How do I lower Misc. expenses?

[LoganRodzen]

Oh yeah, sure. In fact, I do it after every single show. Is this necessary? Not at all. But for the 2 seconds it takes me, I'm willing to sacrifice, in order to avoid as many morale issues as possible.

 

I auto push after every show as well. It's become a habit.

[eayragt]

I pay as little as I possibly can, though I do have to make PPV cut and merchandise concessions, or pay them $5000 or $10,000 more than the baseline, which then jacks everyone else's pay up because they complain "I'm not getting paid as much as so-and-so at the same level" crap. So I go for the lowest possible wage. I try not to give any extras, but sometimes they won't sign until I do. And it's not like I can just let them go.

 

Sometimes it's worth taking a stand and letting someone go who's demanding that extra £10k; because once everyone asks for it you could be losing £50-100k a month purely because your gave one person an overinflated contract. Rarely is anyone worth that much.

[Remianen]

They always force me to give them like 70% of the cut. There's nothing that can be done to lower that as far as I'm aware. It's not like there are any options. There's just the one box for the cut they get. Same for TV, actually, except you have a few more boxes that it seems they're pre-set in forcing you to take, including making me eat 80% of the costs and give them 80% of the cut. I haven't found any way around this. I tried lowering the number of seasons, changing the time slow, changing the amount of time (though I technically wouldn't be able to run the promotion with less than a two hour show), nothing changes what they want for the costs and cuts. Especially not with PPV (which is odd because I thought PPV revenue was one of the biggest money factors for a wrestling company in real life, but I get very little out of it, about $1,000,000 a month). There's no way to get them to budge, they're all pretty much pre-set. When negotiating, I always start at 50% and keep moving it one spot until they agree. It's not like they'll change their mind if you ask them again with the same conditions. So yes, they bully me, and there's nothing I can do about it. The TV networks force me to eat 80% of the production and give 90% of the profits, and there was no option to change that.

 

70% is actually really good. I usually settle for the 80/80 split. What size PPV/TV carriers are you with at International?

 

I pay as little as I possibly can, though I do have to make PPV cut and merchandise concessions, or pay them $5000 or $10,000 more than the baseline, which then jacks everyone else's pay up because they complain "I'm not getting paid as much as so-and-so at the same level" crap. So I go for the lowest possible wage. I try not to give any extras, but sometimes they won't sign until I do. And it's not like I can just let them go.

 

See, here's one place you could improve. It's better to give them more money upfront than to give them those bonuses. It's the fixed vs variable cost thing. Fixed costs are easier to predict and thus, easier to account for. If you have to pay say your 10 main eventers 5 grand more a month, that's a KNOWN quantity (50 grand a month). But if they're getting bonuses of varying amounts and percentages of amounts that cannot be predicted in advance (merchandising), you can't say 'In 6 months, we should be making X in profit' because you have no idea what some of your expenses will be.

 

Oh hell no. I have no drugs, no smoking, all workers must remain for the whole show, catering, organized transport, and organize accomidations.

 

Catering, organizing transportation and accomodations all have costs attached to them. Shouldn't be too bad, unless you have a lot of workers who are based in countries other than yours (which is where relocation expenses can come into play).

 

How the hell do you do that? I've negotiated over and over, and some people just won't sign unless you give them bonuses. Some flat out refuse, with no way around it unless you pay them top dollar, which gets expensive, and dangerous since I have a salary cap of $45,000 and am always in danger of losing the guys that keep my promotion running because they all want outrageous amounts (mainly the guys in the A range popularity; I'm about to job one down in an attempt to get his pay cut down significantly). How do you get around that?

 

Get their popularity down some (as explained in your other thread) prior to negotiations starting. Give them more money upfront (monthly wage) to balance it out and make their costs fixed instead of variable. Think of it like a mortgage. A fixed rate is always better than an adjustable rate because more often than not, the latter will only adjust UPWARDS.

 

Also, how do you get around fatigue if your roster is working every single day of every single week?

 

First, not everyone on the roster works in-ring on every show. Second, not everyone on the roster works AT ALL on every show. And personally, I haven't noticed worker fatigue crop up at all with exclusive workers. If I have Vixxen (who, at game start, is almost 40) work a match on every show (two a week, one PPV a month) AND house shows, it doesn't seem to wear on her at all ("Vixxen is showing no signs of fatigue") so I'm not sure where this is coming from. Besides, given the typical size of my rosters, there's no freakin' way every worker is working every house show. The show would have to be 8 hours long!

 

Started at National, worked up to International. Also, I was doing fine with money, making about $1,000,000 a month, until my production costs increased from $640,000 to $1,536,000 (on the dot) each month (which is strange because NOTHING happened the month the change occured; I got on a bigger PPV carrier a month before and a bigger TV network two months after, but nothing the month the increase happened) and my Misc. expenses jumped from under $1,000,000 to over $2,000,000 with no increased means of revenue. Now I'm lucky to make $100,000 a month, and some months I'm losing that amount.

