We get it - you're going to have questions. Let's discuss them.2022 marks an interesting shift in the philosophy of Falcon Autosport. As we've grown and grown, I've tried to keep Falcon Autosport as open and approachable as possible. While I want to keep it this way, that we are still technically open to the public, a few people have become clearly more interested in our events than others. I see you, loyal and faithful guests of almost every event in the entire year. I want to give you, loyal and faithful guests, a membership system with several benefits. I want to encourage a "regular" group whose personality gels with others and whose presence is dearly missed when they're not there. Encouraging a group of people to become "regulars" who attend nearly every event is a surefire, tried and true way to keep a friendly, warm atmosphere. It can also make it easier to sell tickets to the events, which is a bonus on the behind-the-scenes. Panicking that not enough ticket sales are happening is reduced when some are sold right up-front at the beginning of the year. It frees up liquid cash for re-investing into more events, secures that events will be well-attended, and ensures a very good, fun time for me as the founder. I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy running these events, when my friends are the guests that I see at almost every event. The thing is, what kinds of things can business founders do in order to encourage these people to join these events? Well, a dedicated membership for people who want to attend more than one event, which offers discounts and features, which should theoretically entice people to join in, in more events.
But, it's not fair to others to exclude them for not being able to make several events per year, and not everyone wants to do a one-time payment of possibly as much as $1500+ for pre-paid access to every event for the entirety of the 2022 season. And, well, yes, I'm sure that the price is a huge deciding factor for most people who would consider a membership. The problem is, I can't tell you how many track days we will be able to host in 2022; even the tracks we rent from don't have their 2022 schedule sorted this early. To imply that we will have 6? 10? 3? 30? It would be impossible. We don't know how many track days we can hold. We're at the mercy of the availability of the tracks. What I can do, is say that the price of a track day with a membership, could be as low as ~$80 per event, weighted across the full season, or less. Hear me out on this: if we factor in an estimate of 4 track days in 2022, and 6 road cruises, that's ten events. If we do a flat rate of $800 for the full 10-event membership, that's $80 per event. Obviously, track days cost more to put together than road cruises due to track rental costs and associated event insurance, however the per-event cost goes down in total, and there's no way that could get that much savings from a non-membership, if you did the full ten events, for example. Some quick math: if we assume an average cost of Falcon Autosport Grand Bend Motorplex track days as being $160/each, and we have 3 of them, and one at Circuit Mécaglisse which would cost roughly $180, we are now at $660. Then, add 6 road cruises at an average cost of $50 each; add $300 to that $660. $960 now. Suppose the membership costs $800. The membership ends up being beneficial to members who can make it to enough events to justify it. So, yeah, it's a win-win. If your schedule and wallet allow, Falcon Autosport 2022 membership might be the best way to go. But what about those people who only want to do one event? Well, sign-ups will still be available, event-by-event. Just don't expect to only be paying $80 per track day; the numbers just don't work that way. I try my absolute best to reduce costs as much as possible, but I can't lose that much money like that. I can't justify it to myself. With that said, it won't be much higher. Let's say $160 per track day, approximately, at Grand Bend Motorplex as an example, again. That would just be the regular price. You're not losing anything by us doing this. Instead, we gain much more flexibility and planning. Consider. Let me know what you think. I'll review the blog comments, and social media comments and messages often and reply to any questions or feedback accordingly. |
AuthorFalcon Autosport authors are a team of track day organizers and motorsports enthusiasts in general. Drew drives a 2003 Honda Civic EP3 with 17 previous owners and 320,000+ km. Archives
May 2023
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