Create a Social Networking Site and Monetize it

Imagine a luxury yacht heading into the open  seas.  The wind is calm; the weather is mild.  Best of all, a well trained, reliable crew is expertly handling the boat with care.

Finding the right crew, whether for one trip, or for one year, is a result of diligent recruiting and networking.  For the crew, finding the right position is just as important.  A mismatch on the high seas can lead to long-term misery.

Captain Sean Blaise understands how essential it is for crew and captains to find each other.  He created a way to help that process with his company, Yachtcircle, which is a placement service that uses social media to match employers and employees.

“We saw a demand for low priced crew placement for the yachting industry, and furthermore we were pioneers in taking social media and adapting it to meet the varied and diverse interests and needs of the international yachting community,” Captain Blaise said.

One of the most essential aspects of Yachtcircle was to give both the employers and employees an opportunity to talk with each other, and become comfortable with each other before making a long-term commitment.

Although Yachtcircle business concept was sound, it was difficult to find a software application that fulfilled the company’s needs.

“We were unfortunately misled by a software company that claimed to have the social media chops to meet our complete requirements,” Captain Blaise recalled.  But undeterred, he continued to look for vendors who could incorporate social media into his site in a very dynamic way.

Then, he found rSitez.

“What initially appealed to us about rSitez was their extensive and robust social media platform,” he said. In order for Yachtcircle to be successful, it had to first provide a network for yacht crew.  From this, recruiting services could be developed.

Like its competition, Yachtcircle provides a resume and job listing site but it also provides opportunities for members to network through blogs, forums, email and chats.  Members can stay updated about current events in the yachting world, share videos and photos and issue invitations to upcoming events.  By working with rSitez, Yachtcircle.com was able to build a community.

While the quality of rSitez exceeded Captain Blaise’s expectations, the price did not.  Although he had previously invested in a software product that didn’t meet his needs, the great price points and reasonable start up costs that rSitez offered made it easy for him to try again.   And since rSitez version of Yachtcircle.com went live, results have been impressive.

“With our first website, we barely gained a few hundred members in our first six months due to the poor software conceptualization. With rSitez, we have grown to over a thousand members in a very short period of time,” he said.

If the captain has any regrets, it’s that he didn’t use rSitez sooner.  “Had we discovered the strong platform of rSitez, we could have invested a substantial amount more and have had a successful initial launch.”

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