Rolling for Initiative is a weekly column by Scott Thorne, PhD, owner of Castle Perilous Games & Books in Carbondale, Illinois and instructor in marketing at Southeast Missouri State University. This week, Thorne explains why it's a terrible idea, and how to proceed if you still go ahead.
It's the beginning of the year, a year filled with bright and shining possibilities, and what does any self-respecting gamer want to do? Why open a game store of course. What could be better than playing games with your friends all day and getting the newest and shiniest titles when they first hit the street?
Two Words: Don’t. Seriously, don't. Take your money and invest it in bonds, the stock market, corn futures. You are liable to do a lot better there. Paraphrasing an old saying from the real estate field: "Do you know the easiest way to make a million dollars in the game industry? Start with two million."
Not listening to me, are you? Well, I tried. If you plan on going ahead, here are some things you ought to know and do:
- You will probably fail. Failure rates for new businesses after five years, according to the Bureau for Labor Statistics, run anywhere from 50 to 90%. That means there's a pretty good likelihood you won't make it.
- Plan on giving up most of your life outside the store. Most game store owners work in, or on, their business between 55 to 80 hours a week. That gaming you were planning to do with your friends? It's not included in those hours.
- Have capital to invest you can afford to lose (see #1). Due to the high failure rate, few banks will offer a business loan on this type of operation. You can get a loan but it will likely be a personal loan, meaning it is guaranteed with your other assets.
- Make a business plan ("Failing to plan is planning to fail"--Alan Lakein, among others). You can find samples from the Small Business Administration or help from the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE). Both are great sources of information on starting a business.
- Find a copy of Dave Wallace's A Specialty Retailer's Handbook: Games and Comics. Wallace owns the Fantasy Shop chain of comic and game stores in St. Louis and is responsible for helping more store owners become successful than any other person I know.
- Join the Game Store Resource Forum on Delphi (http://forums.delphiforums.com/gamestore). It is the only place of which I know which welcomes potential game store owners and has a group of experienced store owners willing to answer questions from their years of experience. While not nearly as active as several years ago, a number of experienced store owners still frequent it.
- Attend the GAMA Trade Show in Las Vegas next March (http://www.gamatradeshow.com). The GTS typically has a track of programming targeted specifically for potential and new store owners. You may attend, even if you do not have an operating store but are excluded from receiving the Retailer Appreciation Package, a perk reserved for operating stores.
- Follow Black Diamond Games' Quest for Fun Blog (http://blackdiamondgames.blogspot.com/). There are a number of game store blogs out there but Gary Ray of Black Diamond Games operates one of the best when it comes to explaining the whys and wherefores of game store operation. Do a site search for posts tagged "Tradecraft" and you won't be disappointed.
There's a whole lot more to running a game store than just opening a few boxes of boosters and pricing singles. If you seriously want to open a game store, start preparing now.
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The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.