Hobbyists Shouldn't Open Game Stores

[Morrus]

... is (roughly) the title of a article I saw today.

Personally, I've never had an FLGS (there was one very briefly in my town for a few months a decade or two back, but that's it). Closest one I know of is in London. So I'm not particularly invested in the FLGS thing; they've never been part of my life and, I suspect, never will; my hobby manages just fine without them.

But I agree with the basic premise that running a store is a business, not a hobby. Well, unless you're a multi-millionaire who is happy to lose money on your hobby of running a game store (which is totally valid, I suppose, if you have the money). While product knowledge is important, it's only one of many skills needed to successfully run a small retail store.

 

[darrell_uk]

It is possible to be both, the folks at Leisure Games certainly are, and they seem to be doing OK.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 4

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I know of a few hobbyists running successful game stores in San Antonio, Austin, and the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. They're not mutually incompatible skill sets. They can even be complementary...as long as you put the business operation first.

 

[Ahnehnois]

I'd say non-hobbyists shouldn't run game stores. Or anything really. If you don't know or care about your business, it comes across. There are certainly game stores that fit that bill in my area. I don't spend money at those kinds of places.

Besides, from a straight-up business perspective, why would you want to go into hobby gaming? There are plenty of more reliable ways to make a buck.

 

[delericho]

The thing is, unless you're a gamer, or otherwise pretty invested, then there's not really any good reason to open a game store - at best, you could make more money doing something else.

So I think you need both - you need the love of the game to provide the motivation to open the store in the first place, but then you need the right 'business head' to actually make it work. And I agree with Dannyalcatraz - once the store's open, you really need to run it as a business first.

 

[Janx]

I know of a few hobbyists running successful game stores in San Antonio, Austin, and the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. They're not mutually incompatible skill sets. They can even be complementary...as long as you put the business operation first.

If you don't like knitting, don't know how to knit, would you run a knitting store? No.

My wife is into knitting. She goes to lots of yarn stores. They are just like game shops, except with yarn. There's product, there's seating to knit at and BS, and the staff knows the hobby to answer questions, even help with problems.

Hobby stores not only tend to be run by people into that hobby, they NEED to be run by people into that hobby.

However, they also NEED to be run by people with business skills.

That's not an exclusive combination, so the expectation that a hobby shop run by a hobbyist equals lack of business skills is illogical.

I think many of us have seen shops run as if they lack business skills, which is where the false association comes from.

Instead, think of those instances as fools being parted with their money.

Now look at game shops that have been around for a decade or more, expanded, etc, and do not appear to be funded by an inheritance. Odds are good there's a shrewd business person behind it.

 

[billd91]

I've been shopping at a FLGS run by hobbyists for about 30 years. You aren't going to find a better place to talk face-to-face with someone about the games. There's nothing wrong with hobbyists opening a game store - as long as they know (or can quickly figure out) how to run it and run it well.

Frankly, I'm a little tired of critics dumping on hobbyists in and around the gaming industry. "They shouldn't design games. They shouldn't run game stores. blah fricking blah." How many game designers aren't also hobbyists? How many successful game store owners aren't also hobbyists? Why would someone get into either profession without also being a hobbyist? The money?!? I think not.

For the most part, these are hobbyists who also have or have developed skills in doing the things they do for money, just like the hobbyist who works as a computer programmer, or the hobbyist who works as a construction worker, the hobbyist who sits on the bench as a judge, or the hobbyist who manages case files with the VA.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

They are just like game shops, except with yarn.

Yep!

Yarn-I-OH is pretty popular with the younger set, who are really digging the new collectible knit kits...

 

[Morrus]

"Hobbyist" in this context is clearly shorthand for "hobbyist who aren't also business oriented"; the entire conversation makes no sense otherwise. I don't think we all need to individually point out that hobbyists can also be businessmen and women. The discussion is about retailers lacking that second skill set.

 

[Janx]

I've been shopping at a FLGS run by hobbyists for about 30 years. You aren't going to find a better place to talk face-to-face with someone about the games. There's nothing wrong with hobbyists opening a game store - as long as they know (or can quickly figure out) how to run it and run it well.

Frankly, I'm a little tired of critics dumping on hobbyists in and around the gaming industry. "They shouldn't design games. They shouldn't run game stores. blah fricking blah." How many game designers aren't also hobbyists? How many successful game store owners aren't also hobbyists? Why would someone get into either profession without also being a hobbyist? The money?!? I think not.

For the most part, these are hobbyists who also have or have developed skills in doing the things they do for money, just like the hobbyist who works as a computer programmer, or the hobbyist who works as a construction worker, the hobbyist who sits on the bench as a judge, or the hobbyist who manages case files with the VA.

Exactly.

Heck, countless successful businesses are run in America by people who don't even have degrees. Business sense is just a trait some people have. And some of those people also bowl. And some of those bowlers own bowling alleys.

I recall Monte writing some blogs about some of his peers who were getting snooty about being a game designer and knowing more than gamers about game design.

Bull crap. Until recently, there wasn't even a degree in game design. Most people inventing games throughout the history of mankind had no better pedigree for doing so than any other schmuck.

Heck, Gary Gygax himself was a high school drop-out (eventually went to college and did well) and insurance underwriter. Pretty sure they didn't teach game design there.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Gygax

So a person has aptitude or they don't. And I would let the bad apples get in the way of the good ones who know what they're doing, regardless of any hoity toity expectations.