Just got notice that they are suspending their publication for a few months! Ahhhh! Just when baseball is getting started.
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Does H5AB have any insight into this situation?
dp
dp
Bad Timing for sure, just got the same email....
All, don't give up hope yet. It's my understanding that Kurt and Lauren are currently restructuring and trying to find investors to keep the publication moving forward. I know Kurt is disappointed in this setback, but as far as the product itself goes, he's done a great job and hopefully will find what he needs to keep publishing.
I hope TTB posts here to give some insight. I can't imagine suspending production right in the middle of HS baseball season unless there are not enough subscribers. 
Yes this really disappoints me, I hope it doesn't take them long to do whatever they are doing, I really was looking forward to all the news especially once the season started.
I can’t begin to tell all of you how disappointed I am but I see it as only a minor setback. The loss of a key investor will be a hurdle but not insurmountable. The product is too good to be down for long and Kurt & Lauren are working real hard to get new investors. I wouldn’t be surprised if they are back up and running a lot sooner than expected in my opinion. I don’t want to speak for Kurt but I’m quite sure they have some new ideas in the works and will be back real soon. I for one can’t wait.
To begin with, I'd like to say thank you to all you hsbaseballweb fans. I apologize if we have caused any inconvenience or if there have been any misunderstandings. You've given us some great support over the last year, so I feel like I should explain our situation in a little more detail.
First I'd like to clarify one thing. Through emails several people have asked why in the world we would choose to suspend printing right in the middle of the baseball season. The simple truth is, we didn't have a choice. Our original investors made a decision that they could no longer support us. We didn't receive word about this until literally a week or so before we went to print with our last issue (the college/high school preview). Through December we were told that we'd be funded for another year, but for whatever reason that changed. So, we were given about a 30-day notice to come up with new investors, which we were unable to do. Therefore, we've had to stop for now and reorganize.
Through our first year of printing I think we got off to a great start with the actual content of the magazine. Thanks to a lot of hard-working writers around the state, we were providing some pretty good baseball coverage. But admittedly, we made two mistakes on the business side, which contributed to us being in this situation.
The biggest one was we just tried to do too much too soon. I was set on providing as much content as possible, thinking the advertisers would jump on board. That's great for readers, but tough on the bank account. What I should have done is started smaller and then increased pages as the advertising came in. I can't tell you how many times we had companies tell us, "we love what you're doing, but we're not going to advertise right now." Two major equipment companies told us that they would definitely advertise with us at some point...and we're still waiting. That's just the nature of the business, I guess.
The second mistake was trying to do run a magazine of this size on a part-time basis, really nights and weekends. So much of my time was spent with the actual production of the magazine that not enough time was spent marketing, selling, getting out to games, talking to people, etc.
With all that said, we're not giving up. I do feel like there is a market for Total Texas Baseball. You all have helped prove that. What we plan to do is restructure the way we do business. We'll have to cut back on the page count at first and use that cost savings to bring on sales/marketing help, which will hopefully allow us to steadily grow.
The good news for the future is nearly all of our current advertisers have said they'll return and many subscribers have said they'll be back. And, we do have some possible investors we're talking to. This is a dream we're not ready to give up just yet, so we're still working hard.
As the old saying goes, "if I only knew then what I know now..." I definitely would have done things differently. But, the lessons learned should allow us to come back even stronger.
If you have any questions or comments, don't hesitate to contact me at info@totaltexasbaseball.com. Again, we really appreciate all of your support.
Thank you,
Kurt
First I'd like to clarify one thing. Through emails several people have asked why in the world we would choose to suspend printing right in the middle of the baseball season. The simple truth is, we didn't have a choice. Our original investors made a decision that they could no longer support us. We didn't receive word about this until literally a week or so before we went to print with our last issue (the college/high school preview). Through December we were told that we'd be funded for another year, but for whatever reason that changed. So, we were given about a 30-day notice to come up with new investors, which we were unable to do. Therefore, we've had to stop for now and reorganize.
Through our first year of printing I think we got off to a great start with the actual content of the magazine. Thanks to a lot of hard-working writers around the state, we were providing some pretty good baseball coverage. But admittedly, we made two mistakes on the business side, which contributed to us being in this situation.
