Today, I offer a little free advice. This will apply to some of you, and not to others. What triggered this advice? A couple of things. The most recent occurred yesterday. A gentleman came into the store. He's been in before, and is a little down on his luck. I won't get into his specific circumstance because it's beside the point. I talked with him for some time, and offered some advice. I feel like he dismissed me out of hand. I don't expect people to take my advice all the time, but under the circumstances, I think it should have at least been taken into consideration. Everything I offer here stems from first hand experience as a business owner, and pertains to job hunting.

You have one chance at a first impression. You've only got one chance to make a good first impression. If you're going to come into my store and ask for a job or application, this is your one chance. It won't get you the job, but it can lose it for you. First, look nice. Don't come in wearing dirty or torn clothes. Don't wear a shirt from a rock concert or with sayings and pictures on them. I don't care if they're offensive, or not. But if you don't look nice, it tells me that you didn't think enough of me or my store to dress accordingly. Believe it or not, but the majority of people who ask me for a job application don't dress presentably. I rarely even hand these people an application.

Next, be pleasant. Greet me. Say, "Hello." Show that you have an understanding of human interaction. Don't just open the door, stick your head through and yell at me, "You hirin'?" This is a chance to show me that you can strike up a casual conversation. That you can show an interest in somebody. Show me that you're not just desperate for a job, any job. That may be the case, but don't make that the crux of your approach.

You have many chances to negate a good first impression. OK. So you've made a good, or at lease a decent, first impression. Don't blow it now. You have opportunities to enhance, or hurt, the first impression that you've made. If you walk out with a job application, don't return it wearing a greasy white t-shirt that looks like you've been working on a car. Think of this as an opportunity to re-make your first impression. Dress well, just as though you were coming in for the first time seeking an application.

Don't turn in an application that has coffee stains on it. Make sure your application is legible. I've passed on calling people up because I can't make out the phone number, or be able to tell the name of the person I'm calling. Take some pride in the work you're putting into the application. Please don't make reading the application more work for me. I'll probably not put forth the effort, knowing that it's likely the best work you'll do for me.

You can't overdress for a job interview. I said this to the gentleman above. His response? "I don't think I overdressed." I looked at his dirty baseball cap, dingy ragged hoodie, worn Def Leppard t-shirt, and soiled jeans. No, but you did under dress. I advised him to, in the future, put on a pair of slacks, not jeans, and a nice shirt. He said that was the best he had. I suggested he go out to Ragstock, or a thrift store and find a cheap, good looking button down shirt. I don't think he was impressed with my advice.

OK. Maybe a tux might be overdressing. But a suit isn't, no matter the position you're applying for. In my business, we're business casual. You don't have to wear a suit to an interview, but it shows how much you care about landing a job with me. A rock t-shirt is disrespectful of my dress code. Now, you might not know exactly what our dress code is, but you better not presume that a worn t-shirt is acceptable. It makes me question your ability to make good decisions.

Certain "fashion" choices will have a negative impact on your ability to get a job. Personally, I don't care about studs in your face, nose rings, tattoos, and the like. I don't think they enhance your looks, but it doesn't bother me personally that you made that choice. I am not offended.

As a business owner, however, I know that someone is going to walk through my door as a potential customer who might be offended. Therefore, I don't tend to hire people with facial piercings, nose rings, and tattoos on their hands. I prefer a more conservative look for me and my employees. It's not that I'm discriminating against people who make these choices, but it's not the image I want for my business. I don't think this is an unusual position for businesses who deal with the public.

Social media, (Facebook, Twitter, blogs, etc.), is a loaded gun without a safety. When you put something out on the internet, it is out there forever. Keep this in mind when you're about to fire off that scathing post, insult someone, or bitch about your employer. When someone applies for a job from me, I usually Google them. If I see a blog where that person is constantly bitching about their current employer, I'm not calling them. What are you going to say about me when you get mad at me while in my employ? I don't really need that kind of negative publicity. If I see a bunch of insults on your Facebook wall, I don't think I want you dealing with my clients.

I've had someone friend me on Facebook, and they've joined our Paddy's Game Shoppe Facebook Page, and then insult our clients and fill my wall with profanity. Then they asked for a job. It will never happen.

