This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
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In this week's Failure Friday segment, we hear from a corporate trainer who tries to create custom board games for company retreats. Unfortunately, this idea proves to be a tough sell. And that's what we do in this segment here on Side Hustle School. You know, conveniently we have episodes every single day, seven days a week. So there's all kinds of success stories throughout the week and ambitious projects that are going well, lots of great reports and such.
But we also like to focus on what is difficult and what is challenging, perhaps something that goes very wrong just because that happens sometimes in life. And when it does, the main question is, how are you going to respond? How are you gonna respond? How are you gonna recover? How are you gonna adjust?
And I think that's so important in the entrepreneurial world, whether you are a capital E entrepreneur or an aspiring side hustler, we try to meet people where they are and share transparent stories so that you can learn and hopefully get inspired and be stronger than you were before. All right, that is the goal, just wanted to restate. Now today's short story features Robert from Arlington, Virginia. As mentioned, he was a corporate trainer who tries to create personalized or customized board games for companies. And as you might guess, his business has gone through a couple of difficulties.
So let's hear from him about one of those main difficulties. I'll come back at the end with a couple of brief comments. [Music]
When I embarked on the journey of custom play, my business dedicated to creating bespoke board games for corporate training, I was driven by the belief that every company's unique culture could be transformed into an engaging educational gaming experience. My name is Robert Harper, and I had intended on blending my expertise in corporate training with my passion for board games. However, the path I envisioned for custom play was fraught with unexpected challenges, particularly in acquiring clients.
The concept was simple. Taylor made board games designed to mirror each organization's specific environment, challenges and objectives. Initially, the idea garnered interest. I successfully created a few games for local businesses, focusing on themes like teamwork dynamics and project management. These early projects were received with enthusiasm, affirming my belief in custom play's potential.
Just one problem. I didn't charge for those games, so it was an easy thing to say yes to. As I sought to expand to paying clients, I encountered significant hurdles. A primary challenge was the nature of my product. While many companies were intrigued by the idea of a custom board game, they were hesitant to invest in something so unconventional.
Traditional team building activities, despite being less innovative, were a known quantity. Convincing HR departments and training managers to gamble their budgets on a bespoke board game was more difficult than I had anticipated. Moreover, the level of customization that custom play offered, while being its unique selling point, also became its biggest obstacle in client acquisition. Each game required extensive collaboration with the client to accurately capture the essence of their company and training needs. This process was both time-consuming and demanding, necessitating a level of involvement and commitment that many potential clients were not prepared to give.
Additionally, the cost of creating these customized games from design to production was substantial. When presented with a quote, many interested parties were deterred by the price point, which was inevitably higher than off-the-shelf training tools or activities. My vision of a deeply personalized training tool was becoming a hard sell in a market conscious of budget constraints and wary of unconventional methods. As time went on, the struggle to acquire new clients began to impact my own enthusiasm. The excitement of the early projects gave way to long periods of stagnancy.
Despite my best efforts at demonstrating the value of a customized approach to team building, the momentum was lost. The eventual decision to close Custom Play was sad, but wise. In retrospect, Custom Play taught me invaluable lessons about the corporate world's readiness for innovation, as well as the practical challenges of selling a novel concept in a market dominated by conventional solutions. Today, as I channel my experience in a consulting, I'm keeping in mind that a great idea needs not only passion, but also a market ready to embrace it. Custom Play's story was a profound learning experience in assessing market needs, the importance of scalable business models, and the realities of client acquisition in a new market.
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The main thing to say about Failure Friday is the segment's tagline, which is never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat. You learn through these experiences, you understand, okay, I thought there was a market for this idea, but as I went through the process, I learned that there really wasn't, or it was much more difficult than I expected. And so Robert is adjusting, going on to do something else. As he mentioned, he has channeled his experience into consulting. So we learned from these stories.
Hopefully you listeners can learn from them as well. Maybe make your next side hustle a little bit easier. Big thanks to Robert for sharing this story. Big thanks to you listeners. Thanks for being out there.
I appreciate you. You've got a question, an update for us, sidehustleschool.com. Today's been episode 2,589. Much more is coming up tomorrow and beyond. Once again, my name is Chris Guillebeau.
This is Side Hustle School. [Music]
From the Onward Project.
