My friends and I love board games. My friends and I love cafes. So I thought, why not combine them both into a board game cafe!
The Business Model of Current Cafes
The current cafe business model is basically to sell you coffee and snacks (and occasionally, other things too). The more in-and-out customer traffic they get, the more sales they make. Although many cafes go out of their way to create a cozy, homey environment to attract lounging customers, this can actually hurt their bottom line.
For instance, cafes with free wifi will undoubtedly attract cafe wifi moochers. That's good and all, if the moochers make occasional purchases. But as one Seattle coffee shop discovered, removing free wifi decreased lounging customers (more specifically: cafe wifi moochers) and increased sales.
So how about this as an alternate cafe business model: make money from customers who lounge around in your cafe. How? By offering board games!
Game Night at Yahoo!
Here's another way to look at it. Randy Farmer, a Community Strategic Analyst for Yahoo! (YHOO) started a casual Game Night at Yahoo! last year. It's free to anyone in the California Silicon Valley area. New members can join through their mailing list, South Bay Boardgamers, then play a large variety of board games at Yahoo!'s offices in Sunnyvale, CA.
Back when I was a Yahoo! employee, I'd occasionally see several dozen boardgamers happily socializing and playing in the Yahoo! cafeteria. The energy was enticing and exciting.
This is proof of an audience for board games. Now say they could also play on weekends in a nice, cozy, homey cafe, complete with coffee and snacks. Not only would it be a good wholesome family-friendly evening, but it would be a great way to meet new people too. There are lots of singles and new residents in the area, many of whom may be, or could grow to be, board game enthusiasts.
Monetizing the Board Game Cafe
Aside from coffee and snacks, this cafe could offer:
Board game table rentals
A group of customers could select or reserve a table and a board game from the cafe's library. The table would be rented at an hourly rate that varied depending on the day of the week. Perhaps it could follow a bowling lane rental model, or something similar. The group could specify that the table is "private" or "public," where public tables would allow walk-ins to join at a pro-rated rate. Tables would vary in size and be expandable, from small one-on-ones to large groups.
Board game tournaments
Once the cafe was somewhat established, weekly or monthly tournaments could be held. These would allow singles the opportunity to band together and compete for prizes, such as gift certificates, additional time, or cash. Teams and guilds could be formed too. Some tournaments could take on themes, such as a AD&D Halloween, WWII Week, or Star Wars Wars. Companies can also reserve the cafe for team outings or team-building games.
Online Network
An online supporting network would allow customers to view their accounts and subscribe to various rental schedules (such as a flat fee for unlimited usage per month). They could also form guilds with other members and track their winnings and losses from tournaments or private games. Members could purchase time or subscriptions for other members as gifts. New members could also be randomly selected on occasion for a game together, based on their game preferences and experience.
The Business Challenges
There are many business challenges to this idea. They aren't insurmountable, but are reason to approach this with some caution.
Video Games
There's a growing trend of video & electronic game usage. It's arguable that board games have social benefits over the faceless screen of a monitor, though the video game industry is booming. If this trend continues, board game demand may drop and kill the profitability of this business. And if a niche survives, would it be large enough to sustain such a cafe? Or could a retro revival take place to reintroduce board games to the public?
Price Point and Margins
The rental rate would be an important determinant of success. How much are people willing to pay for playing board games in public vs in their own homes? Game Night at Yahoo! shows some demand for playing in public, especially when it means expanding your circle of players. The price can't be so low that it doesn't cover the costs involved (board game sets, employees, rent, etc) and can't be so high that it drives away customers. Research would be needed to determine the right price point.
Location
As with any retail business, the location is crucial for success. Great locations mean high rent, however. Are the profits of this business enough to cover the costs?
Since this business idea would require relatively high capital costs (rent, furniture, materials, employees, training, web site development, point-of-sale infrastructure, etc), the break-even point may not come for a while, perhaps years?
Could this business become one of those successful trends that grows into franchises across the country? Or is it a labor of love, a hobby business for someone who doesn't need the money but has the time to do this? I don't know, but I dig the idea. And so, perhaps, would some of my friends!
You've got a great idea. It is, or involves, an invention that you believe is new and unique. Sounds like you'll need to do a patent search!