Try to keep your online persona positive. It's OK to voice your opinion, maybe go on a mild rant, now and then. But don't insult people, don't make a habit of putting derogatory labels on people, don't spew constant profanity, or bitch about your employer. When you're hired by someone, you now represent that business. You SHOULD want that business to do well. If they fail, you lose your job. You're representing that business, and as such, it's a conflict of interest to bitch about them and reveal things that could be considered confidential.

I've personally encountered every one of these examples in my business over the last 6+ years. I don't think any of them are all that unique, but I think this really should be common knowledge. I hope it helps someone make better decisions about their job search.

I hate to get political here, but I'm doing it anyway, because I think it's important. Here's a hypothetical situation for you:

Let's say you decide to paint a miniature from Reaper, like the Sophie Christmas Ornament. You're inspired to paint her up to look like Disney's Tinker Bell! It looks awesome. Wonderful on your tree. So you want to share it with others. You post a picture and tell about it in our Forums. Excellent! We like that. You get some feedback, and after awhile it starts showing up on Google searches when people search for "Tinker Bell." Now, let's say that somebody who works in marketing at Disney comes across it. They say, "Hey, they didn't license that." Then send it up the chain at Disney. They decide to file a complaint, and our website is shut down with no Cease and Desist, no investigation, and no hearing.

How do we get our site back? We hire a lawyer and enter into a legal battle with Disney. I don't like our chances of winning this battle. We didn't post the content. Nothing was stolen. Nothing was pirated or shared. Yet our website is gone, and people are redirected to the image above.

Sound far fetched? It's not. The SOPA and PIPA legislation's both allow for this type of thing to happen. I don't begrudge owners of intellectual property the right to protect their property. I'm a photographer, and understand this. The legislation is designed to protect IP and stop file-sharing. However, these bills are bad. They are too broad, too easy to abuse, and give corporations far too much power with little recourse. They affect everyone with a website. Anyone who uses the web. They don't begin to solve the problem they are designed to address.

If you have not already done so, I ask you to call or write your representatives. Here's a good analysis of the bills in a technical way. Here's an excellent video representation. For more details on how to act or get involved, visit American Censorship.

It took me less than 15 minutes to write my representatives.

Thank you for your support.

Recently, Wizards of the Coast announced that they are developing the next version of Dungeons & Dragons (D&D). We are closing in on the 40th anniversary of the role-playing game (RPG), and the 5th edition of the game. Let's quickly look at the history of D&D.

In 1970, Gary Gygax and Jeff Perren published a miniature combat system called "Chainmail." Chainmail was strictly a fantasy combat system. Players had miniature figures on a table, and had a battle. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson took these original rules, and expanded on them. They took the combat system, and adapted that to individual combat, rather than larger numbers for a battle. They also expanded what you could do in the game. In 1974, they published Dungeons and Dragons, and sold about 1000 copies of the game that first year. It was the first game of it's kind. That version of the game is now referred to as "Original Dungeons & Dragons," or "OD&D." Their company was called Tactical Studies Rules, Inc., or TSR.

In 1977, TSR went with a 2-pronged marketing plan. They published Dungeons & Dragons Basic Boxed Set, and a much expanded version of the game called Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, or AD&D. TSR became very successful as a pioneer in a new style of game. The 2 systems remained separate throughout the 1980's.

In 1989, TSR revised AD&D, and published Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, 2nd Edition, or AD&D2. The game changed somewhat, and there was a deliberate elimination of some of the more controversial aspects that were present in AD&D. They took out devils, sexually suggestive artwork, evil aligned characters, and the like. AD&D2 continued to be the top RPG in existence.

Even with the success of AD&D2, TSR was nearly bankrupt in 1997. That's when Wizards of the Coast bought them, and immediately began development of the next edition of the game. In 2000, dropping "Advanced" out of the name, they released Dungeons & Dragons, 3rd Edition (D&D3). Three years later, in 2003, they released a cleaned up version of the game, Dungeons & Dragons, 3.5 (D&D3.5). The 3/3.5 version of the game was less restrictive than previous versions, and made the game open to other developers.

In 2005, Wizards began developing another revision of the game, and Dungeons & Dragons, 4th Edition, (D&D4), was released in 2008. This version of the game incorporates aspects that are commonly found in console, or on-line RPGs. Although Wizards has never admitted this, most people believe that the their target was to convert console and on-line players to the table-top style of RPGs. In doing so, they alienated a large percentage of their fan base.

Quickly, OD&D was published in 1974, and had a 3 year run for a fledgling company. AD&D had a 12 year run. AD&D2 lasted 11 years. D&D3/3.5 had an 8 year run. Now D&D4 is looking like a 5 year life.

