by Thomas Traplin | Oct 17, 2015 | Fundamentals, Podcasts
Nerd Haven v2.0 Welcome to a slightly delayed edition of the Manaverse Podcast. Today’s podcast is an update with a previous guest. Roughly six months ago Aaron Tillman started up Nerd Haven with $500 and a laptop. Now, he’s expanded into a location with more than 5... 
by Thomas Traplin | Oct 9, 2015 | Community, Fundamentals, Podcasts
Face to Face Toronto - The Duelist Welcome to part 2 of the Kelly Ackerman/Face To Face Toronto interview. Today Kelly and I talk about the big mistakes, the big wins, and a bunch of tools and resources you can use to build an awesome game store. Get ready to get to... 
by Thomas Traplin | Jul 24, 2015 | Fundamentals, Podcasts
Today's episode of the Manaverse Podcast is a little different from the usual show. In this shorter than average episode I talk about the different stages in a Magic player's career and how each stage relates to an LGS owner's business. We explore how a player begins... 
by Thomas Traplin | Jul 22, 2015 | Articles, Fundamentals
I’ve been thinking about this for some time. On a recent episode of the Manaverse Podcast with Gary Ray, we talked about the fact that running a successful LGS is a difficult and costly endeavour. It takes a lot of time, effort, and especially money. In fact,... 
by Thomas Traplin | Jul 15, 2015 | Articles, Fundamentals
Running a business is difficult, running a retail business is a special kind of difficult. Building a business that lasts is the hardest of all. Sometimes, it can seem like you are walking a tight rope. Your decisions when starting up and growing can tread a fine line... 
by Thomas Traplin | Jul 10, 2015 | Fundamentals, Marketing, Podcasts, Sales
Gary Ray on the Magic: the Gathering bubble On today's episode, my featured guest is Gary Ray, the store owner of Black Diamond Games in Concord, California. Gary is a purveyor of board games, card games, and all things fun and has been around the block when it...