Thinking of starting a business

[G R 'Scott' Cundiff]

When I retire in a few years I'm thinking of starting a small business helping churches integrate technology.

For a set fee I'd set them up with:

1. A domain name owned by the church
2. A free Google apps account which would give them a free website, calendar, contacts list, and branded email
3. I would then come on site and train people to use all the above
4. Training would include... how to keep the web page current
5. ...How to use the online calendar
6. ...How to export the calendar into Microsoft Word for inclusion in the bulletin or newsletter
7. ...How to print mailing labels from the online contact list using Excel and Word
8. ...How to print off a birthday/anniversary list from the contacts using Excel
9. If a responsible person has an Android phone, I would teach them how to keep calendar/contacts current from their phone

Do you think churches would be interested in this? What do you think they'd pay for such a service (training would probably take a Saturday).

[Steven Martinez]

I know there are groups like this already. I think there were a couple at GA in the booths. I think the issues that many churches have with them is that all of the work is done from a far and on the phone. I think you are adding a personal touch to the process. So I guess it depends on what you can live on as far as charging. It seems that your business might be very regional at first but could expand. I think if you could figure out a payment plan system or some way for the smaller/middle size churches to participate would be awesome. The "problem" I see is that many of these groups charge thousands of dollars and that already eliminates many churches off the bat.

[G R 'Scott' Cundiff]

I know there are groups like this already. I think there were a couple at GA in the booths. I think the issues that many churches have with them is that all of the work is done from a far and on the phone. I think you are adding a personal touch to the process. So I guess it depends on what you can live on as far as charging. It seems that your business might be very regional at first but could expand. I think if you could figure out a payment plan system or some way for the smaller/middle size churches to participate would be awesome. The "problem" I see is that many of these groups charge thousands of dollars and that already eliminates many churches off the bat.

Thanks for the input. Since I'm talking about retirement (over 4 years away by the way) I'm just looking for a supplement rather than an income. Mostly, hoping to help churches do things that I do all the time. Jackie and I hope to do a lot of RV-ing, so the travel is actually a part of the plan.

Anyway, at this point, I'm just thinking and interested in what other people think.

[Jon Twitchell]

Scott...

I think it's a great plan... especially for the small to mid-size church that needs things setup so that the pastor can quickly update things.
You might also include consultation for setting up twitter and/or facebook feeds in a manner that best suits the church... perhaps a church would benefit from a twitter prayer-chain... or they might use twitter to update a news-feed on the front page of their website.

Another thing you might consider is offering simple webdesign-- for instance, while you can't sell the open-source Joomla software, you can charge for the installation and design work that you might offer. You could put together a small web-design package that would incorporate installation and setup of joomla, and the training for a pastor or secretary to use it. That could still be integrated with free products like gmail, gcal, etc.

Your RV concept is great... I've often thought about trying to be in the place where I could offer a sabbatical service to small to mid-size churches... a church sends their pastor on sabbatical for 3 months, and we provide pastoral care (and music... or webdesign technology, etc) during the sabbatical. (This presumes that I could figure out how to afford an RV!)

[Dave McClung]

When I retire in a few years I'm thinking of starting a small business helping churches integrate technology.

For a set fee I'd set them up with:

1. A domain name owned by the church
2. A free Google apps account which would give them a free website, calendar, contacts list, and branded email
3. I would then come on site and train people to use all the above
4. Training would include... how to keep the web page current
5. ...How to use the online calendar
6. ...How to export the calendar into Microsoft Word for inclusion in the bulletin or newsletter
7. ...How to print mailing labels from the online contact list using Excel and Word
8. ...How to print off a birthday/anniversary list from the contacts using Excel
9. If a responsible person has an Android phone, I would teach them how to keep calendar/contacts current from their phone

Do you think churches would be interested in this? What do you think they'd pay for such a service (training would probably take a Saturday).

It has been my observation that churches are very reluctant to pay for such services. There always seems to be someone on the board who says, "...... (a teenager in the church) will do that for free." I have been on the board of a number of churches, including some large churches. None of them have been willing to pay for computer related training.

On the other hand, I suspect that your services would be in demand for a number of small businesses.

[G R 'Scott' Cundiff]

It has been my observation that churches are very reluctant to pay for such services. There always seems to be someone on the board who says, "...... (a teenager in the church) will do that for free." I have been on the board of a number of churches, including some large churches. None of them have been willing to pay for computer related training.

On the other hand, I suspect that your services would be in demand for a number of small businesses.

I know you have a point here. From my point of view the only "tech" experience I have is church related, so I naturally lean toward pursuing things in that direction. I have some time to go and I'll give some thought to working in a business environment. After nearly 40 years on the "church side" of things I'm not sure I'd know how to handle myself working with business! Pitiful, isn't it!

[Jon Twitchell]

I suggested it to you in a Private Message, but there may be others interested.

While I agree with Dave that training might be a hard sell... there are churches who will pay for service (i.e., design)... and churches that have to pay for product (domain, hosting, etc.)

From personal experience, I can tell you that a small (but useful) residual income can be developed by selling internet products to churches. I could certainly see a model of some sort of sales consulting working--helping a church assess their needs, and obtaining the right blend of products (free and paid) for their situation.

In your case, you might consider offering something in conjunction--perhaps you land in an area for a month... do technology design and training on Saturday, and fill pulpits on Sundays!

[G R 'Scott' Cundiff]

I suggested it to you in a Private Message, but there may be others interested.

While I agree with Dave that training might be a hard sell... there are churches who will pay for service (i.e., design)... and churches that have to pay for product (domain, hosting, etc.)

From personal experience, I can tell you that a small (but useful) residual income can be developed by selling internet products to churches. I could certainly see a model of some sort of sales consulting working--helping a church assess their needs, and obtaining the right blend of products (free and paid) for their situation.

In your case, you might consider offering something in conjunction--perhaps you land in an area for a month... do technology design and training on Saturday, and fill pulpits on Sundays!

That scenario has crossed my mind. I'd be a "happy camper" (pun intended) if that worked out. Who knows, Jon, we might be able to team up on something like this. "A partnership made on NazNet!"

I'm still quite a ways from it, so I can post like this about it. Things may be quite different when I actually decide what to do.

By the way, I spent a long, long time yesterday working out a process for pulling birthdays and anniversaries off a google calendar and inserting them in the church bulletin. I got it, and it now takes about 2 minutes for me to do it - with no typing involved. It took a LOT longer to figure it out.

[Gary Creely]

My observation of companies that help churches with websites is that their business model seems to rest on a monthly hosting/maintenance fee. I know a lot of churches using services like faith highway (and the sites are usually awful). What I find that most church websites lack is decent photography and graphics. My suggestion would to be offer a service like faith highway, but take you camper on site and visit their church for a service, bring a quality DSLR and shoot some great photos, sit down with the pastor and staff to get a sense of their vision, and put together a great website. Then set up a contract for a year or two worth of hosting.

I own a business that works with churches almost exclusively, and one of my favorite things about my business is going to different places and seeing different ministries. It is also rewarding to be able to offer them a service that I know will improve there ministry.


A word about church websites: I have been at my current church just over a year, and to my knowledge I have yet to have a visitor who has not visited our website before they came and visited our church.

[Charlene Clevenger]

It sounds like a service that a lot of churches could use, but would be reluctant to pay for. My advice would be to target the church secretary. She/he should be glad to learn new skills that would make their job easier. --Char Clevenger, Church Secretary