Grimfoe Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Ho, brothers!! Wish me luck. I just received approval from the banker to open a gaming store in my area. My brother and I have wanted to for some time as we feel we'll be able to provide a good gaming oriented, club atmosphere. I know none of you live near enough to visit, but I thought you'd like to know there's a new outpost for the Space Wolves. As the wolves are my main army, they'll become the primary 40K force for the store. The best part is that I'll get my hands on the new codex and minis sometime in September. :) That's reason enough to open a store, right there. :geek: I'm not going to provide any real specific information at this time as I want to be sure not to violate the rules of the forum. That said, if you have any general comments or suggestions, I'd love to hear them. Thanks. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/174007-new-outpost-for-the-fang/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skaldnir Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Congratulations on your new store, good luck and you never know if a wolf might show up to a tourney. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/174007-new-outpost-for-the-fang/#findComment-2056930 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lone Scout Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Good luck, glad to see someone living their dream :geek: Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/174007-new-outpost-for-the-fang/#findComment-2056937 Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnlyInDeath Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Hey brother, congrats! It's a shame I dont live closer, or I would shower you with patronage :) That said, if you ever feel like you need ideas for tournies, events, tables, etc let us know. You have a wealth of gaming knowledge at your fingertips with us in the fang :geek: Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/174007-new-outpost-for-the-fang/#findComment-2056943 Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithGatchalian Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Good luck with your store. I hope your remember that A. you are a business first and a club second or you will fail miserably, which I don't want to see happen to anyone and B. A game store is hard hard work. Here's my advice....recruit recruit recruit. Have demo tables to run quick, 5 minute demo games. Have you ever been in a GW store and seen how they demo? That the way to do it. Fun, Fast and Furious. Run newbie days, but make sure you have veteran events. Don't let the veterans dictate to you though. One of the game stores I worked at had this happen. His magic players were never happy with the prizes he gave, and from what I understand, he was giving away hundreds of dollars. ( the Magic players would also conspire to throw games so their group would win). If they don't like how you want to do things, then so be it. At the same time, the difference between a great business and a good one and a failing one is customer service. Someone buys bad product, you fix it right away. Someone needs help, you do it right away. Keep menu's for people to order food ( if you allow eating in the store) and a book of directions to the nearest mall or coffee house for mom and dad. Have you read Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence people? How about Raving Fans? Those are excellent books. Certain to Win is another good one. Don't be afraid to be closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. You'll want time off. Don't hire friends as employees. Hire friendly people with a great sense of humor. Hire hot girls. Ok, I'm kidding on that one. ( though, the one game store I worked at had great attendance when the hot goth girl was there...) Keep your store clean and organized. Be friendly, but not friends. Investigate product before investing in it. The one store I worked at ( I worked 2 normal gaming stores, and 2 GW retail before moving to Direct Sales) got conned into buying a ton of Confrontation miniatures which never sold. Ditto for Chainmail. Never make a pre-advance order without pre-payment. Alt of these suggestions seem obvious, but from experience I've seen people not do them. Recruit Hobby Champions to run games for you. Make sure you have a good location...near a mall and in a school/college district is perfect. Make sure the air con works. Try and find a place where there are good food options. Never be afraid to ask for the sale. Sell to be people nicely. Don't be afraid to leave people alone, but always show interest in them ( that goes back to Dale Carnegie). Learn any trick you can to remember someone's name and details about them. Learn how to pick up on what interests a person...If someone goes, wow, what a cool Wolf Guard with Lightning Claws, you know he's probably a modeller/converter. If someone asks what unit will help them beat Orks, they are a competitive gamer. Sell to them accordingly! Again, easy and obvious, but I see people screwing that up all the time. Always deliver on a promise when you can, and never promise something you may not be able to deliver on. (especially with GW shipping!) Most gamers are cheap, and there are 2 types of veteran gamers. There are the guys who establish an army, and only buy a few more models, yet demand all the attention and events be for them, and then there are guys like me, who will drop 400 on a new army if its cool, and will buy lots of new stuff and different stuff to play armies different ways, and don't care if the events are for them or not. Good Luck! Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/174007-new-outpost-for-the-fang/#findComment-2056947 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cthulhudreamt Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Ho, brothers!! Wish me luck. I just received approval from the banker to open a gaming store in my area. My brother and I have wanted to for some time as we feel we'll be able to provide a good gaming oriented, club atmosphere. I know none of you live near enough to visit, but I thought you'd like to know there's a new outpost for the Space Wolves. As the wolves are my main army, they'll become the primary 40K force for the store. The best part is that I'll get my hands on the new codex and minis sometime in September. :) That's reason enough to open a store, right there. :geek: I'm not going to provide any real specific information at this time as I want to be sure not to violate the rules of the forum. That said, if you have any general comments or suggestions, I'd love to hear them. Thanks. Hey congratulations on the store! I see you're in Albany, I'm just north of you in Saratoga Springs. I just moved up here and am lost in finding a decent store/ club. mind PMing me details about what you have going as I don't want to get anyone in trouble for inadvertent advertising Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/174007-new-outpost-for-the-fang/#findComment-2056968 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonas Stromclaw Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Congratulations and good luck! If I get accepted to West Point I might just drive up someday on leave. :geek: Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/174007-new-outpost-for-the-fang/#findComment-2056973 Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORKILL Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Best of luck to you. I had two partnership level stores. It's alot of work. However, it is great to be your own boss. I built out 8 stores and numerous bars. So, if you need any advice on doing build out on the cheap send me a PM. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/174007-new-outpost-for-the-fang/#findComment-2056978 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beef Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Congrats brother, If I am ever your side of the pond I will be sure to drop in, Give us a sneek preview in sept of the new wolves :huh: Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/174007-new-outpost-for-the-fang/#findComment-2057082 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hfran Morkai Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Well done, be sure to post up some pictures of the store once you've opened it. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/174007-new-outpost-for-the-fang/#findComment-2057085 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimfoe Posted July 22, 2009 Author Share Posted July 22, 2009 Thanks for the well wishes. I'll not be the primary manager of the store as I already have my own business, but my brother will be managing the place. He's an exceptional gamer and has a background in retail as well. We're very excited. @Keith Gatchalian: Many of the things you suggested are fairly obvious, but many are things that I didn't think of as well. I appreciate the advice. @ORKILL: In the next few weeks we'll be starting to build the store. I'll take you up on that offer. Thanks. @OID and the rest: I appreciate the offer of advice. That's really why I wanted to start this thread. You all have a great deal of experience and I was hoping to draw on that as I arranged events for the store. I want an event EVERY weekend. I know that they can't all be tournaments and that only one of these Saturday events will really be centered around 40K each month, but I was hoping that I could bounce stuff off you guys and then let you know how it ran. For the Space Wolf release I'm thinking of running a big Planet Strike event using terrain to represent Fenris and the store army of Space Wolves against all comers. I'm mixing Space Wolves with Planet Strike because the two closest store that sell GW are not partnership stores and did nothing to promote PS. I think this is a mistake. I've not played PS yet, but it seems to be both a fun game and a potential money maker for a store. My thinking is that I'd like to get the new Space Wolf models early and have them painted in time for the release date. I'll integrate them with my existing army and have a big event. What do you think? Potentially, I can see two problems right off the bat. It may be a problem asking to take on "all comers." What if people don't bring their armies? What if they bring too much? Maybe we should use only store minis for the demo? Secondly, I'm not going into business to compete with my clientele. Running against them might not be the right move. Perhaps they should get to control both sides and we should just mediate? Let me know what you think. Thanks. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/174007-new-outpost-for-the-fang/#findComment-2057215 Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesI Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Good luck with the new store (said by someone who will be at that store at least once a week!) For a planetstrike/Space Wolves event do an event with Space Wolves attacking Thousand Sons. good fluffy story from the heresy. (And I happen to already have a Tzeentch chaos army) Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/174007-new-outpost-for-the-fang/#findComment-2057314 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimfoe Posted July 22, 2009 Author Share Posted July 22, 2009 We'll have to talk about that James. I love the idea. I have Black Legion as well if we need to flesh out the attacking force. Thanks. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/174007-new-outpost-for-the-fang/#findComment-2057327 Share on other sites More sharing options...
The emperors chosen Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 congrats on the store, now some advice: -make sure you are familiar with all gamins systems(obvious, but needs saying) -if you are thinking of doing unique events, try combining the books, like apocalypse with cities of death, or planet strike, but with unique objectives Good luck!! Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/174007-new-outpost-for-the-fang/#findComment-2057334 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimfoe Posted July 22, 2009 Author Share Posted July 22, 2009 congrats on the store, now some advice:-make sure you are familiar with all gamins systems(obvious, but needs saying) -if you are thinking of doing unique events, try combining the books, like apocalypse with cities of death, or planet strike, but with unique objectives Good luck!! I like that idea. Do you think we should start combining events after a few months to keep things fresh or should we try to start right away? I'm not sure what the percentage of new gamers vs. veteran gamers will be. I imagine the great majority will be veteran and it may be a good idea to switch things up right away to set the hook so to speak. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/174007-new-outpost-for-the-fang/#findComment-2057338 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ikken Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 The best part is that I'll get my hands on the new codex and minis sometime in September. :) hehe No No No , you need to start thinking like a business person . the real best part is that as long as you use your SW army in your new store , you can now write off your SW army , and all your gaming supplies as a legitimate income tax expense . keep those receipts :) Congrats on the new store , and good luck . ] Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/174007-new-outpost-for-the-fang/#findComment-2057344 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellios Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Didn't the thousand sons attack the fang... but bjorn made magnus cry so they went home? that would be a cool planetstrike and/or apocalypse game :D if your making boards for the fang :D Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/174007-new-outpost-for-the-fang/#findComment-2057416 Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnlyInDeath Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Well, if