[This transcript has been automatically generated by a digital software and will therefore  contain errors and typos. Please kindly take note of this and only rely on the digital transcript for reference.]

00:00

Hey guys, welcome back to the show. This is Ted, your friend and host speaking. Now for all your listeners out there who are nerdy gamers like me, today’s episode is for you because I’m bringing on my friend Adam praed to talk to us about the ins and outs of running a hobby gaming store. Adam is a seasoned veteran of the hobby gaming industry who decided to set up Alpha Omega hobby in Quincy, Massachusetts to have a hobby gaming store, he can call his own, with over 25 Gaming tables and over 4000 square feet worth of gaming space that customers can use for free. And his philosophy of giving back to his community has grown into a strong loyal following in terms of both customers and community leaders. Now in today’s episode, admin shares the realities of running a hobby gaming store, his tips for building a strong community, and why discounting a product is not the best way to push sales. Now, guys, I really enjoyed today’s episode, because Adam and I got to talk to each other about topics that were really close to our hearts, we got to talk to each other about dungeons and dragons and other games that we played in our younger days, and how the gaming industry has evolved since. And with the rise of nerd culture, I’m happy to say that hobby gaming is here to stay. Now about of course, this is through a business show. So we’ll talk about the aspects of the business as well. Spoiler alert, it’s about the community that you’ve built. So guys, if you ever received any value from the show, they don’t deserve to get your support, the best way you can do this is to subscribe to the show, leave a review on Apple podcasts, and to share the show with somebody who find it useful as well. And if you’d like to stay up to date with the latest episodes, tools and resources, then make sure you log on to Ted to.com. That’s t Ed teo.com. And now let’s dive right in. Adam, thank you so much for joining us today.

 

01:37

Thank you, thanks for having me, I

 

01:38

appreciate it, Adam, this sort of a very simple icebreaker so we can get to know you a bit better. Who is Adam prep, when he isn’t working?

 

01:45

All that stuff I see as I kind of pride myself, as always keep you busy. Um, you know, I am an artist, I’m a reader, I’m a dreamer. But I balance that out with a Dewar. You know, I find myself fueled by the things that I conceptualize and then take that and go to the production side of my brain. So I like to think of a balance of scales really

 

02:11

well. So Adam, please share with us your story. Tell us about your company, Alpha Omega hobby, and what was the journey that led to it?

 

02:19

So Alpha Omega hobby is a hobby gaming store. We’re based in Boston, Massachusetts. And, you know, it was, it was not the first time that I’ve, I’ve worked in the hobby industry, but it was one of the first times that I really settled in, done it for myself in for a partner. You know, my buddy Jake, called me in 2015. It said, it’ll be really great if we had a hobby store. And I was living in Manhattan at the time. And I said, Yeah, though, that’s fantastic. How are we to make that happen? Now this every game is a dream. It is it is, you know, but I think every gamer would love to have have that thing. But they don’t realize the amount of work it’s a it’s a monumental amount of work. So Jake, and I, you know, we wrote a business plan, and we scrapped that we did it twice more and scrapped those two, and we did market research and everything you do for a business, if you want it to succeed, and made a lot of phone calls, and did a lot of sleepless nights talking and planning, eventually, we were able to get funding and make it happen. And from there, it was just a lot of more hard work. Once you get the business open, you can’t rest on your laurels, you have to just continue on.

 

03:31

So and this is one of the main reasons I invited you on this show was for you to share. What are some of the realities of owning a gaming hobby store? It can be all fun and games, even though debt is what you’re trying to sell.

 

03:42

Yeah, you know, one of the realities of being in any kind of hobby arm of any hobby business or hobby industry is that you are not exactly in a business of, of selling just product, right? So something that someone going into this needs to realize is that you’re selling entertainment, you’re selling fun, you’re selling an idea of a pastime.

 

04:09

And it’s an experience as well, right? Correct. Correct?

 

04:11

It is that’s more difficult than saying, here’s this cool widget Would you like to buy it, you also have to explain how that widget works and teach and, you know, introduce that person to a community that loves those those things. And so, there’s a lot more community building that goes into running a hobby business than say, running your coffee stand. You know where you are, you have a rapt audience of people coming to you for coffee. With the hobby business, you really have to know how to promote you have to learn how to do that,

 

04:45

guys, as Adam just shared, running a gaming hobby store is not just about selling a product. It’s about selling that experience, entertainment fun. That is something that keeps people coming back for more or this issue may be more pronounced in the hobby gaming scene. I’m sure it is applicable Your business as well. So what kind of experience? are you providing your customers? Think about it? Is this something that they want to come back for more? Or is it something that you would come back for more as well? Now back to you, Adam, I understand that your store is located in Boston, Massachusetts, it has over 25 Gaming tables and over 4000 square feet of gaming space, you also don’t charge your customers were using up the real estate. So could you please share with me, what was your mindset behind providing such a large living space to your customers for free, and has it paid off in the long run,

 

05:26

so you are our ideal with it initially, and I will give Jake 50% of the credit, because we came together at this, I love to take additional credit for it. But it was really broad for Games Workshop and my time there, we it’s important to give the community a place to be. And so we decided together that instead of charging for space, we would rely on almost an honor system, where anyone who’s part of our community can come and play and participate for free. However, they are buying into this community, they’re they’re supporting the place where they play it, it gives the ownership to the customers and it makes them far more loyal than I think you would get by just saying, Well, here’s a few bucks, you know, you can use my table for a little while it gets rid of a barrier between you and them. And that’s very important.

 

06:23

Now, guys, what Adam just shared is the application of a classic freemium service model, providing a free service, and is distributing a loyal community which is essential for any business. Now think about it. One of the most successful brands to use the freemium service model is Spotify, by providing his customers with free streaming music, Spotify was able to solidify itself as the premium music streaming company in the world. Now Adam, you clearly have a very strong emphasis on building your community. He shares some of the other community building initiatives they are particularly proud of

 

06:53

the first thing and building any kind of community is you use the old adage, the smart planning, right? So you have to you have to figure out what your goals are and how you’re going to achieve them it with community building it is. In the hobby industry. Let’s let’s take it real macro for a moment, it’s it’s very important to understand what type of community you want to build. Do you want to build general customers? Would you like to build roleplayers or car gamers or model builders, because there is a difference on how you approach all of those different things, but we’ll pull it back a little, it’s a on a whole. You chat with them, I had a series of meet and greets for the community at different locations, most of the restaurant or coffee? And I asked them straight up, what do you want to see? Like what’s important to you? What is it that you want? And I listed those things in a jacket, I sat down and looked at them and said, Okay, we’re going to do this, we’re not going to do this. This is a maybe it’s a very, it’s time consuming. But it’s a worthwhile approach. It’s a fantastic point of action, for you to understand your customers is to be transparent. They just ask, just have that conversation.

 

08:04

So Adam, when you did this underground survey, do you do it before we launched, or after you launched?

 

08:09

Oh, yes, you do it all the time you do it after you launch, we’re still doing it. It’s a constant checks and balances with with them, you know, you’re checking understanding, and you’re you’re, you’re doing that homework. Now most of it is done right around the time we’re ready to open. But after that, it’s every few months, you have that conversation and you put a poll up on social media, you offer a questionnaire, and those things keep you grounded within the community on what their needs are that you’re not. You’re not assessing right off the bat, because there’s always those hidden currents. So you have to keep an eye out.