Those don't have to be the only reasons to do a patent search, however. According to the McKinney Engineering Library at the University of Texas, there are other benefits:
getting a general idea of how an application and patent is structured to help in the preparation or your own application
learning more about a new field
for market information
competitor tracking
technology tracking
Searching for a patent in that humongous sea of complicated patents can be daunting. Fortunately, the William and John Schreyer Business Library of Penn State University offers a patent searching tutorial.
How daunting can this process be?
For example, patent examiners at the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) spend about twelve hours investigating each patent application to determine whether the invention it describes is patentable. During that time, the examiner consults an average of thirty-eight databases containing patent and non-patent literature to determine whether the invention has ever before been described.
Daunting. It's worth checking out that tutorial if you're going to do a patent search yourself. If not, you can hire a patent attorney.
But what if you're bootstrapping? According to Inc. Magazine's article "Can You Get a Patent without a Lawyer?", the answer is YES. "Patent searching is confusing at first, but can be mastered with practice," writes the author. "It is a research rather than a legal skill."
Where can you begin your bootstrapped patent search operation? Why, online, of course! Here are some handy online patent search engines:
Coming up with business ideas is easy. Relatively speaking, that is—relative to setting up a business and keeping it profitable.
Here are several brainstorming methods you can use to come up with business ideas.
The Problem & Solution Method
Examine your life and your everyday activities. Are there tedious chores that could be made easier? Are there complicated actions you can't do, but wish you could do? Are there undesirable activities that could be done by someone or something else?
Carry a notebook with you everywhere for a week. Write down every painful problem you see. Ask your friends about problems they face too. Every problem is a potential opportunity, ripe for solutions that could be made into profitable products or services.
The Market-First Method
Choose a specific target market you want to serve before even thinking about a product or service. Understand that market's demographics, psychographics, behaviors, beliefs, needs, wants, and problems.
Put yourself in their shoes. If you can, try to live and breath their lifestyle for a week. Immerse yourself in that target market. Watch them, study them, interview them. Take note of everything they say. How do they think? What problems do they need solved? What do they need, what do they want? Keep an open mind for potential opportunities.
The Personal Strengths Method
Analyze your innate talents, learned skills, and experiences. If you're working with others, analyze your collective strengths. Take psychological tests (like those offered in Now, Discover Your Strengths and other similar sources) to help determine your core aptitudes.
What kinds of products can you build, or services can you offer, with this collection of strengths? What kinds of businesses play to your assets? Chances are, you will be much more successful with a business that utilizes your strengths, even if the idea already exists.
The Mix & Match Method
Take two seemingly unrelated concepts, products, or services and see if you can combine them. They can be across distribution channels, packaging styles, branding styles, ergonomic designs, target audiences, core features, core attributes, and even base materials. Make a list of existing concepts and mix & match them systematically, analyzing each pair for viability.
For example, mix the concept of fast food and package delivery and you have overnight shipping services. Match a photocopier and a telephone and you have a fax machine. Add friend networks and the internet and you have online social networks.
The Importation Method
Travel the world. Take note of all the products and services you see. Consider how each could be imported back to your country. You could create a whole new company doing the same thing. Or you could become the sole distributor/provider in your region for the original company.
The world is rich with ideas, especially in cultures very different than yours. Some imported ideas will need adjustments to adapt to the local market. Others will need experts from the original country to make it happen. Be aware of potential international copyright laws as well.
The Lateral Thinking Method
Look at an existing problem and apply lateral thinking principles to its solution. Shift your thinking and redefine the problem. Consider alternate possibilities, no matter how far-fetched or frivolous they may seem.
This riddle is an example of lateral thinking: "A man and his son are in a car crash. The father is killed and the son is taken to hospital. When he gets there, the surgeon says 'I can't operate on this boy—he is my son!' How is this possible?" The answer involves shifting perceptions to allow alternate possibilities. One such answer is: the surgeon is the son's mother.
The Godin Method (or The Edgecraft Method)
Seth Godin, author of Purple Cow and Free Prize Inside, writes about creating remarkable products or services and the art of Edgecraft. For many businesses, remarkable marketing and branding help garner success, even with products and services that aren't new.
