Starting my own business..

[musicalmechanic]

So here's the story. I'm only 23. I've wanted to start my own business since before I can remember (go ahead, try to comprehend that!), but I didn't want to do it stupidly. I wanted to have something I could fall back on.

So I pursued an education in mechanics. I've been doing this for the past six years, and am currently an Assistant Mechanic at a school district in Ohio. The thought process is this, if worse comes to worse, I have a trade and tools that I can fall back on.

I've been working at my current job for three years now, and have grown to pretty much love it. Unfortunately, I found out today that they don't quite feel the same way. Layoffs suck.

So, at most I have until June 2nd to work, at least about two weeks (I'll probably find out tomorrow).

I've been talking it over with my wife, and have decided to pursue my own business, figuring I can run with the unemployment and try to make the most of it. She's pretty damn supportive of me, and would love to actually see my business exist.

What we want to do is to have a mix between a novelty shop, a game store, and a general hang-out place. We're both gamers, and we think that there isn't nearly enough places for people to just go and hang out. I mean, you could go to an EB or Gamestop, but they rarely let you play anything. So what we want to do is to have a place where people could come and sit on couches, maybe have an area where people could get a bit to eat, and play. Doesn't cost anything to play (except maybe for a pooltable or something) and we could have several systems (X Box, Cube, Etc), wireless internet, stuff like that. I don't want people to feel oblidged to buy something to come in (or at least something expensive).

So, what do people think? I'm serious about this, and pretty committed at this point to pursuing it, but I'd love to hear any advice. I've never done or known anyone to start their own business, so this is all really fresh to me.

I should mention that in the state of Ohio, as far as I can tell I would need a Vendor's Liscense ($25 fee) and to fill out a name registration form ($50 fee). Those seem to be the only initial costs for such a venture.

So, Any Opinons?

[Mondt]

You know, I would love a place like that. I doubt you want some information from a 14-year-old though. Well, I'll give it to you anyway. XD I just have a feeling that more of your traffic would come from your no-pay games and couches and people would kind of get irritated of annoying teenagers staying forever. A curfew-time for people under a certain age would be a good idea. Kind of a store-policy kind of thing.

Once/if you get started (hopefully once), you should start up gaming competitions with brackets and whatnot with prizes. That would be awesome. You would have the hottest place in town. Well, for gamers at least. =p

[musicalmechanic]

Probably right about the curfew thing. I think it would be a tricky balance between limiting people's times and letting them have fun. I was thinking something similar to a library policy with computers. We could have "sign-in" sheets, and limit people's times based on those sheets and how strong the demand for that particular game is.

We're actually in Smash Bros. Tournaments every Saturday at Gamecrazy (they're off of Hollywood Video). A buddy of mine runs the store there and I talked him into the tourneys. It's been a blast.

We want to expand on that idea a bit by having several systems linked (such as halo) or having several GBA's linked (say for WarioWare).

[Arlia Janet]

I applaud the effort to make your own business. I love entrepreneurs.

There are a lot of things you need to consider. Obviously, you have to worry about acquiring funds for your location and capital. Before you do that, you need to forecast the demand in the market in your community. Are you from a big or small community? How many gamers are there? I consider myself a gamer, but I go to a gaming store at most 3-4 times a year. How much competition will you have? Exactly how will you keep people coming back? Will you sell role-playing stuff to try and bring in that crowd? You may have an amazing service, but the demand may not be high enough. How do you plan to advertise? It goes on and on.

You shouldn't have a vague idea about all these things. The best product in the world will fail if it isn't introduced correctly or if there isn't enough demand. I really hope your store does well; because of this, I feel I should give you the heads up that oftentimes the opportunity costs early on will far exceed the benefits. Sometimes, the costs will always exceed the benefits.

Good luck!

[musicalmechanic]

Hey thanks. Let's try to break this down a bit at a time...

