I sell games - cannabis smoking and weed themed games.  I sell a large variety of games and assorted gear.  This year I have sold more games than I ever have before.  I, like many new entrepreneurs, followed the advice of so-called industry experts and educated myself on the cannabis industry.  I joined several profession organizations and attended large events designed to network and help promote my products.  This was an investment, spending hundreds of dollars just to have access to influencers and other businesses in the field.  I made many great contacts but unfortunately I didn’t sell many games.

I sought the help of knowledgeable advisors, and I was told to get my product in the hands of retailers and others who sell games to the public.  I contacted Instagram personalities and influencers and sent games to those who were interested.  I did the same on Facebook and other social media platforms.  Dozens of games were sent out with little effect.  I believe that people who get games for free see that as the value.  I also believe that a social media post can get you followers, but rarely does it lead to sales.  What was wrong with me? I have a product people want and I can’t sell it.  The worst part is that it seems those who spend their time advertising and promoting don’t seem to care about sales and profitability. 

Then I woke up! I remember that anything you see an ad for, can’t sell on its own merits and that the advertising business is not based on selling goods anymore. It’s now based on getting more “clicks.”  I thought about the problem: who are my customers and where are they buying things?  Weed smoking games are purchased by people who smoke weed.  On that premise I devised my new strategy - sell directly to stoners.  Where are they?  Cannabis enthusiasts go to head shops, underground sessions, and really enjoy gaming.  I contacted head shops, glass stores, local underground session organizers, and did my best to connect with other weed game lovers.  This strategy worked on a very limited basis, but I was far from profitable.

It took a close friend to speak hard truth about making money and then he invested in my business.  He said buy inventory, have a large inventory waiting for big sales.  Next, he talked to me about my selling strategy.  We looked at my website, my listings on Amazon and eBay, and marketing.  He also pointed out the things I did well and told me to focus on those things, like buying games from people and individuals we had had good relationships with.  Basically, I had more work than I expected but I gladly focused on doing each one well and moving on to the next one.

First the website, it needed an update and a new look.  The new www.rollabong.com now features departments for all our merchandise and a great way to highlight our blog.  The art was new and exciting, each image became eye catching and reflected the cannabis culture.  We simplified navigation and made the site easier to use.  The Roll-a-Bong game was featured but not to the point of stopping customers from looking at our wide selection of games and gear.  I became the Roll-a-Bong Store, and it looked professional and ran smoothly.  This took the better part of a month to accomplish.

Next came the big change, we focused on selling on Amazon.  The Roll-a-Bong game listing was improved.  This helped move the game up on the internal Amazon search for weed games and stoner games, but we were still on the third page.  This didn’t help sales.  I asked friends to buy games and amazingly it worked.  For every game my friends purchased we got another sale and our listing moved up to the first page of the search.  It was working and sales had increased but I wasn’t going to make a living on it.  I got serious!  We scanned and searched our home for items we knew our kids wouldn’t want and we started to list items, 44 at last count.  With a bit of help again from my friend, we started selling wall plates that he had purchased a pallet of.

Items that couldn’t get listed on Amazon, were listed on eBay.  I didn’t stop there. I contacted every customer who had purchased games and gear to resell and offered them deals on my new inventory.  I was able to make many large sales, and we sold a huge amount of games.  I was able to sell that many games because my good friend made sure I had inventory and now it was paying off.  October ‘21 became my best month in business, it also was the month that the biggest cannabis convention was at the Javits Center in NYC.  This year’s convention featured the winners of the cannabis industry and keynote speakers talking about the amazing opportunities in the immerging cannabis juggernaut. 

I look forward to a big 2022 and I’m ready to adapt and adjust to the opportunities that present themselves.  I believe that the door-to-door salespeople understood business the best.  I believe that people want to feel special and that they aren’t just another sale.  I love helping people find their next favorite game. It’s a feeling that makes me excited every single time I buy a game: just youthful exuberance and joy!