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Business Plan
In development |
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Preliminary Business Plan (rough draft)
Our business plan has four initial phases.
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Build the site and install it on our servers
for testing.
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Field-test the site and refine the basic
concept using member feedback.
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Seek funding using the existing site as a
'living blueprint' to demonstrate the concept to potential sponsors,
investors, or buyers.
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Work with or for the new investors or owners
to integrate their ideas into a finished concept that would redesign the
site to their specifications and turn control of the site over to them.
The first two phases are essentially
complete, although there is a never-ending refinement of site policies,
options, and the user interface. ChildrensBookMarket has been developed
into a set of fully operational databases.
Member feedback is very positive. The site
functions well, search engines are finding our titles, and hundreds of sales
have been made with very little promotion of the site. Months of live
testing/debugging of the systems and field-testing of the user interface
have given us the opportunity to refine and streamline the site to this
point. The new Donor Mart completes the concept and field-testing of those
new procedures has just begun.
We are now beginning to promote the site
with news releases, interviews, and a targeted email campaign. Although the
emphasis of this promotion will be to attract new members, our primary goal
is to secure funding or find a sponsor. The site has grown this far with
only two developers and a very small budget, but this third phase of our
business plan is the major key to becoming a successful international venue
to promote literacy.
The site as it stands is a fully functional
"living blueprint" of what it could be, a visual business plan to outline
the concept. There are many additional features planned (ISBN lookup, free
downloadable inventory management module, etc.), but we need funding or new
owners to take it to the next level. We welcome any inquiries that
would facilitate taking this concept to the potential venue for literacy we
hope it can become. Any offer, however small, that would help us to
reach our goal would be appreciated.
For more information or to request a
detailed business plan, send an email to
admin@ChildrensBookMarket.com. |
Press
Release 3/15/06
www.ChildrensBookMart.com is a
new, non-profit online venue where donors can connect with children
and schools around the world who need books. "There must be millions
of outgrown children's books gathering dust that would be dearly loved
by another child if they were put back into circulation" says Peter
Thomas, developer of the site.
Donors
use simple, free classified-type ads to briefly describe their
donations, and then choose their recipients from the responses.
Similarly, children and educators can post free "request" ads for
specific books or general classroom or library needs.
ChildrensBookMart is a new addition to
www.ChildrensBookMarket.com, a
non-profit multi-database website that includes an online auction, a
link directory, and a news module, all developed specifically for
children's book related content. The auction, which currently lists
over 13,000 books, is also free, but eventually will charge a small
listing fee to help cover operating expenses. All profits will be
donated back as gift certificates to honor ChildrensBookMart donation
requests, providing additional demand for the auction items. Donors
can also purchase gift certificates to distribute so children can
choose their own books. Sellers are reimbursed for gift certificates
they receive as payment.
"The
concept is to create an all-purpose children's book site to promote
literacy," said Thomas, "where anyone can buy, sell, donate, request,
or find information. The site has reached a stage where all of the
modules are up and functioning well, and we are now beginning to
promote the site to get user feedback so we can continue to make
improvements. To date this has been a
home-based operation with no funding, but we are growing
steadily and we hope to build the activity to the point we can attract
a buyer, investment partner, or sponsor to invest the resources to take this to the
international level."
Peter
Thomas owned new and used bookstores specializing in children's books
for 23 years before beginning work on this project. He can be reached
via the "contact us" links on the websites, or by email at
admin@ChildrensBookMarket.com.
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