This is a continuation of last week’s post on business lessons that you learned from gaming- even if you didn’t realize what you did. Let’s hop in to the list!

Play to your strengths

Personally, I prefer improving upon strengths and outsourcing work you’re weak at to others. That’s not always possible with limited resources but if the opportunity presents itself, play to your strengths. Why would a mage go to the gym when it would do more to practice reading spellbooks? Similarly, would you really say a druid should focus on their gunsmithing? No!

As I said in the section on training and upgrades, your strengths are what got you to where you are today. They’ll probably be what pushes you higher in the future. Since you earlier took the time to think through your strengths, now is the time to think about what you could do that really plays to your strengths. For me, it’s getting a job where I can spend my day interacting with others and not doing creative writing. If you find the things you’re good at and love doing you’ll really improve your productivity. You know those tasks that you hate and take up all of your energy? Someone else loves doing that kind of work and is great at it. Pay them some money to do it for you when needed and play to your personal strengths to earn that income to pay them.

Min/Max

I have spent an unfortunate amount of time debating the merits of different stat weightings in an RPG. I do it because I love thinking through what I could do to produce an optimal outcome. Is it better as a healer to make sure I never run out of mana or to give myself the chance to have the highest throughput? Is it better to design my character to end a fight early or for sustained dps?

The categories I like to look at for min/max control are income, expenses, and perks. Income and expenses we covered earlier and it’s basically making sure that you’re getting what you want from your work and making sure you’re not overspending to do it. While you can write off expenses before doing your taxes it is still better to have fewer expenses, if nothing else for the flexibility. The perks piece is more interesting and is a wide open area. Can you put business expenses on a reward card? Are there companies that might give you a free piece of equipment or game because of your prominence?

This comes in to your business in a couple of ways. First, you can analyze if there are activities that you do that you don’t need to be doing or if there are some that you should start doing. Next, it could help guide you on some skills that might help you out. Finally, if you put in the time to record the stats of your business you’ll have a good starting point to do your min max work.

Be aware of upkeep

If you haven’t played Warcraft III, take a peek at this link. Upkeep was a feature that took a percentage of your gathered resources based on your army supply. Essentially, the more things that you have going on the more income that is lost to administrative costs. When you’re a one-man or one-woman shop you only need a small apartment, an internet connection, and maybe a six pack of beer. Once there are others in the picture you need to make time to spend with them (often costs money) and a bigger living space. Note: I fully advocate spending time with other people I just mean the costs can go up!

So be aware that your lifestyle has a tendency to expand over time. Things that used to be luxuries are now expected and you find that suddenly even your increased pay is barely covering it all. While it’s not as simple to change your lifestyle as it is to change army supply you should still be aware of the phenomenon.

Your upkeep also comes in to play with taxes. The more you earn the more you’re taxed, meaning at some point it flips from an annoyance to being worth it to pay someone to help you save money. Keep an eye on how much you’ll be on the hook for—it can surprise you as you find success.

Cover your ass

This one is generally true, but you certainly learn this concept from gaming. You know what really sucks? Making an awesome push in Dota only to get backdoored by an enemy you weren’t paying attention to or not noticing that suddenly the other team isn’t on the minimap. I’ve made nonchalant decisions in Darkest Dungeon, without fully thinking through the potential consequences, which have cost me the entire run. It’s frustrating, to be sure, but can be dealt with.

You need to make sure you have basic protections in place to prevent relatively common occurrences from being disastrous. Some of it should be insurance and some of it should just be savings. Buy auto insurance if you drive, renter’s insurance if you rent, health insurance because you’re human, and build up an emergency fund to cover anything those don’t cover. Document and sign any agreements you make with a contractor or sponsor that states the work to be done, the timeframe, and the cost. That way you are less likely to get screwed. While it’s nice to focus on the upside it’s also really important to stop the downside from biting you in the ass.

Be end-game focused

Side quests are fun but you don’t win until you kill the end boss. You need to prepare for that fight and get all of the things you need to make it go smoothly. If you aren’t prepared for ending the game then odds are… you won’t end the game!

What does this mean for your business? First, it means knowing what the end game is. We discussed that a bit when talking scouting. What are you aiming for? Is it a huge business that brings in tons of money and has a bunch of people involved? Is it just you earning enough income to stay happy while you get to do a job you love? The right answer is your answer.

So once you have that vision of the end game in place you need to prepare for what that means. If it’s just going to be you, then you’re 100% self-reliant and 100% responsible for all of the work. Focus on setting up systems and tools that let you do what you need to do without burning yourself out. If you’re going to have a big team, then you need to prep for bringing on people and teaching them to do what you want them to do.

It also comes in to play when tuning the message to your audience. If you always intend to be the small stream where you know every viewer, then you’re not talking the same empire building you would be if you planned on expanding well beyond that. Make sure your audience knows what you’re hoping for so they know what to expect moving forwards!

The tilt is real

Life can throw shitty situations your way. Often, the outcome you get is determined heavily by the approach and attitude you take in solving the problem. Hearthstone, more than almost any other game I’ve played, tilts me. I rage. I get really pissed… and then I make bad decisions. I throw good money after bad, in a sense. It can cause me to burn out on the game and miss opportunities to have fun with friends or fun just in the competition.

If you notice it, acknowledge the tilt and take some time away as you can to help calm down. A contractor will screw something up or a troll will tip and then try to charge back after you’ve spent the money. There’s nothing you can do to change what just happened so you need to focus on how you are going to handle the problem. Will screaming and stomping help? Probably not. Just like in gaming if you take the time to cool down and think through your options you’re much more likely to make better business and money decisions. You will get tilted in business and you can control how you react to it.

A guide helps

While she was annoying, Navi sure did help me get through Ocarina of Time more quickly. My brother can be annoying, but he played Knights of the Old Republic before I did and was able to give me some great quality of life tips. I don’t think Luke has any shot on the Death Star without Obi-Wan and Yoda’s teachings.

Seek out someone to help you with your endeavors. That could be someone you pay as a coach or expert, a friend who has walked the path before you, or a mentor who specifically has worked in your field. If you’re part of a team you have some natural potential allies. If not, look for other streamers you admire and get to know them. Don’t go it alone!

Conclusion

Same as last time- gaming teaches you to manage a whole bunch of things at once while dealing with competition. That’s exactly the kind of challenge that can teach you awesome lessons for running your own business and your own finances. Take some time to reflect on what helps make you great at games and see if you can apply it to your business. If you have any other pieces I missed, or want to ask a question on this, leave a comment!