So close!
Hard to believe I haven’t posted since before going to the GAMA trade show! So much to report since then. Here goes.
The show was amazing. We met some really great people, learned a ton of stuff about the gaming industry, made contacts with distributors, played some new games and generally had a great time. I really can’t go on enough about the people in this industry. There are not many retail game stores and the community is tight. Those who are successful know that the more successful stores there are, the better everyone will be. They share knowledge, numbers, formulas, ideas. There were too many seminars to attend and we even split up!
At one point, we ran into one of the board members / presenters on the trade show floor. Lincoln is his name. He runs a successful store in Montana. He gave a great talk about managing inventory and getting the numbers right. I introduced myself and asked if he had a few minutes to chat with me about my upcoming venture. He sat with me for well over an hour answering all of my questions from commercial leases to payroll, inventory to tournaments. He was so amazing. They are all like that. I feel so lucky to have found an industry with such a strong community.
Another big thing we found out is that most if not all of our assumptions are correct. I have done my homework and with the work I’ve done so far, we’re on track to have a successful store. Even with the ridiculously high rents here in Seattle. That felt good.
Oh, and when we were in our first seminar, I asked a question that made two other groups of people realize that we are all planning to do the EXACT SAME THING – open a game store in West Seattle. While that brings it’s own set of challenges, the fact that others have the same idea for the same location means our location is spot on! We have since run our competition out of town. Ok, well, not really, but one group backed out before the show was even over – they were just testing the waters. The other group is serious, but is 6 – 9 months behind us, so we will open first and get the good location. They are really nice guys and I hope they open a store elsewhere so we don’t have to compete with them.
There is so much more going on right now that I’m going to end this post about GTS and move on to more recent happenings in another post.
Brian and I did get one free Day of Fun in Vegas. We got tickets to one of those on-and-off double decker bus tours. It was so fun. We ran the whole circuit getting on and off to see just about everything in one day. What a great time! Oh, and we had some wonderful meals, too. We found the great seafood buffet on Fremont Street and dined in an amazing Chinese restaurant in some casino somewhere. Played some slots and ended up about even. Boy, we know how to have a good time.
