Exhausting! But we were meant for this...

Well, right now I have 3 websites I need to finish. My other job is wearing down on me pretty heavily. The only bills I PERSONALLY have is my $95 a month cell phone bill, and my lunch/dinner. I generally skip breakfast and lately and I've been trying to combine lunch with dinner to save money. I've also cut down drastically on eating out. Don't worry, all 133 pounds of me is still in healthy condition. I won't complain. All the money that I'm "saving" has been getting put towards the store. It will all pay off in the long run. Stay positive, right? Persevere.

I'm pretty thankful for my team, the online encouragement from all the forums I'm on and the local community support. It's awesome. Our friend Jason has been great with donating his time and labor with renovations. I don't know anything about holding anything other than a hammer and a screwdriver. So we're pretty fortunate to have someone like Jason who is a great handyman. My parents also happened to have a lot of scrap wood sitting storage that they were trying to unload anyway, so we took advantage of that. Needless to say, the store is actually starting to look like a store. An acquaintance on a forum that I frequent loaned me a tiny bit of money to help us get by. We were extremely fortunate for that. It would have been an overly tight month otherwise. Another acquaintance locally donated a computer and a broke Xbox 360. Thanks, Adam! Getting the console gaming half of the store is definitely the biggest uphill thing we have going for us.

The biggest thing that stresses me out right now is our electric bill. We don't have bank loans, we don't have grants, we have me and my soon-to-be part time job at Verizon and we currently are not making ANY revenue for the business store-wise because we're not open til Feb 6! So hm.

One other thing is the huge response of people wanting jobs! Two people work with me. Gil Wilson and Tyler Akers. I retain title of owner, so I take financial responsibility for the most part. Gil manages comics and the studio downstairs. Tyler manages the upstairs with me and finances (and by that I mean, he tells me how we should budget our funds). I don't always know how to reply to people wanting a job. I'd like to hire people, but I know that won't be plausible for awhile and that's going to mean we're going to be working long, long, long hours. The idea of volunteers sounds cool. But still, that's a ways off. How can I expect to train people for a position here if I'm still training myself? Still adapting? Figuring out the rhythm of how things will run is at least a quarter of the battle.

Updates & Hiccups

This is currently what's in our store window. Charming? Yep. After about 10 seconds, it transitions into another ad that says "Advertise here for $49.99 a month, call ... for details." If I can get 9 local businesses to advertise in my window, that pays for my rent there. Not to mention, it's great for them. With us located on the square, there's easily a lot of views to that window.

Onward to other things though...

Let me tell you why it's important to make sure you have a separate bank account for your business. Because when you budget for a set amount of money, you don't budget for the things that automatically get withdrawn out of your personal funds. Fortunately, we're still in an early enough stage, it's not too bad. Still, you know, I've got x amount of dollars in my bank account and in my head, I'm thinking "Okay, this much money goes towards the business." Next thing I know $7.99 from GoDaddy is getting withdrawn from my bank account that I forgot about and forgot to budget for, for a completely unrelated project. Luckily, I'm the only person who has put money into the store so far. My counterparts have contributed with inventory. Still, what if they had given me money and then some crazy bill I forgot about had withdrawn out of my bank account and subtracted from ALL of our money. We can't have that.

So tomorrow. We're setting a bank account up completely separate. New Paypal accounts, new eBay accounts, etc. I know this was probably some sort of common sense thing but it's mostly been me doing most of the finances, and my partner is just now able to free up some time where he's going to be a little more active in our decision making.

Which raises another issue - a lot of people keep saying "If you can avoid having a partner, avoid having a partner." I probably could have avoided having a partner. My friend Tyler is stepping into this role as a co-owner. I'm taking all the risks, but I asked him to be co-owner. Why? Because a. Tyler is better with finances and can manage them better than me. b. Tyler has a great vision and we can share both of ours. Second opinions are great. c. Tyler isn't quite in the financial position to contribute why I currently am, (he's got a wife and 3 kids. I've got... well, a cell phone bill.) Long story short, Tyler despite what many might say, is a necessity to this business. He brings a lot of strengths and diversity. So does my friend Gil who is not a co-owner, but I would call him the equivalent of a manager. With him being point guard on the studio and also providing the comic side of things, we wouldn't be able to do this nearly as well without him.