 

08:44

Now guys, there was a great piece of advice from Adam, to build a great community to speak to your customers ask them what do they need to be loyal to you? Now, Adam, you shared about a macro. But now let’s talk about the micro. What were some of the sub communities that you built over the years? And how have they differed in terms of the approach? Do you have, for example, community leaders helping you along the way.

 

09:04

So building community building, you know, the first thing that you want to do is you want to find your hobby champions, right? You want to find the people that are going to build the community the best way possible for you. And once you do that, it’s very easy to kind of filter through the different things that you need them to do for you. And they’ll do it willingly boasted that, like they have no problem coming in and saying, Yeah, I’ll help out the shop, no problem. So with roleplayers it’s finding that that Dungeon Master that is always eager to teach and always eager to help out new people and for painters and hobbyists. It’s finding someone who has that skill to be able to share what they know. And before wargamers it’s finding the seasoned, you know, competitive players that are willing to teach in a casual players who are willing to set up their two campaigns. You have to find those hobbies You give them the sword to run with, and you keep a tab on it, your thumb is always there on the button, but you let them go. Because the community will do amazing things if you just give it the freedom to do it. So

 

10:12

Adam usually empower the community leaders to give them free rein to run the games and to grow the sub communities. Is that it?

 

10:18

Yes, that’s almost exactly. And you’d be surprised at how, how eager most people are in the last for very little in return. So you always, you know, you you’re you’re nice to your people, you know, you make sure they get dice if they need dice, and you make sure you get some coffee and food if they need it. But they’re doing a favor for you, you know, so you want to return that it’s it’s a mutual relationship.

 

10:39

So I’m sure there must have been some customers that have been with you from the start.

 

10:42

Yeah, I it’s funny, I actually, I have customers that were customers of mine in 2002, when I was working at Games Workshop, that became customers of mine, when I opened up Alpha Omega, and even though they move away are still customers through mail order. You make those relationships for a long time, you make an impact on people, and they stay loyal. It is customer loyalty is a very difficult thing these days when online sales can dominate if you’re not careful. If you drive a customer away, you might lose them forever.

 

11:15

And this is one of the topics I would like to speak to you about which is e commerce. With e commerce being an interesting strategy for any business today. What is your view of this, especially in terms of the large space that you’re actually renting for the gaming space for your community, it must be eating into your margins as well, what is your view on this?

 

11:32

So online sales, I don’t believe he tore margins anymore than any other business. We sell online, because we want to offer that to our customers. But our our motto or creed with with our customers is you purchase where you play. So we want to be able to give them this open space and this gaming space. And in return, we’re asking for them to purchase that product from us. And not to buy it from Amazon, even though it is cheaper. Absolutely. We understand that. And we had that conversation. And we also police that in so if a customer comes into our store with a brand new product that they bought, which we thought happened, and they open up their magic packs, or their their dungeon dragons set and they we asked them, hey, where do you get that? We had that conversation. And if they say Amazon, I because Jake and I are different, I will sit down to look, you know, he is much more tender. But I will I will say look, you know, that doesn’t really help support the shop. And I appreciate it in the future. If you you purchase from us, that keeps us open. You’d like playing here and your friends coming here. So let’s keep this door open together.

 

12:48

And I’m sure that your customers wouldn’t abuse this as well. Right? We’re all adults here.

 

12:52

No, no, they don’t stay they do. You know, they’re here once or twice. And they understand it’s not the type of environment that will it’s not cutthroat, we don’t yell. You know, we’re always very open. But there’s an understanding between us and our customers that you want to give to the place where you are.

 

13:10

Right, I just fully agree. So Adam, hobby, gaming was always seen as something only nerds and geeks were interested about when we were growing up. How has the industry changed or shifted over the years? There’s the rise of Geek and nerd culture now that is Oh,

 

13:26

that’s a that’s a? You’re right. That’s a fantastic question. Um, so it is it is cool. Now finally, to be a nerd. It is it is incredibly cool. gaming and hobbying have become standardized and consumable for the average person. And we could say, for the most part Hasbro for that Wizards of the Coast, Dungeons and Dragons magic, the gathering video games, those things are accessible for many, many people. Even mobile gaming has its place in making gaming a household thing, right? Everyone knows what it is. There’s there’s mostly goodness, I think exposure is fantastic. It allows new business owners to capitalize on that knowledge and that exposure to grow a new business, you know, to be able to make that happen. On the other hand, you have a watering down of things and a homogenized ideal of what some things are. So that is it is appealable to or appeals to the mass amount of folks. So I have to kind of keep it a mindset of a businessman and answer your questions. It’s fantastic it’s great as a nerd myself and as a as my own personal idea. You know, it’s it’s 99% awesome, but the 1% is I can’t really see another dungeon dragons, you know, twitch stream You know, it’s, to me, that’s not interesting, but I understand it is to some people. And so I’m just getting grumpy. But but

 

15:07

I think you raised a very good point. So as a fellow gamer, I think what we have noticed over the years is that when we were playing the games in the 90s, in the early 2000s, the games were a lot more tailored to maybe a darker tone, sometimes it’s something a bit more, a bit more grim. And there was something that he really was something that we really enjoyed. And as you know, we are trying to push sales or the companies are trying to push the sales now, we’ve gone from dark and green tones that some of the games were really was charming in their own way, have become a bit more watered down and more mainstream, more PG, if that’s a way to say it. And sometimes it may only alienate the community a bit, but I guess overall, the hobby is still benefiting.

 

15:51

I, I think you’re right. But I also know that we, you’re on the flip side of that, I could argue against my own ideas on it, that there are companies that are tailoring gaming, just for families now. And so there are roleplay games just for younger, younger kids. So it’s a seven to 12. They are good for moms and dads and grandparents are grandmas and everyone to play together. And that’s really great. Like as much as it’s not for me, that’s fantastic. Like I had to struggle through a second edition d&d rulebook when I was young, but now they have the option to launch it, you know, at their pace. And so well, yes, it’s much less grim. I played a lot of Vampire the Masquerade in the late 90s was a time for you know, the Crow and all that kind of stuff. It

 

16:40

was darkness. Yeah. Well, the darkness of old wood. Yes.

 

16:45

The new one, which I won’t touch it with a with a 10 foot pole. But now, I think we have enough room in the world. That’s real, right? You know, and now things are not the most awesome in our society at the moment in general. And so I think gaming, it’s okay, that it’s kind of fluffy at the moment and happy You know, I’m okay with that.

 

17:09

Yeah. And I think the best thing is, families can stop playing Monopoly.

 

17:13

Yeah, yeah, there’s the board games. I, the board game industry is, you know, it’s it’s unbelievable, hundreds of millions of dollars a year in the board game industry, and you have champion companies there that are leading and look at, look at the Kickstarters from cool mini or not broke records every time, you know, they unbelievable amounts of backers in satisfied customers. And that’s really unprecedented when it comes to the gaming. That’s interesting. It’s very interesting. So I keep an eye on that. Because that trend as it slowed down in the last 10 years, it’s still growing, you know, so

 

17:52

yeah, this democratization of the publications of games these days, independent creators can also produce games. In fact, they also can actually be of a very high quality as well. The industry is no longer just controlled by the big companies like Games Workshop or Wizards of the Coast anymore.

