Season 3 Introduction: Building a Thriving Esports Business

Gamers Change Lives Podcast
Season 3, Introduction Episode

Transcript

Tom Leonard

I'm Tom Leonard. I'm the host of the Gamer's Change Lives podcast, where we talk about how esports can create jobs anywhere in the world. And today I'm joined by our executive producer, Reginald Nsowah. Welcome, Reginald.

Reginald

Hi everyone, I'm happy to be here.

Tom Leonard

So today we're going to just do a little short introduction episode for season three and season one, we talked about jobs and season two, we talked about follow the money. And now in season three, we want to talk about how to build a business, to build a thriving esports business. So one of the things that we want to talk about is what are the key points and factors in building a thriving esports business? What do you think, Reginald?

Reginald

Yeah, I think this is very, very critical. This is very, very important, especially for a very competitive industry like esports. And it is very important that entrepreneurs or people who are seeking to start esports businesses know what they want to do, how to achieve it. And then even those who are thinking about entering esports know what to do, what to do, and then how they can build. And this episode is more of a how, you know, season and it's going to be great.

Tom Leonard

That sounds good. Now we're looking forward to it. So what are some of the things that you think are important factors in building a thriving esports business?

Reginald

Yeah, Tom, you know, esports, building an esports business is, you know, just like every other business, this one a little bit, you know, special because it's, it's, it's kind of different. But first of all, you need to identify and each to stand out, you know, in esports. And you also have to have a strong brand identity to be able to differentiate yourself from the competition.

There are lots of esports, you know, all over the world, each of them are in a particular market, each of them serving a particular market. So you need to identify what you want to do in the market. You also need to have a strong team, a very strong, talented, dedicated team that will buy into your vision or the vision of your esports business who can bring different skills and perspective to the table because talent is what will really, really help your business to grow to the next level.

Then you also need to understand that you're in a rapidly evolving landscape. So you need to be able to breast with the latest information, the latest trends, and developments in the esports. Why this happening? You need to know that. Then you also have, this is very, very important to me, to have a clear and effective monetization strategy to build an esports business. I think in season one, when we interact a lot of esports businesses and even esports entrepreneurs, monetization was a very, very big problem.

Where do I find the money? How do people pay me? How do I make money? It's very, very important because without monetization, you can't pay your staff, you can't move to your next level, you can't even go for tournaments. So it's very, very key. They also need to embrace innovation and experimentation to stay ahead of the curve. It's very, very important that you know your next five moves, what is happening? Five years from now, how are things going to shape up? What are you evolving yourself into?

Then you need to also have a strong and engaged community. It is very, very important. One of our guests said that you can buy followers, but you can't buy fans. You can buy a community. You need to build a community of people who are just going to support you. The community is just more than fans. I mean, the players in the ecosystem, sometimes government, sometimes organizations, sometimes corporate bodies, it is very, very important.

And then finally, I would say that you yourself as an entrepreneur and your team, your well-being, your health, your mental health, these things are very, very important because the business needs you strong and inspired because a happy entrepreneur will give birth to a happy business, and it is going to trickle down. I think one thing that I heard from another podcast was that one of the key things that is important for success in business is happiness. It's very, very important. When you wake up happy, wake up ready, it just flows down. You know, as a CEO, as a founder, when the doors of your business are open and you are smiling, you are happy, you are high fiving, come on, this is esports. There's that team spirit, the spirit of core. You know, there is nothing that can defeat you. So it is very, very important. You know, Tom, I think that research was from Stanford. So, you know, kudos to your school. Yeah.

Tom Leonard

Yeah, we'll give them a shout out there. So, what do you think is the most important one? I think for me, it's like when you're talking about building this strong team is super important because one of the things that you find over and over again is no one goes on this journey alone. No one creates anything of any size that doesn't have a strong team around them. And if you if you don't have a strong team because I think it relates back to esports really, really well and gaming because in gaming, you know, you put together a team and you go on a quest. And it's really the same kind of format here. Any of these stick out to you is being more important than the others?

Reginald

Well, yeah, I think, you know, it's quite, you know, close. But for me, I think that, you know, defining your niche and who you're going to be in the market, for me is the most important thing because you need that to provide direction for your team. That will provide the energy. That will provide the clarity of vision is very, very important. Everybody who is joining your team needs to know who you are in the market. Why are you in this?

