90p Admin

We did some hard stuff last week in Denver. Thanks to everybody on this team effort. We should keep the contents of our decisions there private, confidential, for now. Everything in the strategy decision should be kept hush-hush, since the details aren't really set up, and premature disclosure could make things harder. In particular, our vision around the Academy should be kept quiet for now; the Task Force still has some research and considerations to do. I anticipate talking about this development around Jan 1, so we can talk it up and get feedback at MOTM. Our main focus, aside from setting up MOTM, is getting Higher Logic running. That will entail a fair amount of publicity to get the proper attention. We shouldn't dilute it with other developments. Other thoughts?

I agree on what you said... is that the same with the focus on the sage 100 consultant market and then Acumatica? Get Outlook<https://aka.ms/qtex0l> for iOSo

Jim, I do think the board members should be quiet about the Sage 100 and Acumatica prongs. I think that, at this time, those details could play a important part in negotiations with those 2 vendors, so leave to the negotiator (Moira) to use that information as she sees fit. I do want to publicize this strategy eventually, because we have a broader audience to influence over our 3-yr time frame. So, for now, having these specifics in our minutes, along with that 3-yr vision slide, will very good.

I am starting the prep work for the annual dues. I think we should post something to alert membership of the dues increase and the reasoning behind it.

Yes, it was something we did agree on; posting the dues increase along with the selection of the new platform. I just got a new quote from Higher Logic yesterday and need to review it (every quote they send has some new difference). If you want to post an announcement without the platform, cause it could be a week still before we are finalized, then let's draft an announcement now. I'd include - last time dues increased, the increase in operating costs (even w/o platform chg the other prices increased), our increased webinar offerings - the member only Sage Roundtables, member only Insider Series ERP and now Affiliate Insider and the Feed the Minds Series. You could elude to upcoming new expenses, and emphasize the value of our collaboration ( the ROI Calculator if you want to refer to it).

Let's keep it simple. Will put my thinking cap on.

I look forward to your ideas!

Love to see it Jeff.

@JeffSchwenk did you still want to post to Socialcast the dues increase and the reasoning behind it? Have you come up with anything? Suggested: We have been able to keep the membership fees unchanged for over four years. We continue to offer our membership collaboration that far exceeds their dues, a network of contribution and unique education events relevant to consultant and resellers. We are pleased to continue these benefits and extend them with our new platform for a modest increase in dues.

@JeffSchwenk I need to see the statement on the price increase that you'll be adding to the bills before you send them out.

Here is what I have so far. I will let it sit overnight and tweak it some more before final release. I plan to do an SC blast to all members. Since the original email was sent to 19 Sage resellers in November, 2005, our goal for the 90Minds group has been to offer the highest level of Sage technical support possible. For two and a half years, there was no cost for participation. But as we gained momentum, we started incurring real expenses. In July, 2008, we asked our participants to contribute $200 each to the cause. 22 individuals sent money. Over the next two years, 7 more resellers joined our ranks. We were gaining momentum. In September, 2011, after outgrowing our Yahoo Resellers group, we moved to the Socialcast platform and a month later, we instituted an annual membership fee, in large part to fund our new platform. We held our first MOTM in February, 2012 in San Diego in the DSD corporate training room. To accomplish this, we relied on volunteers and their willingness to share their time and expertise for the good of the 90Minds collective. Since that inaugural meeting, we have held 7 annual MOTM conferences in San Diego and 7 training events prior to the annual Sage Summit conference. MOTM 2018 was our best ever! To say that we have grown is an understatement. From the original 19 resellers on the distribution list in 2005, we now have 213 members and we continue to grow. Along with the member growth, we have had the inevitable growth in expenses. We now have a paid executive director, accounting and membership administration fees to cover. In addition, we were informed earlier this year the end of life for our Socialcast platform would be May, 2019. After a long and exhaustive search, the platform committee found a very robust replacement for Socialcast. The potential for the platform goes far beyond the capabilities of Socialcast and it will provide the ability to host unique educational events. We will be able to combine our Evernote and Dropbox platforms with it as well as modernize our website. By delivering a better experience to you, YOU will be able to deliver better value to YOUR clients as well. Unfortunately, this new platform comes at a significant monetary cost. Last month, the 90Minds board of directors voted for the first dues increase in five years. Effective immediately, annual membership dues are being increased by $100 per member. We understand that this is a significant increase. But in the parlance of a public radio fund raiser, even with this increase, you still pay less than a dollar a day for membership in the BEST support collaborative in the Sage world! Nothing comes close to it NOT Sage Technical Support, NOT Sage City! 13 years later, our goal for 90Minds has not changed. We remain committed to offering the highest level of Sage technical AND educational support possible. We hope you agree as well.

This is a good start. I like the material. The organization needs changing; it can be more effective. I am swamped today, but I should be able to do something on it Tues. Of course, others might have input. This is an important piece to ""get right.

Thanks

Corrections: The new platform does not provide ""host unique educational events"" we didn't purchase that option. The new platform isn't that much more expensive (combine costs of Socialcast, Evernote, DropBox and webhosting are $12,654.64/ year, Higher Logic's suite and mobile app are $15,900/year about a 25% increase) Setting the entire price increase on the Platform is a misrepresentation. The price increase is long over due whether there was a platform change or not. We all increase our prices from time to time. To include new ERP channels I'd drop the word Sage from the last sentence, I'd drop that whole sentence actually. When you post a price increase do not close with a ""hope you agree"" it tells your audience that you don't have confidence in them or your product. This is very long - where do you plan on publishing it? An A/P clerk is certainly not going to read it. I think that Branding and Promotions should write this statement.

After a phone conversation with Jerry on Wednesday, I am deferring to his value pricing writing ability to write the dues increase announcement. I do suggest that he publish it via an SC broadcast as I noted in the first line of my post above. I am not sending any announcements to the ""A/P clerk"". Finally, I want to remind all board participants that we are a non profit corporation. As such, our fiduciary responsibility should be to our members, not to our bottom line. **I hope that when the questions are asked about why such a steep dues increase (percentagewise), no one answers that we haven't raised them in five years**. In actuality, we have roughly three years in cash reserves to keep the website going, Moira, Robert and I paid should the wheels fall off the bus tomorrow.

@JeffSchwenk - please add this statement to the invoices going out: ""Please see the 9/21/18 posting by Moira Goggin in General Discussion group of Socialcast for information on our price increase."" Moira will post the notice later today. Thanks all!

Thanks @JerryNorman. I've posted the price increase as a broadcast message, which sends an email to each member.

Thanks all. Another item off the check list.