I live in a little hick town (actually the area is 3 towns, total of about 9,000 people, and me and my friends (we're freshmen) have nothing to do. We're the geek group and Xbox Live gets kind of old, screaming at a TV lol. You would probably get some support from locals doing it in a place like mine which has a lot of meth, you could advertise something like "Video Games, the new anti-drug" lol as in giving kids something to do other than getting in trouble. Peaple have said stuff like it should be near a rich area where people have lots of time, well not necessarily. Put it somewhere where kids have nowhere else to spend their money. Checklist for success:
1) Small community with a lot of kids.
2) Very busy central area, if you don't live in a small town you would be surprised how low rent is compared to city areas.
3) Offer console games, a lot of kids don't like PCs because they just don't know a lot (not calling teenagers dumb, I know my way around computers a little bit, but not many kids bother to learn computers as consoles are cheaper and easier)
4) Offer uber-fast connection speed, some people mentioned this is no longer a selling point, but in small towns it still is as most people can't get DSL/Cable unless they're smack dab in the middle of town, I only recently had DSL become available to me.
5) Offer things that can't be found in other areas. Again, you city dwellers would be surprised at how remote some towns are. I have to mail-order Bawls by the case if I want it while a lot of city people just pass it up in stores.
6) Build your own computers, and ask your customers what they want out of them. Do most of your consumers like Intel or AMD? Nvidia or ATI? Do they think side windows and cold cathode lights are the l337 coolness or do they not like the contrast light side windows and cathodes give off?
7) Be very, VERY friendly. In farmington, about 30 miles away, there is a game shop that is doing pretty well now because the owners are, as mentioned before, pretty loose with what goes on and don't care if you're a quarter short, and they'll play DnD with you. Play in the tournaments, laugh when you place dead last in them, and don't be afraid to loan your frequent customers an hour or so of game time every once in a while. I'm not saying you should let someone play for free because they're spent more money than anyone else, but reward being a good customer. Back to the game shop I was talking about- I spend a good amount of my money there, and I just lost some dice. "Oh, you can take a pack here, they're only 50 cents."
That's all I have to say, don't flame me please =).
Slashdot Mirror
I live in a little hick town (actually the area is 3 towns, total of about 9,000 people, and me and my friends (we're freshmen) have nothing to do. We're the geek group and Xbox Live gets kind of old, screaming at a TV lol. You would probably get some support from locals doing it in a place like mine which has a lot of meth, you could advertise something like "Video Games, the new anti-drug" lol as in giving kids something to do other than getting in trouble. Peaple have said stuff like it should be near a rich area where people have lots of time, well not necessarily. Put it somewhere where kids have nowhere else to spend their money. Checklist for success: 1) Small community with a lot of kids. 2) Very busy central area, if you don't live in a small town you would be surprised how low rent is compared to city areas. 3) Offer console games, a lot of kids don't like PCs because they just don't know a lot (not calling teenagers dumb, I know my way around computers a little bit, but not many kids bother to learn computers as consoles are cheaper and easier) 4) Offer uber-fast connection speed, some people mentioned this is no longer a selling point, but in small towns it still is as most people can't get DSL/Cable unless they're smack dab in the middle of town, I only recently had DSL become available to me. 5) Offer things that can't be found in other areas. Again, you city dwellers would be surprised at how remote some towns are. I have to mail-order Bawls by the case if I want it while a lot of city people just pass it up in stores. 6) Build your own computers, and ask your customers what they want out of them. Do most of your consumers like Intel or AMD? Nvidia or ATI? Do they think side windows and cold cathode lights are the l337 coolness or do they not like the contrast light side windows and cathodes give off? 7) Be very, VERY friendly. In farmington, about 30 miles away, there is a game shop that is doing pretty well now because the owners are, as mentioned before, pretty loose with what goes on and don't care if you're a quarter short, and they'll play DnD with you. Play in the tournaments, laugh when you place dead last in them, and don't be afraid to loan your frequent customers an hour or so of game time every once in a while. I'm not saying you should let someone play for free because they're spent more money than anyone else, but reward being a good customer. Back to the game shop I was talking about- I spend a good amount of my money there, and I just lost some dice. "Oh, you can take a pack here, they're only 50 cents." That's all I have to say, don't flame me please =).