What Product or Service Do I plan to offer on my web site?I have over 25 years experience in Model Railroading, primarily HO scale model railroading. HO stands for half of O Scale or 1/87th of actual scale. During my years in this hobby, I have solved, modified and created many design changes to steam engines that I built, bought, or repaired. In addition, I have built many types of wooden, metal, and plastic models of buildings, car's, and scenic pieces that comprise a train layout. Currently, my existing web site is an informational site for anyone's enjoyment. Here one can read and visually experience different types of steam power that were prevalent in the 1900 to 1950's time frame. Including many researched external links, I have provided an index source for visitors to research many of the topics encompassing the hobby of HO model railroading.Since model railroading covers a wide base of experiences such as planning, building, repairing, painting and scratch building, my web site has that same realistic variety by virtue of a guided tour. The web site offers suggestions and tips, with examples, to help other model railroad engineers. Since hosting my site on the Internet, I have started to build a small presence there. This presence, responsiblity, and interest from people have suggested the possibility of providing some design services, for a fee, to those who need some expertise in a selected area. return to top of pageThe consulting service will encompass layout design, modification of existing kits, or structures, and re-designing existing steam engines, depending on the size and dollar value. Each request will be handled as a separate order and require a proposal sent back to the customer as to time and cost of the order. At my disposal, I have other resource people, whom I can refer to in several related areas, depending on the request of the hobbyist. I will provide proven guidance, plans and drawings, specific to the customer and in some cases, the final product itself, such as a modified steam engine. I will narrow my focus to these topics which I have direct experience. After researching the Internet, I have found several sites that offer similar types of model railroad design services. These are listed below:
My consulting service will not be a solicitation to start a train repair business; instead, an offering to help to those people who have a challenge and need guidance or actual hands-on modifications in planning, and are willing to pay for it. return to top of pageWhat is the constituency of my intended audience?This question reflects a second question; why do people go to my site? They may be researching trains, needing help with layout problems, showing different pictures and explaining to their son's or daughter's about railroading, or just surfing the net. There are thousands of people in this hobby, in all age brackets from 9 to 90 that are confronted with many types of challenges while working on their 1st or 10th ultimate layout. Today with all of the technology available, a task sometimes becomes one of too many choices. People involved in model railroading cover a large cross section of many skill sets from beginner to master engineer-type railroader. Fortunately, no one has all the answers; everyone needs some help sometime, and http://hosteamcentral.com could be that place.What information do I plan to offer to encourage stickiness?I plan on changing the content on my web site every 2 weeks with new material, which I maintain in a What's New Section to allow my users to view that last changes made. Since I'm an active railroader myself, I have several projects going on all the time, which I incorporate with my experience and tips into my web site. I solicit any suggestions on my web site to encourage and maintain interest in the site. Each month, I present a new type of steam engine, its history and pictures taken personally by me of the actual model. I then evaluate the engine and archive it, making the new image available for the future in the archive section. This site is continuously growing, but under a derived plan, not just an evolution. |