What type of board games do you make?? This seems like a cool industry to make.

It’s a great industry, but not one without its challenges. However, I’m assuming every industry has its unique challenges.

We have 2 games now. Our original board game was actually created by my two young daughters out of scratch paper and markers. We never intended to create a business around it, but it kind of just happened.

Our second game is a twist on memory/match games, using the characters we created for the board game. We just launched that 3 months ago.

The reception to our game and story has been really amazing, but building consistent sales channels is a challenge.

I’ve been growing my business for 4 years now, sell physical things on e-commerce only store. I had a terminal velocity moment a year ago when I realized I could own the niche I was in, and my business exploded from 50K revenue a year to 400k after I took some fairly risky moves by majorly expanding using debt, and I’m looking to double again to 800k in 2024 hopefully.

I put everything I make back into the company, it costs a lot of money to manufacture my items, and unfortunately when you sell a physical thing it simply just costs money, it takes money to make money. You also need a place to store items, I’m lucky that I live on an acreage and I run my business from my home.

Struggles? Constantly stressed about competition, but at this point I am the big boy on the block so I have only myself to blame if I give up my spot. I also stress quite a bit about going too slow, so I’m always pushing myself harder and harder to grow faster and faster. If you’re not growing your dieing… and this is what my brain thinks which causes me to grow hard.

Yes I’m profitable, I make anywhere from 100-200% on my products. On average after shipping costs, credit card fees, website costs, I make about 50% of my revenue, so 200k on the 400k this year would be considered profit. but I put every spare penny right back into the company to grow it so I never see that money, I don’t live lavishly, I drive a piece of crap car that is rusting out. I can’t bring myself to spend money on anything other than the company. This life isn’t for everyone, it’s hard, it’s mentally tough and draining, but If you can own your niche you can make the company of your dreams.

My plan after robust growth pays off is to finally rest a few months but let’s be honest, a real small business owner can’t sit still ever, so I might have to sell to relax, not sure. I also have an exit plan should I choose to sell my company in 3-5 years, I already am plugged into the manufacturing supply chain of the company I would court to sell to, to make it easy for them to acquire me.

Sorry I have a lot of stuff to say if you have questions just ask. Made this Burner account to reply.

I’m not sure if this helps but I feel the same way so I could describe my experiences a little and maybe something could be useful.

About 10 years into my field and 5 years officially but I have been familiar with my products since I was young. I branched out from one main product type that appeals to men primarily (higher ticket item), to another related line that appeals to women as they tend to spend more money/shop more frequently (statistically)(lower ticket items) this covers more bases and allows me to cover a wider demographic.

I look at running my business as a war of attrition. Everything has been designed so that it can’t go under and if things get bad my worst case is I’m stuck with very high end inventory I could liquidate and be left with cash. I pay for everything upfront and try to hold zero debt. Do my best to have no recurring costs I’m on the hook for. Sure I need to replace packaging but I’m not signed up to some other business that bills more for this on a recurring basis, I simply buy what I need when I run out even if it costs more. Things like a web domain etc I have to pay for but again I can pay for several years at once up front and I’m set. No debts, not on the hook if a rainy day comes around.

My main concerns are finding new inventory and always buying as low as possible so I have huge margins based on market value. Buying is where I make my money not selling and this gives me a huge amount of negotiating power as I can lower my costs dramatically (and much more than the customer would expect) to make a sale. Additionally it means to liquidate I still make money or if I have problems with selling I can break even and its like returning a product at a store for full value and I can just switch it out for new inventory. It also means finding inventory and my sources are very important aspects of what I do. Its important information I must keep confidential so I can’t be bought out by someone with the same knowledge but a bigger purse.

Additionally security from theft, robbery, etc are also very important factors in what I do. I’m a target for criminals so thats stressful and I take it very seriously. Extreme secrecy, home security, surveillence, counter surveillance, large animals, and more are all at my disposal to do this. But its worth it. I also expect the worse to happen and am prepared for this with contingency plans if that happens.

