How is IF AGORA supposed to pay its way?
Since enterprises have expenses, they also need income. Even such a special enterprise as IF AGORA can only live if the income is higher than the expenses. Consequently, IF AGORA needs a returns model.
IF AGORA wishes to earn its basic returns on the market place by providing the network and charging agency fees. Besides, IF AGORA wants to integrate services provided by partners of the network into self-organized events and offer partner-based knowledge counselling.
Here are the four income variants:
MARKET PLACE
On the market place, IF AGORA is active as an agent. All providers of knowledge who answer to the IF AGORA network conditions (respectable offer with accepted reference from one member of the network) can offer their service at the IF AGORA market place. At the time of offer, a premium is agreed upon by the partners.
The premium may depend on
- the total effort,
- the type of offer,
- the success of the offer and
- the type of provider.
Example No 1:
A small educational institute offers a seminar “philosophy for managers”.
Example No 2:
A freelance agent offers to moderate a new conference formation like OpenSpace or barcamp.
Example No 3:
A famous university offers a workshop on creativity and innovation.
Example No 4:
A famous educational institute offers individual places in communication and leadership seminars.
The same principle applies for all examples: if the services of the market place IF AGORA result in a contract, the service provider is usually the one who delivers to the customer and will settle the account directly with him. The premium will be due as agreed. It is to be paid to IF AGORA by the provider (deliverer).
NETWORK
There is plenty of knowledge on the network that is not (yet) available on the market place. For these kinds of questions, IF AGORA offers to act as “searching agent”. In case of commissioning, a premium is agreed upon.
It depends on the kind of task required. The premium is due if IF AGORA supplies what the customer wanted. After the knowledge has been found, the provider can contract directly with the customer. Hopefully, he will then become a new partner in the market place.
Example No 1:
Someone is looking for someone to talk about Nano Technology at a special company event.
Example No 2:
Someone is planning a company outing and looking for a presentation on team work.
Example No 3:
A young manager is looking for a mentor with leadership and IT experience.
Example No 4:
An experienced CEO or CIO is looking for a coach on WEB and “social media”.
These topics are probably not (yet) available on the market. Through the network, IF AGORA will find a suitable candidate and advise the customer. IF AGORA will then receive the premium from the customer.
EVENTS ORGANIZED BY IF AGORA
As a general rule, IF AGORA will be the provider, integrating services (knowledge, organization, accommodation, event, video/photography/IT organization/ design) of various network partners. The customer will be told a price that includes both the costs of IF AGORA and its partner. The partners are the providers of IF AGORA. IF AGORA will organize events in its own name, as well as for and in the name of customers.
Example No 1:
Planning an individual seminar specially designed according to the wish of a customer in a special place with special quality. Different partners are concerned with the event: travel agency, hotel, event agency, photographer/video, organization.
Example No 2:
At regular intervals, IF AGORA will organize a seminar on “SCRUM and project management”, providing the rooms and co-operating with one or more partners. IF AGORA sells the seminar places for its own account, the partners are providers of IF AGORA.
Example No 3:
Together with a partner, IF AGORA invites people to attend a leadership seminar on “Humans&Management”. IF AGORA and the partner share the profit.
Example No 4:
Along with other partners, IF AGORA organizes a special meeting with attractive topics for CIOs.
IF AGORA will calculate the extra expenses needed for organization, location and catering. It will then offer the seminar at a fixed price.
KNOWLEDGE COUNSELLING – SUPPORT FOR KNOWLEDGE PROJECTS
This might well turn into the “supreme discipline” of IF AGORA and its network partners.
Here are a few examples:
Example No 1:
A technology enterprise is dependent on the creativity of its technical engineers. Its brain workers are the best in their technological discipline, yet have somehow missed the last few innovations in supplementary key theories, such as IT. This might well be a little risky for the future of the enterprise.
Together with the right partners, IF AGORA will design a concept that sharpens the awareness of a future determined by information technology after four days of learning.
Example No 2:
The employees of a counselling service are distributed all over Germany. The heads of the company wish to counterbalance the risk of people inside the enterprise moving too far apart by using “social media”. Here we have one more example where IRF AGORA, thanks to its partner network, can develop a concept for using social media in an enterprise and thus create an awareness of necessary changes.
Example No 3:
A classical commercial enterprise discovers the internet. They want to change, looking for new ways of communicating with their customers. IF AGORA will find a mutual concept for awakening a feeling for the new world in both the leaders and employees.
In these cases, I am assuming that individualized counselling done by a team in a network like IF AGORA is a lot less expensive and – above all – a lot more effective than counselling done by a conservative counselling firm.
On its market place, IF AGORA will also make offers of its own, along with special IF GROUPS knowledge.
But, as I already wrote in IF-AGORA (2):
It is one thing to plan, but mostly the business will develop its own dynamics!
But there is something you can always rely on: trust and discretion!
RMD
(Translated by EG)
P.S.
Click here for AGORA (1), AGORA (3), AGORA (5) and AGORA (6).
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