Throughout D&D's history, it has been the top selling RPG. Five years ago, the thought that ANY other system would surpass it was ridiculous. Last year, Paizo's Pathfinder system overtook D&D as the #1 selling RPG. In our store, it's been that way since 2009.

So, what does all this mean? It's hard to say. In my opinion, all of the versions of D&D have some strengths and weaknesses. I won't get into those specifics at this time. Under TSR, AD&D and AD&D2 lasted 23 years. Now it looks like Wizards is going to have 3 versions of the game in about 1/2 that time. Now, I know that in the console/video world, things change pretty fast. But for a table-top game, this seems way too fast for my taste. When a customer spends over $100 on the core books, plus other supplements, background material, expanded options, they will have invested hundreds of dollars on a game. Changing so quickly can't leave the player with a good taste in their mouth.

With D&D4 only being out 3 years, and D&D5 being in development, Wizards is all but publicly admitting that D&D4 is a failure. Adding to that embarrassment is that Pathfinder is really a rewrite of D&D3.5. When D&D4 was released, sales of the new books were great for the release. I'm very skeptical that D&D5 will have anywhere near the strength that D&D4 had upon release. I think people will ease into it. Although, having their end players involved in play testing might change that. People will get a good look at the game before release. The mechanics of D&D4 were pretty well kept secret until release.

Game companies that specialize in the hobby style of games, I'm not talking about Parker Brothers, ride a pretty thin line. Mistakes can be costly, and take a long time to recover from. Look at Wizkids Games. They had several successful game lines, but a series of mistakes killed them. A collectable pirate game that did very well until they went commercial. Mage Knight 2.0, that made all things previous obsolete, and killed that game. Changing the marketing strategy and format for Mech Warrior killed that game. Wizkids was bought out by a larger company, and then ceased operations. Wizkids was dead. They are rising from the dead, now. But it's a tough road, and I know several people that will never buy another Wizkids game, ever.

Wizards margin of error is greater than the majority of game companies. With that, we've seen several of their lines go by the boards in the last few years. The D&D Miniatures line, Star Wars, and Hero Scape. D&D won't be going away, but it will have a tough time getting back to the top of the hill. I look forward to what the 5th edition D&D will be. I'm sure their goal is to get back to being the #1 selling RPG. They won't be able to simply rely on the Wizards and D&D brands to do that. They'll have good sales upon release, but if they are going to sustain those sales, and get back to the top of the hill, they'll need a very good system, with good support, and well done supplements.

They'll also need a longer life cycle for the new edition. I've heard a number of people commenting that they think that a new system is nothing but a money grab. I disagree with this, but convincing people otherwise is almost impossible. I believe that it is primarily a business decision, based largely on diminishing sales.

Previously, I blogged about a basic character background. Covering the 5 "Ws" to get a background started. In this blog, let's expand that basic background into a more complete background.

There are two places to take your background that you’ll want to explore.

First, expand of some of the previous statements. I’ve mentioned the murder of Slammers father by his cousin, and the revenge. Who’s Grog’s cousin, and how did he murder his uncle? Exactly what did the revenge entail? These details will add several paragraphs to the background, and make it more interesting. The revenge will add insight to the character. Did Grog’s father deserve to be killed? Was the revenge quick and merciful, or cruel and unusual? Perhaps it was the nature of the revenge, not the revenge itself, that got Slammer exiled.

Secondly, add more incidents and incites to the character story. What events helped shape the character into what they are today? What inspires the character, does the character have any goals they would like to accomplish? These are all things that will add to the character story and shape the character. Here are some examples of things to be covered, borrowing heavily from “Castle Falkenstein” by Pondsmith and Eaken. Don’t feel that all of the areas below need to be covered, but they can be.

What are your best and worst qualities? This should cover things that are personality types. Are you honest or courageous? Are you friendly or generous? You should have some bad qualities, too. Are you spiteful or have a temper? Are you lazy or do you drink too much? These things should be covered somewhere in your background.

Describe your style. This should cover things like attitudes, quirks, and style of dress. Do you dress like a noble or a peasant farmer? This will help shape your character, and will tie in to the other parts of your background. For instance, you won’t often find a renowned knight dressed in dung covered rags. Your mode of dress affects your personality. Your attitudes and quirks tie in, too. A Druid will have great respect for forest creatures, where a city guard may not.