 

18:06

Yeah, we’ve come full circle on that, though. You know, starting after first edition d&d, self published modules and designs and pamphlets that were mailed out were the thing, and then slowly throughout the 80s and 90s, we’ve saw the corporate the corporatization of gaming now we’re coming back again to small print, you know, Kickstarters for a few 100 copies, people sending out a PDF that’s your they ruin afternoon and it’s quality work most of it’s very wonderful. Like it’s it’s great.

 

18:39

In fact, I think the independent game publishers these days have a lot more room for creativity for the larger companies that have already gone listed given the fact that they actually have to answer to their shareholders there could be a large reason why that there could be a watering down of their games in the tones they were talking about earlier.

 

18:54

Yeah, you know, it’s it’s a there’s a controversy with Games Workshop at the moment, you know, shutting down a lot of fan art and fan made videos, because they’re launching their own app and I I’m on the side of the corporation in this eyesight and Games Workshop, I you have to do what’s good for your IP, you you own that property, you struggled and made that property what it is, it doesn’t matter where it came from, it’s irrelevant, but yours, it so I choose to support that company, because I want them to be around for another four years. You know, and that’s it. And if I don’t like something they do, the only thing that speaks loudly will be by wallet. That’s the only thing that will matter. Unfortunately, that’s how that’s how it works.

 

19:38

So Adam on this point, one aspect of the hobby gaming industry is of course, the excitement that comes with a new release. And a large part of the sales of the industry definitely comes from pre orders and the launch of the new product itself. Could you share with us your strategies on how you make the most of the pre order phase and when the product is actually launched?

 

19:57

Absolutely. So this is really simple. It seems like a complex idea, but it’s not. And so I’ll break it down. And I’m going to do a really cool analogy that I think will your listeners will understand it. This applies to most things that are pre orderable are not just hobby items, but it could be a new book or anything. Events and community are the vehicles that will drive your sales. So what that means is when you get a pre order, and you know you’re six weeks out, you’re six weeks out from that pre order, promotion is important, you want to get a copy of it, you want to start showing it to your community, you want to have an event where the community could come in and kickstart or sorry, kick the tires on that game a little bit. You want to get their hands on it, because pictures are great. But we really need to see it’s, it’s a tactile hobby, we have, you know, as a hobby product releases, you want to make sure you have all of those pre orders in you want to order and have enough on hand, you want to make sure the community has it. But that’s when your job really starts. Because the promotion and the success of the approver is not only counted by your sales of that item, but your add on items and your community and the longevity of that item. It’s you schedule events, and you have reviews and you let the community be involved with that thing, whatever that thing is. And you do this for about six weeks. So you’re talking about ideally, a 12 week cycle. For a big release. If we were talking about a miniature game a right 12 weeks after that your notice your community’s interest will dip a little. If you’re planning properly, you will have something else on the upswing, you’ll catch it in the middle. You’re always crusty, always be here. You don’t want to be caught here. And then that’s that’s how it works on. And even after that’s over, let’s say you’re 14 weeks in or 16 weeks, and you send an email blast our social media blast, you say Hey, everybody, bring it all those really cool dwarf miniatures that we painted a couple a couple of weeks ago, let’s have a dwarf battle, what’s a big big bring a battle and the winner you’ll get a cool prize. But let’s do this. It’s a social media opportunity. It’s a promotion opportunity. Always be promoting always be shouting as loud as you can about your products and pre orders fall into that you’ll find you get you know, you get to a group and that’s it. It’s very simple.

 

22:28

I see. So I guess I know when a gaming shop is doing well in my wallet, I MTA

 

22:34

Yes, my, my two, I have to be very careful. But it’s true. When you can’t seem to support them enough, you you’re happy to spend money, you know you found your place, you know you you’re happy to support those, those people.

 

22:50

So guys, if you’re in a business day, she allows you to run pre orders, launch sales, then think about what Adam has just shared. Think about how you can get your community involved, how you can generate your excitement, and maybe how you can get them to get in touch with the product that you’re launching. This way, they can just say what the product is about and make their orders. Okay, back to you, Adam, let’s talk a little bit more on the point of building a community, the guys who are the best advocates, when they speak about coming to your shop, you know, you can see their eyes light up, they are just that passionate. And it’s kind of like the second home in a way, which is not something that most businesses get to see, or get to say they have that kind of relationship with a customer.

 

23:29

That’s true. You know, and it isn’t like most businesses, because as a, as a community leader, as you’re wearing the hat of a business owner and the hat of a hobbyist and the hat of promotions and marketing person, you also end up wearing the hat of a big brother, and a hat of a mentor and the hat of sometimes the therapist, you know, the community becomes a place where people come to feel safe, and they come to relax. And at advertently, you’re going to get the humanity that comes with that. And it’s important to draw a line and maintain healthy boundaries. But it’s also very important to listen to your customers and understand that there are people and that as a as a hobby store owner, you’re going to have that you can’t avoid it. And you have to be comfortable with that idea that people will share things with you that they will share with the guy at Walmart. Because because the guy Walmart doesn’t care. You know, he has no vested interest in your day other than, you know, to separate you from your $10

 

24:38

Yeah, most of the time. If it’s done well, you would actually be a friend to them and like I said a mentor. So that’s why they will be willing to share the kind of permission they don’t just see you as a business owner. They are so few that you’re a friend that they would love to support. And that’s one of the most powerful ways to create that loyalty and customer base. That’s amazing. So let’s talk about SKU stock keeping units. So what happens when certain inventories maybe are not as well received as you thought they would be when the customers first expected it? What are your strategies to manage this.

 

25:13

So when you have a product that did not perform as well as we’d like it to, instead of having it sit on your shelf, which is what a lot of shops do, it just gathers dust or the first thing you think of is let’s discount it. And that’s the mistake, that’s where they’re making an error. discounting product doesn’t make customer loyalty, it does the opposite. It cheapens the idea of your product to the customer. it devalues it. And it’s a lot of stores disagree with that, but we never discount, we do not. We offer a points reward system, but we don’t offer discounts. And it has worked for us for years, it’s worked for us in other theaters. So when we have a product that isn’t going well. So discounting it, what we’ll do is create another use for that product. If it’s a miniature, we will create an event for it, to sell that miniature and let the community use that miniature if it’s a book, we will go so far as to have an RPG day and promote it as part of a wider range of books. So these are all sci fi books. Right? We have at times given to charity. And even though that item, we’re not getting a profit from it, we’re doing a much better thing with it. But for the most part, it’s like leftovers that go into soup, right? You’re gonna take them to turn them into something delicious. And you do the same thing with restock that isn’t moving, don’t discount head don’t stop, put it on sale, show the customers or community that you actually care about it. And that, yeah, might not have been the most popular thing. But it’s still cool. Like, there’s nothing that isn’t awesome in your store. You know, I? I asked people, you know, what, how many items do we have in our store, you know, how many new items and they’ll say all three or four. Everything is new. For somebody who just walks in everything is new. And you can’t make that bias you can’t you can’t make once you start choosing better or worse in your head, you’ve already made an error. Everything has to be wonderful all the time. And so that’s that’s how I managed it. And you know, it’s it’s pretty successful as far as trying to move stock that people would say is dead, even that’s a horrible term. deadstock is, you know,

 

27:37

what was the saying, right? One man’s garbage is another man’s treasure?

