How to Open a Gaming Store

If your love of video games extends to every aspect of your life, then you might be the perfect person to own their own video game store.

It's a challenging and time-consuming endeavor that requires perseverance and dedication, but it's also a rewarding and fulfilling one. You'll meet others with your passion for gaming and be able to run your store any way you see fit.

Things You'll Need

• Small business loan
• Store location
• Game suppliers
• Store materials
• Advertising materials

Instructions

1. Secure a small business loan that will cover your opening costs as you have calculated them in a concise business plan. Be sure to spend the money wisely, as loans seem to run out more quickly than people think.

   Make a priority purchasing list of what is most important for your store to have, and work your way down it. That way you have what you absolutely need to get the business going.

2. Pick a location for your store. Basic business logic would suggest that a high-traffic area would be best to snag the most customers; however, such locations are generally more expensive to obtain and maintain than less-auspicious places.

   Strike a balance between prominence and price when choosing your location, and you're less likely to fail.

3. Buy games yourself or get them delivered wholesale by a supplier; either way, your game store needs games to sell. There are a number of wholesale game sellers who will offer bulk discounts on games when purchased in large quantities. If you're lucky, you'll find one that will allow you to purchase brand-new games at a discount as well.

   If you're starting a used-game business, your games will eventually come from your customers. However, to get started, consider purchasing your initial stock from other used-game sources online.

4. Decorate your store to your tastes, with an eye for customer appreciation. Posters of game characters, life-sized replicas of famous gaming weapons, vehicles, characters or creatures, and game-testing stations are tried-and-true game-store decoration pieces.

   Try to make your store unique in some way with your decorations; add something the others don't have, or offer something they don't offer.

5. Advertise. Your store will remain largely anonymous unless people see your ads. Consider taking out a space in the local newspaper or TV station, post flyers at designated posting stations around town, and print up cards you can hand out at local gaming venues.

   Enroll your store in any local gaming expos to get your name out there. Offer discounts for referrals to get people to spread your shop's name by word-of-mouth. Think of something unexpected to bring positive attention.

Tips & Warnings

• Pay attention to your customers; their feedback will clue you in as to what steps to take to improve your store.

• Beware the unhappy customer! Gamers tend to hang out with other gamers, and one angry customer can morph into an entire group of disgruntled former customers.