What are your likes and dislikes? Mention a few of your favorite things. Music, books, people, places, drinks, etc. Most people have things they don’t like, as well. This adds depth to the character, without a huge impact. You might also tell why something is on one of these lists. Maybe you liked the bard’s tales, but find elvish poetry boring. Dwarves are fun to party with, but the bazarre is overcrowded. The local mead is very tasty, but the wine is bitter.

What really matters to you? This should mean a great deal to the character, and you may not find most of it on the character sheet. What principle is most important to you? This could be honesty or love, or it could be vengeance, or maybe just to carouse with friends. What is your most treasured possession? Not necessarily your most valuable possession. Your mothers ring, a photograph of a lost love, the ceremonial sword handed down through generations, or even a worthless trinket your best friend gave to you when you were 5. Who do you value most in life? Sister, brother, teacher, lover. Who is it and why. Would you risk your life to save them? Maybe there isn’t anybody, maybe it’s just you. Whatever the answer, this will mean a great deal to the character.

Who are your enemies and allies? You’ve got friends. Who are they? What professional group do you belong to? Who supports your cause? What friends have you picked up along the way? At the same time, you’ve made enemies. Holmes has his Moriarty; you’ve got your someone. Maybe the Southside Boss thinks you’re a liability to his “family,” maybe you were too forward with the bar wench and a jealous patron wants to hurt you. You could be directly responsible for the destruction of the Spanish Armada and every Spaniard wants to see you dead. Whatever the reason, you’ve got a nemesis, possibly more than one. Don’t be surprised if your GM uses these.

Who are your romantic interests? Do you have a love life? Who have you loved and lost? Are you currently seeing anyone? You could be betrothed, have different loves every week, or love from afar. Maybe you sabotage all of your romances. Describe some of those loves.

What are your goals? What would you like to accomplish? Think of different areas to address these goals. For example, you might have a professional goal. A megalomaniac might want to rule the world. You might have a social goal. That same megalomaniac might want to be recognized for his genius. You might have a romantic goal. Once again, the megalomaniac might want the most beautiful woman on earth to be his wife. Your character will have some goals, too. Johnny’s was to drink from dusk ‘til dawn, and even death couldn’t keep him from his ale.

What are you good or bad at? You’ve got strengths and weaknesses. Look at your character sheet. This will help you here. Look at your skills list and tell why or how you got 16 ranks of dancing. Who did you learn from? If you’re an extraordinary swordsmen, tell why you’ve done nothing but study swordplay since you were 12. At the same time, why didn’t you ever learn to count past 10?

What are you proud of and what are your regrets? What have you done that you feel most proud of? Did you save a child from a burning building? Perhaps you helped your countries army defeat an enemy against great odds. Be proud of your act. Maybe you’ve done something you regret, as well. Did you leave a companion behind that may have needed your help? Perhaps you lost your one true love.

What have you been up to lately? You’ve got a bunch of things to write about already, but what have you been doing over the past few weeks, months, years? Perhaps you’ve just investigated a robbery at the museum, saved the princess from the dragon, or just hung out at the local pub doing odd jobs whenever you can. Give an account of your recent history.

This should give you plenty to write about for awhile. There are other options that could be included. In fact, they’re endless. Anything that could fit into a life of a character, and might be of interest to a reader, can be included.

I've given you reasons to write a character background for your characters already. This update will be short. It's about a very basic background. Just to get things going for you. What makes a good background? Lots of different things make a good background. Let’s start with the “5 W’s.” Who, what, where, why, when. This will make for a good starting point.

The Basic Background

Who? Your character probably has a name. What is it? Do you have a nickname? What is that? This should also cover basic physical features, or looks of the character. That should cover the “Who.”

Ex. My name is Grog Bruisenthorn. My friends call me “Slammer” because I like to use a large mace to slam my opponents into mincemeat. I stand well over 6 feet and weigh nearly 275 lbs.

What? What is your character? This will cover things like race, class, profession, family background, etc.

Ex. I’m a Half-Orc Barbarian from the Northern Spine. My father was one of the tribe elders, and leader of his people.

Where? Where are you now? You could be in a city, countryside, in the army, on a pirate ship, but you’re somewhere.

Ex. I have travelled south from my home to a large city called Crystal Fields. It’s the closest, large civilized city to my home.

