DateLine | TagVillage
OK. The Bazaar is Live. Now What?
Friday, September 23, 2011 - 1:30 PM
by: David Ruebush - CEO
I feel it is long overdue that I speak directly to the members of tagvillage. First, I want to apologize to all of you for what may seem like gross inadequacy in communication from tagvillage lately. The past two months has been brutal on us. We have trudged our way through some of the most difficult development tasks to date. Our software is becoming very complex. As we add new features, the code becomes much larger and arduous to deal with. When bugs and glitches appear, it takes more time and energy to find them and resolve them. So, unfortunately, we have been bogged down with software development and bug resolution and have simply not had much to report to you, our cherished family of tagVillagers.
I must admit, for the past few weeks I have been feeling very burnt out. It has been stressful and exhausting getting to this point. I almost feel lately like I am just going through the motions, rather than part of an inspirational movement. It seems like all I do these days is juggle tasks. Development needs this, members need that, the bank needs this, the lawyers need that, something is broken, something is in the way of moving forward, etc. etc. etc.
The other day I was in a meeting with our advertising team and had a moment of clarity. I suddenly realized something. We have been working so hard as a company, focusing all of our energy on the software and processes, that we have been forgetting the reason, our true mission. I actually took a look at our website and realized that Causes were almost missing from the site! It seemed like everything was focused on the Bazaar and TagTrading, and not the real heart of tagvillage. This is simply not acceptable!
So, I pulled our staff together and had a meeting. We talked about the true mission of tagvillage. We talked about the website. We talked about the features that are now live and the features that are coming in the future. We talked about the fact that Causes must stay at the heart and how we all must not lose sight of the reason tagvillage is great.
It has been a very long year for many of us. Millions of lines of computer code have been written, re-written, and enhanced. We have 3 major features now live on the site:
- 1. Referral Platform
- 2. TagTrading Platform
- 3. Bazaar Platform
We have 4 major features still to come:
- 1. Social Platform
- 2. Cause Platform
- 3. Search Platform
- 4. TagVertising Platform
An interesting thing happened during my moment of clarity in our advertising meeting the other day. I began to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I realized that the next set of features to be developed are the Social Platform and the Cause Platform. As I thought about this, I began to feel that sense of purpose and inspiration again. I was suddenly energized. Right ahead of us is the fun stuff! Very soon, we will be moving into the features that directly, and greatly impact Causes.
For so long now, it seems like every discussion I have with someone regarding tagvillage is centered on the Bazaar, TagTrading, or personal earnings. I know we are all struggling through one of the most gloomy economic times in history. Every where I look I see people in need. The entire globe is in a financial and economic crisis. So, because of this, I think we all (including the directors here at tagvillage) have become very inward focused and short-sighted. We allowed ourselves to focus on the immediate return. We are counting every bean. We are hanging on to hopes that something, just something will pay off this month. I truly think we have allowed the overall economic situation to affect how we approach tagvillage.
I think it is time we reset the compass and pointed it back to our true mission. tagvillage is not a short-term project. It is not a quick fix. It is by far NOT a get-rich-quick or make money now endeavor. Instead, tagvillage is a long-term strategy. It is a plan to change the world for the better. And, if you believe in the mission and follow the steps correctly, it is a plan to make your future stronger, brighter, and secure. But there is something far more important here. If we all believe in the mission and follow the steps together, we can truly make the world a better place!
I know every member of tagvillage is here for the right reason. We all want this to be a huge success so we can see countless blessings poured out on great charities and humanitarian causes. But I also know we have families to feed, bills to pay, and individual lives to live. So I completely understand how difficult it is to keep our eyes on the mission while the global economy is forcing us all to suffer and many to outright struggle. So, it is in this light that I want to talk about the 3 existing platforms on tagvillage right now.
1. Referral Platform
"You can have everything you want in life, if you help enough other people get what they want" ~ Zig Ziglar
Right now, available to anyone on tagvillage, is a powerful tool that can make you immediate income! If you need extra money each month to help feed your family, or cover bills, THE REFERRAL PLATFORM IS THE KEY! There is absolutely no better way to generate immediate, daily income on tagvillage, than by referring new, active members. However, the key ingredient is the word "active". When you refer others and they become very active, you will be heavily rewarded.
How much can you make?
1. 5% of the Tag price every time they sell a tag
2. 5% of the RETAIL PRICE every time they win an item in the Bazaar
3. Daily Profit Share from the Activity Points you get from your active referrals
How do you find active referrals?
You don't. If you want active referrals, you must follow the advice in the quote above. According to Zig Ziglar, you must help enough other people get what they want. If you want to build a growing immediate income on tagvillage, you are going to have to invest time with your referrals. You are going to have to get to know them, find out what they need and want. And then, teach them how to get what they want. You must work with them personally. Teach them how and why to trade Tags. Teach them how to win items in the Bazaar. But most importantly, teach them how to build their own successful referrals business. If you help your referrals build growing immediate incomes through their own referrals, I guarantee you will be rewarded with your own strong, growing immediate income as well.
