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I am trying to develop a new business model. I will be Trade Marking the Monkey Gym (read more here) over the next little while, and as I think about how to steer this fledgling enterprise, I need your input as to the key IP (intellectual property), concepts, and marketing points. May I have your responses, please; this is a WIP (work in progress). Some of you have already taken on the MG ''brand', partly or in association with a name you already use. My concept of how this might expand, and might bring us all an income in time, is to facilitate the setting up of MGs in a number of locations, and not charge for that (so no licensing or franchising fees). Instead, we will be requesting that each MG owner use and promote the brand; facilitate and host a workshop for me each year or two, and that we consider how the different skill sets of each of you might play into that - I am thinking of speciality workshops that each of you consider presenting in your own area of expertise (Olivia: gymnastics; Cristina, Gyrotonics; Nolan: sprint development; Andrew: Olympic lifting and Kettlebells, and so on). As I have mentioned to a number of you, if fortune favours what we are trying to do, then in two or three years, in addition to hosting various workshops, you might consider kicking something back to HQ if the concept and brand are working well for you. Perhaps this is completely idealistic, but I want this to be 100% voluntary. Crazy? Probably! At MG HQ here in Canberra, we have systematised the body of knowledge into Beginner's, Intermediate, and Advanced (so, class structures that can be broken down into 'terms' that make sense in your environments; as an example, we use 14 week blocks because they fit University semesters; others may use 8 or 10 week blocks). As well, we have organised Two-day "Introduction to the Monkey Gym" workshops that will be trialled in the U.S. this year (Sydney's forthcoming workshop in Chattanooga; the first one we ran in Italy was a sellout, and the results were outstanding and just so much sheer fun. If I can have your responses, any responses, no matter how weird of wacky, I will be grateful. All responses gratefully received—positive or negative. The deep reason I am trying to develop this 'anti'- or non-business model is that all the other ones I have seen just don't work: licensees and franchisees don't ever seem to be happy. On the other hand, hosting workshops is something you all already do, and presenting them and developing new material is what I do—I see this as a wonderful example of synergy, and that's the model I am interested in. Whover said that business and pleasure can't be mixed—well, humbug. Warmest regards to you all, Kit Laughlin