The biggest one was we just tried to do too much too soon. I was set on providing as much content as possible, thinking the advertisers would jump on board. That's great for readers, but tough on the bank account. What I should have done is started smaller and then increased pages as the advertising came in. I can't tell you how many times we had companies tell us, "we love what you're doing, but we're not going to advertise right now." Two major equipment companies told us that they would definitely advertise with us at some point...and we're still waiting. That's just the nature of the business, I guess.
The second mistake was trying to do run a magazine of this size on a part-time basis, really nights and weekends. So much of my time was spent with the actual production of the magazine that not enough time was spent marketing, selling, getting out to games, talking to people, etc.
With all that said, we're not giving up. I do feel like there is a market for Total Texas Baseball. You all have helped prove that. What we plan to do is restructure the way we do business. We'll have to cut back on the page count at first and use that cost savings to bring on sales/marketing help, which will hopefully allow us to steadily grow.
The good news for the future is nearly all of our current advertisers have said they'll return and many subscribers have said they'll be back. And, we do have some possible investors we're talking to. This is a dream we're not ready to give up just yet, so we're still working hard.
As the old saying goes, "if I only knew then what I know now..." I definitely would have done things differently. But, the lessons learned should allow us to come back even stronger.
If you have any questions or comments, don't hesitate to contact me at info@totaltexasbaseball.com. Again, we really appreciate all of your support.
Thank you,
Kurt
Surely, there is someone out there who can help????
For the sake of clarification, what happens to the current subscribers? -- many post here.
Kurt,
You have done some very good things with that publication, I really have enjoyed reading it and I'm sure others share that opinion. Unfortunately it seems like most publications like these have a short life without a lot of help from advertisers and/or investors.
I think I understand how difficult this must be on you and the others involved. If there is some small way that we can help, feel free to contact me... jerry@perfectgame.org
In any event, I wish you the very best. I think someone will want to get involved in helping. Maybe even someone who is involved right here on the HSBBW.
Good luck
You have done some very good things with that publication, I really have enjoyed reading it and I'm sure others share that opinion. Unfortunately it seems like most publications like these have a short life without a lot of help from advertisers and/or investors.
I think I understand how difficult this must be on you and the others involved. If there is some small way that we can help, feel free to contact me... jerry@perfectgame.org
In any event, I wish you the very best. I think someone will want to get involved in helping. Maybe even someone who is involved right here on the HSBBW.
Good luck
I feel for Kurt and understand without investors and advertising commitments, a publication like this cannot make it.
What I find hard to believe, especially in Texas; you have some many of the following:
1. Baseball organizations (select, etc.)
2. Baseball facilities (instructional, etc.)
3. Sporting goods stores
4. Product manufactures
5. Recruiting services
You would think this publication would be a good fit for them to advertise. Or, in today's world has the interent replaced the value for printed publications.
What I find hard to believe, especially in Texas; you have some many of the following:
1. Baseball organizations (select, etc.)
2. Baseball facilities (instructional, etc.)
3. Sporting goods stores
4. Product manufactures
5. Recruiting services
You would think this publication would be a good fit for them to advertise. Or, in today's world has the interent replaced the value for printed publications.
quote:Or, in today's world has the interent replaced the value for printed publications.
I think you hit the nail on the head. That could be a big part of the problem.
Randy.... or part of the solution! 
TTBOnline.com anyone?
TTBOnline.com anyone?
For those of you who do have subscriptions, we sent
out emails to everyone yesterday explaining our situation and are following up with letters via snail mail.
We will definitely honor all subscriptions once we begin printing again. However, if you would like a prorated refund, simply email us at info@totaltexasbaseball.com or give us a call at (817) 277-1966.
Again, I apologize fo any incovenience. Please let me know if you have additional questions.
Thank you,
Kurt
out emails to everyone yesterday explaining our situation and are following up with letters via snail mail.
We will definitely honor all subscriptions once we begin printing again. However, if you would like a prorated refund, simply email us at info@totaltexasbaseball.com or give us a call at (817) 277-1966.
Again, I apologize fo any incovenience. Please let me know if you have additional questions.
Thank you,
Kurt
quote:Originally posted by Glove Man:
Randy.... or part of the solution!
TTBOnline.com anyone?
Maybe thats a possibility.. But if you want to be successful in this business you have to update your site constantly. Not every few days or weeks.
Their automatic renewal feature works great! They had no trouble drafting my checking acct.
I really enjoyed that magazine. It was neat. Hopefully when/if it comes back, it will be better than ever.
TTB- You have a PM