So anyway.
That's right.
Studio.

Currently, we have converted the downstairs to the makings of a studio.

Here are some wonderful pictures.

A Quick Updated Tour (so far)

Tonight I just wanted to walk you through real fast some of the cool changes the store has went through in the past couple days!

If you're standing in the middle of the store, this is what it looks like facing the front. The idea eventually is to have both sides of the walls with tables on each side, hosting flat panel TVs with 360s and PS3s on one side, and then PCs to use on the other.

Now if you turn around, you'll see a lovely counter top currently blanketed by random posters, (a huge upgrade from the previously cliche leaves that really played no role.

If you turn to your right, you'll see a couple lovely Spongebob wall scrolls. He adds interesting diversity to the store and appeals to a lot of crowds, (I guess). The blank board you see there is going to be used as "Post your ads" board. You know, that thing where people post a piece of paper saying they can mow lawns or baby sit? There's also a 32 inch TV on that shelf to keep me from dying of boredom during dead time, and also something to pass the time when customers want some distraction from deck building.

If I step back a little, you can kinda see where more of the card playing may take place. To the left, I eventually plan on squeezing a display case in.

Again, looking at one side of the wall near the front you can see a little more. Getting the tables is no feat - my friend Joe is going to help out.

Here, if you turn, this is where a lot of the comic stuff is going to be at. My buddy Gil is going to be in charge of keeping up to date with the comic side of things.

A closer look if you will.

Moving forward, I'm definitely looking forward to sprucing the place up with some paint, and hopefully some more art.

It's the little things! What can you do without moving to help?

Updates, updates, updates.

But before I get into the progress of the shop, I want to talk about what you guys can do to help. There's a huge spectrum of things you can do.

What you can do, just sitting where you're at now:

• Read my blog! Give feedback, and let me know what you think, or any ideas you might have.
• Visit the links in the ads. Don't worry, they're not going to screw your PC over. But by visiting the links you see around on the blog, you help the blog rake in money from Ads. Clicking the same links over and over is considered abuse, so you don't have to overkill it. Just support the other websites and in turn, you support mine!
• Join my forum. Go to www.truehideaway.com and click the forums and start participating.
• Share my blog on your Facebook. It drives more traffic here. Word of mouth is amazing.
• Let's exchange links. If you've got a blog, or a website, I'd like to do some sort of link exchange so we can trade traffic!

What you can do if you want to get more involved:

1. Donate your broke 360s, PS3s, TVs, monitors, and computers. To set up the cyber half of the store I need 360s, PS3s, TVs, monitors and computers. Unfortunately, I don't have the bankroll to buy them. But I can fix them!
2. Folding Chairs. Yup. In this type of business, folding chairs are gold!
3. Paint. If you've got paint supplies you're not using, or leftover paint, I can put it to use.
4. Curtains. Anyone good at sewing? Anyone have the material to sew with? I need some curtains to hang in the windows of the front of the shop for when we're closed

So anyway. That's some of what you can do to help me out. There are lot of other things you can do too to help out if you really want to. You can contact me outside of my blog. But these favors are within reach pretty easily.

Now onward...

Progress on the shop has been going extremely well. I just ordered a lot of inventory, mainly focused around Pokemon and Magic. Although I plan to open around February 6th, I don't think our "Grand Open" will be until closer to the 18th.

I finally got things arranged and set up accordingly. With some help from one of my friends who also owns a business here in town, hopefully we will have a display case and more tables set up by the end of this week. My friend Gil Wilson and I have partnered and is bringing the comic angle to the store. He's also willing to help work at the shop which is going to extend my hours!

After a lot of consideration on what we should do with the downstairs area, we are converting part of it to a recording studio. Gil is also partnering with me in that aspect. Podcasting and music is something we're both hobbyists of. So we're going to record local bands, and record our own podcasts. Additionally, with a lot of the same equipment we're going to convert the other half of the downstairs to a place where we can start producing a web TV show eventually as well as set it up as a "lounge" for when bands come to record. Not all of this is going to happen at once. Sound proofing the room takes time.

Unfortunately, the pace of which I'm getting the TVs and consoles is the biggest setback. I've come to the conclusion that it might not be instant and I may have to work my way up slowly to getting enough revenue to do that side of the store.

