The End of the Christian Business Women’s Network?

The Christian Business Women’s Network on Ryze has been closed after more than three years of thriving community and support.   

Ok, ok – so it’s not the ‘end’ of the CBWN.  (Sorry for the scary headline!)

The truth is that the Christian Business Women’s Network is preparing for a fresh new start as a private community hosted outside of the Ryze framework – for many very good reasons.

As one of three CBWN Leader’s in it’s history, I can tell you that I considered closing the network many times and moving the group off site.  Managing a busy forum on Ryze’s  system isn’t easy.  There is no way to easily track discussions and share moderation duties with another.  I am excited that Regina Baker has decided to move the group in this direction.  The detail that has some current members feeling bad is that the new CBWN will involve a membership fee.  (Gasp!) 

The fee is small and only charged once a year so it’s not prohibitive by any means.  Is it true that some folks are so financially pressed that $27 will be impossible for them to pay right away?  Certainly.  But that does mean that it’s wrong for the CBWN to charge a fee?  No, of course not. 

A membership fee raises the level of the networking experience.  Charging a fee means that only those individuals who agree that the cost is worthy will be a member. 

Does that mean that those who do not choose to pay are less worthy of being networked with?  Please – I won’t even answer that question.  There are hundreds of free networking forums all over the web and most people choose to spread their attention over both free and paid networking opportunities.  But. if free forums satisfied all of our needs - there would be no thriving paid communities And there are MANY thriving paid communities!  This testifies to their value.

I believe this: 

The resources, privacy and assurance that every member really values the group WILL improve the quality of CBWN membership and result in a value that far exceeds $27 a year.