Pamela Tan, the mumpreneur-owner of? My First Games, is a big fan of board games. So when she was exploring options after spending time as a stay at home mum, it seemed quite natural for her to consider a business involving her passion. Mums@Work caught up with her to find out more:
What prompted you to start your business, Pamela?
I?m a mother of 3 kids, eldest is 5, and a pair of twins who turned 2 in January this year. With quality childcare costing an arm and a leg these days, I?ve thought about staying home full time to take care of the kids full time. However, feeding a family of three kids with one income is a great challenge these days, so I?ve always had, what I call, the Modified-Tai-Tai-Dream of our generation: I wish to have an online business. Everyone wants one of these ? to have an online business that brings in some income and provides the flexible working hours we all desire. Also, I harbour the dream of perhaps ?striking it rich? if my business does well. Thirdly, I was hoping to do something about this passion I have for board games and toys. After all, it is said that if you enjoy your work, you would never work a day in your life.
Tell us about your new venture.
My First Games is about encouraging families and friends to play together. We do our research about all the board games and import those we think are good for kids and families to play together. Currently, we import mainly from USA and Europe and sell from our online platform at www.myfirstgames.sg We are also proud to be the exclusive distributor in Singapore for CitiBlocs ? a precision cut building blocks that has no glue nor connectors.
Why did you choose this to be your biz?
I love board games and am very passionate about using board games as a tool for parent-child bonding as well as using them as a learning tool. I was such a good advocate that all my friends and family were suggesting to me that I should sell games since I am so passionate about it! After all, as Confucius says ?Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.?
Where did you get your ideas for your brand: biz name, logo, ?look? etc?
My niche in this business is that I specialize in kids? games especially board games for very young kids, as young as 2 years old. Hence the moniker ?My First Games? because most people wouldn?t think that a 2 year old can play board games. But they can. My eldest boy started when he was 17 months old! Also, when people think of ?board games? they naturally think of traditional board games like Monopoly and Risk. But the games we carry are not like the traditional board games being sold. The games we sell don?t necessarily come with a huge square board; there is no player elimination; they will not last for hours on end and they are not purely based on chance. Hence, even though you maybe have played with the likes of Monopoly and Risk when you were younger, let us be the one to introduce you to the wonderful world of Euro games ? board games which are mostly designed in Europe.
Our logo has the words My First Games, accompanied by two man-like icons. They actually have a name. They are called ?meeples?. Meeple is a portmanteau of the two words ?my people?. It is a very commonly shaped pawn in Euro games. Our logo features one big meeple beside a smaller meeple ? representing a parent and a child.
What is the thing about your biz that makes it stand out from the competition?
We are very kid-centric. Other retailers mainly sell games for adults, but we like to promote game playing from a very young age, and amongst families. Also, we understand that parents in Singapore are very busy people who don?t have much time or patience to waddle through a thick book of game rules. Hence, we research and specially select games, which are easy to learn and play ? though not necessarily easy to master! We only sell good games!
What has been the most challenging thing for you so far as you have been building your biz?
Our games are so unique and not available in the mass market that a lot of people have never seen them before. Hence, this makes them reluctant to buy them. Thus, we include other players? reviews of the game, and even include videos if they are available. But people are still hesitant to part with their money for something unfamiliar.
What aspect of building your little biz do you like working on the most??
I enjoy doing research to look for games to import and carry in my shop. As there are thousands of games available out there, and hundreds of new ones being published every year, research is very important in order to choose the good games only!
What is next for you?
Anyone can sell board games. I intend to start conducting talks or workshops to teach parents how to use board games as a tool to bond with their children, as well as workshops for teachers to teach them to harness board games as an abstract learning tool. Board game tuition, anyone?
What advice do you have for other mums who are thinking of or trying to build their own little biz from home??
Get support from your man! My husband has been very supportive of me and ?My First Games?. ?And so has my family. I?ve even reclaimed my old room at my parents? place to do some storage for the stock we hold!
My First Games is having a booth at the upcoming Parents World Exhibition at Expo from 31st August to 2nd September 2012 (http://parentsworld.com.sg/parents-world-exhibition/) . Come visit us at the fair and tell us ?Mums@Work can play games too!? to get 15% off usual prices!
Source: http://mumsatwork.net/blog/?p=508
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