Giving Your Kid Business Ideas

I read an article, that I now can't find, about how the author's father taught him the basics of a business with a vending machine. Basically, the father rented a vending machine, stopped giving the son an allowance, and had the son stock it with soda. The father would subsidize the kids expenses at first but then gradually lower what he would cover for his kid. The author said he had to eventually get rid of grape soda because of lack of demand, find a place to keep his extra soda and other great basics of running a business. I wanted to share some ideas that could help someones child (I have no children!) learn some basic skills like the author learned.

Lemonade Stand

It's a classic. Name one person who hasn't heard of a lemonade stand? I feel this is still a great way to teach a kid money skills. Here are some skills you can teach your child:

1) Inventory management. Lemons, Sugar, Cups and other miscellaneous items will need to be bought and counted for. The kid will learn quickly about not buying too much or too little of his lemons real fast!

2) Pricing. You can help your kid with this depending on his grade level and grasp of math. Make sure he or she is selling the cups at a high enough price to make money but low enough to attract people at wherever they may be selling.

3) Government regulation! Who doesn't love this? Be prepared for needing a license. There have been stories (google!) of kids getting fines from the local health board for not having a license. Don't look for trouble and call your local chamber of commerce or health board for any license requirements for a lemonade stand.

4) Location. I lived in the country as a kid. If I set up a stand there, I would obviously fail. Help your kid find a great local park they might be able to put a stand in. Contact a local business, maybe they won't mind.

Window Washing

When I was a manger for a store, I had to contact a window washer to come by each week to clean our outside windows. We had five windows and paid, if I can recall, around $6 or $7. It took little time for them to do. What benefits can this idea have?

1) Sales tactics. The kid is going to have to actively go after each sale. Bring them downtown and have them introduce themselves at a business and make a bid for selling their service. You can work with your kid on a sales pitch so they can best sell what they are doing.

2) Manual labor. If your kid knows they won't be receiving an allowance then putting in some labor might be very beneficial. Will they like it? Probably not but they might learn to appreciate it later in life.

Be on the lookout for businesses where presentation is key. Diners and banks would be great places to bring your kid for this.

Lawn Mowing/Landscaping

Another classic for kids or teenagers. Everyone needs it and most people hate doing it. Depending on the age, you might have to haul your kid to locations. If they have a license, they can do this on their own of course. Depending on where you live, this might be a summer only type of job.

One major advantage is that you can target homeowners. One of my jobs would pay a mowing company $55 to come cut the grass. Depending on the size, you could easily charge $20 to mow a lawn. One drawback is that a lawn mower can have high maintenance costs with it being used a lot.

Pet Walking

Many kids love animals, I know I did! This is a low expense business with good potential. Run an ad on Craigslist (pretty common), put up flyers and go door-to-door and talk with people if possible. Great for the animal lovers but probably a better option for higher density populations.

With all these options please make sure to find out any licenses your city might require. Best to play it on the safe side and not incur the wrath of the local government looking for their cut.

Afraid of making a small investment for your kid? I look at it this way, make a small investment, get your kid familiar with running and business and he or she will have a very positive learning experience. Worst scenario is your kid fails and you're out a little bit of money. Best scenario is the kid builds a small business that is successful and can now buy whatever the hell is popular these days. Once your kid has gone broke you can teach the value of investing!

If you have any other good ideas, let me know!

Saturday Flea Market Finds

Well the flea market came and went today. Found a few things but not a lot. Enjoy!

My girlfriend and I arrived at the fairgrounds around 8:45AM. Little early, nice. The admission guard directed us to the side parking lot where there were only handicap parking. We sat and realized this parking lot was too small. More people began to arrive and started to form a line, blocking others. Great, this is going to be a headache I thought. At 9, they opened the main gates and the line of cars began pulling into the fairgrounds. Damn. After the line went, I was able to pull into the main gates.

Some of the vendors were still setting up shop but most were ready. It was about 35 outside, nice and cold. We started going down the line of vendors outside and quickly gazed at the offerings. VHS, baby stuff, old tools, more VHS, hats, books. Outside was a bust in 5 minutes. Not looking that great.

We went inside the first of three buildings. Sweet, sweet heat. I started scanning each booth. Jewelry, hand made stuff and more tools. I stopped at one booth and saw 3 video games sitting there! Sports, damn, sports, damn again and Grand Theft Auto San Andreas for a good price! Score! I checked the case and CD and found nothing but wear and tear. I had to silently put it down, knowing some poor kid would buy a CD that would probably not work.

Moving on to the next building, I began my Speedy Gonzales look around. I walked inside someones booth and spotted:

A small find but a complete in box is always a nice grab. I also bought an NES controller but, sadly, the buttons do not respond.

Off to the next building and my girlfriend quickly spotted a vendor with consoles sitting out. NES, SNES, N64 and a PS1 all sitting there for the taking. Well, when they are quite overpriced, you'll always pass. Saddened, I asked if they had any games, to which he said they did! They had a very small collection of mainly PS2 games and PS1 but I did manage to grab:

I was happy with that one. Looking through the rest of the building I was able to find more games offered but all were sports games, or very high priced sports games. Sorry, I'll pass.

We visited another thrift store after and I made a mad dash towards the CD/game section. Struck out again! I walked down towards the electronic section, hoping to find something misplaced.

Oh, hello! A complete in box Sega CD game (also came with a newspaper for the game) and a boxed Sega game. Gotta love misplaced stuff!

I have added many, if not all, on my Ecrater store. Hopefully my Ebay wins will arrive next week and I can share more with you!

List of finds:

1x CIB RBI Baseball 3 (NES)

1x Tiny Toon Adventures (NES)

1x Pokemon Stadium (N64)

1x Sherlock Holmes Vol II CIB (Sega CD)

1x Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends (Sega Genesis)

Ebay and Fleas!

I wanted to give a quick update that I won some Ebay auctions! I should receive the games early November. I'll have pictures for you to look at and have them on my Ecrater store after they are tested.

I have a larger flea market to attend tomorrow morning along with other places. Hopefully I'll grab some gems and have a good story.

Wishing everyone a great weekend!

How to be Successful in a Business

As I sit here waiting for the weekend and a new adventure I begin to wonder, "What does it take to be successful?" Is it hard work? Marketing? What defines a successful business? I define a small business being successful when the entrepreneur is happy with a business that is stable. Not swimming in money? Does every entrepreneur want to make money? Of course! Being able to swim like Scrooge McDuck in a vault full of coins is not the goal of many entrepreneurs. How can a business get to the point of being successful?

An idea to fix a problem

To have a stable, successful business an entrepreneur must have an idea that will fix an issue. It doesn't have to be a big problem but should, in theory, solve a problem. What do I fix? I find it very hard to find quality retro video games at reasonable prices. Are there options? Yes, but I believe I can offer it. I would love to transition into a B&M store one day. I have personally seen one grow into four stores in a nearby town.

Passion

I believe Anthony Bourdain said that you cannot love what you get into because you will not run it like a business. I believe he is right for 95% of the people who want to run a business but haven't. If you love your passion that you are selling then it can be hard to be objective. This can cause all kinds of problems. Sell too low, sell too niche, sell with little markup are issues that can happen. For the others that can be objective, having passion is key. It drives you to better yourself. Maybe that drive will motivate you to find to ways to advertise or new ways of finding merchandise for selling. Who wants to buy from someone who clearly doesn't care about what they sell?

Being flexible


If you can't adapt to change, your business will go under. Look at many larger companies that are based on new concepts and you can see what I mean. Myspace is a perfect example. They were totally unprepared for Facebook and a better platform. They have gone through many CEOs and are talking about a complete re-brand. Be ready and accepting of change and you won't be left in the dust!

There are many other traits a business owner needs to be successful. If you want to succeed in a business, don't be afraid, go out and live your dream!

Breaking a Black Friday Myth

I saw an article on Deal News about them busting Black Friday myths. I wanted to bust one of my own for people that gets on my nerves. Ever hear the myth that the reason it is called Black Friday is that is the day a store will finally be "in the black" for the year? Yea, I've heard it a lot before and if you have an ounce of common sense, you'll know it's not true. Who would run their business so badly that by the end of the year they  finally make a profit? Here are some quarterly earnings for companies:

Wal Mart had operating income of $5.9 billion. Okay but what about someone else?

At the end of July 30, Gamestop had $30.9 million in net income.

Those are just two companies but can we please put to rest the idea that a company only makes money after Black Friday?

Few Links to Share

I've been looking for some blogs that are more dedicated for gaming and I wanted to share some I found. If you know of any, make sure to comment!

Retro Heart makes scale models of arcade cabinets! How often do you see that being done? I thought it was really cool and wanted to share. Check it out and get a gift for Christmas for someone!

Famicom Freak has a very nicely laid out site (jealous) and has some pretty good content on it. Check it out and kill some time!

Updates and Upcoming Plans

I wonder how many times I can have a post title that has two "u" words...Anyway back on topic.

I made a couple small changes on the site. The background I have changed because I did not like the light blue color. Bleh. I added a twitter feed on the side (follow my twitter!) and a feed for my Ecrater store.

I also added a couple more items on my Ecrater store. You can find the cart for Pokemon SoulSilver and Grand Turismo 2 added. Check them out!

I found out this weekend, the county I live in will be sponsoring a large flea market. I plan to hit that the morning it starts and look for any great bargains I can find. Hopefully I'll find some great stuff and have a good story I can give.

Resources for a Small Business

As I've been working towards my own business, I wanted to provide some resources I have found for a person looking to start a small business. This list is certainly not complete but should help someone who is unsure of where to start.

On which entity to form your company: Want to be a sole proprietor,  partnership or corporation but unsure of the advantages and disadvantages? Let's discuss! There are three basic business entities, sole proprietorship, partnership and corporation as already stated. Choosing which one to form your company can have long-term consequences. Let's start with a basic definition of each

Sole Proprietorship: This means there is one owner for the company. This does not mean you can't hire any employees, I've heard that asked before. A sole prop is not a separate legal entity according to the law (important later).

Partnership: Instead of one owner, like the sole prop, a partnership has two or more owners. This functions similar to a sole prop in the sense that a partnership is not a separate legal entity.

Corporation: A corporation has many owners, generally, called stockholders. The important element here is that a corp is a separate legal entity.

Now we have some basic information; we can begin talking about some pros and cons.

Pros for Sole Proprietorship:

1) Very easy to start. You could start advertising online and begin a sole proprietorship right now if you wanted. Some states have various laws regarding starting a sole prop, such as a DBA name.

2) A sole proprietorship is considered a pass-through entity for tax purposes. What is that? A sole proprietorship is not taxed separately. A person who owns this type of business will file a Schedule C and pay income taxes based on the businesses net income.

3) Very easy to disband. Done with your business? Generally, there is very little work to do. You might need to notify the state if you were paying sales tax that your business is done. Don't forget to keep records for filing taxes that year. There might be some other small things you need to do but it is considered easy to stop your business.

Cons for a Sole Proprietorship:

1) Unlimited liability. This cannot be stressed enough. Remember how I said a sole proprietorship is not a separate legal entity? This is why. If you own a sole proprietorship, your business is you! If someone slips and falls in your store, you could be held 100% liable as a business. This is the biggest concern about this business type.


2) Harder to raise capital. As a sole proprietorship, it can be harder to get capital because of credit ratings which can affect a loan. There is no stock that you can issue for this type of business as well. Venture capitalists will want a company formed if they are going to invest in a business. This can make expanding more difficult.

Those are only some of the pros and cons of running a sole proprietorship. Moving on to a partnership.

Pros for a Partnership:

1) While not as easy as a sole proprietorship, a partnership can be easily formed. Forming a partnership generally involves filling out a partnership agreement and filing with your state.

2) More talent available. With having more than one owner comes the possibility of owners filling niche roles. One partner could handle the accounting work while the other handles purchasing. This allows partners to utilize their strengths. Be careful, this could have drawbacks if a partner decides to leave.

3) A partnership is considered a pass through entity. Partners will pay tax on their own income, the partnership will not pay income taxes itself.

Cons for a Partnership:

1) Unlimited liability (again). The same rules apply from the sole proprietor. Note: There are certain partnerships you can form that will eliminate the unlimited liability, generally. An LLP is a partnership with limited liability. There are ways to be sued and held fully liable even while having limited liability but that is beyond the scope of what I can get into today.

2) Having a partner. If you want to run your own business, do you want someone else who can make a large claim to the income? This can be seen as a disadvantage in the long-term. A partner can also be held liable for what the other partner did, even if the innocent partner was not aware.

A sole proprietor and a partnership have similar pros and cons as seen. Let's move on to corporations.

Pros for a Corporation:

1) Limited liability! I've already touched on how bad unlimited liability is; having limited liability without doing anything is a great pro towards a corporation. There are ways to be fully responsible for the actions of a corporation, called piercing the corporate veil, but that is another topic for another time.

2) Easiest to raise capital. A corporation has stock they can issue, attract venture capitalists and generally have an easier ability to expand operations over the other forms of business.

3) It's reassuring to the customer. Personally, and from what I've noticed, a customer will look upon a business that has taken the time to go through the initial paperwork more positively than a sole proprietorship. I see this a lot with businesses named after the city they are in. This does not mean they are bad but, to me, it indicates a lack of planning and execution.

Cons for a Corporation:

1) Can be expensive to start. Filing all the paperwork with your state can be expensive depending on the scope and size of your planned business. Filing the articles of incorporation in my state will run $125. Now, if you're concerned about $125 fee to start your corporation then you might want to reconsider your business.

2) Double taxation. Double taxation comes into play with a corporation because the corporation will pay taxes at the corporate level and distributions to shareholders are taxed as well. There are ways around this by filing as an S-corp or an LLC. Is it a huge con? I don't think it is as a small corporation has easy ways to avoid this. 

Whew, that was long. I think this list provides enough basic information to help a person to choose what kind of business entity they should choose. If you are looking to start a business, please do more research on each type.

Useful links for budding entrepreneurs:  Here are some links I think anyone can find useful.

Reddit's small business /r/ Has many small business owners where you can ask questions. Generally a pretty nice community. Just don't spam.

IRS's website on businesses  Also a great site to find out tax information if you can't afford an accountant.

SBA's website  The Small Business Administration's website has tons of useful information on business plans, loans, and other assistance to a starting company.

Check with your state's website for sales tax information, filing requirements and other support you can find. In my state I can use a website that will take my information and present it to banks and then any interested banks will contact me about a loan.

I hope some of this information helps anyone. A lot of what I've typed I have used to help me towards my goal. I hope it can also help someone towards their goal.

Selling Retro Video Games, Is It Viable?

One thing I have heard from others I know, and online, is the question of, can retro video games be sold online for a profit? This is certainly an honest question. To even begin, if I did not feel it was viable I would not be doing this. I am going to try and point out why I feel this market has potential.

With the Internet, a person can download a ROM and play many of their favorite classics on their computer now. It's even possible to play many on an Android phone too. Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft all offer many older games for sale on their own online market. Why would someone want to buy these physical copies then? First, online distribution, while popular, has not overtaken the physical realm yet. Ask a person who wants a video game and I would place a bet that they would prefer a physical copy over a digital copy of a retro game.  What are some reasons why someone would want a physical copy?

The average age of a gamer is getting older. Some recent surveys, which I can't find right now, shows that the average age of a gamer is in their 30's. What do people have when they are in their 30's? Kids. Many parents love to share with their kids. For your kids birthday, would you rather give them a digital copy of Chrono Trigger, or the physical copy that you were able to find to buy? Everyone loves opening a present or even a box to find their treasure inside. Sure, many people will just download a digital copy of a game but many love the feeling of opening something or giving gifts.

Nostalgia can sometimes be described as rose colored glasses. Many people look back on their earlier years and remember the great times they had with their old games. Being able to have a real copy of a game is a great way to relive those moments.

Many people are collectors. To be a collector is to find original copies of games in as great as condition as possible. Would a collector take a digital copy and say they are expanding their collection? I very highly doubt. Many of these people look for bargains. It can be tough selling to these people, but not all the time.

Probably the biggest issue to overcome is exposure. Go to Ebay, Ecrater or type in Google for video game stores and see all the lists. How does one overcome this mass amount of people? My answer, persistence and quality. Be persistent and not give up and you will start to rise above others. Have quality products and this will bring referrals to you. Use twitter and other social tools to help bring in people and provide a way for people to interact with you. Have a blog, like this one! It will be slow at first but it will help. Find forums for people with relevant interests and, if possible, relay your store or blog or twitter. Do not spam people on forums as that is considered very rude.

These are all reasons that selling online can work. There are many hurdles, and I only touched on one. If you really wish to be successful, you must be willing to accept it will be very difficult at first.

Need a Pumpkin? Why Not Zoidberg?!

My girlfriend decided to carve her pumpkin tonight. I think it came out pretty good! All I did was "supervise", but it was very hard for me to watch her do it.

Louisiana Outlaws Cash for Second-Hand Goods

Story of Louisiana banning cash for second-hand sales.

I first heard this from a friend in Lafayette, Louisiana and then I saw it on Reddit. This is absurd. The story talks about the unintended consequences of this law that was passed and how it was not aimed towards garage sales, thrift stores and such. Do they Louisiana legislators even feel this can be enforced? Will cops stop by local garage sales demanding to see if cash has been used for any sales?

I don't see this law lasting in it's current form for very long. I understand, and agree, that pawn shops should require documentation because it's very easy to sell there. This though? It's an unenforceable, degrading law that should be dismantled and reworked immediately.

Ecrater Store Updated

Since I acquired my first set of merchandise for sale, I have updated my Overstock Retro store. Though there is not much up (yet), I wanted to let everyone know! I'm going to go enjoy the rest of my day and hope, if you are reading this, you have a great day too!

Garage Sale Story

Today was my first day out shopping at local garage sales and Thrift Stores for merchandise to sell online. Overall the day went okay. It is getting colder outside so the amount of garage sales are limited but I felt I did okay overall for my first day. Let's recap how the day went.

7:30AM: wake up, look at the alarm clock and wonder why I am up this early again. Look over to my girlfriend and tell her it's time to get up. She makes her usual grunt at me that indicates "If you wake me up I will murder you where you stand and hide your body in the lake." Make breakfast and get ready to leave by 8:30.

I hit the first sale at 9 at a nearby church with a rummage sale. We walk in and the smell that you get when you walk into an old church fills my senses. Look around and there are about 4 tables set-up with mainly clothes and miscellaneous items. Because I don't want to feel like a jerk, I look around with my girlfriend. I see they have some huge alien head-ware that you see in beauty salons. Nothing at our side, we leave.

We start out towards our next destination on the other side of town. We stop at a Volunteers of America thrift store. This is not a small thrift store but a very, very large one. We're talking Wal-Mart size big now. I get out of the car and the cold air is bringing in the smell of the local fast food joints. I never stop enjoying that smell. Inside, I make a quick run towards the area with CDs and electronics. One tip in any thrift store, look for the CDs if you want to score video game related items; most thrift stores just put these with music CDs and have no clue. I look through the stack and quickly spot two items.

Not the greatest finds but it is a start. I have to remind myself that I can't just stock the rarest, greatest items. I can't let MY tastes decide what I buy. I have to learn based on making mistakes what will sell and what won't.

We leave and heads towards another rummage sale at a local church. We parked in the front and walk up to the front door and we see a sign that says, "Please use back door for sale." Damn. We walk around, the cold air letting up a little bit and go inside. Everything 50% off! Great! Hopefully they have a gem hiding. We pick up a couple things we could use around our apartment, extension cord, light, but I don't notice anything related to video games. Strike 2 for rummage sales.

We head to a local goodwill next and strike out there. These larger thrift stores are either hit-or-miss. When I've shopped at these in the past you can find great stuff, or nothing. Today, it's nothing.

We head to another larger thrift store and find, in my opinion, the greatest board game I have ever seen in my life! Conglomerate is a board game that my accounting heart will love. I'll be playing it tonight with the girlfriend. She will feel my wrath!

After getting groceries we head to a place for lunch because we have a gift card. We plan to eat there and hit a tiny locally owned thrift store. Am I glad we got there soon after they opened...

Now that is what I like to see! We found a boxed Sega Genesis, a non boxed Sega Genesis with controllers and a near mint copy of Shenmue! Now that I like to see! I love this little thrift store. We have obtained a few other things there at real great prices. I do feel this place will be my little gem where I find great deals.

I decided that we should try and look at a local pawn shop. These places can be seedy but can have great finds as well. I remember seeing a local pawn shop online that had pictures of a lot of video games they had but could not remember where they were. After driving around looking downtown, we decide to stop at another pawn shop that I believe is not the correct one (I was right). We get there 10 minutes before they open and the guy opens the door and lets us in anyway. Well that's cool, I can't say that wasn't nice. We look around and see, gun, gun, gun, tv, tv, jewelry and more jewelry. I spot, near the back, a little stack of new and older video games. Swish! I ask to look at the older games because I can't see the titles. After looking at them I grab two games.

It's always great finding these older games out in the market. We get home a little later and I start testing everything out and everything seems to be in working order. Always good to know everything is working. We get all the pictures taken and I get everything added to my Overstock Retro Ecrater store after a little work and I feel good.

Did I find a lot today? Not a lot. What did I find out? I found out today that I will need to expand where I search to find games. I will need to use other sources to keep stock flowing in to add to my store. I have a paltry amount right now and I will need to grow. This is a good first step though.

Top 3 Reasons To Own a Business

As I'm sitting here waiting for the weekend to come and I can begin my hunt for items to sell, I wanted to convey my reasons for wanting to own my own business. It's a short list but who doesn't love lists? Enjoy!

1) The freedom to make decisions: When you make your own decisions the consequences are very real. If I decide to slack at a normal job, it will probably not make much of an impact in the long run. Everyone slacks at work. When you are trying to get a business off the ground with your investment time being on the weekends, slacking off can have a huge impact. This has always been my failure in the past. I slacked off. So wait, why am I saying the freedom to make decisions is a top reason to own a business then? If you desire freedom then the costs of it must be very clear to you.

2) Economic Movement: Those are just some fancy words for the opportunity for your income to increase at any moment. Work a normal job? If you're lucky in this economy you will get a raise once a year. Own a business? Your income can increase daily! Of course it can also fall daily as well. That's something anyone who has started a business can understand. Will there be money to feed myself, my family, or pay the rent?

3) Personal Achievement: Who doesn't want to have the satisfaction of knowing that they have created something that others want? Someone who creates paintings is no different than someone who opens a business. They both want to create satisfaction for the end person. What that satisfaction is different for the artistic person and the business person, no question.  

As with anything in life, owning a business will have some major responsibilities and repercussions. The biggest thing is unintended consequences. What if my drive to own my own successful business causes problems in ways I don't know about? Hopefully, any problems that do arise I can solve. Here is how I feel right now:

Ecrater: My Online Store!

So I mentioned in my first post that Ecrater would be the home of my store. Why did I choose this over the traditional Ebay route? Like most things in life, it comes down to price!

Ecrater advertises themselves as free! Free you say? Surely there must be some kind of catch or limiting factor to this. There really is no, what I consider, major drawback. The only thing Ecrater requires is that you bring people to your store. With Ebay, they are focused on the buyers. With Ecrater, they are focused on the seller. I find that perfect because Ebay has, as I'm sure you're aware if you sell on there, been increasing their fees over the last few years. Finding a site that allowed me to set-up a store that is free with decent traffic is what I wanted.

This means that I need to promote my store and bring people in though. Can I do that? I hope so. I guess as the months go by and either fatigue or my impatience catches up I will discover if I really can do it.

Welcome! What is this?!

First, I want to thank you for visiting my blog! So what is this blog and why should you read it? Well in all honesty, I don't think even I know what this blog is!

I guess I should introduce myself. I'm 26, I work for a company doing their office and accounting work. I know, very exciting. I've always had a dream to work for myself. Where I can wake up and have my own schedule! Sure, having your own schedule as a business owner is generally not too realistic, but having my work be for my business is something I need. This blog is one step towards that dream. How?

This blog will, hopefully, detail my journey from just starting out with my business to being my own boss. My business will, as of now, revolve around my Ecrater store Overstock Retro. 

As time goes on, I would love to include reviews for older games for people to get nostalgic.

That's the plan (some plan huh?). It will take work (damn!). Shortly I'll plan on adding a blog detailing my plan for acquiring inventory to sell. Enjoy the site!