Clubs with falling revenue
‘Falling pokies revenue hits RSL clubs hard,’ by Graeme Hammond in the Sunday Herald Sun, May 29, 2011, details the issues facing RSL club revenue: financial pressures, an ageing membership base & poor management. This was leading to closures, mergers or loans from Anzac House to assist redevelopment.
One suburban sub-branch treasurer suggested that the problem was often ‘the sheer incompetence of the local elected committees… and that unless they get people with business acumen on committees, many clubs would go to the wall.’
Another point made in the article by the RSL State President, Maj-General David McLachlan was that gaming was not the primary focus of clubs but that it: ‘…provides us with the resources to carry out our primary role of welfare, commemoration and comradeship.’
What to do about falling revenue in the RSL clubs and other clubs?
Attracting committee members with business acumen to help improve club revenue is a good idea. But what sort of business experience would help? How long will this process take? Especially if things are in bad shape? Possibly far too long!
A couple of suggestions for clubs with falling revenue:
Do nothing
The worst thing would be to do nothing and hope that things improve. They won’t. The bluntest suggestion I can make is to close now and pay out staff entitlements while you can, or
Do something
A better alternative might be to take a good hard look at what you can do right now, aiming to halt the revenue loss, start to regain it, plan and implement growth strategies for the future, reinvigorate membership and gain greater support from the local community.
Club managers or board members are welcome to call me on 0418 541 025 or email if I can be of assistance. Another alternative is to sign up for our upcoming webinar showing what a very saavy club competitor is doing to improve their revenue. Have a look at our confidential online webinar
cheers
Nigel Rawlins
13th Beach Marketing
