The Story of Gamer Zone » Chapter 7

1. Davis’s Rules Of Business

Midnight Ryder — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 19:47:41 +0000

Sprinkled throughout The Story of Gamer Zone there’s a lot of notes, observations, warnings, and commentary on business. Sometimes it’s easy to see because I’ve pointed it out specifically, and sometimes it’s just lightly mentioned. Here I point out all the various bits of wisdom I can impart to others.

The thing about sharing wisdom is often people don’t bother to listen, observe, and absorb what you’ve told them, and that’s OK. Just keep in mind that you’ve purchased a book about a failed business from a guy who’s willing to share wisdom. You’ve spent money on this – if you don’t listen, observe, and absorb the information presented here, well, it’s your loss of investment in this book.

But don’t expect that all of these things are perfect matches for your situation, or your personality type. And by listen, observe, and absorb I mean this:

Listen to the things I’ve got to say here. Read it closely to understand the intent.

Observe your circumstances, or your business, or even possibly your life. Look at how these little pearls of hard-earned, very expensive for me bits of experience apply to you and your situation.

Absorb these rules into your situation in a way that fits. These aren’t hard and fast rules to be followed as absolutes. Everyone is different, and every situation is different, just use what fits.

2. You Are a Leader. Act Like One.

Midnight Ryder — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 18:19:58 +0000

[pay]

Being a business owner shouldn’t be just about making money. It should be about doing something you enjoy, employing others at a fare wage that allows them to make a decent enough living to feed their family, putting good money in your pocket so you live a reasonably good life, and being a leader.

In a public facing business a business owner helps to determine the character of his business, and by doing so, helps shape the character of the local neighborhood he or she is in. While I picked on Delano as being someone’s historical pet project, without the businesses there being on board with the idea, each one of them being a leader in their own right, Delano woudn’t be a thriving historical district.

And when leadership faltered, Delano businesses like the Book Room stood up and took the reigns to bring the situation back in line. And yes, while it was never mentioned in the primary story, I was a dues paying member of The Delano Business Association, and made my opinions known to the new leadership.

If you want a thriving neighborhood to be developed from a dying one, sitting around complaining does nothing to help. At Harry & Broadway, I failed to do anything to help improve the neighborhood, so how could I as a business owner expect that it would ever get better?

Get up, get involved, and inspire others. Sure, you can’t do it all yourself – that’s why that inspire others part is there. That’s what leaders do – they don’t to all the work themselves.

If you are a business that deals with children or teens, you take a small part in determining how the next generation does business. Treat them with fairness and respect. If you screw them around, in ten years when they start their own businesses, they might be the ones doing the screwing.

And finally, be a leader to your own team of people. What you do and how you act makes a huge difference. Be abusive with your employees, and you’ll end up with a high turnover and low morale. Treat them with, again, fairness and respect, and morale goes up and employee turnover goes down. No one likes working for someone who treats them like shit. Everyone loves working for someone who treats them well.

3. Loans Are Bad, mmmkay?

Midnight Ryder — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 17:48:05 +0000

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4. Research & Plan

Midnight Ryder — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 16:34:34 +0000

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5. Double Or Nothing Is Dangerous

Midnight Ryder — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 15:46:12 +0000

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6. Don’t Have An Exit Strategy – Have Two.

Midnight Ryder — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 14:10:28 +0000

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7. Avoid Obsession At All Costs

Midnight Ryder — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 13:29:04 +0000

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8. The Checkbook Isn’t The Only Thing That Needs Balance

Midnight Ryder — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 12:51:59 +0000

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9. This Is Not The Army

Midnight Ryder — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 11:19:47 +0000

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10. Plan. Move. Observe. Plan. Move. Repeat.

Midnight Ryder — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 10:37:04 +0000

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