Breaking in a Concept Episode 2: Giving a Space for Mentoring, Built to Scale!

It’s been a long time coming but I’ve decided to fully announce some plans that I’ve hinted in some of my past works in relation to mentoring. I’m planning on starting my own hobby shop named Built To Scale: Games & Hobby! It’s been a goal of mine for most of my life to start my own business and part of the difficulty has been narrowing down the type of shop I want to build and how I would want to run it. I’ve gone through various different concepts building up to this.

In this article I wish to describe my plans, why I’m deciding to crowd fund this venture, and how I intend to work mentorship into the business model. The theme of this shop is to take one’s life and build it up to the scale that best fits the person through hobbies. It is my hope that after this we can all work together and implement the practices I wish to include with this to help men and boys find role models to help them succeed wherever possible. With this in mind Let’s Hammer This In!

To begin, I should go over how this store is going to be laid out. It will be a tabletop gaming and hobby kit shop first and foremost. However, the store will also be implementing a workshop area to have people working on projects within. As such, there will be various rental aspects (appropriately insured) built-in, such as on-site equipment and lockers for larger projects… brilliant for young children looking to get into a hobby and perhaps have no one who can help them in their desires, especially since we’ll also be trying to be designated a protected space for children.

Obviously the profit planning will not be based so much on the product and more on the renting of lockers and equipment so I would take advantage of that to price my stock competitively with other area hobby stores who don’t have such concepts plotted. This isn’t the only reason for my thought process on a workspace for customers. This is also to encourage a sense of community and a chance for hobbyists of all ages to teach techniques to one another in person, perhaps even giving an escape from the impersonal nature of online communities built around such hobbies.

At the same time I’m including a ban on political debate on premises to prevent infiltration by the social justice mob. Ideologues try to spout their nonsense, they are given a walking notice. That doesn’t mean they can’t work on projects that include a political theme such as World War II planes or something that bears a Confederate Flag. It just means that they can’t try to push a political hegemony onto kids. At the same time I will try to provide a distinct counter to children who come in only knowing a feminist narrative to reality. This is because I realize that we can’t just stick to putting forth our counters online. We have to show what we mean in the real world.

Now as for what I’m going to crowdfund for. When looking into the costs for me to run such a business and make a profit in the end it will take over $250,000 within the first year for me to be considered viable. To this end for the time being I am putting the request for $60,000 to cover costs for the first 3 months, attempt to provide 6 employees (including myself) a salary of $12.50 per hour as a starting rate, and get my initial stock of goods.

I mentioned earlier I would be providing equipment on rental in addition to the lockers. Starting out this would be an airbrushing booth that has full humidity control and proper forced venting to protect against fumes and a more industrial grade 3D printer to be expanded later with other stations such as soldering and heavier equipment. The costs for the rental will include material fees, maintenance fees, and charge for the time which will be the primary source of profit for the store. These will be calculated at an hourly rate and due to their nature will be kept on site which will encourage community interaction. Sure most of these things could be obtained by anyone but not with it being cost effective for the consumer due to lack of expert help in understanding the equipment.

So how am I going to deal with the local schools? By offering them the ability to bring the children to see and work with a 3D printer under the suggestion of it as the future of manufacturing, making it a paid for field trip by the schools. This would let the area kids know the shop is there, also giving a chance to be positive male and family role model in the community. I’m not necessarily talking about promoting the state-based concept of ‘marriage’ as much as a healthy ‘man and woman’ relationship through myself and my wife working together.

It is my hope through these measures and using this shop I can not only spend my days doing something I love but take some time to be a mentor to others and helping shape a better future. Of course I’ll be giving all the information I get in research and discuss my mistakes with those who put in to the gofundme for this project, especially those who put in more so that they can build something similar. It’s through this I’m hoping we can all work together by putting similar stores across the country if not the world.

Of course no one has to contribute and if this goes nowhere then it goes nowhere. Also I have no intention of asking those who are unable to help me with this nor would I ever suggest that anyone who does what they can to help us here under the name of the Honey Badgers to split their contributions or anything like that. This is merely an option I wish to give for us to come up with a way to spread our message in the real world in a less obvious manner. Though to those who end up putting in anyway I offer my everlasting gratitude and my sincerest hope that we can work together to achieve a goal a positive future for the world by working on the cracks of societies mind by making it Built to Scale!

I know this could come off as selfish but if something I want to do can also help others and help improve society by making subtle changes I want to take the chance. This will likely be the only time I promote this unless its suggested by the others that I further promote it. So with that in mind I have to announce that I’m taking the next couple of weeks off to address family medical issues I will be back in the middle of June. Until then Please Remember to Game Freely!

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Alex Tinsley

A student of Fine Arts and Japanese culture of six years at Murray State University. Having never graduated due to difficulties with a specific teacher has gained a unique perspective upon the issues being faced by men and boys. A father of a young boy and loving husband.

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