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 17, 2015 | Podcasts
Jennifer Ward comes onto the Manaverse Podcast this week to share with us the future: A world dominated by crazy squirrels. Ok, that's not true, but she has come to share with everybody what makes Crazy Squirrel Game Store in Fresno, California so awesome. We dive... 
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... 
by Thomas Traplin | Jul 3, 2015 | Community, Marketing, Podcasts
Erik Bigglestone and Games of Berkeley are the focus of this week's episode of the Manaverse Podcast. Erik shares his experience as part of a gaming family and the story of how he came to be the owning manager of Games of Berkeley, one of the oldest friendly local... 
by Thomas Traplin | Jun 29, 2015 | Articles
I spend a fair amount of time listening to podcasts. It’s easy to just stick in the ear buds and turn on my current favourite when I’m walking the dog, or driving around the city. Since I’m subscribed to them on iTunes they are automatically... 
by Thomas Traplin | Jun 26, 2015 | Community, Marketing, Podcasts, Sales, Tech, Tournaments
Today's episode of the Manaverse Podcast features a woman whose store is literally a castle. Pat Johnson comes on the show to talk about her aptly named store Pat's Games. Pat has a fairly unique business. Most local game stores put a lot of emphasis on the games part... 
by Thomas Traplin | Jun 19, 2015 | Community, Marketing, Mindset, Podcasts
Wayne Mittlestead comes onto the Manaverse Podcast today to talk about life, love, and happiness as an entrepreneur... sort of. Wayne built Dueling Grounds in Toronto, Ontario from the ground up. With 11 years of experience Wayne has a lot to share with regards to... 
by Thomas Traplin | Jun 12, 2015 | General Business, Podcasts
Have you ever wondered what might happen if you opened a friendly local game store with a $20 000 credit card limit? Benn Roe and Adam Friedman come on to the Manaverse Podcast and share how it worked out for them. Spoiler alert: they're doing great despite the tiny... 
by Thomas Traplin | Jun 5, 2015 | Podcasts
Today’s episode features John Coviello as the man of the hour. John is the mind behind Little Shop of Magic in Las Vegas, Nevada. Don’t let the “little” in the name fool you. It may have once been little but 3000 square feet of games would...