Edgecraft is the concept of "going all the way to the edge" of an existing product or service. It means looking at an idea and adding a special twist, a unique element, that makes the original idea remarkable. Godin says it's more than just a gimmick or product differentiation, it's turning the idea into a Purple Cow (something that people will remember and talk about).
The Christensen Method (or The Disruptive Innovation Method)
Clayton Christensen, author of The Innovator's Dilemma, The Innovator's Solution, and Seeing What's Next, writes about sustaining and disruptive innovations in the high technology markets. His definitions of disruptive innovations can be a great source of ideas as well.
Disruptive innovations are new products or services that fundamentally change an industry, oftentimes shaking the top companies from their pedestals. There are two types of disruptive innovations: low-end disruptions and new-market disruptions.
Low-end disruptions
These serve less demanding customers with low-priced, relatively straightforward offerings using low-cost business models. Look for markets with over-served customers and offer a simpler product or service.
New-market disruptions
These serve new customers by making it easier for them to do something that previously required being or hiring specialists. Look for unfulfilled needs and create new products or services for them.
The Borrowed Ideas Method
There are lots of sources of free ideas all around you. The web is especially full of them. Some sources are:
A friend recently asked me, "How do you deal with flaky people when you're in start-up mode?"
My answer: Don't.
When you're just starting up a new business, the people you choose will be absolutely critical to your long-term success. These are the seed people, the grandparents of your business, the ones who will set the pace for generations to come.
A start-up requires an incredible amount of work. It's not for the faint of heart. A flaky person is not someone with a strong heart—at least, not for your business. Why would you want someone who only cares half-heartedly about success?
There are exceptions, of course. Perhaps that person's skills are extremely rare. Or that person is already loaded with prior commitments. What do you do then?
Then it becomes a matter of motivation and task management. I've already written about motivation. Here are some tips on managing the tasks of a flaky person.
(In this definition, a "flaky" person is one who is unreliable, may not complete tasks on time, and may even forget some of those tasks.)
Be clear and direct about expectations. Put them in writing (an email is fine).
Get that person's buy-in on tasks. Have that person agree (verbally or in writing) to the tasks.
Set clear timelines and deadlines. Make this schedule visible to the person.
Communicate often, even to the point of over-communicating. Repeat the tasks and deadlines.
Hold regular, predictable, and frequent checkpoints. The checkpoints can be short and succinct.
Give feedback immediately to the person, especially if performance is an issue.
Have a back-up plan for an alternate resource.
In my opinion, working with a flaky person in a new business is very, very risky. Personally, I wouldn't do it. But if you have no choice, hopefully these guidelines can help. Good luck!
There are many schools of thought on employee motivation. Here is the philosophy I've used while managing Internet software developers. The underlying principle is simple and has served me well.
Employee's Goals
This graph represents your employee's own personal goals. These are individual motivations which can be ideas like, "to get a promotion," "to be a manager," or even "to save enough to buy a house." They don't necessarily have to do with their day-to-day work either; they should be the deeply personal motivations which drive that person.
Company's Goals
This graph represents your company's goals. These can be company-wide or specific to your particular team. The key here is that an employee's personal goals will rarely map directly with a company's goals (you're probably thinking, "no duh").
The Convergence of Goals
At some point, there will be an overlapping of an employee's personal goals and the company's or team's goals. If you can accurately identify both sets of goals, those that converge in the middle will be the strongest motivators for your employee within your business.
If your employee is working on a task that is outside his/her personal goals, but within the company's/team's goals, your employee will most probably still do it, but may not be strongly motivated, depending on how far it is from his/her personal goals. Conversely, if the task is outside the company's goals, but within his/her personal goals, your employee will be strongly motivated, but the task won't be of any use to your company.
It is also important to note that not every task can be mapped directly to an employee's personal goals. Every job has its share of grunt work. But as long as a reasonable number of an employee's tasks fall within the convergence of goals, then you'll have a well-motivated employee.
An Example
Mary and Joseph are developers for Acme Software. David is their manager. Acme Software creates desktop and web widgets.
In his talks with Mary, David learns that her personal goals are to become a manager and one day own her own company. She's already a brilliant developer who's stronger in building web widgets than desktop widgets, but has lofty ambitions that span outside of Acme Software. Mary hasn't yet held any managerial positions, but exhibits some leadership capabilities.