Why? Now that you know where you are, why are you there? You must have had some good reason to leave your home. What’s the reason?

Ex. I was forced to leave my home when my father was brutally murdered by my cousin. I was exiled after extracting my revenge. I have no regrets.

When? This will cover the time frame of where you are now. The when can be a date, or relative to other events or the age of your character.

Ex. At just 16 years old and always being isolated to my tribe, I am naïve to the ways of men.

These examples are an over-simplification, but you get the idea. This is a good start, though. Where should you go from here? I'll look at expanding the background in my next blog.

I've already covered common reasons for not writing a character background for a role-playing game. This time I'll discuss reasons why you SHOULD write a background.

A character history is required by the game or GM. If this is the case, you have no choice. Well, that’s not true either. You can choose to not play the game; brow beat the GM into making you the exception; or just decide to not do it and see how long you get away with it. I don’t recommend any of these. If it’s required, and all the other players do it, then it wouldn’t be fair if you didn’t. So go ahead and write up a history for your character.

Writing is fun. Yes, it’s hard work, too. But exercise your mind; use your imagination to create something that didn’t exist before you started. Think of writing in the same light as painting or sculpting. It’s an art form, and art should be fun.  Any artist will tell you that they love what they do, it’s fun. They’ll also tell you that to do it well, is hard work. Keep in mind that you are creating something out of nothing. When you’re done, you’ll have a real sense of accomplishment.

You’ve already got the ideas, record them. If you’ve already created a character, or have a character concept, chances are very good that you’ve already thought about where the character came from. Why not record it? Expand on the initial ideas. Add new ideas, let your imagination run. As you expand on your initial ideas, you’ll likely find more and more ideas coming forward. You won’t want to use them all, but some of them will be good ideas that fit well with the character. This will simply expand the character concept even more!

Writing a character background gives you a greater investment in the character. This investment is going to have a couple of different outcomes with the character. Players who invest this time and energy into their characters tend to “get into” their characters more quickly than those who don’t. This leads to quicker and better role-playing. Character death is a bigger deal when you’ve spent a few hours working up a background. This usually means that the player will play better, or smarter with the character, thinking through potential consequences to the actions they are about to take.

Writing a background expands the character. You’ve already got a two-dimensional character sheet. The background expands this to a three-dimensional character. You’ll have a better sense for a 3-D character than a bunch of stats on a piece of paper. You’ll know what drives your character, what his motivations are, and what he aspires to accomplish. A 3-D character tends to get role-played over a 2-D character. This is “role-playing” vs. “roll-playing.” Try it, you’ll find that “role-playing” is much more enjoyable than “roll-playing.”

There are other reasons for character backgrounds. Some games require one. Others strongly suggest it. Give some thought about character backgrounds. Next time, I'll discuss what you should consider when writing a background.

Last week, I gave a quick introduction about writing character backgrounds or diaries for role-playing characters. This week, I'll look at a few common reasons why players don't, or won't, write a background, and give reasons why these excuses shouldn't hold up.

Writing is hard. Actually, writing is easy. All you have to do is put words down on a page or type into a computer. Writing well is hard. You have to worry about sentence and paragraph structure. Does the sentence make sense? Does the sentence fit with the rest of the paragraph? You should proofread it and correct your mistakes or make changes where you just think something isn’t quite what you want. Writing is hard work. But it’s worth the effort. When you’re done, you’ll have something tangible to be proud of.

The game is a “one off.” This means the character will only be played once, and then retired. A detailed history is a lot of work for a 4-hour game. This is, in my opinion, the best reason to not write a full character history. I might jot down a few notes or paragraph, though.

The game, campaign, or GM isn’t worth the effort. Either because the GM isn’t any good, the campaign is lame, the game is a poor system, or what have you. If this is the case, ask yourself why you are playing in the first place? If you don’t like the game, leave it for others who respect the system more. If the campaign is lame, why are you wasting your, the GMs, and the other players time by playing in a game that you’ve already decided you won’t like. Let someone with a more open mind play. If you don’t like the GM, let somebody else play in your stead. Maybe their style is better suited to another player.

I am not creative enough to write a background. If you’re so unimaginative that you can’t come up with even a few paragraphs for a character history, then you probably shouldn’t be role-playing. With the exception of a few purely hack-n-slash games and adventures, role-playing requires players to be creative. You have to use your imagination to visualize the scenes you’re about to play out. If you can’t imagine what is happening before you at the table, you will have an extremely hard time playing. If you can see in your mind's eye what is taking place, then you have what you need to invent a character history.

