Splosh studio's future.

[paulthepieman]

I am no business man but I hope you don’t mind if I give you my thoughts on the future of the studio.

The way I see it with the studio, you need to make a decision are you going to be a Splosh studio or a studio which does Splosh, if you go down the Splosh only route you will only have a small niche market to work with however if you go down the “Studio which does Splosh” route you can open up the studio to a anyone who wants to hire it use it for whatever they want to use it for as long as they pay their money.

You could set up facebook and twitter sites for the studio, they don’t cost anything to start and if you update regularly say once a week or twice a week and let people know who you are and what you can provide I am sure you will pick up plenty of trade, you only have to look around the web to see how many amateur models there are who may want a different location to be photographed or filmed at, also there are lots of amateur photographers who I am sure would love to book a model but don’t have a venue to photograph them, you could advertise the site on some of the photographic websites, just tell them where you are and what can be provided.

If you were to go down this route you could still do the Splosh sessions at the studio and keep Bill’s memory alive but you don’t have to be solely reliant on it to pay the bills.

[Miss T]

Hi Rich,

Sorry I haven't been about for a bit, and sorry to hear of the difficulties you seem to be having. In the current climate things are v tough and even the fetish market has been hit. In addition maybe you overestimated the amount of business that is about - its much less than people think!

Now I have to say we would love to use your studio - in fact it would solve a number of issues that we have currently - as far as we were concerned it could be the perfect alternative - then I checked the map (well googlemaps to be precise) and discovered that there is one problem that we cant get round however, and that is location.

As for the other things mentioned - I can only reiterate what Andy said. He gave some good advice.

ps; Rich - Please email if you get a chance.

[Richard]

It's lovely to hear from you again, Miss T. Seems like ages; I hope that you and Bob are keeping well. I heard on the grapevine that you were having a few dificulties with your studio and thought it would be ideal for you to use the splosh studio for the time being. It certainly wouldn't do any harm to have a look (our shower isn't quite as "posh" as the one at Shenfield but it does it's job OK!).
Regarding the travel 'problems', I agree that Andy might have something about distance to travel (but he comes from Manchester so everywhere is a long way away! They used to have a nice railway to Liverpool in the 1830's but I'm not sure about since then.). I don't know your starting point but from Shenfield it is just a short hop to the Dartford Crossing (as I know from experience) then the M25 East of London and get on the A21 South to Hastings. I prefer the AA atlas for road journeys!
Anyway, it would be a way to keep your 'Splosh a Girl' activities alive for the time being so it wouldn't hurt to contact Sammy-Jane and see what we have there. (I don't mean see what I have, you've seen that already! ).
Meanwhile I wish you good luck whatever you do!

Richard xxx

[carolinewalker_2000]

I won't offer my four-penn'th regarding business planning; there seems to be plenty of excellent advice here already. All I would add is that there is only any point in keeping a sploshing venue open if we, Sammy Jane's supporters use it. So come on girls and guys, get down to St Leonard's in your smartest clothes and get well and truly trashed!!!

[Messy Jessie]

It a shame I am so far away or I could use it to host my sessions. That would make some financial contribution. Why can't we all live in one little Splosh village? It would make life so much easier!

I would love to help. Although I never met met Bill myslef, if it wasn't for him, I probably wouldn't be doing what I am doing to today. It would be a great loss for the community to see the studio close down.

You could always relocate!!

If there is anyway I can help, get in touch.

Jessie xx
www.messy-jessie.com

[SimonW]

I am no business man but I hope you don’t mind if I give you my thoughts on the future of the studio.

The way I see it with the studio, you need to make a decision are you going to be a Splosh studio or a studio which does Splosh, if you go down the Splosh only route you will only have a small niche market to work with however if you go down the “Studio which does Splosh” route you can open up the studio to a anyone who wants to hire it use it for whatever they want to use it for as long as they pay their money.

You could set up facebook and twitter sites for the studio, they don’t cost anything to start and if you update regularly say once a week or twice a week and let people know who you are and what you can provide I am sure you will pick up plenty of trade, you only have to look around the web to see how many amateur models there are who may want a different location to be photographed or filmed at, also there are lots of amateur photographers who I am sure would love to book a model but don’t have a venue to photograph them, you could advertise the site on some of the photographic websites, just tell them where you are and what can be provided.

If you were to go down this route you could still do the Splosh sessions at the studio and keep Bill’s memory alive but you don’t have to be solely reliant on it to pay the bills.

That seems a suggestion worth investigating. I used to be a keen amateur photographer and sometimes used a local studio which was hired out, at a very reasonable cost, by the hour. No "splosh" activities , but lights and backgrounds for portraits and other types of photos; it was even used by a few professionals for product and technical photography. There was a photo darkroom for hire in the same building...I think it's still there for we dinosaurs who still use real film sometimes.

