Well, many of you know that my mom is getting married here real shortly as I have mentioned before. If so, she will be very well set financially for the rest of her life in which I am extremely happy Taking this into consideration, I talked to her about helping me get a gaming store business started sometime after June since she will have the money to do so. And believe it or not, she told me to research it out and get back with her on costs and such! O.O

I can say I'm very excited about it. However, I really don't even know where to start. Getting resources for supplies is one thing but all the legal issues is another and the area I'm needing to research. I need to know what I need to have legally, laws, etc etc. For any game store owners out there, what kind of finances do you face, fluctuations, etc? If you don't want to share openly, please PM me as I am interested because I really need to know

I am very excited that this is even a possibility at this moment! Any info concerning this matter in anyway, please post away! I will take all with great consideration and appreciation!

Also, I am looking to sell all kinds of games for all different types of systems And this will be the only store of its kind in my town and surrounding areas which is really sad actually but I guess good for me

Hounder,

Feel free to PM or email me any specifc banking questions. I can try to also help somewhat in the accounting and legal areas as well as that comes up in my job too. I am a Vice President at one of the 5 largest banks in the country and specifically a Senior Business Relationship Manger... ie I work with commercial loans/lines all of that stuff. Also I have both an Accounting Degree and a Computer Applications Degree from University. Not bad for a kid who had to save up to buy his own first NES when they came out all those years ago.

I would be happy to try to answer any questions I can for you.

~Erik~

Thanks Erik! I would appreciate your help! And I guess that post answers my question in the PM I sent you just a few minutes ago. lol

I am currently researching to find out what I need to know and what-not which is one of the reasons I'm still up at the crack of dawn. Good to know that I can come to you with the legal issues as I have *NO* idea whatsoever. I think the biggest surprise that caught me off gaurd was the fact that my mom said she would help me.

Let me do some more research and get back with on some issues

Cool,
Even if I can't answer off the top of my head I have lots of client's and co-workers that I would be happy to ask.
~EriK~

David, I'm sure you remember I ran a store for years. I've also worked through to great detail two other peoples' plans to open (one of them being Drache although I think he's backed off from it for now). I'd be glad to help. PM me and we'll chat.

Very cool man, that is my deam one of these days also. I have alot of business and marketing background myself, so I might be able to help out with some questions as well.

I was wondering what in the hell kinda job you had Erik, you spend more money on NES than I make I think, haha.
~~NGD

NGD, Hounder asked me the same question in a PM last night! LOL...

sometimes i wonder what kind of jobs people have also for whats spent..but if you really think about it..It all depends on what peoples hobby or outlets are..a lot of the guys i work with will spend 200 to 500 dollars on booze and lap dances..others will spend thousands taking a vacation, others buy expensive cars etc, etc. Way I look at it is my wife will spend 10.00 dollars or more a week buying cokes so I spend my 10.00 on a game..once the cokes gone its gone but the game i bought i could resell if need be. I still say if someone had the time and isnt in a hurry. They could invest 500.00 in a big lot and break it up sell it off and reinvest the money until they built up several thousand dollars..then they could start buying lots and keep a few items with each lot..the biggst thing would be time..you would have to let a lot of stuff go at the start that you would want to keep at the beginging but before long you would be able to keep some 0of the rarer stuff. And you would have to condition yourself not to buy single items unless you knew your could resell for a profit....thats my plan after my kids graduate right now I simply dont have the time to watch ebay, list, pack n ship....also you would have to be careful not to overbid on stuff..

Well I cannot say that I know the laws of united states so well but I guess if you ask the authorities for permission, you should be able to get it. After all its your life style to start corporations of your own and to get a job. I'm sure they will approve it.
Then we got fees and taxes but they are pretty low in America and not as skyscrape high as in europe.

I also want congratulate to this new opportunity of having an own store and I also hope that business will work out as planned. A dream comes true

Hey hounder...

Congrats on your mom getting married and the store possibility and everything. Let me play contrarian for a moment though. It's cool that your mom's fine with it, but the money's coming from stepdad-to-be, right?. If things don't work out with the store, is that going to be an issue in their relationship? Do you want the burden of that? Money is one of the top reasons relationships fail. Is he going to be pissed off if stepson's business doesn't go as planned and it costs him a bundle? Things to think about. Everything's rosy if the store goes well but if it doesn't... then what? Not to piss on the parade. I just hope you've thought through some of those issues as well given that the ink's not even dry on the marriage certificate...

I guess what I'm getting at is that IMHO you need to get both mom and dad onside. Isn't really fair to dad to be pressured into coughing up the dough by mom. If he doesn't like the idea, can he say no without pissing her off? Is he going to resent it down the road if things don't work out?...

How did he make his money, was it in business? If so I think the more you involve him the better so that he has some comfort about how things are being run. Treat him like a partner in the business. All IMHO, obviously you'll know the facts of the situation better than I; this is just how I see it based on what you've described.

I haven't ran a game store but I have 10 years in retail management experience and have seen quite a few independent game stores close up shop and have had long talks with the owners with me being interested in opening one a few years ago. So here would be my advice, which is free. You get what ya pay for, lol.

If you involve money and business with family make sure the money is a straight up gift and not an investment. That way if ya fail you have no hard feelings at home. Make sure whoever gives you the money knows that it could be successful or close soon after opening.

Start small, don't spend lavishly to look like EB or Gamestop. Plus people are looking for independent stores because they really don't like shopping at the chains there anyway it seems. Buy the nicest but cheapest racks and shelving and fixtures you can find. You can make the store look nice without blowing the bank before you open.

Just like when you shop for games you are looking for good games, so don't buy every crap game from people off the street to fill your shelves. Unless you are paying them with skittles or pocket lint.

You can make alot of money off things other than games like discount cards that might give them 10% off a used game or buy 2 get one free or something along those lines. Sell the card for like 10 bucks or whatever you feel is right. Maybe throw a couple tv's in there for a small tournament and charge a small registration fee. Would help build some community with your customers.

Make sure to have a price list for how you are buying games and selling them so that at all times you are covering either what you payed for the game or are working towards breaking even on inventory.

Try not to get locked down into a lease, thats hard not to do but you probably could find a space that the owner would rent to you temporarily without you doing much to the structure just so they can keep the space paying for itself and if business takes off then you might feel comfortable about leasing or even looking for a bigger space.

And the most important thing before you do anything is go find a independent game store that has been around awhile that is out of your immediate area and is obviously making money and ask to work there for free part time or take the owner out for a few lunches and pick their brain and learn everything you can from them and how they operate. At the end of the day we all love video games but business is business.

Maybe that might help ya, alot of that is what I have seen over the years, looks like there are some vets in the business so you should have no problem finding info.

Depending on what they are willing to gift, I guess. I would say a loan is OK too as long as the borrower is totally committed to spending as long as necessary paying them back as quickly as possible.

But I agree that having them invest in it is asking for trouble.

You made a lot of good points.