Showing off my writing to others is scary. Anytime you work at something creative, and then let others see your work, it can be frightening. After all, you’ve bared your soul in your creation. People might not like it. In fact, I can guarantee that someone won’t like your work, if you show it to enough people. There is a good chance that you might meet with criticism. If someone just rips your work with nothing constructive to say, ignore them. It’s likely that they’re ripping your work for personal reasons, and they probably wouldn’t have the courage to show you any of their own work. If someone offers constructive criticism or suggestions on how it can be improved, don’t feel bad. They think that you and your work are worth the effort of giving serious thought. Give consideration to what they say. If someone compliments your work, then take it in the light that it is intended, and be proud of what you’ve created. Over time, your writing will improve.

I don't have time to write a background. We all have precious little free time, and the game itself is going to take up some of it. If your going to take some time to play the game, you should be able to find some time to write up a background. You don't have to spend hours on a short novel sized background, although you could. Just find some time to put a few paragraphs together, or maybe a few pages. Once you start writing, you'll likely find that it doesn't take as long as you think.

I’m sure there are many other reasons that players use to not write a background, but I think these are the main ones. Let’s take one last look at these “Why not’s” before going to the “Why I should" next week.

Writing is hard work. Yes it is. If you just write a few paragraphs, it’s not as hard as 15 or 20 pages. I’ve seen character histories that were nothing more than bullet points. This is even less work. If the game is a “one off,” then keep it short. This is the best time for a bullet list, or just a paragraph or two. Let’s assume you’re in a game you want to be in, and since you’re a role-player, you have the mental tools to think up some history for your character. Once the history or diary is written, you don’t have to show it to anybody, unless it was required by the game or GM. However, I suggest you do let others see it. This will make you think more about the story, its quality, and how the character fits into a game. Writing a background is time consuming, but doesn't have to take too much time for a shorter write up.

Next time I'll look at some reasons why you should write a background.

So, you’re getting into a new role-playing game. You’ve got a character, or at least a good concept. You roll up your stats, or spend your points, meticulously recording everything on the character sheet. Finally, you have it done, or almost. There are just a few more details to round him or her out. The character is ready to enter the adventure. Now what? Is there anything else you can do to enhance the character or your experience? Yes, yes you can.

Many will jot down a few notes about their character. Others will write a character background. Still others will keep a diary of game play. Why do they do this? There are a lot of reasons ranging from requirements of some games to being obsessed with every detail about their character. The bottom line is that it enhances the character and the role-playing experience.

This subject will extend over several blogs. I'll discuss backgrounds, histories, and journals. I'll look at reasons players don't write, and reasons why they should. Let's start.

What is a character background or diary?

Character backgrounds, some people call this a back story, and diaries are works of fiction about your character. They’re short stories detailing your characters exploits and adventures. Good stories will give the reader insight to your characters motivations, skills, history, and desires. They’ll tell where your character has been in the past, and sometimes where your character will go in the future.

There’s a difference between a background and diary. A character background is usually written at the beginning of a game, when a character first enters a campaign. This will cover certain details about the character’s history. Where do they come from, why do they have that particular set of skills, where was all the wealth acquired, and how did they come to have such an enemy?

A diary, or journal, is an ongoing account of the campaign. A diary is usually updated after every gaming session, or at least every adventure. The diary will simply cover the things that happened during the adventures with the party from the point of view of your character. This will seldom cover things that happened before the campaign began, but may reference them now and again.

Paddy's Game Shoppe is part of several communities. The gaming community. The St. Cloud, Minnesota community. The Downtown St. Cloud community. Business communities. The list goes on. We're all part of a variety of communities. Being part of a community means there are benefits and responsibilities. Benefits include potential customers. Access to resources that we might not have otherwise. People to talk to and share things with. Information not generally available. Probably quite a few other things, too.

There are a number of responsibilities, too. Most people represent only themselves when they are out in public. So most people can go out and act like a knucklehead, and it's just them that is a knucklehead. As a business owner, not only do I represent myself, but my business, too. In representing my business, I represent all the communities my business is part of. That means that I'm an ambassador for the gaming community, small businesses, downtown St. Cloud, etc. Now, when I'm public and decide to act like knucklehead, somebody might say, "Hey, doesn't that knucklehead own Paddy's Game Shoppe?" That's bad for business, and in turn bad for all the communities that Paddy's is a part of. Now, I don't believe that I've ever made a habit of acting like a knucklehead, but still, extra care must be taken.