 

27:41

Yes, absolutely. And I, I could tell you dozens of examples of what I’ve walked into a game store somewhere, and found something on a dusty shelf that had been there for 10 years, that I would love to have, and I purchase it. And the owner will say, Oh, it’s been there for, you know, whatever. But I’d like to think it’s waiting for me. You know, I we find those things that we seek, you know, and it’s almost a game ended up itself is that that hunt.

 

28:06

So guys, those are very important tips that Adam just shared. Just because it’s a product that may not be moving as well, getting a discount of Gary of it actually devalues that product. So why not think about running a community then, or competition to actually promote the product itself, instead of just giving it a discount and selling it away. As a business owner, you need to help your community and customers understand the value of the product itself. So Adam with the huge number of games and genres within each category, how do you actually stock or choose to stock all the products that

 

28:36

you have? So by this partner Jake is he is a magical human being. And he has an ability to really route through data and understand trends when it comes to product and when it comes to gaming. And I admire him for that because I don’t have that. So the biggest contributor to us being able to predict an order properly and get all the really cool new things has been trade sales conventions. as funny as that sounds, and sending one of our people were Jake to that convention, a boots on the ground going and talking to the vendors. Nothing beats that it’s how it was done in sales forever. It still is the best because you get to see the product, play with it, understand it. And then you can you can haggle and you can make deals face to face. Is it expensive? Yes, it’s expensive to do that you tell profit a company time it makes the person who has to stay behind grumpy because they have to work a few weeks straight, you know, but the, the knowledge you get and the ability to make those networking connections are more important than anything you can’t put a price on those things. So that’s how we do a lot of a lot of our product. Kind of maintenance by off the hip shooting deal. For their a doing that the other half is just marketing, we look at, you know boardgamegeek and see what’s popular. We keep tabs on what’s what’s winning awards. You know, it’s not hard to see what’s what’s trending in the Zeitgeist of gaming, you know, you just have to read some very boring journals or you have to keep tabs on webpages, it’s, I imagine it’s similar for every product that has a wide wide reach.

 

30:23

So guys, as Adam shares new, despite the advancements in technology, the best way to really make connections and to get close to the ground, is to attend trade conventions, media, suppliers, media manufacturers, and this way you can actually understand where the industry trends are moving, form relationships, and negotiate your dues. So now let’s talk a little bit about maybe your employees. We’ve spoken about your community leaders who are actually your customers who have been empowered to lead the different projects we’ve disturbed, but your employees must be equally or if not more important, because they are the backbone of your organization. So could you share some of the initiatives that you’ve implemented to incentivize or reward them over the years,

 

31:01

so you’re with, with some of our employees, we, we really had some time to have a conversation with them and ask them what they need. I know, during the pandemic, we continue to pay even our part timers, even though they were in the shop. This is because people still need to pay bills and put food on the table. It’s very important for us to, to audit, audit their needs and see to that very careful, even if they are a part time employee, you know. But we, we want to have that conversation clearly, you know, we want to make sure that we’re giving them if someone comes and says, Oh, you know, I’m just, you know, we don’t hire the people to say I’m just doing this for a discount, or I’m doing this because I need to kill some time. We need people who are passionate. And we understand that it’s hard to be passionate if you don’t have a full belly and a good night’s sleep. And so, you know, we’re willing to make amends. So we’ve we kind of searched out people who are aligned with our ideals and made sure that we made it a positive workplace for

 

32:06

them. So Adam, could you share how you’re actually managing your team now do in Singapore. So

 

32:11

most of the team management is now I would say 99% of it is now handed over to a guy named Ben Ben is awesome, he is doing the day to day manager of the store. Ben is doing a better job than I ever did. He is he’s far better with people than with the community than I am. And so playing on his strengths you know, I from time to time will contribute but there’s very little that I need to kind of have my hands in. It frees me up to be able to pursue any kind of business opportunities here that will help us and you know, Ben, Ben’s got the ship’s wheel he’s doing a good job like I can’t I can’t say anything more than that. You know he’s he’s doing great

 

32:54

so could you maybe share with us some of the highlights and lowlights that you had from running this business so far as well?

 

33:00

You know the highs of the sharper the highs that I think every business owner feels for me it’s not monetary you know it’s always been I’m super excited about the community being happy I like when families get together a game I like when people feel good about themselves after they have a good paint lesson for me it’s it’s all humanitarian, it has nothing to do with the monetary side of it. You’re never going to become a millionaire running a gaming store, it’s just not going to happen, you know? So the highs are that for me. The lows are long weeks, and you know, weekends don’t happen your weekends are Monday and your 80 hour weeks and you’re working very hard and sometimes you’re working another job just to make that shop work. And it’s tough so the lows are definitely it can be a lonely life if you don’t have a good business partner if it’s just you. It’s a lot of a lot of days of vlog hours and bad food so you have to make yourself as healthy as possible and kind of work through that I had a rough time or first year I was very sick and I didn’t know why and I got worse and worse and I was diagnosed with diabetes type two Yeah, the winner of our first year and that explains why I was feeling so unwell and so grumpy and so ill I’ve gotten under control and it’s managed I’m actually you’ll have what’s known as pre diabetic at this point like my god so I feel great, but it was hard and so you have to be very careful no matter how good your team is. You have to look to your health and make sure that you are managing that slows for me personally we’re definitely just long hours. And you know, knowing that you have a monumental mountain in front of you declined. But we’ll steps right like anything else we take little steps. Yeah.

 

34:53

So Adam, if the listeners only remember one thing about today’s conversation would you like it to be

 

34:58

there is There’s absolutely nothing that you can’t do. And I say that from a man who grew up very, very poor, and could only really make it out to the game store once a year, to now having more miniatures and games that I know what to do with and finding that the real richness and it is only for the people that I’ve met and other things, but there’s nothing that you can’t do. If you decide you want to do it, make a plan and make it happen. But you have to do it now. Thank

 

35:28

you again, Adam, for joining me today. It’s been such a pleasure.

 

35:31

Thank you. I had a great time. I really appreciate it. And hopefully we can get a dungeon dragons game off the ground some time, you know,

 

35:38

yeah, I’m waiting for you.

 

35:40

Also Awesome. Thank you so much.

 

35:42

Thank you, Adam. Guys, thank you so much for joining me now on today’s interview, I hope you have a better idea of what it’s like to run a hobby gaming store. Remember, in the hobby gaming industry, one of the key features you have to provide for your customers is that experience and entertainment. And of course, it’s all about building that community. Now guys to stay up to date with all the latest episodes, tools and resources that make sure to log on to Ted to.com. That’s tto.com. And even better yet, sign up for our newsletter and you’ll hear from me directly. And as before, if you’ve received any value from the show, then I’d love to get your support. The best way you can show this is to subscribe to the show, leave a review on Apple podcasts and to share the show with somebody who find it useful as well. That’s all for me today. I’ll see you next time.

