I'm creating a social network for pilots

[Greystone]

Hello guys,

I'm new on this forum, I'm french so sorry in advance if I make some spelling mistakes.

Two months ago (around august 15th 2012), I decided to launch a new social network for the aeronautical community. The website is named stopover24.com. So far, 102 users have registered. It's not a lot, but I'm very confident for the future.

Basically, the website enables people from the aeronautical industry (mostly pilots) to get in touch and to meet. Every user can create a Stopover to say where he will be, and when (for example, "London, from 15th nov until 22nd nov"). From there on, other people being at the same place can get in touch with him/her. It's quite simple, and has worked pretty well so far as a few people have already met (in Paris).

The advantage of this website is that you can meet people from your industry/community and who share the same passion as yours (aviation here). This can work either in the city you live in, or when you are overseas on a stopover and want to meet the local pilot community. You just have to post a stopover to keep the community informed.

I have been reading aeronautical forums for quite a long time now, and I've always seen people posting topics to say where they would go and when, so that other people could contact them. I thought there was a better way to do that, and that's how the idea came to me.
My goal is to push that website up to its limit. I want to grow this community up to (at least) 1000 users by August 2013. If I achieve that goal, then I'll start thinking next step which will be to monetize the website. I've got several ideas (like premium subscription or selling products), but I don't think too much about that for the moment, to keep focusing on how to improve the service and to get more users. I want the main part of the website to be free, and get money from other services I'll add later when the community is big enough to generate revenues.
So my first goal is to work one year on that website and to achieve at least 1000 users.

So far, I have:

- Built the website. I did it on my own as I have a few notions in html/css/php/mysql. It took me a little bit more than 2 weeks to build the website from the day I made the announcement on a pilot forum until the day I launched it on the internet. That was a very basic version of the wesbite at that point, but I really needed to see if there was actually a need for that. The first day, I think 15 members registered in and I received quite a lot of positive feedbacks;

- Marketed the idea. Besided putting my URL in the signature in every pilot forum that I know (which is not always easy), I also have printed little cards that I have distributed (by mail, with a letter explaining my website) to flight schools, air clubs and airlines companies;

- Been on an important airport in the Paris region to distribute my cards to business jet charters, flight schools, and anybody that would come on my way to tell them about my projet. Even more positive feedback and registrations, which keeps me wanting to continue further. I plan on going to the first business aviation airport in Paris to distribute more cards as this method seems to work pretty well;

- Emailed several businesses in this industry.

The community is slowly growing. But I expect the growth to be exponential, for the moment it's quite steady.




So, I decided to open that topic for those of yours that would be interested to follow my adventure in building a social network from nothing. I have invested zero $ in that business so far and made just a few bucks from adverts (but I don't intend to make my business growth on that in any way).
I will update that topic as much as I can, and I'll do my best not to make too many spelling mistakes.

I'm looking forward to hearing from any suggestions that you may have. I need them, along with your support, to keep going.
It's been 2 months now, and as I said earlier, I intend to work to the limit on that website at least until august 2013. If I don't, I'll have failed, which I don't want this time. My aim is 1000 users, at least, by August 2013. If this goal doesn't sound appropriate to you, please share your opinion on this topic.

I'll do my best to push that machine as far as I can. Let's GO.

 

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