Small corps with big dreams like ours have a big problem, It is nearly impossible to recruit the number of pilots necessary to back up your aspirations. This in turn lowers you appeal for recruitment which spirals into a vicious cycle that has left hundreds of small corps dead before they can hope to blossom. So many good CEOs promise great things to their few loyal members, and feel terrible when they fall into this trap and, through no fault of their own, let their friends down.
This problem is frustrating and hard to fix, and as an avid believer in the Caldari Way, which holds corporation loyalty as the highest level of honor, I am personally vexed by this plight our pilots are facing. I have searched long and hard for a solution, and found a promising, but difficult path that could lead to new heights. Now, this problem is too big for one solution, but every solution will have to begin with working together.
It is in my faith in your loyalty to your members in mind that I propose a temporary solution to this problem. With so many like-minded corps out there, all suffering from the same thing, merging might be the only way to escape the eventual fade into nothing. With just twice as many members, a small corp can sustain the activity levels necessary to back up their recruitment claims, and break past the âtiny corp barrierâ.
Now I know this poses many problems; âwhere will the CEOâs go?â âHow do I tell my corp members?â âWill this even work?â; but I believe that it is worth discussing. Just by considering it, you have begun fixing the problem, even if only a little. If we can put aside our differences, and make little sacrifices, we can build what we dream of and do what is best for our closest friends.
So, once you have taken the first step by considering it, start reaching out. Look for corps in your system. Make a deal, and reap the benefits for a long time. With your faith in the Caldari Way, we can create a better eve for our closest friends.
If you are interested, join the âTiny Corp CEOsâ mailing list, and recommend it to friends. If you have a relevant idea, or a personal account of this method succeeding, please contact me.
I donât think Eve has a tiny corp problem. I think to many want to be CEO of a corp so they create a corp. Then when they want to start recruiting, they want to be a corp that does everything.
The CEO need to figure out a start point and figure out how to grow on that aspect. The OP seems to be a Caldari loyalist so that is one facet but then (just using you as an example) what is the corps initial function⌠Mining, Industry or PVP. If all the above, then you end up in the dime a dozen box⌠and slow to grow as people will come and go as the look for a corp that is a bit more active in the area they enjoy. Also, instead of trying to go at mergers, there is always alliances that can benefit small corps.
While I have been primarily a HS Miner. One of the things that does turn me off, is the corp who hide assets under an alt corp to avoid wardec. Having another corp declare war on you is part of Eve.
Thank for sharing, Shama Olgidar, I think you make a good point. Too many people start corps without an economically viable organization strategy. I think one of the reasons many small corps shy away from specialization is because they have a hard time recruiting without spreading a wide net. For every corp that is started with monetary gain as the goal, there are many others started with less obvious goals; sometimes purely for interaction. The problem is that many CEOs start with high hopes and big dreams that they share with a few members without realizing that they canât reach them by themselves.
Also, yes, alliances would serve a similar purpose to promote increased activity an interactions, but would do less for individual corp growth and would not give a corp the same push towards self sufficiency. However, I do believe alliances play a vital role
How do the tiny corps of the world get around this? They pay members (employees) a guaranteed salary. If not for that, everyone would go wth larger established corporations assuming there were no member number limits (as EVE has none AFAIK).
But I would say that EVEâs bigger problem is its trust problem, and that affects small and new corporations more than big ones.
I think you are on to something, so I am working with my corp CEO to test your theory. Our corp will now implement a payment system to see if it improves corp wellbeing and attracts members.
I hope it goes well. I would not wish to steer you wrong.
I will say though, I think that up front, you need to explain that members who do not participate enough will be fired or not get paid or not get paid in full. You may even need to impliment trial periods, but definitely need to be careful who gets in.
In fact, you may have a system of paid and unpaid members. The advantage would be that unpaid members would feel more free as âvolunteersâ and therefore wonât have conflicts with their real life and game life.