[This transcript has been automatically generated by a digital software and will therefore  contain errors and typos. Please kindly take note of this and only rely on the digital transcript for reference.]

00:00

Hey guys, welcome back to the show. This is Ted, your friend and host speaking. Now for all your listeners out there who are nerdy gamers like me, today’s episode is for you because I’m bringing on my friend Adam praed to talk to us about the ins and outs of running a hobby gaming store. Adam is a seasoned veteran of the hobby gaming industry who decided to set up Alpha Omega hobby in Quincy, Massachusetts to have a hobby gaming store, he can call his own, with over 25 Gaming tables and over 4000 square feet worth of gaming space that customers can use for free. And his philosophy of giving back to his community has grown into a strong loyal following in terms of both customers and community leaders. Now in today’s episode, admin shares the realities of running a hobby gaming store, his tips for building a strong community, and why discounting a product is not the best way to push sales. Now, guys, I really enjoyed today’s episode, because Adam and I got to talk to each other about topics that were really close to our hearts, we got to talk to each other about dungeons and dragons and other games that we played in our younger days, and how the gaming industry has evolved since. And with the rise of nerd culture, I’m happy to say that hobby gaming is here to stay. Now about of course, this is through a business show. So we’ll talk about the aspects of the business as well. Spoiler alert, it’s about the community that you’ve built. So guys, if you ever received any value from the show, they don’t deserve to get your support, the best way you can do this is to subscribe to the show, leave a review on Apple podcasts, and to share the show with somebody who find it useful as well. And if you’d like to stay up to date with the latest episodes, tools and resources, then make sure you log on to Ted to.com. That’s t Ed teo.com. And now let’s dive right in. Adam, thank you so much for joining us today.

 

01:37

Thank you, thanks for having me, I

 

01:38

appreciate it, Adam, this sort of a very simple icebreaker so we can get to know you a bit better. Who is Adam prep, when he isn’t working?

 

01:45

All that stuff I see as I kind of pride myself, as always keep you busy. Um, you know, I am an artist, I’m a reader, I’m a dreamer. But I balance that out with a Dewar. You know, I find myself fueled by the things that I conceptualize and then take that and go to the production side of my brain. So I like to think of a balance of scales really

 

02:11

well. So Adam, please share with us your story. Tell us about your company, Alpha Omega hobby, and what was the journey that led to it?

 

02:19

So Alpha Omega hobby is a hobby gaming store. We’re based in Boston, Massachusetts. And, you know, it was, it was not the first time that I’ve, I’ve worked in the hobby industry, but it was one of the first times that I really settled in, done it for myself in for a partner. You know, my buddy Jake, called me in 2015. It said, it’ll be really great if we had a hobby store. And I was living in Manhattan at the time. And I said, Yeah, though, that’s fantastic. How are we to make that happen? Now this every game is a dream. It is it is, you know, but I think every gamer would love to have have that thing. But they don’t realize the amount of work it’s a it’s a monumental amount of work. So Jake, and I, you know, we wrote a business plan, and we scrapped that we did it twice more and scrapped those two, and we did market research and everything you do for a business, if you want it to succeed, and made a lot of phone calls, and did a lot of sleepless nights talking and planning, eventually, we were able to get funding and make it happen. And from there, it was just a lot of more hard work. Once you get the business open, you can’t rest on your laurels, you have to just continue on.

 

03:31

So and this is one of the main reasons I invited you on this show was for you to share. What are some of the realities of owning a gaming hobby store? It can be all fun and games, even though debt is what you’re trying to sell.

 

03:42

Yeah, you know, one of the realities of being in any kind of hobby arm of any hobby business or hobby industry is that you are not exactly in a business of, of selling just product, right? So something that someone going into this needs to realize is that you’re selling entertainment, you’re selling fun, you’re selling an idea of a pastime.

 

04:09

And it’s an experience as well, right? Correct. Correct?

 

04:11

It is that’s more difficult than saying, here’s this cool widget Would you like to buy it, you also have to explain how that widget works and teach and, you know, introduce that person to a community that loves those those things. And so, there’s a lot more community building that goes into running a hobby business than say, running your coffee stand. You know where you are, you have a rapt audience of people coming to you for coffee. With the hobby business, you really have to know how to promote you have to learn how to do that,

 

04:45

guys, as Adam just shared, running a gaming hobby store is not just about selling a product. It’s about selling that experience, entertainment fun. That is something that keeps people coming back for more or this issue may be more pronounced in the hobby gaming scene. I’m sure it is applicable Your business as well. So what kind of experience? are you providing your customers? Think about it? Is this something that they want to come back for more? Or is it something that you would come back for more as well? Now back to you, Adam, I understand that your store is located in Boston, Massachusetts, it has over 25 Gaming tables and over 4000 square feet of gaming space, you also don’t charge your customers were using up the real estate. So could you please share with me, what was your mindset behind providing such a large living space to your customers for free, and has it paid off in the long run,

 

05:26

so you are our ideal with it initially, and I will give Jake 50% of the credit, because we came together at this, I love to take additional credit for it. But it was really broad for Games Workshop and my time there, we it’s important to give the community a place to be. And so we decided together that instead of charging for space, we would rely on almost an honor system, where anyone who’s part of our community can come and play and participate for free. However, they are buying into this community, they’re they’re supporting the place where they play it, it gives the ownership to the customers and it makes them far more loyal than I think you would get by just saying, Well, here’s a few bucks, you know, you can use my table for a little while it gets rid of a barrier between you and them. And that’s very important.

 

06:23

Now, guys, what Adam just shared is the application of a classic freemium service model, providing a free service, and is distributing a loyal community which is essential for any business. Now think about it. One of the most successful brands to use the freemium service model is Spotify, by providing his customers with free streaming music, Spotify was able to solidify itself as the premium music streaming company in the world. Now Adam, you clearly have a very strong emphasis on building your community. He shares some of the other community building initiatives they are particularly proud of

 

06:53

the first thing and building any kind of community is you use the old adage, the smart planning, right? So you have to you have to figure out what your goals are and how you’re going to achieve them it with community building it is. In the hobby industry. Let’s let’s take it real macro for a moment, it’s it’s very important to understand what type of community you want to build. Do you want to build general customers? Would you like to build roleplayers or car gamers or model builders, because there is a difference on how you approach all of those different things, but we’ll pull it back a little, it’s a on a whole. You chat with them, I had a series of meet and greets for the community at different locations, most of the restaurant or coffee? And I asked them straight up, what do you want to see? Like what’s important to you? What is it that you want? And I listed those things in a jacket, I sat down and looked at them and said, Okay, we’re going to do this, we’re not going to do this. This is a maybe it’s a very, it’s time consuming. But it’s a worthwhile approach. It’s a fantastic point of action, for you to understand your customers is to be transparent. They just ask, just have that conversation.

 

08:04

So Adam, when you did this underground survey, do you do it before we launched, or after you launched?

 

08:09

Oh, yes, you do it all the time you do it after you launch, we’re still doing it. It’s a constant checks and balances with with them, you know, you’re checking understanding, and you’re you’re, you’re doing that homework. Now most of it is done right around the time we’re ready to open. But after that, it’s every few months, you have that conversation and you put a poll up on social media, you offer a questionnaire, and those things keep you grounded within the community on what their needs are that you’re not. You’re not assessing right off the bat, because there’s always those hidden currents. So you have to keep an eye out.

