by Jack Guarnieri, PinballSales.com & ShuffleAlley.com

Stop Working the Business, Start Running It!

Ah, it is the luck of the Irish to be in Chicago on Saint Patrick's Day. Wearing green can get us in the mood to make more green too.

Even after all these years, I still get excited about going to our tradeshows. Chicago shows get me thinking of the old days of the Conrad Hilton and the boom times we had. I remember one year I did the show roundtrip from JFK in New York in one day. That was one of the longest days in my life!

This month, make your way to the Hyatt Regency for ASI. The spring buying season is upon us, and I know the show will offer some surprises. But you need to be there to see them. Some operators told me that they were not planning to attend the show. We spent a few minutes talking about why they should be there, and I think they changed their minds and decided to go.

This year, visit booths that have equipment or services that you might not normally visit. Spend some time looking at products that you do not currently operate. Go see what companies are offering that is different - maybe not radically different but something new that you can adapt for your locations.

Just such a game came to my mind with Flamin Finger by Namco. This is a redemption game, and now they have a merchandiser version too. I love both. What if you disabled the ticket dispenser and placed these in lobbies of diners or in laundromats or bars? I think these can earn money anywhere people have some idle time and want to play a skill game. What makes this game even better is that several games can be linked for head-to-head (er, finger-to-finger) competition, and it has an almost endless library of mazes. The game has appeal to almost any age, and it can earn outside of the usual places it was designed for.

If you're sitting around with a lot of extra wood in your warehouse, what is your plan to get it making money or liquidate it? That tired equipment that once earned money needs to be sold off or upgraded or stripped and junked. They are not going to earn money sitting in your shop. Make a decision and do some Spring cleaning. Some guys that I visit have a lot of stuff sitting around. Between old CD and 45 jukeboxes, old pins, videos and even old shuffle alleys, there is a lot of equipment out there retired and not earning. If it's junk, it won't sell to a home customer either. You own them for zero dollars. Basically, whatever you get for them is found money.

I know that there are some great kits that are making money. You need to give them a try, but put your new kit into a good cabinet with a good monitor and a good coin door with a bill acceptor. Buy a new coin door that takes a bill acceptor. Equipment with bill acceptors will make more money than without them. Yes, bill acceptors cost money, but this is your business we are talking about.

Try a new downloading kit for your jukebox. They are cost effective and really make money. You must continue to reinvest in your future, but you must buy and operate shrewdly. Smart does not mean cheap but rather efficient. Smart is using what you have to the best of its potential and investing in yourself. That shows your locations, employees and competition that you intend to stay in this industry and grow your business. It even puts some pressure on you to perform. It's what makes me bound out of bed every day, and that's a good thing.

Armed with what you see and learn at a tradeshow, try to take a look at your business from the outside rather than the inside. Sometimes you need to stop working the business and start running the business. There is a difference. If you have been expanding, maybe it's time to hire an outside service company to do your service work or have your games converted by your distributor instead of staying up until 1 AM in your shop finishing the installation of that conversion kit to save a few bucks. Spend your time doing what you do best in your business.

There are just so many things we can do in a day. There is a time to save money and a time to spend it wisely. If you need to add something to your business that will help make more money, that's an easy decision to make. If you need to spend money on a service that will make your life easier and your business more efficient and profitable, you must do it. Nothing stays the same. You are either growing and know all about it or else losing locations, and you will know about it sooner or later.

I have said it before: I can do every job in my business; I just cannot do them all at once. You must add qualified people, full or part time, to grow your business. There's a cost, but there is a reward. Be smart and look at new product - proven technology that is making money. Go to the show. Talk to the manufacturers and with other operators around the country. Take the pulse of the industry first hand.

An out-of-state operator friend tells me that his distributor just sends down equipment every Thursday to his shop whether he asks for it or not. Years ago, he was just starting, and the distributor helped him out. Now the operator is doing well, and his salesman still sends him almost whatever he feels like every Thursday. Some are good and some are dogs. My operator buddy wants to break the cycle and asked for my advice. Maybe when he stops paying, they may stop sending equipment. Another friend told me about a different distributor who sold him a deluxe game that is not earning what was promised. At his rate of earnings, it will take more than three years to pay the game off. The distributor refuses to take it back claiming, "It makes money everywhere else."

Distributors need to feed the operators good food that will earn money. If you eat a cheeseburger, it's great. If you eat it every day for every meal, it's not great. Go out and look at all of the product that is available, not just what you are being fed.

Then go talk to your friendly local distributor. They should be able to provide you with practical information that you can use immediately to help you become more profitable, no matter what stage you are at with your business.

See you in Chicago. I'll be wearing green!

Jack Guarnieri started repairing electro-mechanical pinball machines in 1975 and has been involved in every phase of the coin-op game business since then. He operated a substantial game route in Brooklyn, N.Y., developed amusement centers and was called in as a consultant to manage Mondial Distributing and State Sales in New Jersey. In 1999, he founded PinballSales.com to sell coin-op to the home market. In 2002, he founded ShuffleAlley.com and released the Parker Bohn III Pro Bowler game, reviving the shuffle alley. His positive attitude, honest insights and opinions have made him a popular figure in the trade. While managing and growing his businesses, he still consults inside and outside the industry, and his marketing, promotional and business management expertise are widely sought. He's very active in his church, community and charitable causes as well. You can learn more at his websites (http://www.pinballsales.com/ and http://www.shufflealley.com/) or by phoning him at 866/323-JACK. Email is Jack@Pinballsales.com.

© All contents of this page and the entire RePlay Magazine website at http://www.replaymag.com and http://www.replaymagazine.com Copyright 2006 RePlay Magazine. All rights reserved.