you want to go for the GW style of events every weekend, all you really need to do is set up the scenario and get the terrain and rules set up, determine the points levels, and then get the game started up. Typically the blackshirt at my local store appoints a specific person on each side to be the "captain" of their team, making sure that everything is keeping on track, helping less experienced ppl, etc. Other than that, the store crew typically just checks in from time to time to make sure that everything is going well, answers any questions, and again, makes sure that ppl are staying on track. It might be useful to put specific guidelines on the match like: -X amt of time per turn. If you arent finished by then, tough luck. It ensures fast gameplay, and if you've got 4 or 5 ppl per side, you need to make sure things keep rolling, otherwise you will find yourself w/ hour and a half turns -Encourage "collective rolling", ie: if you have six bolters, a plasmagun and a shotgun, use different collored dice and roll them all at once. This may sound silly, but after being one of those aforementioned "captains" dozens of times, it still amazes me how many of the younger gamers roll weapons in a unit one at a time, so that if you do the restricted time on turns, they end up only shooting w/ 1 or 2 units. -Try and have fluffy objectives for the game, but keep the table big enough that it's not just one big cluster around the objectives. By keeping the table big enough, you allow the people on the ends to just go at it, while allowing relatively few ppl to try and take care of the objective. It's just a way of keeping the table less cluttered. -Dont do prizes for team vs team events.....ever. For one, you will go broke providing prizes every weekend, and for another, it makes the game too competitive and it tends to get ugly. Instead, encourage the idea that the well organized game on a weekly basis is the reason to come and play. Typically, prizes were reserved for all out slug fest events (like tanksgiving) where it's just more of an all out brawl, where things can stay good natured. -I dont know how good at crafting you are, but it would be fun to have custom objectives for your weekly games. It really gives the game a centerpiece and theme, as well as giving you a bountiful supply of terrain for your shop in the end <_< Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/174007-new-outpost-for-the-fang/#findComment-2057450 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grey Mage Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 I wish you the absolute best of luck Grimfoe. Its a tough life being a hobbystore guy, but I think youll enjoy it. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/174007-new-outpost-for-the-fang/#findComment-2057483 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roguemarine Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 grimfoe, this is excellent news about a brother opening his own den. Congrats on this. And on a selfish note, i make monthly trips to the Albany area so if you would not mind PM'ing me your address and i will finagle a way of making it to support a brothers habit...i mean business :D Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/174007-new-outpost-for-the-fang/#findComment-2057546 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimfoe Posted July 22, 2009 Author Share Posted July 22, 2009 Thanks for the support, guys. Great info and I'll keep information coming as I get it. I've very interested in the points you've made OID. Both my brother and I were outriders back in the day, but I've not run many larger events. I'm starting to think I should drive down to Baltimore and see how the GW boys do it. I really want to make a splash with our events. There isn't a store in this area (and never has been) that adequately represented the hobby both to veteran gamers and new gamers. One of the reasons my brother and I are doing this is because we enjoy a "mentor-like" relationship with younger gamers. We certainly enjoy gaming with our peers, but we're not opposed to bringing in new blood. I think that GW may have a lot to show me on how best to do that. I'm also very pleased to know that there may be a couple of wolf brothers that can take part in a Space Wolf themed battle when the new releases come out. I really want to make a splash with that. I know that I'll be a newbie in the gaming industry, but I've waited a LONG time for the new release. I want the bells and whistles. Maybe the assault on Fenris by the Thousand Sons is the way to go. What do you guys think? I want a kicking event understanding that I'll have my work cut out for me getting terrain and the new minis together. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/174007-new-outpost-for-the-fang/#findComment-2057573 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brother Tuditanus Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Best of luck... The ideas I have are all from our local shop, but they seem to help. A good way to promote your shop, build clientele and such is sponsor Hobby oriented days and workshops. These have immensely helped our local store. Have experienced modelers come and run a workshop on sculpting, have open paint days or modeling days where people can come and grab some space and just paint with fellow gamers. These events not only help bring customers in, but they will help build a local gaming community that will use your shop as an anchor. These days have taught me a lot on painting. I mastered drysbrushing and several other techniques only because of things like this. Set a gaming day once a month for each system you 'officially' run. And recruit regulars from your store who are experienced to 'captain' and help oversee these events. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/174007-new-outpost-for-the-fang/#findComment-2057578 Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesI Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 We have one or two other space wolves players locally. Add to that the other chaos player, and we could get a pretty good assault going. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/174007-new-outpost-for-the-fang/#findComment-2057592 Share on other sites More sharing options...
spjaco Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Almost enough to make me move to that part of New York. But the missuz is from there and says "Ni" As a Space Wolf I fear no man, only one woman. And I married her, so what does that say about me? LOL :D Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/174007-new-outpost-for-the-fang/#findComment-2057813 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warhorse47 Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Congrats and good luck! Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/174007-new-outpost-for-the-fang/#findComment-2057840 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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