Online Booking Business Plan Leave a comment

Introduction

The Gigmasters.com (Gigmasters), online booking platform was designed to allow consumers to hire live entertainment for corporate events, weddings and other special events. The company boasts a list of more than 15,000 musicians. It has also expanded its entertainment services to include comedians, entertainers, caterers, and photographers.

Gigmaster’s online reservation system makes use of the Internet’s ability connect fragmented music and entertainment markets into a single searchable database that is easy to use and consumer-focused.

Gigmasters is an owner-managed company. Kevin H. Kinyon, Michael J. Caldwell and Michael J. Caldwell are the co-founders of Gigmasters. John Sortino was recently appointed to the Board of Directors. They have a wealth of experience in Web development, business development, and financial management.

Services

Gigmasters collects a 10% commission fee each time it brokers a transaction between a buyer and seller of entertainment services. The seller is responsible for paying the commission. In addition to booking commissions, Gigmasters earns revenue from corporate sponsorships of its bi-monthly newsletter. Amazon.com has been a sponsor in the past.

There are many other websites which connect buyers to sellers of services. However Gigmasters focuses primarily on music and entertainment. It does this because it provides significant benefits for all its customers. Gigmasters is the only company to offer online presses kits, which allow customers to listen and see entertainers before they hire them. Gigmasters is also the only company that has created an online bidding platform which allows customers to get competitive bids from entertainers. None of its competitors do.

Other than its primary revenue sources of corporate sponsorships or booking commissions, the company also generates revenue through additional fee-based service it offers entertainers. As the company grows, and has more resources, these secondary revenue streams are likely to become more important.

The Market

Research shows that in the United States, close to $9 billion is spent each year on music and entertainment. The biggest component of this market is that of the wedding industry. Every year there are more than 2.3million weddings. Music is used to fund over $3.2Billion of these events. Other industry components include festivals, corporate events and nightclubs.

In the United States, there are approximately 13,239 offline (traditional) booking agents. They are paid an average of $2.4 million annually. Although many have websites, very few allow you to book directly online. These websites look more like corporate “brochures”, and they only list a few well-known entertainers. For further information, you can call the number. These agents tend to focus on booking high-end bands, ignoring the large market for individuals seeking bands for their weddings and private parties. These types of events comprise the Gigmasters Marketplace.

The company plans to seek strategic partnerships from sites like WeddingChannel.com. TheKnot.com. iParty.com and Evite.com whose customers plan weddings, parties, or other events. These high-traffic sites will have the opportunity to participate in a sustainable revenue sharing program. In return, Gigmasters can enjoy a steady stream in traffic and higher revenue.

Financial Considerations

Gigmasters is looking to raise $100,000 (representing 5% of equity) to expand its business and pay salary, office, website and advertising expenses. The minimum amount needed to be raised is $70,000.

The company hopes to make solid profits by 2003. These estimates are based upon conservative estimates of bookings growth. If the proper funding can be obtained, the company does not expect any significant cash flow problems.