Hello all,
I am currently investigating if i should open up a small hobby / game store in my local (small) town in Denmark europe. And when i say small, i mean small! 3.000 people only. But in the summer time, A LOT of tourists will come (around 10-20.000).
The shop would focus on these 2 brands:
These are 2 brands i myself is into (just got into warmachine, been into magic for a while).
The idea:
In my town there is next to nothing for young people to do (and we do have a school, so it's not like there isn't any). There is a small "Youth club" where they meet once or twice a week to play video games and watch movies, but thats about it. I would like a store / place where people can come and have a good time, playing Magic or Warmachine. They could meet up with their friends, play a few games, buy some drinks and just relax and have fun! Then, hopefully, also buy something now and then to expand their collections.
The store would feature weekly playout / tournaments in both games to get something regular going. Also feature tryouts, where people can come and learn about the games (they can do this at any time) to see if it is somehing for them. The store would then have warmachine and magic cards they could borrow and try out a few games with.
Opening hours:
The shop would (at first) properly only be open around 2 days a week, from 19:00-23:00 or 16-21. The reasoning behind this, is obviously not to go all-in right away. It can then be expanded / changed to accomodate how it goes. Was thinking of having 1 day a Magic night, and the other a Warmachine, so each brand gets some attention on a weekly basis.
Location
Here is also a catch -> it will actually be located in my basement. I know some people are off-put by this, and while it does contain some negative sides, it surely does bring in a lot of possitive ones.
Having such a store in a basement, actually fits the theme. I would then decorate it fully with a wizard / skulls / dragons theme, and make it like a cozy dungeon. The basement has its own entrance, so it is completely seperated from my main living quarters.
My house is right next to the most trafficated road in the town (this doesn't say much with only 3000 people, but in the summer times with tourists it does!). I could then put out signs and posters to promote it.
Also, and properly most importantly, there is no monthly cost. I pay my rent as it is, so they store would not cost a single dime to maintain (except for the startup fee for buying decors and items). This is obviously a great plus, as it leaves little risk involved in starting it up.
It aint that big, but it has what is needed. A toilet, which is needed for tournament sessions. The "main-hall" where i would have a magic table, a warmachine table, and maybe a small paint / assembly table if someone wanted to sit and paint down there. Next to that room, would be the items in stock. It aint a big room, but it needs to be isolated from the playing area so i can lock it if i decide to put someone else in charge of a game night. In that room i would put up some shelves and products, so if people wanted to buy i would go into that room and fetch it out. It is still big enough for people to go around and watch the products, but there cant be more than 5 people at one time in that room. The "main hall" can properly host around 8 seats for magic, 3-4 playing warmachine and 2 people painting.
Profit:
I know i will not be making a living of this (at first, who knows where it can go). That is also why it will just be 2 days a week at first (maybe just 1 if it has a slow startup). I go to school studying computer science, and that is what i will be working with when i graduate in 1-2 years. So it is a "hobby" bussiness so to speak. That, however, doesn't mean i dont want to make a profit! If it goes well (i mean really well) i could move into a real store, assign some staff and maybe actually grow it quite big. But, that is waaay down the road.
I would also open a small webshop, just to put myself out there, as there is no harm and little cost since i can create it myself.
Competition
Little to none. Obviously the online competition is fierce, but i still think i could sell a little now and then. However, there is nothing in the town i live that does anything like this, and neither in surrounding towns (there is a town with around 10.000 people 20 min. away).
Playerbase
The current playerbase is small. I have a few friends that regulary plays magic in towns that are 1 hour drive from here. I think we are around 6 regulars, and i could see having most of them as regular customers. Obviously, the goal would be to get more people into it! I know that is hard, but it must be doable.
Also, the nearby cities 15-20 min away would also be a place to promote. There is no shop like it in those towns either (the closest one is 40 min away from those, so they save 50% transport time).
Conclusion
There is not much risk involved with this startup, but it would still be an investment of around 2-3.000$ for decors and stock items. Then obviously a lot of hours, but that is okay, as i see it as my own hobby as well, and getting people to play with for myself as well. But is it possible in such a small town? Is it stupid? Can it make a profit? I think it can, since i won't have a rent, so whenever i sell anything i make profit, but i still gotta actually sell something.
I look forward to hearing everyones response, and i would obviously be interested in all the feedback in the world!