 

I'm inclined to think larger networks or PPV carriers carry larger production costs but I haven't tested it so I have no idea.

 

Wait, better explanation. March 2002 it was $640,000, April 2002 it was $1,536,000. I gained a new time slot, in Japan, in February, and that started airing in March. I got a deal for a bigger network in May, but that started in June. I also started airing on a bigger PPV network starting in March. So where did the increase happen? NOTHING happened in April. It's the one month in there nothing happened in. That's what's killing me. As I said, those are the exact amounts, and there's no explanation that I can find because literally nothing changed in April. Oh, and strangely, it was $400,000 in February, which I also can't explain.

 

Are you quoting this in May (so checking expenses for February in March and April in May)? Your costs are always a month behind (they're for the previous month) except for incidentals that are charged at the time of "purchase" (relocation expenses, new venues/dojo creation, title purchases, etc). Those figures would somewhat make sense (April's jump represents the additional expenses incurred by picking up a TV show in an area you're not nearly as popular in, probably in an unfavorable time slot, which started in March). The amount is eye popping but the fact that it's higher makes sense.

 

Might have to look into this.

[DreamGoddessLindsey]

Bloody hell! I increase one person's pay in order to avoid giving "extras", and now everyone else at that level are demanding raises.

 

I really really don't think offering more pay offsets the losses from giving the "extras" because you end up having to jack up everyone's pay.

[Bigpapa42]

One trick to making more money - set up a brand split so you can run two house show loops. Its kinda cheap, but the WWF did this in the mid-80s so its not unrealistic. If you have a big enough roster, just set up the brands and split the roster however. If you don't set your shows to be one brand or the other, it won't matter. Just make sure you have at least 10 workers assigned to brand so they will run shows. You can have one brand looping through your entire run, with the other just hitting the profitable places.

 

Also, since who is on a given brand doesn't seem to matter at all for house shows, take your important workers off the circuit. If you have enough, just have midcard and lower guys - the type who aren't making it on every show anyway, so they are less likely to become fatigued.

[Greg McNeish]

Also, since who is on a given brand doesn't seem to matter at all for house shows, take your important workers off the circuit. If you have enough, just have midcard and lower guys - the type who aren't making it on every show anyway, so they are less likely to become fatigued.

 

I would go so far as to have three brands. Two would be collections of the midcard-and-lower guys, to run two loops, as you've mentioned. The third would be for your top dogs, that you don't want to risk fatiguing. That brand would still have one house show per week, on the day that you run your PPV. That way, they will have two shows per week (which is not enough to tire out anyone) regardless of whether it's a PPV week or not. That's three more house shows per month.

 

Maximizing house show revenue makes monetary concerns practically disappear.

[LoganRodzen]

I would go so far as to have three brands. Two would be collections of the midcard-and-lower guys, to run two loops, as you've mentioned. The third would be for your top dogs, that you don't want to risk fatiguing. That brand would still have one house show per week, on the day that you run your PPV. That way, they will have two shows per week (which is not enough to tire out anyone) regardless of whether it's a PPV week or not. That's three more house shows per month.

 

Maximizing house show revenue makes monetary concerns practically disappear.

 

I have three brands running house shows - two major and one minor. It's worked out really well for me thus far.

[Remianen]

Bloody hell! I increase one person's pay in order to avoid giving "extras", and now everyone else at that level are demanding raises.

 

I really really don't think offering more pay offsets the losses from giving the "extras" because you end up having to jack up everyone's pay.

 

I don't understand. How are your people asking for raises? Are all your contracts set to expire at exactly the same time?

 

I honestly can't see why you're having so much trouble with this.

[ampulator]

I don't understand. How are your people asking for raises? Are all your contracts set to expire at exactly the same time?

 

I honestly can't see why you're having so much trouble with this.

I think DGL ran into the issue that's basically summed up as this: "I want the same as pay as this worker, because I believe I am equal or better than this worker." *sigh*

 

Look, this feature has been in the game, as far as I know, since TEW2008. It might be before that. I'm not sure. I do know this is not something new.

 

I think is why (I think this was told to me by Remianen himself, heh) this one of the reasons why you avoid trying to jack up the base pay. If one worker BELIEVES he/she is better or equal to another worker, but you are paying that person more, the worker might depend as much base pay as that other worker.

 

Personally, giving out some merchandise, some PPV bonuses, and even some sort of title run, saves you in cost.

[LoganRodzen]

I think DGL ran into the issue that's basically summed up as this: "I want the same as pay as this worker, because I believe I am equal or better than this worker." *sigh*

 

Look, this feature has been in the game, as far as I know, since TEW2008. It might be before that. I'm not sure. I do know this is not something new.