With Joseph, David learns that his personal goals are to purchase a bigger house for his growing family, get a promotion, and earn a name for himself in the open source community, where he already regularly contributes. He's a strong desktop developer, but wants to grow his skills in web software. Joseph has no interest in management and the politics that come with it.
Joseph's team is tasked with building a stock ticker widget for the desktop and the web. He needs a team lead, a senior developer for the desktop version, a senior developer for the web version, and junior developers for each.
Knowing what David knows, he gives Mary the assignment of being the team lead and Joseph the assignment of senior developer for the desktop version. This matches both of their personal goals and their team's & company's goals, with a few compromises. The rest of his team fills the other positions.
For Mary, this is a stretch role. David will have to mentor her closely as he tests her leadership and managerial aptitude. Her strong technical skills help her earn the respect of her team, though she will need help earning the respect of the product, sales, design, and QA teams. This experience will be very valuable for her, especially if she's to own her own business one day. David explains this and Mary enthusiastically takes the assignment.
For Joseph, this is a stepping stone towards a promotion and internal recognition. As the senior developer in an area with which he is competent, desktop development, he will define the technical architecture while working closely with the senior developer for the web version. These discussions will familiarize him with web development and prepare him for a future role coding a web widget. David explains this and Joseph enthusiastically takes the assignment.
By understanding the convergence of his employees' personal goals and the goals of his company & team, David has been able to staff a highly motivated team. Not all real life cases will be this easy, of course, but these underlying principles can be a useful guide for any manager.
Last month, Entrepreneur magazine did an article about Guy Kawasaki and Truemors. Entitled, "Truthfully Speaking", it was a case study on Truemors, short for "true rumors."
With only $12,000, the managing director of the VC fund Garage Technology Ventures launched Truemors with a partner in a true boot-strapping experience. So far, they're reportedly breaking even by revenue earned from advertising and sponsorships.
But that's not why I'm writing about this. I'm writing about this because of Kawasaki's awesome & hilarious answer to the question, "What lessons did you learn from the launch?" (which is related to how some called his site "the worst website ever"):
The blogosphere is full of angry nay-sayers who are good at tearing things down but not at innovating. They should move out of their mothers' houses and start dating.
Hahaha! That almost made milk shoot out of my nose.
Were you born in the 60s or 70s? Then perhaps you are guilty of wearing clothes like these.
Ha Ha! (That's me laughing at you.)
Johnny Virgil is the insane mastermind behind this hilarity. Started back in January 2005 on a dare from coworkers, Virgil's funny blog 15 Minute Lunch sadly isn't all that profitable. In an interview with BlogInterviewer.com, he said, "I actually got a check for a hundred bucks after about 2 years."
However, his entry on the 1977 JC Penny's catalog turned out to be quite a delicious piece of linkbait.
Linkbait is a controversial method of marketing; some think it's okay, others, not so much. Basically, linkbait is any method (blog post, blog comment, etc) done to generate a link back to one's own site. Some social media marketers do this intentionally by tailoring their blog entries to be interesting/catchy/sensational/controversial enough to inspire other bloggers to link to them. Others, like Virgil, did so unintentionally.
He even provides a quick summary on the traffic impact the 1977 JC Penny post had. Most of his traffic came from webmail servers, meaning his entry is now one of those emails that get forwarded around. That's how I found out about it too.
Most social media marketers aim at writing serious and insightful pieces for linkbait. Virgil's piece is a great case study on using humor to attract traffic. So what's that mean for businesses?
Write hilarious content; people love funny stuff and will enthusiastically send it to all their friends.
Consider an "email this entry" feature to help readers send the entry around; this will help you control the email's content too.
Be prepared for other bloggers who may steal and appropriate your content as their own; include links back to your site.
Make sure the content is related to your business in some way; a funny story about rabbits isn't going to help you sell toner cartridges, for example.
My friends and I love board games. My friends and I love cafes. So I thought, why not combine them both into a board game cafe!
Coming up with business ideas is easy. Relatively speaking, that is—relative to setting up a business and keeping it profitable.
Last month, Entrepreneur magazine did an article about 
