Hello Everyone,

 

As many of you know, the estate has numerous partnerships with many organizations around SL, leveraging its brand and bringing value to all those involved. However, there are times when some partnerships do not flourish. One in particular has been with E-co club. As with any active partnership, open communication is essential for it to grow and operate smoothly. Today, members of the E-co club group received a negative commentary directed towards myself and the estate in response to a change in management in order to improve the operation of the club. Since our attempts at further communication have been declined, I have decided to post the response from myself and the Executive Team to ensure transparency as management of the project changes. Below you will find the initial communication from a prior club hostess and the response from myself:

 

Former Hostess at E-co Club: 

 

 

 

 

Dear Nico,

 

Thank you for your input. I would like to say that it is always refreshing to hear how different people perceive how a business should be run in order to be successful. I believe that the reason why the Costa Rica Sims have been growing steady since September 2007, with an occupancy rate of 98%, even in these tough economic times, is due to how well managed the entire project is.

 

The Costa Rica Sims brand is synonymous of beauty and perfection. We are proud to be known as the most beautiful private estate in all Second Life and our residents and visitors expect nothing but the best when they come to the Costa Rica Sims. 

 

I have always believed in my heart, and I have said it many times, that the real owners of the Costa Rica Sims are the residents not me. Yes, my name is under the estate owner tool, but there would not be 64 sims today if it were not for the residents who pay tiers every month. Every single resident knows that by living at the Costa Rica Sims, they will get the best Second Life experience possible and will be part of a community of residents from over 45 countries around the world. 

 

For the estate to offer all it does, including putting aside around 30% of its land mass for residents to enjoy different environments, such as the national parks and deep waters for sailing, the estate spends around $1,500 USD a month. Even with this reinvestment, it remains a very profitable business.

 

The Costa Rica Sims project receives offers on a daily basis from various brands wishing to join forces and create partnerships. But because of our commitment to excellence and exceeding expectations, we look very careful before deciding to take any offers. You may not be aware of all the partnerships that we have today. They include flora and fauna, a line of houses, clothing, jewelry, environmental sounds and we recently added a sailboat caring our brand. All these products were inspired by the beauty of the Costa Rica Sims brand and business partners have seen their sales increased up to 65% when partnering with our brand. But of all partnerships, there was one product that due to lack of good management was not seeing the benefits of the partnership with the Costa Rica Sims, namely Club E-co. 

 

Geko Stoop is the largest partner the Costa Rica Sims brand has at the moment. She is the biggest landowner within the estate, having 4 full regions and 1 homestead region. She has created, what many consider, the most beautiful resort in all SL. It is a project that has proven a success, namely due to the great management, even enabling it to expand further and offer a Marina and Spa.

 

When Geko approached me with the idea of creating a club, I explained to her that clubs in Second Life are money pits and that in order to make it a successful venture you will need to apply a few basic business principles mainly offering a beautiful environment with great music and most important a highly qualified team that will make sure that everything runs smoothly.

 

Sadly, 6 months after the day Club E-co first opened its doors, we came to the conclusion that the project was not living up to the original expectations. In the words of many visitors and even staff members, the Club had become a “tacky mess.” Sex beds on the main floor, cheap contests, animals and things floating all over the club, were just a few examples of the lack of a good management and brand development. In addition, the way the club was being run pushed away the profitable clientele any club needs in order to cover its expenses. All that was left was a club with a very low attendance, bringing in monthly tips that were only covering 7% of the club’s total monthly expenses. 

 

As a business partner, but more important as a friend, it was my responsibility to Geko to show her why the club was not a success when it has one of the most respected and recognizable brands attach to it. My communication to the club manager was totally ignored. I gave her a list of options to study and my advice in what I believe were the right steps to take in order to turn the club around. In real life, I have an MBA, have run many successful companies in the past, and I think it is fair to say, I have been successful in what I have created in Second Life.  

 

Everybody knows that a Chairperson of the Board, CEO, President or Manager of a company is the one responsible for the success or failure of any project.  If they are not doing a good job, he or she must be replaced. The horrible financial crisis the world is going through today is due of lack of good management in all high levels of business. CEOs, Presidents and Managers of large corporations were misusing company funds that belong to the investors and made poor choices that today are affecting the entire world. In a much smaller scale, this is exactly what was happening at Club E-co. 

 

If tomorrow the Costa Rica Sims were to fail, I will be responsible. I cannot blame Linden Lab, Second Life, the members of the Costa Rica Sims Executive Team, partners, or the residents for the failure of the project. It will be my sole responsibility because I am the one hired to look after the estate, the residents and the partners. 

 

As humans, we must recognize our limitations at all times. And just because we are not good at something doesn’t mean we are not good as people. God forbid tomorrow someone would want to hire me as a dentist and even worst that I would accept the offer, since I went to business school and not dental school. It is my responsibility to be honest in case someone offers me a job I am not trained to do it, and they expect positive results from me. Even more so, if that job requires me to handle large amounts of money that do not belong to me.

 

In this virtual world we all love so much, anybody can be anything. That is why is called Second Life. When it comes to businesses you can be a CEO, President or Manager. But just because you have those titles over you avatar’s head doesn’t mean you are qualified nor have the knowledge to run a successful business. 

 

All the changes you can see now and the ones coming in the next weeks at the new E-co are to benefit the clients, staff and the brand itself, not me. If you have visited the club in the past week you have noticed that the new E-co is a more refined and elegant space. If you consider that having a more beautiful environment is a crime then so be it. At no point is the club closing its doors and going private. E-co is, and will remain to my knowledge, open to anybody that wants to visit, period. If you believe that we are committing some kind of injustice, hoping to bring a different type of crowd, the one that will help the club cover its expenses including the salaries of the great E-co staff, then yes we are guilty. But isn’t that what good business is all about? The more profitable a business is, the better the brand becomes, and therefore the more benefits costumers and employees of that brand receive. 

 

I do hope to see you at the new Club E-co and perhaps we can sit down, exchange ideas and also to talk about how many of us have contributed into making Second Life a more beautiful virtual world for its residents.

 

Regards,

 

Giancarlo Takacs

Costa Rica Sims CEO