The first thing you need to think of when deciding about opening a Metaventure is who are your customers? For whom are you creating value? If the customers you are trying to reach are people who collect NFL Legits of the Los Angeles teams, it may be difficult to create value for them if your shop is in Staten Island, for example. Its possible to target a niche market like LA Legit collectors in Staten Island, but it would be important to do some research to understand how big of a market there would be for LA Legits in Staten Island. Within the niche you define from all your customers its important to be able to define which ones are your most important. The best you are able to define and segment your customer base, the easier it will be to define the remaining sections of your business.
After defining who your customer base is, the next question is not how are you going to make money, but what kind of value are you providing to these customers. If you find a way to bring value whether it be through your products or services, it will be more clear to you how you will be able to earn money, as people will always be willing to pay something in exchange for something they value. What customer needs are you satisfying and what problem are you solving for them? Some value proposition characteristics can be price, accessibility, brand, cost reduction, etc.
Having a block explorer shop right next to a racetrack would provide excellent accessibility for players who race to buy and sell new explorers. If you have defined different customer segments, it is important to ensure that you have also defined the value proposition for each one. Different segments might use your store for different reasons, and it is important to be able to differentiate between those groups of people.
How do each of your customer segments want to be reached? Where do your customers spend their time, and how are you integrating with their routines. Discord, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, email, Telegram, and more. How are you going to create awareness about your Metaventure's products and services in platforms where they spend their time? It is important to interact with customers and deliver your value proposition to them. Bringing new customers in to your store is one goal, but how are you going to provide after sales support to work to ensure they come back as repeat shoppers?
If you have yet to define your customer base, and if you aren't already interacting with them, expecting them to come to your store is not something to take for granted. You need to be out there telling them that you can provide them something that they need.
What kind of relationship do you have with your customer segments? What are their expectations? Is your shop a self service model, or do you provide person assistance? Are you building a community in addition to the store, or are you just selling goods?
You have defined the products or services that are bringing your customer value. Now you can start to define how you will monetize. What will be the prices, and how will you make money? Will it be only through sales of your inventory, or will you take on sub merchants and also earn through consignment. This is your opportunity to become creative. If you have opened a block explorer shop, and you have people visiting your store and making purchases, maybe there is something else related to block explorers that they need. Go back to the value proposition section and you might find that there are opportunities for you to provide those same people value aside from reselling an in game asset.
What are the resources you require to ensure your Metaventure is a success? You most likely need UPX in order to amass inventory. If you manage a community or are present on social media, you likely need someone to manage that for you if you aren't doing so on your own. You may need a shop employee to provide customer service, or communicating with the players who are using your shop as consignment. Aside from human and financial resources you may require physical or intellectual resources, which can refer to, but not limited to brand patents, data, or copyrights.
What activities does your value proposition require? If you provide the best prices, one of your activities should be market research to ensure your prices are competitive. If you pride yourself on great customer service, how are you interacting with your customers or potential customers?
Who are your key partners and suppliers to help you realize your value proposition? You may not have all the resources to do everything your business needs, so partnering with others will be important to the success of your business.
What are the key activities that your partners perform and what key resources do they have?
Creating partnerships are important in order to reduce your risk and uncertainty. Maybe you don't specialize in social media and you are looking to outsource that to a professional
Every Metaventure owner should see the Upland Guide as a potential partner. You can list your Metaventure in our Business Directory for free. If you are looking for other ways to partner with us, send us an email to set up a meeting with us.
Which key activities and resources are the most expensive? What type of business are you running? One that is cost driven means your value proposition is based on low price, or a lean cost structure. Or is it value driven - meaning that you are focused on value creation, or a premium value proposition.
After having answered all the above questions you should have a good idea of the things that will cost you money. It is important to detail these items and calculate the costs best as you can in order to be able to realize and determine pricing of products in the store. Inability to include important costs, or failure to go into enough detail of your business plan in the steps above will likely result in a lower profit margin, or worse - operating your business in a deficit.
Below are some costs you can expect to incur while operating a Metaventure.  This list is only a starting point and is NOT a complete list.  Disclaimer: The Upland Guide does not go into detail about opening up a real world business to support your metaventure. Costs such as real world taxes in your country of living is not addressed in our guide.
- Cost of land and building a structure
- Logo and branding design
- Employee salary to run operate the metaventure
- Inventory
- Website - domain & hosting
- Marketing & advertising budget
- Giveaways
- Monthly Venture Dues
- Social media content creation
- Spark (for manufacturing)
