Reasons For Your Unearned Success (Tradecraft)

This is a harsh trade. When I first started, employees of other stores would come over and tell me how badly I was gong to fail. Their store had been around for decades and there was no way I could compete. So you say? Another competitor would come once a quarter and give me the bad news that the game trade was failing and there was no hope going forward. So you say?

Eventually, you outlast those people. There were six local competitors when I started thirteen years ago. Every one is gone. There are some new ones, but the original ones are ancient history. You usually don't have to do anything to fight competitors, if you've got a sound business model. Failed business owners self exit. The primary key to living is not dying. Then just do a little better tomorrow.

After a few years, they stop taunting you about how you're going to fail. Instead they give you excuses why you succeeded. They will come in and tell you this. I get it in my store reviews sometimes. Most people, including game store employees, have no idea what it takes to run a small business, so they have no idea what decisions are necessary to be successful. As store owners, we work exceedingly hard to set the stage. The audience arrives and gazes at our wonders. They leave and tell their friends. Most assume we stand around watching them gaze at wonders all day, having no idea what it took to set the stage. How hard can that life be?

I've compiled a list of excuses you're likely to hear. I've heard just about all of them. By the way, I would like to think I'm not a hardcore narcissist who believes success is all mine, acquired in a vacuum. I do believe many people have been instrumental in our success, including a community that provided me opportunity to succeed, be it this great country, which encourages small business and offers a safety net for failure, the state of California with its many opportunities that have enriched my area, or the SF Bay Area, with a culture of appreciating small business and quirky endeavors. That's what President Obama was getting at in his infamous "You didn't build that" speech. I'm grateful and aware of this assistance and it's a major reason I live where I do. That said, nobody succeeds without smart, hard work. So here's my list.

Reasons Your Success Is Not Your Own:

1. Luck. Right place, right time. Ignore the feasibility study and the business plan, it was luck. I'm about to run a Norse D&D campaign and nobody is a hero without Luck. Nobody is noteworthy without snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. That means Luck is risk taking. It's not something that just happens.
2. Easy Local Market. Anyone can succeed where you are. Over here? Much harder. This is true in the SF Bay Area, which is sheltered from a lot of Game Trade concerns. However, it also requires overcoming tremendous barriers and costs, along with high taxes and fees. I had to interview with my first landlord and the answer was no until I revealed the nest egg I had ready to invest. The barrier to entry is why we don't constantly fight pop up stores. Start with six figures or GTFO.
3. Timing. Something was going up and you road the coattails. After a few years, my main competitor retired. I also started at a time of relative calm. Imagine starting your store the month of 9-11, or in 2008 during the financial meltdown. That said, timing is just one factor.
4. Bad Competitors. Clearly since they're all gone, they weren't very good. Now if you had real competition, bam! Running a store is like flying. To paraphrase Douglas Adams, the goal is throw yourself at the ground and miss. Making sure you miss is where the work comes in.
5. Staff Are Smarter Than You. The brains behind this operation is clearly not you. In fact, you're holding this place back from its true potential. This might be true, but it's also true hiring smart people is a management strategy. Bottom line: I can't run my business the way I want without smart people helping me. Thankfully I have them.
6. Volunteers Smarter Than You. You've built this on the back of organized play and coordinators. Again, it's a team effort, and we're grateful for the assistance.
7. You're Rich. The "you think you hit a home run, but you started on third" argument. One of my well known competitors was thought to be a dot com millionaire. I asked him and he laughed. "Ha! I'm sitting here in my back office eating my tuna fish sandwich." Ask Wizards of the Coast about this. I recall a story about the local Wizards of the Coast store manager installing a six figure mosaic in the front lobby of the store. There's no amount of startup capital that can save a business from a bad model. 
8. You're Lying and You're Not Successful. I have one competitor who couldn't believe my sales covered the expenses I revealed. I must be lying on one end or the other. Then there's the question of defining success. My definition at year 13 is very different than year 6 and year 2. The definition of a 20 year veteran is likely very different than mine. Do I have to wait to be a 20 year veteran before I'm allowed to speak? Most 20 year veterans I know would rather just take a nap. Also, I can think of a combination of not inconceivable events that could easily destroy my business today. That's just the life of a small business owner.
9. You Cheat On Your Taxes. This is usually the excuse successful store owners give for why pipsqueak start ups haven't failed yet. They're often not wrong. Having a really conservative accountant and business partners looking over my shoulder helps keep me honest in this area.
10. Your Business Model Isn't Pure. Perhaps you've diversified into another area like used video games or cell phone repair. Perhaps you've vertically integrated your distribution or publishing business with your game store business. There are people who do this and offer a reverse excuse: The game store is only possible with such a model. 
11. You Get Special Treatment From Suppliers. This might be true, as business relationships are not entirely transactional. In the game trade, your margin is determined by your purchasing loyalty and there are side deals and opportunities if you know where to look and who to ask. Opportunity doesn't just knock on the door.
12. The Internet. Either you sell enough to survive on the Internet or they'll tell you the Internet will crush you any day now. Only a fool shops at the LGS. Notice they drop the "F".

And there you have it. Feel free to add your own to the list. I hope you'll excuse the negativity. I would like to think the vast majority of this blog is not about excuses but talking about how to succeed in this excruciatingly difficult field.