 

08:44

Now guys, there was a great piece of advice from Adam, to build a great community to speak to your customers ask them what do they need to be loyal to you? Now, Adam, you shared about a macro. But now let’s talk about the micro. What were some of the sub communities that you built over the years? And how have they differed in terms of the approach? Do you have, for example, community leaders helping you along the way.

 

09:04

So building community building, you know, the first thing that you want to do is you want to find your hobby champions, right? You want to find the people that are going to build the community the best way possible for you. And once you do that, it’s very easy to kind of filter through the different things that you need them to do for you. And they’ll do it willingly boasted that, like they have no problem coming in and saying, Yeah, I’ll help out the shop, no problem. So with roleplayers it’s finding that that Dungeon Master that is always eager to teach and always eager to help out new people and for painters and hobbyists. It’s finding someone who has that skill to be able to share what they know. And before wargamers it’s finding the seasoned, you know, competitive players that are willing to teach in a casual players who are willing to set up their two campaigns. You have to find those hobbies You give them the sword to run with, and you keep a tab on it, your thumb is always there on the button, but you let them go. Because the community will do amazing things if you just give it the freedom to do it. So

 

10:12

Adam usually empower the community leaders to give them free rein to run the games and to grow the sub communities. Is that it?

 

10:18

Yes, that’s almost exactly. And you’d be surprised at how, how eager most people are in the last for very little in return. So you always, you know, you you’re you’re nice to your people, you know, you make sure they get dice if they need dice, and you make sure you get some coffee and food if they need it. But they’re doing a favor for you, you know, so you want to return that it’s it’s a mutual relationship.

 

10:39

So I’m sure there must have been some customers that have been with you from the start.

 

10:42

Yeah, I it’s funny, I actually, I have customers that were customers of mine in 2002, when I was working at Games Workshop, that became customers of mine, when I opened up Alpha Omega, and even though they move away are still customers through mail order. You make those relationships for a long time, you make an impact on people, and they stay loyal. It is customer loyalty is a very difficult thing these days when online sales can dominate if you’re not careful. If you drive a customer away, you might lose them forever.

 

11:15

And this is one of the topics I would like to speak to you about which is e commerce. With e commerce being an interesting strategy for any business today. What is your view of this, especially in terms of the large space that you’re actually renting for the gaming space for your community, it must be eating into your margins as well, what is your view on this?

 

11:32

So online sales, I don’t believe he tore margins anymore than any other business. We sell online, because we want to offer that to our customers. But our our motto or creed with with our customers is you purchase where you play. So we want to be able to give them this open space and this gaming space. And in return, we’re asking for them to purchase that product from us. And not to buy it from Amazon, even though it is cheaper. Absolutely. We understand that. And we had that conversation. And we also police that in so if a customer comes into our store with a brand new product that they bought, which we thought happened, and they open up their magic packs, or their their dungeon dragons set and they we asked them, hey, where do you get that? We had that conversation. And if they say Amazon, I because Jake and I are different, I will sit down to look, you know, he is much more tender. But I will I will say look, you know, that doesn’t really help support the shop. And I appreciate it in the future. If you you purchase from us, that keeps us open. You’d like playing here and your friends coming here. So let’s keep this door open together.

 

12:48

And I’m sure that your customers wouldn’t abuse this as well. Right? We’re all adults here.

 

12:52

No, no, they don’t stay they do. You know, they’re here once or twice. And they understand it’s not the type of environment that will it’s not cutthroat, we don’t yell. You know, we’re always very open. But there’s an understanding between us and our customers that you want to give to the place where you are.

 

13:10

Right, I just fully agree. So Adam, hobby, gaming was always seen as something only nerds and geeks were interested about when we were growing up. How has the industry changed or shifted over the years? There’s the rise of Geek and nerd culture now that is Oh,

 

13:26

that’s a that’s a? You’re right. That’s a fantastic question. Um, so it is it is cool. Now finally, to be a nerd. It is it is incredibly cool. gaming and hobbying have become standardized and consumable for the average person. And we could say, for the most part Hasbro for that Wizards of the Coast, Dungeons and Dragons magic, the gathering video games, those things are accessible for many, many people. Even mobile gaming has its place in making gaming a household thing, right? Everyone knows what it is. There’s there’s mostly goodness, I think exposure is fantastic. It allows new business owners to capitalize on that knowledge and that exposure to grow a new business, you know, to be able to make that happen. On the other hand, you have a watering down of things and a homogenized ideal of what some things are. So that is it is appealable to or appeals to the mass amount of folks. So I have to kind of keep it a mindset of a businessman and answer your questions. It’s fantastic it’s great as a nerd myself and as a as my own personal idea. You know, it’s it’s 99% awesome, but the 1% is I can’t really see another dungeon dragons, you know, twitch stream You know, it’s, to me, that’s not interesting, but I understand it is to some people. And so I’m just getting grumpy. But but

 

15:07

I think you raised a very good point. So as a fellow gamer, I think what we have noticed over the years is that when we were playing the games in the 90s, in the early 2000s, the games were a lot more tailored to maybe a darker tone, sometimes it’s something a bit more, a bit more grim. And there was something that he really was something that we really enjoyed. And as you know, we are trying to push sales or the companies are trying to push the sales now, we’ve gone from dark and green tones that some of the games were really was charming in their own way, have become a bit more watered down and more mainstream, more PG, if that’s a way to say it. And sometimes it may only alienate the community a bit, but I guess overall, the hobby is still benefiting.

 

15:51

I, I think you’re right. But I also know that we, you’re on the flip side of that, I could argue against my own ideas on it, that there are companies that are tailoring gaming, just for families now. And so there are roleplay games just for younger, younger kids. So it’s a seven to 12. They are good for moms and dads and grandparents are grandmas and everyone to play together. And that’s really great. Like as much as it’s not for me, that’s fantastic. Like I had to struggle through a second edition d&d rulebook when I was young, but now they have the option to launch it, you know, at their pace. And so well, yes, it’s much less grim. I played a lot of Vampire the Masquerade in the late 90s was a time for you know, the Crow and all that kind of stuff. It

 

16:40

was darkness. Yeah. Well, the darkness of old wood. Yes.

 

16:45

The new one, which I won’t touch it with a with a 10 foot pole. But now, I think we have enough room in the world. That’s real, right? You know, and now things are not the most awesome in our society at the moment in general. And so I think gaming, it’s okay, that it’s kind of fluffy at the moment and happy You know, I’m okay with that.

 

17:09

Yeah. And I think the best thing is, families can stop playing Monopoly.

 

17:13

Yeah, yeah, there’s the board games. I, the board game industry is, you know, it’s it’s unbelievable, hundreds of millions of dollars a year in the board game industry, and you have champion companies there that are leading and look at, look at the Kickstarters from cool mini or not broke records every time, you know, they unbelievable amounts of backers in satisfied customers. And that’s really unprecedented when it comes to the gaming. That’s interesting. It’s very interesting. So I keep an eye on that. Because that trend as it slowed down in the last 10 years, it’s still growing, you know, so

 

17:52

yeah, this democratization of the publications of games these days, independent creators can also produce games. In fact, they also can actually be of a very high quality as well. The industry is no longer just controlled by the big companies like Games Workshop or Wizards of the Coast anymore.

