My friends, we are clearly living in weird times. And I don’t need to reiterate why. You know why. You see what’s going on.
The question is…
What can we do about it?
Let me tell you something…
I think things are shifting. Big time. And while things will eventually return to normal after this pandemic slows, it will not be the same normal.
The economy is shifting and the nature of work and play are going to change over the coming months.
I just recorded an episode of the podcast with John Coviello, who you may know from previous episodes or from his position at GAMA, where we discussed the current situation facing local game stores across the world and one of the themes of the conversation was adapting to a changing environment.
When faced with a crisis, whether that be a pandemic, a recession, or an unholy combination of both, we always have at least two choices.
We can react by throwing our hands up and giving in to the unfairness of it all, to feel like a victim of fate…
Or we can choose to respond.
To say “Alright, this is the situation. Let’s figure out a way to deal with it.”
Right now, people are coming together to support local game stores in ways that were unheard of or impossible before the crisis.
There are resources available to business owners to help them weather the storm, but you have to take action and take advantage of them.
You have to put in the work.
If your game store doesn’t have a strong web presence, now is the time to build one.
Now is the time to get on social media, to build an audience and connect with your customers, to help them understand what you’re going through and what you’re doing to support them.
Now is the time to be creative, to start thinking of new ways to deliver value. That can mean making home deliveries, hosting online events, or creating new content.
The bottom line: I think this may be a huge opportunity for business owners that choose to see it and act.
So here’s how I’m responding to the current situation over at Manaverse Saga.
For the past month or so, even before the Covid-19 crisis really started to make an impact, I’ve been working on a new website to bring together game store owners in a way that hasn’t been possible before.
I wanted to create a place where game store owners could gather and communicate with each other without an algorithm determining what they will see.
To share their thoughts on how they’re dealing with the situation, to seek and offer advice, to master something interesting together, namely building better game stores.
The Manaverse Network even comes with an app for your phone so you can easily stay connected with your fellow game store owners and stay on top of what’s happening in the industry.
It’s also going to be the place where you can find an updated list of all the resources available to store owners as the situation develops, as well as industry news, workshops, and exclusive member’s only content.
My goal right now is to make the Manaverse Network as accessible to game store owners as possible because I know that the more members in the network there are, the more valuable it will be for everyone.
And hopefully you will consider becoming a paying member in the future.
Click here to learn how to join.
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My friends, we live in a time of change right now. This is a time we will look back at in history.
Big changes to our economy and how we work and how we learn.
I believe that NOW is the time to deliver your best work.
I believe NOW is the time to step up. To skate to where the puck is going.
It is time to get busy. It is time to create. It is time to lead.
I’m going to do my part, to the best of my ability. My mission here, as it as been for years now, is to help people just like you do exactly this. Only now… the mission is even more needed.
Join the Manaverse Network community.
This moment in time will not last forever. But, the changes that come from it will last for a long, long time.
Take action. Make things happen.
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