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<blockquote data-quote="Vagabond" data-source="post: 1144180" data-attributes="member: 14517">These are my observations from being involved in a couple of small startup companies (all ISPs), hopefully they will help you:1) Get everything in writing.&nbsp;&nbsp; One ISP the owner had the habit of making verbal deals, and invariably there were disagreements.&nbsp; I can imagine the same thing happening in a game shop.2) Join the local Chamber of Commerce.&nbsp; You'll have the opportunity to meet the owners of other businesses, and you never know when knowing a plumber will come in handy.3) Get an attorney who specializes in helping businesses.&nbsp;&nbsp; By the same token get to know an insurance agent specializing small business group care policies.4) Advertise.&nbsp; The place that I am currently working for does not advertise other then in the yellow pages, and it is hurting the growth potential of the company.5) Location.&nbsp; Research your location carefully.&nbsp; Try to find out what the immediate future hold in terms of development, taxes, income level of the surrounding population, how far potential customers must travel, etc.6) Know your target audience.&nbsp; If you are relying on teenagers for the majority of your income, it makes little sense to be open 8am to 5pm, as for 9 months of the year you're shop will be empty until 3:30 - 4:00ish.7) Differentiate yourself.&nbsp; Add value to your store.&nbsp; Make a deal with a local furniture maker to make game tables, and then sale them to your clients.&nbsp; Make a deal with the pizza parlor for your game nights. Make deals with PDF producers to sell there product in shop, those type of things.&nbsp; It is probably more economical to rent out a room for gaming to groups then it is to host games and hope that the players buy stuff.8) Think long and hard about any decision you make.&nbsp; When you commit, make sure that you don't abandon the project on first sign of failure, but adjust tactics accordingly.8a) By the same token, no sense in throwing good money after bad.&nbsp; If the decision was flawed, abandon course of action, but do it gracefully.&nbsp; Promotions and such are a good way to test the waters for any idea.&nbsp; 9) 1 bad customer costs 10 good customers (or something like that).&nbsp; Don't feel bad about not catering to those that are just going to abuse your facilities, or where your going to lose money on them.&nbsp; It is easier to do this and save face at the ISP, as we can always say: &quot;We're sorry, but obviously we are not meeting your needs, perhaps you would should use AOL.&nbsp; We'll refund this months bill amount if you decide to leave.&quot; Hope this helps.-- Mike</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Vagabond, post: 1144180, member: 14517"] These are my observations from being involved in a couple of small startup companies (all ISPs), hopefully they will help you: 1) Get everything in writing. One ISP the owner had the habit of making verbal deals, and invariably there were disagreements. I can imagine the same thing happening in a game shop. 2) Join the local Chamber of Commerce. You'll have the opportunity to meet the owners of other businesses, and you never know when knowing a plumber will come in handy. 3) Get an attorney who specializes in helping businesses. By the same token get to know an insurance agent specializing small business group care policies. 4) Advertise. The place that I am currently working for does not advertise other then in the yellow pages, and it is hurting the growth potential of the company. 5) Location. Research your location carefully. Try to find out what the immediate future hold in terms of development, taxes, income level of the surrounding population, how far potential customers must travel, etc. 6) Know your target audience. If you are relying on teenagers for the majority of your income, it makes little sense to be open 8am to 5pm, as for 9 months of the year you're shop will be empty until 3:30 - 4:00ish. 7) Differentiate yourself. Add value to your store. Make a deal with a local furniture maker to make game tables, and then sale them to your clients. Make a deal with the pizza parlor for your game nights. Make deals with PDF producers to sell there product in shop, those type of things. It is probably more economical to rent out a room for gaming to groups then it is to host games and hope that the players buy stuff. 8) Think long and hard about any decision you make. When you commit, make sure that you don't abandon the project on first sign of failure, but adjust tactics accordingly. 8a) By the same token, no sense in throwing good money after bad. If the decision was flawed, abandon course of action, but do it gracefully. Promotions and such are a good way to test the waters for any idea. 9) 1 bad customer costs 10 good customers (or something like that). Don't feel bad about not catering to those that are just going to abuse your facilities, or where your going to lose money on them. It is easier to do this and save face at the ISP, as we can always say: "We're sorry, but obviously we are not meeting your needs, perhaps you would should use AOL. We'll refund this months bill amount if you decide to leave." Hope this helps. -- Mike [/QUOTE]

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