 

18:06

Yeah, we’ve come full circle on that, though. You know, starting after first edition d&d, self published modules and designs and pamphlets that were mailed out were the thing, and then slowly throughout the 80s and 90s, we’ve saw the corporate the corporatization of gaming now we’re coming back again to small print, you know, Kickstarters for a few 100 copies, people sending out a PDF that’s your they ruin afternoon and it’s quality work most of it’s very wonderful. Like it’s it’s great.

 

18:39

In fact, I think the independent game publishers these days have a lot more room for creativity for the larger companies that have already gone listed given the fact that they actually have to answer to their shareholders there could be a large reason why that there could be a watering down of their games in the tones they were talking about earlier.

 

18:54

Yeah, you know, it’s it’s a there’s a controversy with Games Workshop at the moment, you know, shutting down a lot of fan art and fan made videos, because they’re launching their own app and I I’m on the side of the corporation in this eyesight and Games Workshop, I you have to do what’s good for your IP, you you own that property, you struggled and made that property what it is, it doesn’t matter where it came from, it’s irrelevant, but yours, it so I choose to support that company, because I want them to be around for another four years. You know, and that’s it. And if I don’t like something they do, the only thing that speaks loudly will be by wallet. That’s the only thing that will matter. Unfortunately, that’s how that’s how it works.

 

19:38

So Adam on this point, one aspect of the hobby gaming industry is of course, the excitement that comes with a new release. And a large part of the sales of the industry definitely comes from pre orders and the launch of the new product itself. Could you share with us your strategies on how you make the most of the pre order phase and when the product is actually launched?

 

19:57

Absolutely. So this is really simple. It seems like a complex idea, but it’s not. And so I’ll break it down. And I’m going to do a really cool analogy that I think will your listeners will understand it. This applies to most things that are pre orderable are not just hobby items, but it could be a new book or anything. Events and community are the vehicles that will drive your sales. So what that means is when you get a pre order, and you know you’re six weeks out, you’re six weeks out from that pre order, promotion is important, you want to get a copy of it, you want to start showing it to your community, you want to have an event where the community could come in and kickstart or sorry, kick the tires on that game a little bit. You want to get their hands on it, because pictures are great. But we really need to see it’s, it’s a tactile hobby, we have, you know, as a hobby product releases, you want to make sure you have all of those pre orders in you want to order and have enough on hand, you want to make sure the community has it. But that’s when your job really starts. Because the promotion and the success of the approver is not only counted by your sales of that item, but your add on items and your community and the longevity of that item. It’s you schedule events, and you have reviews and you let the community be involved with that thing, whatever that thing is. And you do this for about six weeks. So you’re talking about ideally, a 12 week cycle. For a big release. If we were talking about a miniature game a right 12 weeks after that your notice your community’s interest will dip a little. If you’re planning properly, you will have something else on the upswing, you’ll catch it in the middle. You’re always crusty, always be here. You don’t want to be caught here. And then that’s that’s how it works on. And even after that’s over, let’s say you’re 14 weeks in or 16 weeks, and you send an email blast our social media blast, you say Hey, everybody, bring it all those really cool dwarf miniatures that we painted a couple a couple of weeks ago, let’s have a dwarf battle, what’s a big big bring a battle and the winner you’ll get a cool prize. But let’s do this. It’s a social media opportunity. It’s a promotion opportunity. Always be promoting always be shouting as loud as you can about your products and pre orders fall into that you’ll find you get you know, you get to a group and that’s it. It’s very simple.

 

22:28

I see. So I guess I know when a gaming shop is doing well in my wallet, I MTA

 

22:34

Yes, my, my two, I have to be very careful. But it’s true. When you can’t seem to support them enough, you you’re happy to spend money, you know you found your place, you know you you’re happy to support those, those people.

 

22:50

So guys, if you’re in a business day, she allows you to run pre orders, launch sales, then think about what Adam has just shared. Think about how you can get your community involved, how you can generate your excitement, and maybe how you can get them to get in touch with the product that you’re launching. This way, they can just say what the product is about and make their orders. Okay, back to you, Adam, let’s talk a little bit more on the point of building a community, the guys who are the best advocates, when they speak about coming to your shop, you know, you can see their eyes light up, they are just that passionate. And it’s kind of like the second home in a way, which is not something that most businesses get to see, or get to say they have that kind of relationship with a customer.

 

23:29

That’s true. You know, and it isn’t like most businesses, because as a, as a community leader, as you’re wearing the hat of a business owner and the hat of a hobbyist and the hat of promotions and marketing person, you also end up wearing the hat of a big brother, and a hat of a mentor and the hat of sometimes the therapist, you know, the community becomes a place where people come to feel safe, and they come to relax. And at advertently, you’re going to get the humanity that comes with that. And it’s important to draw a line and maintain healthy boundaries. But it’s also very important to listen to your customers and understand that there are people and that as a as a hobby store owner, you’re going to have that you can’t avoid it. And you have to be comfortable with that idea that people will share things with you that they will share with the guy at Walmart. Because because the guy Walmart doesn’t care. You know, he has no vested interest in your day other than, you know, to separate you from your $10

 

24:38

Yeah, most of the time. If it’s done well, you would actually be a friend to them and like I said a mentor. So that’s why they will be willing to share the kind of permission they don’t just see you as a business owner. They are so few that you’re a friend that they would love to support. And that’s one of the most powerful ways to create that loyalty and customer base. That’s amazing. So let’s talk about SKU stock keeping units. So what happens when certain inventories maybe are not as well received as you thought they would be when the customers first expected it? What are your strategies to manage this.

 

25:13

So when you have a product that did not perform as well as we’d like it to, instead of having it sit on your shelf, which is what a lot of shops do, it just gathers dust or the first thing you think of is let’s discount it. And that’s the mistake, that’s where they’re making an error. discounting product doesn’t make customer loyalty, it does the opposite. It cheapens the idea of your product to the customer. it devalues it. And it’s a lot of stores disagree with that, but we never discount, we do not. We offer a points reward system, but we don’t offer discounts. And it has worked for us for years, it’s worked for us in other theaters. So when we have a product that isn’t going well. So discounting it, what we’ll do is create another use for that product. If it’s a miniature, we will create an event for it, to sell that miniature and let the community use that miniature if it’s a book, we will go so far as to have an RPG day and promote it as part of a wider range of books. So these are all sci fi books. Right? We have at times given to charity. And even though that item, we’re not getting a profit from it, we’re doing a much better thing with it. But for the most part, it’s like leftovers that go into soup, right? You’re gonna take them to turn them into something delicious. And you do the same thing with restock that isn’t moving, don’t discount head don’t stop, put it on sale, show the customers or community that you actually care about it. And that, yeah, might not have been the most popular thing. But it’s still cool. Like, there’s nothing that isn’t awesome in your store. You know, I? I asked people, you know, what, how many items do we have in our store, you know, how many new items and they’ll say all three or four. Everything is new. For somebody who just walks in everything is new. And you can’t make that bias you can’t you can’t make once you start choosing better or worse in your head, you’ve already made an error. Everything has to be wonderful all the time. And so that’s that’s how I managed it. And you know, it’s it’s pretty successful as far as trying to move stock that people would say is dead, even that’s a horrible term. deadstock is, you know,

 

27:37

what was the saying, right? One man’s garbage is another man’s treasure?