"Before you do that, you need to forecast the demand in the market in your community. Are you from a big or small community? How many gamers are there?"

I live really close to the Cleveland area (the city is actually called Parma, a suburb of Cleveland). As far as competition, my direct competition will be from other video game retailers, novelty stores, and possibly other food stores. I also think that is a benefit because we want to combine all of these generes. I've talked to two close malls to see how much an empty store would be to lease, and they are supposed to get back to me on prices.

"Exactly how will you keep people coming back? Will you sell role-playing stuff to try and bring in that crowd?"

My wife and I just recently got into D & D, and have talked about selling stuff related to that kind of hobby (such as dice and manuals). We really want to dabble in a lot of different stuff. I have some great shirt ideas I'd love to get made, and stuff like that.

"You may have an amazing service, but the demand may not be high enough. How do you plan to advertise?"

Well, I'd like to do a couple of things. I donate blood frequently, so one thought I had was to invite the Red Cross out for a blood drive the first day, and give door prizes to whoever donates (good prizes, not dumb ones). I'd also like to do fundraisers for local and national charaties, such as our local animal shelter and Child's Play. I don't believe national radio campeigns help anyone, nor do I believe people give two bits of a damn about billboards. To me, advertising such as this would be a waste.

"I feel I should give you the heads up that oftentimes the opportunity costs early on will far exceed the benefits. Sometimes, the costs will always exceed the benefits."

We are aware of that. There is always a potential to fail, but I've come to believe that if I wanted insecurity from my job, I might as well work for myself, instead of for a company who is just going to lay me off several years after I start.

Thanks for the input. Any advice or criticizms are appreciated.

[Kikuichimonji]

I like the idea. However, here are my areas of insight:

1 - You'll need a clear list of rules for the gaming area, which should definitely include how you handle people breaking equipment, limits to play time, how to determine what games are played, general courtesy, and expectations about keeping controllers clean. It sounds harsh, but a no food\drink rule in the gaming area would help make sure that fewer things get messed up. I figure you know all that, but it can't hurt.

2- Think about selling packs/boxes and holding tournaments for trading card games, like Magic: the Gathering.

3- Will the mall have the size area you're thinking about? Can you afford the size area you're thinking about at the very beginning?

[musicalmechanic]

"1 - You'll need a clear list of rules for the gaming area, which should definitely include how you handle people breaking equipment, limits to play time, how to determine what games are played, general courtesy, and expectations about keeping controllers clean. It sounds harsh, but a no food\drink rule in the gaming area would help make sure that fewer things get messed up. I figure you know all that, but it can't hurt."

Yeah, that has actually been a concern of mine. The systems are going to be locked up, probably behind or under the TV's, so no one can snag the games, etc., but I thought about having a seperate eating/drinking area then where the games are played.

"2- Think about selling packs/boxes and holding tournaments for trading card games, like Magic: the Gathering."

I'd like to get into as much as possible, so this would definately be on the table. I'd like to stick with what I know initially, and if the company turns into a somewhat modest success, we could look at other avenues. Part of my issues with current companies is their lack of ability to adapt to changing situations right.

A good example of this (at least to me) would be Gamestop and the policy they have in place where for a PS1 game, they throw away the books and liners, and sell the games with just the CD (most Gamestop's where I'm from tend to do this, although there are some exceptions to the rule).

I don't want to lock myself into one business model. I think in order to be successful, you have to have a good amount of flexibility.

"Will the mall have the size area you're thinking about? Can you afford the size area you're thinking about at the very beginning?"

I honestly don't know. I'm trying to see what my options at this point are. I think the mall would have the volume of people I'd like, and if we weren't successful there, then we need to change our business model.

[Lockeownzj00]

I would say the most cozy is an eating area with small tables that are a little high up. In the back there could be the system "zone" type thing. This way people watching can turn if they want and observe the "pit."

