MAKING MONEY WITH BBSes

MAKING MONEY WITH BBSes

Most of the BBSes in operation are for recreation only, and will

never see a profit. In fact, almost ALL non-commercial BBSes lose

money.

This is why a lot of them look at being a sysop as a hobby, and not a

business. They lose too much money to call it a business.

You cannot go into the business thinking that you are going to have

hundreds of people wanting to pay $25 for a yearly membership to

your BBS, unless you are a special BBS.

If you are catering to specific audience, then you might be able to

charge for access. There are just too many public BBSes out there

to be able to charge for access time. Many people will avoid any

BBS that they know charges for access. There are exceptions to

this:

If you are set up ONLY as a multi-play games BBS.

If you offer a service just to certain people (i.e. computer

technicians, etc).

Anything that is geared toward helping people.

If you are planning on charging, the basic rule is: Make sure that

you offer them something they CAN'T get somewhere else for free.

That is the key.

If you are going to offer a Business BBS, then you may choose not to

pay for access time, but rather charge the companies for advertising

on the BBS. Then you can let regular people on the BBS "shop

around." You might also choose to have a Helpful BBS that just

offers help about anything that they are willing to ask help for. This

would be kind of like a round-table help forum. Anybody who has

questions or answers could join.

If you are into collectibles, or rare items such as antiques, you can

make a lot of money with a BBS. You set up your BBS so that

people can advertise, buy, sell, and trade all of the items you deal

with, just by paying a small annual fee of $25.

BECOMING AN EXPERT

If there were only two things I wanted you to know about operating

a BBS they would be: 1) BBSes Cost Time, and 2) BBSes Cost

Money. In other words, operating a BBS will end up costing you

more time and more money than you first expected.

You will want to get to know your phone service representatives.

They will be able to help you with any phone line problems you run

across when dealing with your BBS. Also, if you have a hacker, then

they can help you get out of the situation, and tell you how to correct

the problem.

You need to remember that a good BBS doesn't just happen

overnight.

It will take you a little while to get prepared for going online. You

need to make sure that everything is ready to be put into practice.

A BBS sysop is like a control technician. They have full

control over your users. If they don't comply by the rules, then kick

them off the BBS. If they feel that you are not a push-over, then they

will respect you. Make sure that they know that you will not tolerate

disturbances online.

You should try to join a sysop support group in your town. This is

not saying that sysops need mental help, but it is saying that sysops

do get stressed out a lot. If you have several sysops in a room

together, they can give each other ideas about how to be a better

sysop. You can also just have a good time talking to other people

who enjoy doing the same thing you do.

You should pay attention to the comments your users make about

your BBS, and other ones. If they are saying that they like "this"

feature about "X" BBS, and "that" feature about "Y" BBS, then you

should try to offer "this" and "that" on your BBS, also. If they are

saying that they would like you to offer something that you don't, then

if enough of them request it, then you should consider it.

You should make a note to them stating that it DOES cost money to

provide them with that service. Tell them that you need a majority of

them to donate the $5 or else you won't be able to do it. Have them

list their name, and put yes or no whether they will donate. If they

want the service, they will donate the $5. Make sure and tell them

that ALL users will have access to this door, regardless whether or

not they sign the petition or donate $5. You might consider telling

them that you will divide the money that is left over evenly and

distribute it among all who donated.

You will need to remember something else, also. Word of your BBS

will get around eventually. What people say about it will depend on

what the people using it think of it. If users think that your BBS is a

good one, then you will see a rapid increase in users; however, if

you obtain a reputation for being a bad BBS, then that word will

spread like a plague.