In an attempt to grow the business I had difficulty hiring effective staff to work for me. I approached it by creating what would be a network of individuals who worked for me whom I would set up as I would have dreamed of being set up as a younger person. I provided everything they needed to work for me including access to inventory and purchasing power and all they needed to do was purchase inventory, log it, and make sales and receive a very well paying commission (based on the work, market rate, etc.) However I was very surprised when the individuals I hired simply didn’t lift a finger. I could monitor their usage of their work emails and Google drive and they wouldn’t log in. Wouldn’t log inventory. Would claim something purchased for the store was actually for themselves (no outright theft as they could “account” for the money, but in my eyes this could be theft) . I was really dumbfounded at the lack of or complete drop in interest, accountability, and action in people I knew well, trusted and had a proven track record in a similar activity. It was confusing to say the least but I had short contracts and it was all comission based so I was insulated and ended their contracts. I even provided very alluring bonuses and growth opportunities if they met certain goals but it was as if they did nothing. However they were knowledgeable and I took from them what I could learn and from that situation what I could and moved on. It can be hard to get through to people even when you think you communicate things clearly, sometimes it just doesn’t happen.

One thing I notice is that many competitors hemorage money to other companies providing services or different promises that would provide them with growth or sales and don’t really pay out in the end. I know its easier to pay someone to do something for you but again if you can pay them once and see how it works, for me, its better than signing up for some ongoing thing that may not work out. I would rather buy more inventory and increase my equity and thus net worth that way than some charlatan with false promises. Again I can turn around and sell these things if I have to. There are more businesses after my money than anyone else even if that means customers after my products. But with low liabilities it leaves me free to pivot and do what I want.

Another thing I have noticed is the bulk of the most successful people in my field are all old and at the end of their careers which signifies to me that many people give up. It takes a long term commitment to be successful to what I do even in the face of many many years of difficulty. Also many of these people come across as mean but often they don’t start this way. Having to constantly hear bad ideas and tell people no can make you like this. I tend to come across as very kind, generous and charming but need to often act the opposite to get what it is I want. It can beat you down and at times I feel I have done everything I can think of to keep going, the one thing I have yet to do is give up and that is what makes the difference. Success can eb and flow and if you are passionate about what you deal with and about succeeding that can be your greatest asset. The fake it till you make it mentality is very real. You have to believe in yourself to get anywhere.

Due to a lull in sales recently many of my bright ideas appear like they may have been the wrong assumptions but I still firmly believe in them and I’m willing to fail again and again. I started with one peice of inventory and can do it all over again if I must. I can create another brand and change my product line if I have to.

I sell things people want not that they necessarily need but to many people in this day and age they feel they need it anyway and I bank on that. Human nature doesn’t change so even if my products are not the top priority on the market right now, what urges people to seek me out then/now will still be the same in the future and I can adjust as necessary.

Final thing is do what works. If you open a restaurant it would seem obvious that you sell beverages. However if you hold soda in stock and no one buys it cut that from the menu. It may seem crazy to run a restaurant that doesn’t sell drinks, every other restaurant does right, but if people only come in the door for your entre and water figure that out sooner than later and stick to that. It might seem weird, people might look at you funny but you know what works from the books so plan and work according to that data and nothing else.

Goodluck, and thanks for giving me the opportunity to think about these things myself and read others comments.

I’m a blacksmith. My main struggle is probably that while there’s a lot of people who like my work the overhead is so high that I struggle to charge enough for it and I work myself into the ground doing it.

I recently began teaching classes which is actually a good solution to some of my cash flow issues. But I don’t have the money to advertise so I need to find creative solutions for getting the word out.

Game developer (digital PC) working on a first title w my partner, but recently got into e-commerce selling/reselling TCGs as a side hustle since developing a commercial PC game takes a ridiculous amount of time esp for a small team.

What started a a a side gig has become almost an intense part time job, at the current pace it’ll be six figures in annual revenue. It’s been an eye opening experience, lots of work but also very enjoyable. It’s given me a lot of respect for retailers who can survive and thrive in all types of economies as it is a lot harder than it looks.