 

I think is why (I think this was told to me by Remianen himself, heh) this one of the reasons why you avoid trying to jack up the base pay. If one worker BELIEVES he/she is better or equal to another worker, but you are paying that person more, the worker might depend as much base pay as that other worker.

 

Personally, giving out some merchandise, some PPV bonuses, and even some sort of title run, saves you in cost.

 

Absolutely. I just had a situation where one of my workers whose an insanely over upper-midcarder (almost main eventer) warranted a $45,000/mo contract, but he wanted more if he was working house shows. So I gave him a % of merchandise or PPV instead of upping the contract to $50,000/mo. I knew I would run into workers being upset that they're not being offered contracts on the same level. You have to give out perks sometimes to save yourself headaches in the long run.

[scorpion]

I think DGL ran into the issue that's basically summed up as this: "I want the same as pay as this worker, because I believe I am equal or better than this worker." *sigh*

 

Look, this feature has been in the game, as far as I know, since TEW2008. It might be before that. I'm not sure. I do know this is not something new.

 

I think is why (I think this was told to me by Remianen himself, heh) this one of the reasons why you avoid trying to jack up the base pay. If one worker BELIEVES he/she is better or equal to another worker, but you are paying that person more, the worker might depend as much base pay as that other worker.

 

Personally, giving out some merchandise, some PPV bonuses, and even some sort of title run, saves you in cost.

 

you completely missed remi's point. He is well aware of "why" they are asking. His question was about her complaint that "everyone is asking" which is why he asked if all her contracts were due at the same time.

 

Honestly I'm befuddled by this entire thread. I have never struggled to make money at any level except cult. And I never give out PPV or other bonuses unless absolutely necessary. I always raise their base pay first. Usually only elite elite guys end up getting PPV bonuses from me. I've overpaid people to keep them happy, all that stuff and still made money.

[Remianen]

I think is why (I think this was told to me by Remianen himself, heh) this one of the reasons why you avoid trying to jack up the base pay. If one worker BELIEVES he/she is better or equal to another worker, but you are paying that person more, the worker might depend as much base pay as that other worker.

 

err, no. I don't think it was me who advocated that. Fixed costs are predictable, they're reliable, they look good on a balance sheet (and in a quarterly report). Variable costs are an accountant's nightmare (though it validates our continued existence).

 

Personally, as I've said before, I don't care what a worker BELIEVES. Only one person's belief counts for anything: mine. Take what I offer or I'll give your spot to one of the half dozen workers begging for a chance to move up. Some inflation is allowable (like if the company's profitability has expanded a great deal between the time the initial contract was signed and the new one is being negotiated). But the only people who warrant bonuses of ANY monetary kind are those workers who are putting fannies in seats (read: my frontline main eventers). Also, a top notch road agent (Ogiwara, Kingman, etc) because they tend to affect every match on the card.

 

But that's why I drain people's overness before their contracts come due. I don't care about title promises, those are easy to fulfill and don't cost me any money. But bonuses and percentages of amounts I can't predict? Very rarely. I'd rather deal with a higher fixed cost than a variable one that might fluctuate wildly. Just like a mortgage, to me. YMMV, of course.

[Hyde Hill]

But that's why I drain people's overness before their contracts come due.

 

This remains her main drain on costs, the misc expenses come from all the bonus stuff she is/was giving which they ask more off when they are very very over no matter what their personality is. This combined with getting to international but not having a full ppv and tv distribution network set up is costing bank. Remember you are not limited in adding ppv providers in any way other then one deal at a time, while tv is just one network per season.

[ampulator]

Those are great points Remi, but a worker isn't a mortgage. There are ways to cut them off if you don't like the contract. On related note, giving out merchandise percentages doesn't give you variable costs. What it does, though, it gives a percentage of the profit from his/her merchandise to the worker.

 

Now, like I said before, if I pay a ref 4500 a month, or 4000 a month with a merch bonus, it's sure as hell a better idea to givet them merch, since they aren't going to making that much merch anyway.

 

I should going to into detail into what I'm willing and not willing to give (from most to least willing):

 

1. Merchandise

2. PPV bonus

3. Travel Expenses

 

Merchanidse is pretty easy for me to give out. It doesn't directly add any costs to myself, even though it might cost me some revenue. A PPV bonus I'm less willing to give out, but if it's lower-end worker, this is really just another icing on the cake.

 

However, I almost NEVER give out Travel Expenses. Considering you have to pay their travel for every show, this is a no-no for me. And since travel expenses are based on Respect, this is sure only go up and up. It's one of the few times where I rather raise base pay (or offer up some merchandise intead).

[Greg McNeish]

<p>I only give out Travel Expenses if it's the "working in a new area" kind. I've even been known to "cheat", by immediately renegotiating, and giving them the same contract sans Travel.</p><p> </p><p>

Is it a dirtbag move on my part? Sure.</p><p> </p><p>

Am I okay with that? Always have been.</p>