I'm 19, I'm restless, and I have a vision.

[alaskan al]

My name is Mike, I'm 19, and I am very confused.

I have two friends my age who would like to join me in creating this vision we have for the greatest video game store ever. Ever. And it would be.

But here's my main problem...

We're three kids who haven't finished our bachelor's yet... We all work these part time retail jobs and have no real money.....WHO IN THE WORLD would give us money to rent property, purchase merchandise and all that jazz?

Not to mention we live on Long Island. Jeez it has to be impossible to stay afloat here, right? This has to be THE hardest place to make it I would assume.

So basically...these are my questions.

1. What do I have to lose if this doesn't work out?

2. WHO on Earth is going to fund us?

I don't want to wait unless I legally have to. I also wonder the legality of a 19 year old having a store. I somehow feel that it's probably illegal and I would be shot down if I tried. Or would I? I don't even know...can someone over 18 and under 21 own or rent land?

These are my Pros and Cons as I see it:

Pros
-We all live at home and don't NEED pay checks to live.
-We're all intelligent.
-We can attract customers our own age very easily
-The store would undoubtedly be amazing to anyone interested in video games. I know my vision would make many people happy, including me.
-All three of us have very well-rounded skills and our own great strengths.
-We know and love the field.

Cons
-We're 19
-We have NO degrees and are all persuing degrees that are not business.
-We know little about the real business world
-We have no money. Almost. If you pooled all our money together you'd get about $150. Literally.
-I find it hard to belive any of us could get a loan substantial enough to start this.


Anyway...any help will be GREATLY appreciated. I literally know NOTHING about what I'm getting myself into. I just want to know how I can get money, and how I can begin the process....Without buying a $70 book....

I only have like 30 bucks.

[Kisa]

Hey Mike,
First,you're right.No one will loan you the money.You'll have to finance it yourselves.Now,not being harsh with this,but if the 3 of you,with no bills,can't manage to save some money now,you won't do it when you're running a business.I'd be leery of going into business with 2 other guys who have jobs and no bills,but have no money to their name.
See if you guys can get together and save some money for 6 months.The three of you should be able to save quite a bit in that timeframe.Then,use that money to get the ball rolling while your saving another 6 months pay to invest.If one or two of you can't commit to that,then you're better off not going into business with these guys,because it tells me that they,or you,lack the discipline needed to run a business.Believe me,it takes money,lots of time,sweat,tears,and more discipline than you can imagine to run ANY business.

[worldforsale]

Get your degree. Get some work experience and save some money. Then open a business. If you are going to succeed in business and in life you will have to develop patience and exercise self-discipline.

Finish school.

[rockybaboura]

Originally Posted by Coach Morse

Get your degree. Get some work experience and save some money. Then open a business. If you are going to succeed in business and in life you will have to develop patience and exercise self-discipline.

Finish school.

I agree. I am 24 years old and just start my auction business in Miami. I made lots of mistake by not saving my money when I was your age. In addition, I messed up my credit making matters worst. (I learn the hard way).
You need to organize, work, save and start your business.

As another 19 year old, I can tell you for certain that you have good things going for you. Unfortuantely, the reality is you're going to have a tough time getting other investors. What this means is the three of you need to pool in your money to get this venture going.

What I'd recommend, for all of you, is to continue with part-time jobs and set aside a set amount of money each week -- say $50.00. Each week, thats $150.00 you each have for the business. While you begin the way to fund your idea, the three of you really need to sit down and determine how this business is going to be managed and determine how good of an idea this is. I highly recommend writing a business plan, this will show that you have researched your industry a bit more and will be a guideline if the three of you go ahead with this venture.

I also recommend staying in school and get your degree. While as an entrepreneur it may not "pay off" per se, you'll gain a lot of knowledge that will be beneficial as you decide to start your business. If you schools offer it, get a concentration in business or entrepreneurship -- it should provide you with minimal information that could be beneficial and possibly applied in your venture.

Good luck!

[Paintny]

Mike,

Be patient... your dream will evolve 100x plus by the time you are ready to deploy. The three of you should try putting some money together, say maybe 5K. Get a company started now... go through all the legal motions, you can do this yourself you just have to read and comprehend. Set it up as a corp, file s-corp status this is very important, get an EIN for banking purposes and pay the $300 bucks to get a duns. Next, register in CCR.gov and all the other SBA type resources - never know what you may end up selling, so build the relationships early. Get a few easy to approve locs and cards - i.e. Bank of America, Amex (since your fico is ok), dell small business loc, home depot, office depot etc... please do not go on a shopping spree. Finally, take a little of whatever's left over, get a unique domain name, set up hosting with someone like godaddy, get your emails with your .com extension and put together an online store. It only needs to have one or two products that you come up with - make sure it's something useful. Then join as many popular affiliate programs as you can. If you manage them properly, in a couple of years, once you finish yor degrees, you'll have a neat little stack of cash, business credit and you can launch your brick and morter dream with SBA and SCORE backing.

[Unit-X]

well there is no harm in trying, make a business plan and go to the bank and see what they say.

[f3adventure]

The three of you should get jobs in the industry for a year or two until you learn the business. Complete your degrees, even if they aren't in business. By the time you are 21 you should have a good accumulated experience in the industry between the three of you.

By the time you are ready, you should know how to raise money, set up a video shop, obtain stock, know who the suppliers are and which are the hot games and have a good idea of marketing.

Don't be in a rush, there's loads of time.
Good luck.

[hjms_itf]

Rome wasn't built in a day.
Start small . Buy a couple of things and sell them on eBay. Don't blw the profit. Use it to turnover your capital. If eBay doesn't work, try your hands on some other online stores like amazon.
I'm convinced that you shouldn't wait for a magic loan to fall from the sky or till you finish your degree. Start something now. Anything (legal of course )

[RealAgent2000]

Originally Posted by GammaRay

My name is Mike, I'm 19, and I am very confused.

I have two friends my age who would like to join me in creating this vision we have for the greatest video game store ever. Ever. And it would be.

But here's my main problem...

We're three kids who haven't finished our bachelor's yet... We all work these part time retail jobs and have no real money.....WHO IN THE WORLD would give us money to rent property, purchase merchandise and all that jazz?

Not to mention we live on Long Island. Jeez it has to be impossible to stay afloat here, right? This has to be THE hardest place to make it I would assume.

So basically...these are my questions.

1. What do I have to lose if this doesn't work out?

2. WHO on Earth is going to fund us?

I don't want to wait unless I legally have to. I also wonder the legality of a 19 year old having a store. I somehow feel that it's probably illegal and I would be shot down if I tried. Or would I? I don't even know...can someone over 18 and under 21 own or rent land?

These are my Pros and Cons as I see it:

Pros
-We all live at home and don't NEED pay checks to live.
-We're all intelligent.
-We can attract customers our own age very easily
-The store would undoubtedly be amazing to anyone interested in video games. I know my vision would make many people happy, including me.
-All three of us have very well-rounded skills and our own great strengths.
-We know and love the field.

Cons
-We're 19
-We have NO degrees and are all persuing degrees that are not business.
-We know little about the real business world
-We have no money. Almost. If you pooled all our money together you'd get about $150. Literally.
-I find it hard to belive any of us could get a loan substantial enough to start this.


Anyway...any help will be GREATLY appreciated. I literally know NOTHING about what I'm getting myself into. I just want to know how I can get money, and how I can begin the process....Without buying a $70 book....

I only have like 30 bucks.

one sentence: In your situation, get into networking