Even without a storefront it’s incredible the amount of strategic planning that’s needed to buy/acquire and manage inventory as well as figuring out ways to move said inventory to keep cash flow healthy to reinvest in new inventory. Predicting future demand and knowing how much to invest and where you can secure the inventory you need at the prices you need to make a profit are the most interesting and challenging parts of this kind of biz.

Would love to produce a board game or some physical add on for the game we’re developing as I really enjoy the physical experience of gaming in person, but that’s a whole different challenge.

The major aspects of selling physical goods is how labor and space intensive it is, neither of which are cheap esp in an inflationary environment.

I think I prefer digital production due to how much easier it is to scale. But there’s something about selling something tangible that is so satisfying.

I’m about to start…this week! gulp

I own a candle + home fragrance company with three retail shops and a production facility that services web, wholesale and private label accounts.

I am running a battery store and other Power solutions shop in my locality and I’m in my third year. It’s mainly a one man job. Business has picked up and it’s mainly online search sales. Now I’m pondering over changing my shop location to a busy area with one or two technicians to handle the service, while i take care of the sales part. A customer oriented business needs a face for the customers to relate to.

I do! It took a few years to really start becoming profitable because there is a lot of investing and re-investing in those first 1-2 years.

• The biggest struggle was managing cash flow- they’re high expense businesses at the end of the day and some months can be a struggle especially if you have employees. Learning to predict/forecast figures and set sales goals is important.

• Real profitability took nearly 2 years and it was only after seeing a full year of accounts that we were able to understand the TRUE business expenses- only then were able to properly price products for profit (there are often expenses that are forgotten or not fully understood in the beginning)

• Best advice I can give is to really focus on your numbers. I always recommend people pay themselves like employees and use that as a baseline for sale goals (i.e: I want to pay myself a wage of X, which means generating X revenue per month including all other expenses.)

• Your first hire should be an accountant- product businesses have way too much going on to try and DIY.

• Influencers and content creators are your best friends when it comes to marketing your products!

We’re nearly 5 years in and generating 7 figures/year. We really only just started paying ourselves a very good wage after 3 years- before that it was basically minimum wage- it was a grind.

I split my business between contract manufacturing, physical product selling and product design. Different brands. I am going through changes because after a discussion with a marketing company I found out selling value low cost items and hoping the customer fills a large basket at checkout for free shipping doesn’t work. It’s my first year though so I am currently looking to switch into more high quality high value items and test things. Which will be expensive for my 0£ budget but I’ll risk it.

My business designs and manufactures medical devices. Not easy to do as a small business but it’s highly impactful work and we’ve managed to make it profitable with minimal outside investment.

I got into selling notepads on Amazon… You can look up SpeedPad s45 there if you want to see it… Notice how at least for now I am leaving the photos on the listing a little “sub-par”. They can be made better and more attractive nearly at any time. I plan on changing something minute on the item which should alter one of the photos slightly… I kind of halfway set this up as a learning experience. I need to see Amazon prove themselves instead of just draining the bank. The 2 most egregiously based factors for cost here have been the Amazon fees and the USPS shipping to the end consumer.

I had to sort and thumb through suppliers too since they were “fishing” for “easy money”… I quickly eliminated suppliers by having them make a sample however they wanted too at will after I gave them a blueprint to work off of.

I’ve learned lots either way and would not take back my learning opportunity.

Not manufacturing here, but I have had a smoke shop for almost 30 years

There are some that do physical product selling and have brick and mortar store/business. But the vast majority here are online sellers only(Etsy, amazon, Shopify) or folks that offer a service. SEO is the big one.

When a traditional brick and mortar person makes a post, you can instantly tell that most folks here are at a loss and offer advice from their online store and services perspective.

Now I’m curious if a brick and mortar business subreddit exists. If it does, it’s probably full of service redditors trying to get hired.

I’m 7 years into my journey. Retail store. 10 employees. Margins are razór thin but enjoying knowing that it’s mine and I’m in control of the success.