My next blog, we're going to take another tour through the shop and you guys get to see everything we have done thus far! Thanks for reading

So you wanna see what it looks like? Sneak peek

What's my actual game plan?

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.

The Path is Set

Every geek teen at some point in their life has one of three thoughts:

1. I want a place to go to where I can be around geeks with common interest and who encourage my hobby.

2. I want to MAKE a place where other geeks can come and hang out and maybe I can be somewhat profitable.

3. I want to be the one who accomplishes all the above.

Fact of the matter is, it's hard to start a business under any circumstances. More importantly, if you don't get a loan to do it, and you don't have a lot of money to start it up out of pocket, people are going to shoot it down, and question your ability to actually make it a workable idea.

I'm doing it anyway. I figure, "What the heck, if I fail, it's a short failure among many." Because in the big picture, I don't have a lot of money to get it going, so if it flops, it flops, but I didn't lose much because I didn't have much and I can finally say I did one of the many things on my bucket list which was to start a brick and mortar nerd haven. Ultimately, the vision is to have several TVs and several video game consoles lined up and down the wall for console players to "pay to play". That's pure marginal profit once you get the actual stuff set up. But it's not just for electronic gamers. We're also targeting strategy card game players and board game players. The name of the store is going to be "Truehideaway Family & Gaming Lounge".

Naturally, anyone who knows anything about the business industry is going to be pretty pessimistic about getting a business going under these circumstances. Understandably so. One of the biggest downfalls in people trying to start a business is that they try to start it with too little money. My parents don't want me living with them permanently which raises another obstacle. I'm going to be spending a lot of evenings with my head on the desk as my pillow until I can get my business going full throttle. I'm also keeping my current job as a Verizon wireless indirect agent but I'm dropping down to part time. Everyone who knows me has been pretty supportive regardless. "Robinson needs a place that is well-kept and where anyone can go." "If anyone can do it, you can, Shawn." "You've always had a keen eye for business." was some of the more positive feedback I got. Some of the more grounding feedback was, "Do you think something like this will fly? It's a good idea, but it's a small town." "Do you think it's wise to invest in something with not much money?" "You're forfeiting your position at Verizon for this?"

It's time to sink or swim.

So about a week and a half ago, I moved out of my apartment, and back with my parents to save money to put towards inventory and deposits and what-not.

I went into this entire project with about $800. Which is not a lot at all. A forum called GameTZ has been my greatest resource. I've been able to get games for bargain deals, and financially a couple users have been generous enough to loan me some cash.

Then on January, 10th I actually made the deposit on the building. Because there was a lot of stuff that the landlord needs to move out still, all I had to do was make the deposit. I don't actually have to make the first month's rent til February 1st. By Thursday, the electricity and gas was on. The utility bill concerns me a bit. It was an average of $325 a month from the previous tenant. Mind you, the previous tenant wasn't running consoles and TVs like I will be. The monthly rent is $450 a month with a prime location on the local square. For those who aren't familiar with Robinson, IL, it's in the heart of the town, dead center, with great parking. So really, I couldn't ask for a better price. As far as our audience, the town itself peaks a population of around 7,000 people and draws from about 3 or 4 smaller towns that border it with average population of 2,000 people give or take.

Fortunately, the building already had a lot of tables we could use. My friends here locally have all been very helpful and supportive, especially with me not having a car.

I aim to open up in mid-February. My hours for the shop will officially be 3pm to 11pm starting out at least. To help make up some more money, I'll continue to do run my Shawn Mitchell Solutions project which is a web design service I offer. Conveniently, now I will at least have an area where I can set up meetings with my clients and they can come to my shop to sit down and talk about options and what they need from me. Web design is a huge market, but requires a lot of networking. While I have a lot of talent in the subject, I don't have too much clientele right now, or the time to invest in networking. But I may have to find time.

Anyway. That's it for this blog entry. Tomorrow, I'm going to be go into more depth in regards to the actual business plan. What are the plans and what kind of pace do I have set for myself? People have been questioning how in depth I've thought this through. Have I itemized things? Will I legitimately be ready by mid-Feb? Where am I going to actually live when my parents kick me out? God, it sucks being 24.