What kind of example would tagvillage be if we told you to help other people get what they want, but we did not do the same thing? We believe in you. We believe in your future. And we believe in your ability to refer active members. So, we are going to help you out. Next week we are launching a Pay It Forward feature on the site. We are going to give you FREE CREDITS that you can give to your new referrals. We know it is difficult to encourage others to try something new. So, we are giving you a powerful, new tool to help you convince them. In the next few days, the Pay It Forward feature will be live. You will be able to offer friends FREE CREDITS to try out the site! We want to help you build your immediate income by building your referrals business. We want you to be successful. So, we are putting our own money on the line for you.
2. TagTrading Platform
"Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago." ~ Warren Buffett
I think it is very important that we re-focus our compass when it comes to TagTrading. Too many times lately I have been in conversations with people who are frustrated with the results of their TagTrading because they have the wrong expectations. TagTrading is investing. It is for long-term growth. It is for the future. It is NOT for immediate income. Every bit as much as the Referral Platform is for immediate income, TagTrading is for a secure tomorrow.
If you took $10,000 and purchased stock in Nike, would you expect to withdraw millions a few months later? Would you expect to immediately receive a large monthly paycheck from this investment? Of course not. Everyone knows you invest in the stock of solid, proven companies so that your principal and your income will grow slowly and steadily over time.
This is the exact same principle you must apply when you are TagTrading. You must approach TagTrading as an investment in the future. The goal is to build the size and value of your inventory slowly and steadily over time. The very last platform we will implement on tagvillage is the Tagvertising Platform. It is the long-term strategy. It is NOT the short-term game. So, when you are trading Tags, or acquiring Tags, you must keep this in mind. If you want to relax comfortably in the shade of the future, you must plant the tree now, and water it for a very long time.
3. Bazaar Platform
"There is only one shopping day left, before tomorrow!" ~ unknown
It amazes me how many members have asked me how to make money by participating in the Bazaar. To me it is a confusing question. I guess, technically, you can make money from the Bazaar by owning the correct Tags that are targeted by sellers. You can also make money from the Bazaar by getting a commission when one of your referrals wins an Item. But in reality, the money you made would be from your TagTrading and Referral activities, not from your activities in the Bazaar itself.
The Bazaar is a shopping place. That is all. You cannot make money by participating in the Bazaar. This is true of both the Tags Bazaar and the Items Bazaar. If you place bids in the Bazaar, you are spending money. You are shopping. You are not investing or earning. So, when it comes to the Bazaar, I feel it is important to re-focus your compass. As much as the Referral Platform is for immediate income, and the TagTrading Platform is for investing, the Bazaar is for shopping (spending money).
However, there are a few very important things about the Bazaar that you must realize. The Bazaar is where the largest profits are made by tagvillage. This is very important to you as a member. First, the profits made when people shop in the Bazaar directly impact the amount of money we can donate to charities and other humanitarian causes! Second, the profits made when people shop in the Bazaar directly impact the amount of money we can deposit into the Daily Profit Pool. And finally, the profits made when people shop in the Bazaar can have the biggest impact on your immediate income. Why? Because you immediately earn 5% of the Retail Value of an item when one of your referrals win!
So What's Next?
"The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time!" ~ Abraham Lincoln
I am excited about the next year for tagvillage! We have so many amazing features coming in the future. The Social Platform is next on the agenda, and I feel we will introduce something that will please our existing members, attract many new members, and re-define the concept of social networks. Along with the Social Platform we will release our Cause Platform! To me this is the most exciting aspect of tagvillage. Very soon, great Causes will be able to interact with our members, build their support base, and receive huge donations because of the daily activities of our members.
Once the Social and Cause Platforms are in place, we will progress to the Search Platform and then Tagvertising Platform. We know that these final segments of tagvillage will produce the greatest financial impact for the Causes our members support. We also know these final segments will produce the greatest financial impact on our members themselves. We all want these segments to be live and working as fast as possible. But we must remember, "Rome wasn't built in a day." And the same is true with tagvillage. If we are to build a truly powerful, stable, long-lasting business, we must do it one brick at a time. We will accomplish the grand vision of the future, together with you, one day at a time.
Keeping our Eyes on the Mission
"The purpose of life is not to be happy - but to matter, to be productive, to be useful, to have it make some difference that you have lived at all." ~Leo Rosten
In the end, we will all stand proud for what we accomplished together. Every day, when the going is tough and the pressures of the daily grind get you down, remember why you are a member of tagvillage. One day, we will see countless, bountiful blessings pouring out from tagvillage to Causes around the world. One day, we will relax in the shade of the tree we planted and nurtured to full health. One day, we will look back at the energy and effort and struggle we all endured and realize is was nothing. Today is a drop in the ocean compared to tomorrow. Friends, we know why we are building tagvillage. Are you in?
We will work tirelessly to create an extremely useful platform where our members connect, earn, and share. We will become the single greatest source of financial blessings for great Causes throughout the world.
Thank you truly for your membership and support!
David Ruebush
CEO
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Your It, Tagger
Over the past several weeks I have been wrestling with a gut feeling that made me feel sick and uneasy, but I could not identify what was causing it. My gut kept telling me there was something wrong, something that would have a profoundly negative effect on the future of tagvillage. Our business has been growing consistently like a weed for almost a year. Then, suddenly out of the blue, it seemed like someone threw on the brakes. Numbers don’t lie. And the data from our site was telling me tagvillage was not performing as it should. The data confirmed to me that my gut instinct was correct. In my gut I knew something within tagvillage was not in line with our mission and principles. 