And what did you set out to achieve. And I think people follow vision a lot. And the vision will keep you motivated. And I think that defining where you're going to solve, and I think Thomas, entrepreneurs solve problems. So which problem are you going to solve? Which issue are you going to tackle? What new thing are you bringing into the marketplace? So I think that for me, it is very, very, very important. It's very important.

Tom Leonard

No, I think that that's really, really true. So yeah, you have to know because one of the guests was talking about having a performance plan to be successful. And I thought that just made a whole lot of sense. It's not just that they're and say, oh, I want to go do this. It's like, this is how I want to go do this. So, so there's going to be some good information here in season three that we, you know, we've already heard. So some of the special features of season three are two things. First of all, we're going to have a Facebook group. We already have a Facebook page, but not a Facebook group.

We want to have a Facebook group where people can, in our community, can interact with each other and give information, give help to each other. Because one of the things that you find in esports, in business in general, is that the best teachers are other people that are doing the same thing. And we want to be telling the stories, we are telling the stories in the podcast of people around the world who are doing some amazing things.

But just to be able to reach out and communicate and interact and engage with other people in our Facebook group. I think it's gonna be really, really good in season three.

The other thing that we're gonna have is we're gonna have worksheets. So for each episode, we're gonna just set up a little worksheet that you can go download from our page. I'll give you the links at the time the episode comes out. To make you start thinking, give you the opportunity to start thinking about how what you've heard in the episode, how it can apply to you.

Check out the worksheets check out the Facebook group. What about the call to action?

Reginald

Yeah, you know, I think first of all, subscribe into the podcast and making a commitment that you're going to finish the season. So you're just not going to just pick a dose of full package. So you're going to start from the beginning to the end and then also get your team to also subscribe to this season, to the podcast. If you're already thinking of starting or partnering with someone or you're already an entrepreneur because the information will sort of cut across for every member in the team and the more they hear it, the more they can run with it and also leave a review of your favorite podcast platform.

Let's use that to reach out to more entrepreneurs, more esports entrepreneurs, the more you share it, the more people get to know the better for everyone and also follow us on social media in our community. We really want to hear from you. We really want to find out, for example, the worksheets want to get some feedback from you, how it is helping you, how you want things to change and you know you know be bold, the entrepreneurs are audacious.

If you want you know if you want to reach out to any of our guests, you need any extra assistance, just let us know. I think it is it is you know going to be very important here.

Tom Leonard

No, people are not shy, which is really, really good. And that's what we want. And these call to action, they're not necessarily just for us, I mean, it will help us grow the podcast, but it's really gonna help spread the message out there to other people who might be interested in the same content. So yeah, that's really good. So yeah, just kind of winding things up here. We really appreciate everyone that's tuned in for the first couple of seasons of the Gamer's Change Lives podcast. We really appreciate the fans. Appreciate the comments, we appreciate people coming back and saying, hey, this really made a difference in what the way that I've been thinking about my business. I mean, that's what we're doing this for. So when we hear that, that is really good.

And stay tuned in for season three, where we're going to be doing interviews with successful esports entrepreneurs, sharing case studies, sharing stories, and providing actionable tips and advice to help you build a thriving esports business.

One of our goals here is to be more happy.

So thanks, Reginald. Any last words?

Reginald

Yeah, I think I'm gonna end with, you know, with an African proverb. They say that if a single tree receives, you know, all of the weight, it breaks easily. So, you know, the importance of this proverb is that it's good to belong to a community. When you have a group of trees or a forest, you know, the weight can't break all the trees. So it's very important that, you know, you stay engaged with the community.

We also say in Africa, it takes a village. You know, so if you if you really want to grow, just join up with this community, feel free. You know, there's a big opportunity there for esports entrepreneurs, but the more you know, the more you are able to do the stronger you become. So we are happy to go on this journey with you and we really encourage you to, you know, just stay tuned, subscribe to the podcast. It's going to be fun. You're all going to build successful businesses and hopefully change the world. Yeah.

Tom Leonard

That's what well put. Hey, thanks for listening. This is the Gamer's Change Lives Podcast. Play games, create jobs, change lives. Thanks, Reginald.

Reginald

Thank you.