My previous blog was about being nice. One example I gave was giving change for the parking meters. If I, or another business, refuses to give a customer change, it's not just, "That business refused to give change." It's, "A downtown business refused to give change." That's a negative experience attributed to the entire downtown business district, not just the one business.

Also, I believe included in the responsibility category is giving back to the community. Paddy's has made several charitable contributions over the years. This has included money, products for auctions, advertising, discounts, and other offerings. We've recorded over $1300 in charitable contributions through the business since we opened. Almost all of that in the last 3 years. The first three years was spent just trying to get the business on solid ground.

Some of the contributions included in the past has been the Great River Regional Library, Anna Marie's Alliance, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Minnesota, and a host of other fund raisers, auctions, and what have you. Another that we're giving very serious consideration to it the Creative Play Project. Their mission is to bring table top games to underprivileged youth. This is something we feel good about getting behind.

We're also looking at expanding what we do for charity. We're looking at a Thanksgiving Magic Tournament, the Saturday after Thanksgiving, for a charity. We haven't got all the details, but it's looking like a Standard format tournament. $15 entry fee, or $10 with a non-perishable food item. $5 of each entry goes to prize support, and the rest to a charity. Maybe we'll pick one of our charities, maybe the winner of the tournament gets to pick the charity. Stay tuned, we'll have this figured out in the near future!

Some time ago, I blogged about it paying to be nice. I'm following that up with a pair of anecdotes to support my claim.

Downtown St. Cloud has parking meters. I wish we didn't, but it's a reality. They aren't very expensive, but you do have to have change, and can only get 2 hours at a time. It's inconvenient. A lot of businesses in the downtown area won't give change to someone to feed the meters. I can't tell you how many, but it's significant. I think that's unkind, and bad business. It does take a small bit of work to make sure I have enough change and small bills on hand in the til, but I consider it as just a part of doing business in the downtown area.

Apart of just being a polite thing to do, I have business reasons, too. If I refuse to give change, that person is going to turn around and walk out of my store, and will have had a negative experience concerning my business. The majority of people who come in seeking change will also leave without purchasing or looking around, too. However, they will have had a positive experience concerning my store, and may just remember us in the future for giving them change. It's really not that hard to do something nice for someone.

Bringing us to last week, or the week before. A gentleman, whom I did not recognize, came in and asked for change for the meters. I obliged as normal. He started to walk out, then stopped and looked at the end cap nearest the door. He asked about cribbage boards. I showed him what we had and we talked some. He bought a rather nice walnut cribbage board. If I had denied him change, he would have walked out without a second look.

The second anecdote starts with a phone call. I received a call from a couple from Massachusetts. They were vacationing in Minnesota. While in Duluth earlier in the day, they purchased a board game from another game store. The problem was that the game was missing the cards that was supposed to come with the game. They were now in Little Falls, (much closer to St. Cloud than Duluth), and were not planning to go back up to Duluth while on vacation. They asked if they could return/exchange the game at my store, even though they bought the game from another store.

I think a lot of business people would have told me that this is looking like a lot of work for no return. They're from Massachusetts, they'll never be a regular, we may never see them again. They bought the game from somebody else, it's should be their problem, not ours. They bought the game, and probably won't buy another one from us, since they'd have to carry it all the way home with them. If we exchange the game, we'll have a defective game that we can't sell. These are all valid statements.

Even with all that, we had the ability to resolve their problem while they were on vacation. It seemed like the right thing to do. So I told them to go ahead and bring the game in and we'd take care of it for them. We had a copy of the same game on the shelf, so I pulled out the missing parts to give to them. Yes, we now have a defective copy of the game. That's temporary, the publisher is sending out the parts to replace the ones I gave out. It was a little bit of work on my part, but not a tremendous amount.

So, we took care of the issue at hand. I believe they purchased a game that day. One of the two was from Little Falls, and now lives out east, and they were here visiting family. I imagine there's a pretty good chance that they spoke highly of us for exchanging their game. We were rewarded with a purchase of another game before they left for home. If I had just told them that I couldn't exchange it for them, I'm sure they never would have set foot in our store.

So, I reiterate my previous message. It pays to be nice. You've probably heard that "nice guys finish last," but I say it can be profitable.