Thank you, and best regards,
Jeppe B. Joergensen
I am currently investigating if i should open up a small hobby / game store in my local (small) town in Denmark europe. And when i say small, i mean small! 3.000 people only. But in the summer time, A LOT of tourists will come (around 10-20.000).
The shop would focus on these 2 brands:
- Magic The Gathering
- Warmachine
These are 2 brands i myself is into (just got into warmachine, been into magic for a while).
The idea:
In my town there is next to nothing for young people to do (and we do have a school, so it's not like there isn't any). There is a small "Youth club" where they meet once or twice a week to play video games and watch movies, but thats about it. I would like a store / place where people can come and have a good time, playing Magic or Warmachine. They could meet up with their friends, play a few games, buy some drinks and just relax and have fun! Then, hopefully, also buy something now and then to expand their collections.
The store would feature weekly playout / tournaments in both games to get something regular going. Also feature tryouts, where people can come and learn about the games (they can do this at any time) to see if it is somehing for them. The store would then have warmachine and magic cards they could borrow and try out a few games with.
Opening hours:
The shop would (at first) properly only be open around 2 days a week, from 19:00-23:00 or 16-21. The reasoning behind this, is obviously not to go all-in right away. It can then be expanded / changed to accomodate how it goes. Was thinking of having 1 day a Magic night, and the other a Warmachine, so each brand gets some attention on a weekly basis.
Location
Here is also a catch -> it will actually be located in my basement. I know some people are off-put by this, and while it does contain some negative sides, it surely does bring in a lot of possitive ones.
Having such a store in a basement, actually fits the theme. I would then decorate it fully with a wizard / skulls / dragons theme, and make it like a cozy dungeon. The basement has its own entrance, so it is completely seperated from my main living quarters.
My house is right next to the most trafficated road in the town (this doesn't say much with only 3000 people, but in the summer times with tourists it does!). I could then put out signs and posters to promote it.
Also, and properly most importantly, there is no monthly cost. I pay my rent as it is, so they store would not cost a single dime to maintain (except for the startup fee for buying decors and items). This is obviously a great plus, as it leaves little risk involved in starting it up.
It aint that big, but it has what is needed. A toilet, which is needed for tournament sessions. The "main-hall" where i would have a magic table, a warmachine table, and maybe a small paint / assembly table if someone wanted to sit and paint down there. Next to that room, would be the items in stock. It aint a big room, but it needs to be isolated from the playing area so i can lock it if i decide to put someone else in charge of a game night. In that room i would put up some shelves and products, so if people wanted to buy i would go into that room and fetch it out. It is still big enough for people to go around and watch the products, but there cant be more than 5 people at one time in that room. The "main hall" can properly host around 8 seats for magic, 3-4 playing warmachine and 2 people painting.
Profit:
I know i will not be making a living of this (at first, who knows where it can go). That is also why it will just be 2 days a week at first (maybe just 1 if it has a slow startup). I go to school studying computer science, and that is what i will be working with when i graduate in 1-2 years. So it is a "hobby" bussiness so to speak. That, however, doesn't mean i dont want to make a profit! If it goes well (i mean really well) i could move into a real store, assign some staff and maybe actually grow it quite big. But, that is waaay down the road.
I would also open a small webshop, just to put myself out there, as there is no harm and little cost since i can create it myself.
Competition
Little to none. Obviously the online competition is fierce, but i still think i could sell a little now and then. However, there is nothing in the town i live that does anything like this, and neither in surrounding towns (there is a town with around 10.000 people 20 min. away).
Playerbase
The current playerbase is small. I have a few friends that regulary plays magic in towns that are 1 hour drive from here. I think we are around 6 regulars, and i could see having most of them as regular customers. Obviously, the goal would be to get more people into it! I know that is hard, but it must be doable.
Also, the nearby cities 15-20 min away would also be a place to promote. There is no shop like it in those towns either (the closest one is 40 min away from those, so they save 50% transport time).
Conclusion
There is not much risk involved with this startup, but it would still be an investment of around 2-3.000$ for decors and stock items. Then obviously a lot of hours, but that is okay, as i see it as my own hobby as well, and getting people to play with for myself as well. But is it possible in such a small town? Is it stupid? Can it make a profit? I think it can, since i won't have a rent, so whenever i sell anything i make profit, but i still gotta actually sell something.
I look forward to hearing everyones response, and i would obviously be interested in all the feedback in the world!
Thank you, and best regards,
Jeppe B. Joergensen
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire