• Thinking of starting a business; advice appreciated.
    7 replies, posted
[sp]Just as a heads up, this is the first time I've made a thread so if this doesn't belong here (which I doubt) could someone move it someplace better?[/sp] But first, story time. As I've been going through college (going on my 3rd year or so), I've found that the professions that I want to get into, such as teaching, applied graphical design, and art are all very hard to break into without having someone on the inside to vouch for you. This has caused me to rethink why I have been going to college, and I realized that what I really wanted to do was to provide a place where people can relax and hang out. It was around that time when I came across a lady selling vending machines for cheap, as she was retiring from the vending business. She told me that for 300 dollars she could hook me up with some of her vending machines, as well as extra parts and manuals to keep them running. Basically all of that culminated in my head and I realized what I'd really love to do; I'd like to open a small-to-medium sized arcade. However, the issue of start up is probably the biggest factor getting in the way, as arcade machines can be quite expensive and I'd have to find a good place to open shop. I do plan on getting the business started by first loaning out vending machines to various local businesses, as well as just generating income at various jobs to support the initial start up costs. Still, I have a few questions that I'd like to ask, and I'm open to advice as well. My first question is; where is a good place to hunt for arcade machines? I know that the local Sam's Club does occasionally sell arcade machines (such as pacman), but they are usually around $2000 a cabinet. I'd know that I am buying them new, but that store in particular is going to be unreliable in getting a constant stream of different machines, as well as expensive if I were to buy several machines at once. If anyone has tips for buying new or used machines, I'd love to know. My second question is; as I'm building revenue through vending sales and my own job, should I use that money intermittently to buy machines to loan out to businesses? I'd imagine that it would be a good idea, as theoretically I could start building revenue faster with the more machines that I lend out to shops. However, I'd hate for my arcade machines to be damaged or stolen if the shop owners decided to not really look after it when I'm not there. Third; would the money that I make from vending and arcade sales be taxed? I'm not entirely sure how that would work, so if anyone who might know a thing or two about it (or at least know a place where I could look that kind of thing up reliably) I'd greatly appreciate it. I do have more questions, but I'll save those for later. For now, I'd like to hear your guys's responses.
The number one thing you should do is research to death if there is an actual market for what you want to sell. It [I]all[/I] hinges on that.
[QUOTE=Smas;41924049][sp]Just as a heads up, this is the first time I've made a thread so if this doesn't belong here (which I doubt) could someone move it someplace better?[/sp] But first, story time. As I've been going through college (going on my 3rd year or so), I've found that the professions that I want to get into, such as teaching, applied graphical design, and art are all very hard to break into without having someone on the inside to vouch for you. This has caused me to rethink why I have been going to college, and I realized that what I really wanted to do was to provide a place where people can relax and hang out. It was around that time when I came across a lady selling vending machines for cheap, as she was retiring from the vending business. She told me that for 300 dollars she could hook me up with some of her vending machines, as well as extra parts and manuals to keep them running. Basically all of that culminated in my head and I realized what I'd really love to do; I'd like to open a small-to-medium sized arcade. However, the issue of start up is probably the biggest factor getting in the way, as arcade machines can be quite expensive and I'd have to find a good place to open shop. I do plan on getting the business started by first loaning out vending machines to various local businesses, as well as just generating income at various jobs to support the initial start up costs. Still, I have a few questions that I'd like to ask, and I'm open to advice as well. My first question is; where is a good place to hunt for arcade machines? I know that the local Sam's Club does occasionally sell arcade machines (such as pacman), but they are usually around $2000 a cabinet. I'd know that I am buying them new, but that store in particular is going to be unreliable in getting a constant stream of different machines, as well as expensive if I were to buy several machines at once. If anyone has tips for buying new or used machines, I'd love to know. My second question is; as I'm building revenue through vending sales and my own job, should I use that money intermittently to buy machines to loan out to businesses? I'd imagine that it would be a good idea, as theoretically I could start building revenue faster with the more machines that I lend out to shops. However, I'd hate for my arcade machines to be damaged or stolen if the shop owners decided to not really look after it when I'm not there. Third; would the money that I make from vending and arcade sales be taxed? I'm not entirely sure how that would work, so if anyone who might know a thing or two about it (or at least know a place where I could look that kind of thing up reliably) I'd greatly appreciate it. I do have more questions, but I'll save those for later. For now, I'd like to hear your guys's responses.[/QUOTE] Honestly, you shouldn't start a business if you're seeking advice from an internet forum (a particularly unhelpful one at that most of the time.) The only thing i suggest is filling in a "needed" market, like for example if there are already like 40 car washes in your town, don't open another one... and yes all your money made will be taxed. If you own a business you'll have report all earnings, etc. Though the only helpful thing I can suggest is that look up all legal information such as state/county/etc codes. Every place is different and you may have to get licenses and all that nonsense to do certain stuff...
Sorry if this kinda abashes your hopes, but classic arcades are kind of a dying business. It would be very hard to jump into it when even long-time arcades are barely staying in business. I'm sure you could make it work if you could make it stand out though. [editline]22nd August 2013[/editline] However, it depends on the area I suppose. If there's like no arcades in your town, it could work out really well.
Spend at least a 8 months to a year doing research for this. Look up -Is there a market? -How big is the market? -Where can I set up? -How much will that cost? -Where do I get supplies? -How much will that cost? -How can I advertise? -How much will that cost? Repeat for everything, twice: "How much will that cost?" When starting a new business, you'll probably be running [B]at a loss for up to 2-3 years[/B] before you see your first actual earned dollar. Be prepared for that and have a lot of back up cash. If you seek a bank loan, they're going to want you to have done your homework three times over and then some before they even toy with the idea of giving you a minimum amount to start off. Basically: Research.
If you open an arcade you won't be getting that money back.
Have you looked into redemption games? Not necessarily your quarter-crunchers, but games that reward tickets on skill like Infinity Blade, Fruit Ninja, and I think even Doodle Jump. These mobile games have arcade ports even if they're just large touch screens.
Thanks for the responses. I understand that starting up an arcade would probably just lead to a singularity forming in my finances. With that in mind, I didn't plan on just opening an arcade up willy-nilly. If anything I'd probably start up as a vending business, setting up and lending out vending and arcade machines where they'd be more frequently used, such as coin laundrymats, motels, movie theaters, and some restaurants. The only way I'd ever really open up an arcade is if the vending business was good enough for me to support it. I do know that as of currently I would have a monopoly on the arcade business in my area, as the closest one that I can think of is 20 miles away. However, I know that those arcade businesses are successful because they a: are part of a chain company, such as Zap-Zone Laser Tag, or b: they have been in business for about 50 years, so they have quite a bit of a head start. And, I guess I should say that I'm not going to suddenly stop going for my degrees in order to go after this pipe dream. My college is currently paying for half of my bills, and the government is taking the rest, so it'd be a waste for me to stop going after my graphical design degree. And who knows, I might actually get hired in somewhere so I wouldn't have to worry about starting a business that might not be extremely profitable, if at all. Again, I would like to thank you guys for your suggestions. Your advice is greatly appreciated, even if you think it's just common sense.
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.