There was a video-rental store near me run by this Palestinian guy, which was sort of like this. They had 4 TVs hooked up with Xboxes, for Halo 2 and shit like that, but GCN and PS2 were also optional. He had a mini-ddr thing hooked up at one point because of our inhstance.

It wasn't the best execution, but it sounds like a precursor. My main point is, though, the location: the mall is removed, and even a relaxed environemnt might be odd in a structure like a mall, like just another store. I know it's most likely more difficult to do this, but if you can find a strip mall, that's probably a better choice. Suburban strip malls don't even feel like malls, they feel like small parks almost. You're more attached to the store as a store and it's closer by. And the size isn't regulated usually by like what cubicle space you can occupy in the mall--so it's more expansive.

[musicalmechanic]

"I would say the most cozy is an eating area with small tables that are a little high up. In the back there could be the system "zone" type thing. This way people watching can turn if they want and observe the "pit.""

Now that is a damned good idea, although I'm not sure how much space we'll have (at least at first).

"There was a video-rental store near me run by this Palestinian guy, which was sort of like this. They had 4 TVs hooked up with Xboxes, for Halo 2 and shit like that, but GCN and PS2 were also optional. He had a mini-ddr thing hooked up at one point because of our inhstance."

I was thinking of having a DDR thing going too. I'm really not into it myself, but I've seen people who like it, and they tend to be damned-near fanatical about the game. I already have a small pool table and we've also talked about air hockey and such.

"I know it's most likely more difficult to do this, but if you can find a strip mall, that's probably a better choice."

I'd actually prefer this myself. The malls I've called up are a compulation of both traditional mall-like areas and strip-malls. From what I can tell, the retail stores inside a mall would probably be way too small for what I want to do to begin with. I just like both of these areas because they tend to be so popular.

I'd love to run some ideas around to you guys about names and such to see what you folks would think, but I'm so cautious about saying that kind of thing in a forum. We have some really great ideas.

I love the input I'm getting, keep 'er coming.

[Fifthfiend]

Originally Posted by musicalmechanic

So, what do people think? I'm serious about this, and pretty committed at this point to pursuing it, but I'd love to hear any advice. I've never done or known anyone to start their own business, so this is all really fresh to me.

I should mention that in the state of Ohio, as far as I can tell I would need a Vendor's Liscense ($25 fee) and to fill out a name registration form ($50 fee). Those seem to be the only initial costs for such a venture.

So, Any Opinons?

Be careful getting into a business when you only know things from the customer's perspective. Tip of the iceberg, you know? EB Games runs the way it runs because it needs to get paid. I mean, I get that you want to run a place that's fun for people, but if it's going to be your livelihood, you need to make sure it makes money first, and that it's fun for people second.

You have to ask yourself, okay, I want people to come in and hang out, how do I make sure they're coming in and hanging out and paying me money for shit, and not just hanging out all day and then fucking off out and then when they need a game they hit up EBGames or Best Buy or fucking Amazon.com or whereever.

And then on the other hand, some of the stuff EBGames does, it probably does because doing it another way would be a huge fucking pain in the ass. Maybe it'd even make for a better customer experience and even a more profitable business, but they just don't do it because it'd be a pain in the ass for them to do it that way. Which is to say, if you want to do this thing right, be prepared for some of the stuff that you know are totally great ideas to also be colossal, constant, unending pains in the ass, and be ready to get them done anyway.

The best thing I could tell you is do your legwork, I mean, you're probably not the only guy on earth who's had an idea like this, so find a place that's actually made this work, hit up the owner and get him to tell you how he did it. You say you don't know anyone who's ever started their own business, well, get to know some people who've started their own businesses. I mean, yes, you have to find your own way to do this, but there's no point forcing yourself to learn everything the hard way. I mean out in the town where I went to school there used to be these cool laid-back hangout type places that were cool and had loads of style and then they folded in half a year. And then, there were cool laid-back hangout type places where the owner was a fucking millionaire. So you know, find out what's the difference between the two.