Over the past few weeks I’ve been thinking of a new business idea. I’ve recently found myself looking for work In the games industry. I’ve got experience across multiple industries but I’ve never felt as fulfilled as when I was working in indie games. It’s what I feel most passionate about and what has brought me the most joy. The recent layoffs has meant that now may be the most difficult time to get a job in the videogames industry. Therefore I’ve been considering whether creating my own company may be a more achievable venture.
Business Idea: An Indie Game 'Closer' Consultancy
I've been mulling over the concept of establishing a consultancy service tailored to indie game publishers. The idea is to provide these publishers with a small team of closers, specialised in assessing indie game studios projects and provide them with a plan to efficiently complete their projects. My inspiration for this idea stems from my recent experiences analysing indie game projects nearing completion. I've spent time evaluating resources, team strengths, areas for improvement, and crafting step-by-step plans to ensure projects are completed within reasonable timeframes. What struck me is that while indie game studios excel at working on games, they often struggle to finish them. While the role of a project closer exists in AAA studios, I’m not aware if it’s an established practice in the indie game sphere.
Operational Plan: The consultancy would reach out to indie game publishers and offer consultancy services. These publishers would then promote the consultancy services to the studios they work with as a value-add service. When indie game studios are a few months away from completing their projects, the consultancy would step in, evaluate their progress, and devise a customised finishing plan based on what resources they have available and their time restraints.
It’s important to consider the strengths and weaknesses of the business idea as the idea may stop here before going on to the next stage.
Strengths: One of the strengths of this idea is the abundance of talent in the market due to recent industry layoffs. Finding skilled individuals to cover areas like art, design, production, and coding shouldn't be too difficult. Additionally, there may be a gap in the market for this type of service, with potential for growth as new indie game studios emerge. Third-party evaluation ensures impartial advice, adding value to the consultancy service. Financially, the business is viable, requiring only a few clients each month to sustain operations. Moreover, its scalability allows for a gradual expansion based on demand and reputation of the consultancy.
Weaknesses: However, there are potential obstacles to consider. As someone not deeply entrenched in the indie game publishing market, I may lack insight into the industry’s receptiveness to the niche. Indie game studios may also be wary of third parties evaluating their projects, and publishers may prefer in-house solutions or see external consultants as security risks to their intellectual property. Additionally, economic constraints within the gaming industry could limit publisher spending on emerging services such as a closer consultancy.
Next Steps: The next step since I’ve weighed up the pros and cons is to evaluate the idea in the real world. So I need to approach indie game publishers and people with insight to find out if this business idea is a viable one. I can do this in a number of ways.
Webinars: I can hold a webinar on the idea to go over the added benefits to the indie game publishers. If there was interest in the webinar then that’s a signal that there is a market for an indie game closer consultancy.
Direct Marketing: I can reach out via social media, email and phone to contact publishers and gauge their interest directly.
Article Outreach: I can write an article outlining my business idea to see if it generates comments or interactions on sites such as LinkedIn.
Networking: I can reach out to my network of people in the industry and ask their opinion on the business idea. Luckily the video games industry is full of people who are willing to answer questions and offer advice.
Once I’ve got enough data points I can make a decision on whether to continue with the business idea, shelve it depending on the market conditions or scrap it all together because I was blind to some reason that would make the business fail.
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