As I said in my other post, I think that a real barrier to getting sufficient sploshing sessions would fixing a profitable price that isn't too much for customers. The cost of buying a download or DVD is probably not much more than a couple of pints of beer, or a few days daily newspapers, so doesn't need much thought and can be afforded by most people. But a sploshing session, with a journey to the other end of the country, and maybe a hotel, is a major commitment. Not to mention the need for perhaps a couple of days off work. (And explaining to the wife, if, of course, she isn't interested in joining in. )

[Richard]

I have just had a phone discussion with Tony Shield, the boss of the company which holds the lease on the studio. The lease expires on 28th of this September. I can't afford to renew the lease myself and will become liable for cleaning out all the remaining stuff stored there if I default on the lease. Tony is a very reasonable man but his hands are tied and will probably have to sue me unless I pay for the clearance.
Any suggestions? I have rejected the ideas of moving to China or somewhere in the middle East, so that only leaves me bankruptcy, jail or suicide!
Seriously! What I really need is for some angel to take over the lease!

[Lizzie_Claymore]

Richard,

Following on from yesterday's other conversation on the subject (which had 'bled' into the 'future of the forum' thread), it sounds like you need to let go of the lease as soon as you can (28th Sept). I thought you were located down there? Do you have a garage you could use for storage of whatever is in there?

You've said that you need someone to take over the lease but (as per yesterday), it looks like you've demonstrated to everyone that there is no likelihood of profitability in maintaining it, unless the business model to support it can be improved pretty quickly. That would require a lot of commitment from someone and, realistically, it would have to be someone down there and someone who could post regular updates and arrange shoots on a speculative basis with payment to come in later, all being well, in the way that Bill did. Unless someone is available to do that then I can't see anyone taking over the lease.

That is unfortunate but, if I'm right, then you do need to get on with clearing the place out over the next couple of months. Depending on what's in there, you might find that a house clearing company will do it on the basis that they derive their income for doing the job from the sale of whatever they find in there. Might be worth investigating.

[Richard]

The zero hour has arrived! I have written to Tony Shield to state that I will not be keeping the lease after September 28th. It will also need to be cleared of all the junk & stuff by then. Sammy-Jane knows some useful people, plumbers, builders, etc who will have to be paid when they put things right. I hope I can do that. The only way of keeping the studio itself in the hands of sploshers would be if someone came forward before mid September and offered to take over the lease before it expires. If such a person exists I can reveal Tony's phone number and address and may be able to smooth the takeover. Please let me know and I will do my best.
Good luck to the lucky person; everybody else just say prayers to who or whatever you worship!
Richard.

[Richard]

Latest Developments
I realise that you are all bored with my tales of woe but I have one more to tell. In order to get something back from my investment I thought a private one-to-one session with a young lady model might be possible. It would have to be before the shower was demolished and while some of the ammo was still there to be used (i.e. custard, beans, etc.) which was there in profusion last time I was there. I made a tentative date with a very well known young lady but was then informed that all of the stuff had been taken away and I would have to purchase replacements for use in the 'encounter'. I also think that the shower would be gone before the arranged date. After a somewhat confused phone call I agreed to scrap the session and say "goodbye" to the studio for ever except for perhaps one more payment for the clear-up!
I feel that I must just again ask, - "What would you do ?" - Answers please to the old man sitting in the gutter clutching a bottle of wine (or brandy if I'm lucky) but I don't hold out any hopes!

[SammyJaneSplosh]

Richard,
As a reply to you comment i am happy to arrange a session for you with the young lady you have said about(am waiting for her to let me know when she is available and down in hasting again).
As for food stuff like i have told you i take a deposit for all bookings and with some of that money i buy the food ect that will be used for that shoot sometimes a small amount is left but not that often,all other sploshers have never minded sending a deposit and have done so with out any fuss.. I don't like food left hanging around to go off or attract fly's.... so if you would like to have a last session you know what to do if not then fine.
Sammy Jane xx

[SammyJaneSplosh]

P.S
As for the shower in studio IT WILL NOT BE DEMOLISHED UNTIL THE VERY LAST MOMENT as i am hoping to use it a few more times be-for the studio hopefully is relocated to new address...
Sammy jane x

[Richard]

That is good news about the shower, Sammy. About the 'foodstuffs'; when I last spent the night in the studio I had time to have a look around. I took some pictures of the shelves full of tins & bottles of baked beans, custard, rice pudding, etc , all unopened and sealed. I am with you all the way about food being left to decay or grow mouldy but the ones I saw would not "go off" as no bacteria or fungi could get into the containers. Containers like that would be stored in retailer's warehouses for years before being sold and would come out as fresh as when the contents were first manufactured. To throw away such items seems to be a waste! I am prepared to pay the 'model' but not for the "ammunition" for the session when I have 'saved' the studio and all it's contents. That is not to denigrate your own work on the studio which has kept it in such good order. I thoroughly enjoyed my most recent 'session' with Keeley (spelling?) and hope I will be able to repeat the experience sometime in the future when I get better organised .
Richard xxx

[ClownJulie]

..................

[Richard]

Sammy-Jane; I have given up the idea of any future personal activities at the studio. Thank you for all you have done for me in the recent past but I don't want any future messy sessions, I have enough to do at home and I have a full program of ship cruises which have been booked by my lady partner.
May I also wish you every success if you continue to run the studio.

Good luck; xxx from Richard,