 

27:41

Yes, absolutely. And I, I could tell you dozens of examples of what I’ve walked into a game store somewhere, and found something on a dusty shelf that had been there for 10 years, that I would love to have, and I purchase it. And the owner will say, Oh, it’s been there for, you know, whatever. But I’d like to think it’s waiting for me. You know, I we find those things that we seek, you know, and it’s almost a game ended up itself is that that hunt.

 

28:06

So guys, those are very important tips that Adam just shared. Just because it’s a product that may not be moving as well, getting a discount of Gary of it actually devalues that product. So why not think about running a community then, or competition to actually promote the product itself, instead of just giving it a discount and selling it away. As a business owner, you need to help your community and customers understand the value of the product itself. So Adam with the huge number of games and genres within each category, how do you actually stock or choose to stock all the products that

 

28:36

you have? So by this partner Jake is he is a magical human being. And he has an ability to really route through data and understand trends when it comes to product and when it comes to gaming. And I admire him for that because I don’t have that. So the biggest contributor to us being able to predict an order properly and get all the really cool new things has been trade sales conventions. as funny as that sounds, and sending one of our people were Jake to that convention, a boots on the ground going and talking to the vendors. Nothing beats that it’s how it was done in sales forever. It still is the best because you get to see the product, play with it, understand it. And then you can you can haggle and you can make deals face to face. Is it expensive? Yes, it’s expensive to do that you tell profit a company time it makes the person who has to stay behind grumpy because they have to work a few weeks straight, you know, but the, the knowledge you get and the ability to make those networking connections are more important than anything you can’t put a price on those things. So that’s how we do a lot of a lot of our product. Kind of maintenance by off the hip shooting deal. For their a doing that the other half is just marketing, we look at, you know boardgamegeek and see what’s popular. We keep tabs on what’s what’s winning awards. You know, it’s not hard to see what’s what’s trending in the Zeitgeist of gaming, you know, you just have to read some very boring journals or you have to keep tabs on webpages, it’s, I imagine it’s similar for every product that has a wide wide reach.

 

30:23

So guys, as Adam shares new, despite the advancements in technology, the best way to really make connections and to get close to the ground, is to attend trade conventions, media, suppliers, media manufacturers, and this way you can actually understand where the industry trends are moving, form relationships, and negotiate your dues. So now let’s talk a little bit about maybe your employees. We’ve spoken about your community leaders who are actually your customers who have been empowered to lead the different projects we’ve disturbed, but your employees must be equally or if not more important, because they are the backbone of your organization. So could you share some of the initiatives that you’ve implemented to incentivize or reward them over the years,

 

31:01

so you’re with, with some of our employees, we, we really had some time to have a conversation with them and ask them what they need. I know, during the pandemic, we continue to pay even our part timers, even though they were in the shop. This is because people still need to pay bills and put food on the table. It’s very important for us to, to audit, audit their needs and see to that very careful, even if they are a part time employee, you know. But we, we want to have that conversation clearly, you know, we want to make sure that we’re giving them if someone comes and says, Oh, you know, I’m just, you know, we don’t hire the people to say I’m just doing this for a discount, or I’m doing this because I need to kill some time. We need people who are passionate. And we understand that it’s hard to be passionate if you don’t have a full belly and a good night’s sleep. And so, you know, we’re willing to make amends. So we’ve we kind of searched out people who are aligned with our ideals and made sure that we made it a positive workplace for

 

32:06

them. So Adam, could you share how you’re actually managing your team now do in Singapore. So

 

32:11

most of the team management is now I would say 99% of it is now handed over to a guy named Ben Ben is awesome, he is doing the day to day manager of the store. Ben is doing a better job than I ever did. He is he’s far better with people than with the community than I am. And so playing on his strengths you know, I from time to time will contribute but there’s very little that I need to kind of have my hands in. It frees me up to be able to pursue any kind of business opportunities here that will help us and you know, Ben, Ben’s got the ship’s wheel he’s doing a good job like I can’t I can’t say anything more than that. You know he’s he’s doing great

 

32:54

so could you maybe share with us some of the highlights and lowlights that you had from running this business so far as well?

 

33:00

You know the highs of the sharper the highs that I think every business owner feels for me it’s not monetary you know it’s always been I’m super excited about the community being happy I like when families get together a game I like when people feel good about themselves after they have a good paint lesson for me it’s it’s all humanitarian, it has nothing to do with the monetary side of it. You’re never going to become a millionaire running a gaming store, it’s just not going to happen, you know? So the highs are that for me. The lows are long weeks, and you know, weekends don’t happen your weekends are Monday and your 80 hour weeks and you’re working very hard and sometimes you’re working another job just to make that shop work. And it’s tough so the lows are definitely it can be a lonely life if you don’t have a good business partner if it’s just you. It’s a lot of a lot of days of vlog hours and bad food so you have to make yourself as healthy as possible and kind of work through that I had a rough time or first year I was very sick and I didn’t know why and I got worse and worse and I was diagnosed with diabetes type two Yeah, the winner of our first year and that explains why I was feeling so unwell and so grumpy and so ill I’ve gotten under control and it’s managed I’m actually you’ll have what’s known as pre diabetic at this point like my god so I feel great, but it was hard and so you have to be very careful no matter how good your team is. You have to look to your health and make sure that you are managing that slows for me personally we’re definitely just long hours. And you know, knowing that you have a monumental mountain in front of you declined. But we’ll steps right like anything else we take little steps. Yeah.

 

34:53

So Adam, if the listeners only remember one thing about today’s conversation would you like it to be

 

34:58

there is There’s absolutely nothing that you can’t do. And I say that from a man who grew up very, very poor, and could only really make it out to the game store once a year, to now having more miniatures and games that I know what to do with and finding that the real richness and it is only for the people that I’ve met and other things, but there’s nothing that you can’t do. If you decide you want to do it, make a plan and make it happen. But you have to do it now. Thank

 

35:28

you again, Adam, for joining me today. It’s been such a pleasure.

 

35:31

Thank you. I had a great time. I really appreciate it. And hopefully we can get a dungeon dragons game off the ground some time, you know,

 

35:38

yeah, I’m waiting for you.

 

35:40

Also Awesome. Thank you so much.

 

35:42

Thank you, Adam. Guys, thank you so much for joining me now on today’s interview, I hope you have a better idea of what it’s like to run a hobby gaming store. Remember, in the hobby gaming industry, one of the key features you have to provide for your customers is that experience and entertainment. And of course, it’s all about building that community. Now guys to stay up to date with all the latest episodes, tools and resources that make sure to log on to Ted to.com. That’s tto.com. And even better yet, sign up for our newsletter and you’ll hear from me directly. And as before, if you’ve received any value from the show, then I’d love to get your support. The best way you can show this is to subscribe to the show, leave a review on Apple podcasts and to share the show with somebody who find it useful as well. That’s all for me today. I’ll see you next time.