Gordon Johansen is one of the old guards in gaming, with 35 years of experience in the games business Gordon has seen it all. Gordon and his store, the Sentry Box has seen fads come and go, weathered multiple recessions and has a wealth of expertise to share. The past 35 years has led to the current iteration of his store, a 13 000 square feet behemoth of a shop and the largest game store in the world.
I believe part of Gordon's success with the Sentry Box throughout the years has been due to his stoic and calm nature. Being an entrepreneur is one of the most difficult paths one can take through life. It's a roller coaster with lots of ups and downs and if you're not careful it can burn you out. Your passion can end up being a liability if it isn't tempered with patience and Gordon has that trait in spades.
While recording the interview we kept having connection issues and ended up dropping multiple times. Gordon took it in stride and actually helped keep me cool in the face of frustrating obstacles. This stoic attitude is a powerful tool in overcoming the difficulties we all experience, in life and business.
Some of the things we discuss:
- Getting complacent in your business and what happens
- What constant improvement means to a game store
- Playing jokes on your customers
- How to get your employees invested
- Masterminds and what they can do for your business
- The GAMA trade show and how it can help
Gordon shared so much valuable information over the course of our conversation I think this is one of the best episodes of the Manaverse Podcast so far. I definitely recommend giving this episode a listen and if you're in Calgary go check out the biggest game store in the world.