. IT’S ALL ABOUT CONVENTIONS No matter how we define our vision and mission our business is undeniably running three conventions annually. We are judged as an organization by how well we execute those conventions. Our conventions remain our greatest vehicle for exposing novices and veterans both to the very best that historical wargaming has to offer. Without our conventions we would be a non-factor in the hobby. With our conventions we can be the most positive force for historical wargaming in the country. COMPETITION There are hundreds of gaming conventions held throughout the country every year. The vast majority of them are relatively small sci-fi fantasy conventions. Of course, there are the two giants of the convention world: Origins and GenCon. Both do have some historical miniatures gaming available to attendees, but both conventions are more directed towards fantasy and science fiction. GenCon brings in about 25,000 individual attendees while Origins hosts 8,000 annually. Neither convention has experienced much growth in the past 10 years. There are also a much smaller number of historical gaming conventions throughout the country. They vary in size and quality, but none approach the size of even our smallest convention (Fall In!). And while some of these conventions have existed nearly as long as Historicon they have been inconsistent in their growth, with several actually shrinking over the past 10 years. Unfortunately, our real competition is much closer to home. For any one of our conventions (Cold Wars as an example) our other two conventions (Fall In! and Historicon) provide our biggest competition. CONVENTIONS: WHAT DO OUR CUSTOMERS WANT? During the past three years the Board of Directors have had several conversations related to our convention package and how we can use it to promote the hobby, increase attendance and meet the expectation of our members. At Fall In! ’03 we polled our attendees asking them to rank 11 convention related topics. Here are the results from top to bottom: Hotel connected to convention center Large number of games Large dealer area Overall cost of the convention Proximity to home Well run registration Cultural activities Mega games Family friendly Workshops Speakers This survey offers us an important insight into what is important to our attendees. It will also be very helpful as we focus our attention on a long-range plan for our convention package. VOLUNTEERS: OUR GREAT STRENGTH AND OUR GREATEST WEAKNESS As we begin the convention analysis we must remember that this organization is totally driven by volunteers. This the most critical factor in driving our final business plan. Total reliance on volunteers allows us to keep our overall costs low, brings fresh talent to the organization and encourages creativity. Unfortunately, reliance on an all-volunteer organization has also led to inconsistent results, expensive errors, and, in some instances, outright abuse of responsibility. Assuming we continue to function as an all-volunteer organization it will significantly impact how we do our business. QUESTION ONE: WHAT ARE WE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH? What do we want our conventions to accomplish? What are our strategic goals and objectives? If we had to prioritize them what we consider to be most important? Here is a starting point list of possible goals for the convention program: A vehicle for promoting the hobby to the general public Run for the pleasure of our hardcore members A traveling road show holding conventions at various locations along the east coast to allow greater access to members and wargamers A turn key operation located in one convention center resulting in controlled costs and ease of management Run fewer conventions that would add less wear and tear on the volunteers and increase our attendance There are other major issues that we can add to the list, but before we can settle on a long-range plan we have to decide our big picture goals. WHERE ARE OUR CUSTOMERS? The majority of our customers live along the east coast from the New York metropolitan area to the Washington, DC metropolitan area. Conservatively, that area has a population of 38 million people. Most of our members live in PA, MD, NJ, NY and VA. It has been argued that if we moved our conventions farther north, south or west that we might generate more interest and members from other areas. However, we would be moving away from our core customers, and we would jeopardize HMGS conventions in the south and western fringes of our chapter territory. DETERMINING CONVENTION SITES FOR THE FUTURE The above data gives us a baseline for determining where we should hold future conventions. However, unlike our customers we have other considerations that take center stage when determining convention sites. Traditionally, we have chosen our sites based on gut feeling more than systematic analysis. The time has come to change that approach. By using a more analytical system we will be able to justify our decisions, and explain them better to our members. There are several factors that have to be considered when we decide the location of our conventions. The following is a list of those factors that are critical to the decision making process: Cost: It may be a great site, but it won’t be for long if we lose money. We have to examine the total cost of the site including our rent, the cost of rooms for attendees, and special or hidden costs associated with the venue. Size: The site needs to have the necessary square footage both for the current convention and potential growth. Size addresses the critical issues of a large dealer hall and space for a large number of games. Location: Ideally, the location of our conventions should maximize our potential for strong attendance. Hotel/Convention Center: This was the number one issue in our Fall In! ’03 survey. Added to this should be the convenience factor of other hotels and eating facilities near the convention site. Promotion of the Hobby: Finding sites near large population areas is critical if we are to bring new people into historical miniature wargaming through promotions. Cultural Activities: This includes historical locations, museums or military related locations nearby. Quality of the Site: We may get the best deal in the world, but if the facility is a dump we will have a poor convention. Relationship with the Site Personnel: This relates to the easy of running the convention. We need to find a facility that will work with us before, during and after the convention. This is especially critical in an all-volunteer organization. Family Friendly Environment: Is there something for the family to do while the wargamer is gaming at the convention? This would include tourist attractions, shopping and cultural activities. While there are other factors that determine a well run convention these address site selection. THE NUMBERING SYSTEM The next step in the analysis is for the board to prioritize each of these factors. The second step is to look at a proposed site and assign a number from 1-10 (Ten is the highest, and 1 the lowest) for each category. As an example let’s look at the Lancaster Host Cost: 10 (cheaper than anything else we have for what we get) Size: 8 (enough sq. ft. for our current use, but broken up considerably) Location: 6 (close enough, but not as good as we could ask for) Hotel/con. Center 8 (Expo separate but easy to reach) Promotions: 4 (At best) Cultural Activates: 5 (Lots to see if you haven’t seen it) Quality of Site: 8 (Lots renovation) Relationships: 10 (They do everything we ask) Family Friendly: 10 (Maybe one of the best locations available) If each board member went through this exercise we would all have different numbers. That’s OK because when we compare 8 or 10 sites we will begin to get a consistent evaluation between locations. Back to 1st Quarter 2004 List of News Items Back to Master List of News Items Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 2004 by Coalition Web, Inc. This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. 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