I learned this saying as a teenager and found it amusing, but there's a kernel of truth to it. You want to know the time, you have the tools at your disposal, but you don't know how. My free advice, because I'm not a paid consultant, is learn to use the tools. Here's where to start:
Write a business plan. What, you've never written a business plan? What a great education! It's a research project, one where everything you learn will have a direct impact on years of your life. You can't spend too much time writing a business plan. Write it from scratch and get feedback. Find a SCORE member to vet your plan and share it with people who know more than you. It's like your first script in the movie business; try to get it in front of people who can help you make it happen. I talk a lot about the business plan in my book, without actually writing a plan, because that exercise is something you should do yourself.
Also write a marketing plan. Budget money for marketing based on a percentage of your expected gross sales. Nowadays, with social media and online advertising, as little as 1% can make a huge difference. When I started it was recommended you spend 2-3% of your gross on ads, but that included a lot of cable TV, radio ads, print ads, and the dreaded Yellow Pages. My advertising last year was .76%, and I have a hard time justifying spending more. My advertising budget my first year in business, 15 years ago, was 4% of my gross. I actually paid more in marketing my first year in business than I did last year with four times the revenue. Create a plan, try to make it more diverse than just Facebook, which is a boat filling with water, and create a schedule. Spend more money when you think sales will occur.
Network with peers. Facebook is key nowadays, while 15 years ago it was Delphi forums. A good group to start is Opening A Tabletop Game Store. From there you can branch out into many other places, where more than likely the signal to noise ratio won't be as good for you. Find like minded individuals. Compare notes and triangulate when given advice. There is good advice you can use, good advice that doesn't apply to your situation, and bad advice. Two out of three things you hear will be useless. Note the people giving you good advice and pay attention to them. They are your spirit animal.
Read a lot. I have a blog post here with resources. My advice, which almost nobody does, is delve into reading about retail and not just the game trade. Some of the stuff I lecture on at trade shows is right out of retailing books, illuminating rocket science to most people in the game trade. Many older retail books have the details wrong for today, but the strategies are generally solid. I also keep up on retail news by getting Retail Dive in my inbox, which covers retail trends. Get out of the game trade bubble and remember you're now a retailer. Diversify away from distributors early.
Consultants? If you do all of these things, you'll probably be able to tell time. It's unlikely you'll need a consultant. If you're like me, a completist who's never satisfied until they know every angle, you might find peace of mind by budgeting a little money to bring in outside help. I spent a thousand dollars on a feasibility study when I first started, a gut check with the goal of making sure the numbers in my business plan were likely to work in my proposed locations. Since we're making up revenue projections, it's good to have some clarity on whether that's feasible. One of your final questions is: Can I do THIS, HERE. Worst case scenario is your consultant tells you the time you already knew and you're out a grand, which nowadays isn't even a lot for a nice watch.
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