So the biggest question I get asked by my peers is - "Have you really thought this through?"
The brutal truth is that there is several things I need go over that I probably haven't. It's a rookie mistake. You accept it, you let other people mention it, and then you look into what needs to be done to take care of it. Constantly be proactive - not reactive. Act before it's an issue.
That being said, this blog will kind of outline some of our focuses.
Note: SOME of our focuses. Not some of the "what-if's", not "have you looked into doing this?", not "do you have this covered?"
All those questions are for a whole different blog. Not to say that they aren't valid questions, but I really want to cover one stage at a time so that I don't spread myself too thin.
So. Without articulating numbers, or itemizing anything really, this is more or less a sketchy vision of what's to come.
The outline for the store is currently rough drafted to look like this:
1. CCG Card Games:
A. Magic the Gathering.
MTG is going to be the biggest focus of our CCG card player demographic. We expect at least 8 players to show up every week to play in whatever tournaments. I'm currently also working on an in-house league to promote Magic. Additionally, our website www.truehideaway.com is also going to focus a large portion of its subject on the strategy of Magic from local writers and from people outside the game as well.
B. Pokemon & YuGiOh are both going to be two of our major sub-focus card collecting games. While these games certainly aren't as broad as Magic, they certainly touch base with the same target audience and are a great gateway CCG for younger adults to transition into a game like Magic.
C. Tournaments. We intend to have tournaments for all of the above ranging from booster drafts to certain formats, all with great prizes.
2. Console Gaming.
A. Although not immediately, as soon as funds for the business suffice, we are going to host minimally 10 26' TVs, all of which will have a PS3 and an Xbox 360 connected to it. Although prices are not officially confirmed, the idea is that people will pay $4 for 1 hour of Game Play, $6 for 2 hours of Game Play, and $8 for an all-day pass. Prices are subjected to change and go up though assuming it's a success.
B. We will also have various promotions encouraging gamers to play certain games with prizes as incentive. For instance, one of my first promotions will be to offer a prize to the first person who beats Final Fantasy XIII-2. Memory cards will not be allowed for this competition. And the prize will be extremely suitable for the cost of play.
C.Tournaments. We intend on having weekend tournaments outside of the CCG tournaments, mostly focused on first person shooters.
3. Memorabilia.
A. We will constantly be on the search for fun memorabilia at the shop, a large portion which will be bought for liquidation sales and various collectors over the Internet. Not only does it add marginal profit to every sale, but it also offers a lot of unique cover.
B. Local Artists Art. Local artists who are interested, may have their art displayed at the shop. The art will have to meet certain requirements as far as dimensions, but we welcome all creativity, and think that locals will appreciate recognizing the names under the pieces of beauty. While all art will constantly be on display, we will also offer it for sale for the creator at a commission price.
4. The Programs
A. One of the huge "programs" I'm going to put a huge focus on is getting kids to come do their homework. I will personally sit down with anyone K-12 until a local following gains a volunteer base to come help out. But one thing I'm passionate about is keeping good kids out of juvenile delinquency and maybe showing them the potential they could have. I want to provide the incentive and opportunity to grow.
B. My other big "program" is to take donations from anyone who wants to donate computer parts. We will use these computer parts to firstly build a cyber cafe within our business that is free to use by the community. After we have enough computers to run a cyber cafe, I don't want to stop there though. I want to continue to take PC parts in and build them for any families or churches or organizations that need them. The difficult part of this is figuring out what I need to do as far as tax write-offs and what-not for people who want make sure they get to take advantage of that.
5. The biggest question I get asked is "Where are you going to get revenue from?"
Fact of the matter is, tournaments are fun and they bring traffic in but most the money that's put into the tournament is going to be cycled back into prizes and what-not. Fortunately, "Game Time" is one thing that can be given away infinitely and it builds a customer loyalty base and is free for the store to provide. So there's that. But a lot of the revenue will probably come from selling sodas and snacks. Again, there's a lot of margin there. With our low overhead, it shouldn't be hard to be self-sufficient in the beginning although I do not expect to be fully profitable.
These are just some of the many things that we're going to try to hit. Several of these projects aren't going to happen. I definitely don't want to spread myself too thin. In my next blog, I'm going to talk about the preparation I'm doing before we open, how I'm getting inventory, and how ANYONE can help in a lot of unique ways.
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