July felt like it flew by. We are in the slower part of the year for the business. Summer, especially late summer and the back-to-school season, usually brings a slowdown in sales.

We felt that the most in Manhattan, which we expected with many college students out of town for the summer. Manhattan sales were down about $25,000 compared to last month, while Shawnee sales were up about $4,000.

Even with the slowdown, we are still making strong progress toward our yearly goal.

Sales Update

Our sales goal for the year is $3.5 million.

At the end of June, we were at $1,444,899.53, or 41.28% of our goal.

At the end of July, we are now at $1,745,733.00, or 49.88% of our goal.

That means we moved $300,833.47 closer to the goal this month and increased our progress by 8.60 percentage points. We are now only $4,267 away from reaching the halfway point of our yearly goal.

Here is the current sales breakdown, sorted from highest to lowest:

Cash Flow

July put some strain on cash flow. We had a lot of bills come through, and because of that, we did have to turn off trades for a short period.

This is ideal because buying and trading are such a major part of what we do, but I will always prioritize paying you all over customers

I also want to start giving more context about where the money goes. Sales numbers are exciting, but that money does not simply sit in the bank.

Every month, we have major expenses such as:

• $15,000 per week in payroll
• $10,000 per month in rent
• Around $60,000 per month in credit card bills
• 10% of store sales going to Kansas for sales tax
• Around 33% of Amazon sales going toward Amazon fees and related costs
• Daily inventory purchases from customers
• Convention buying budgets that are often $20,000 or more per show

Growth is exciting, but growth also requires a lot of cash. That is why staying organized, processing quickly, reducing waste, and keeping inventory moving matter so much.

Southeast Game Exchange

We went to Southeast Game Exchange this month, and it was a great time. We spent a lot and sold a lot, which helps keep inventory moving while allowing us to restock the stores and our online sales channels.

Road to a Nerd Nation Warehouse

As we talked about last month, we are quickly running out of space in Shawnee. If we want Nerd Nation to continue growing, we need more room for inventory, processing, shipping, storage, and everything else happening behind the scenes.

We have started looking into options for purchasing a warehouse or buying land where we could eventually build one. The early numbers are extremely high and, honestly, a little scary. This would be a massive investment, but it is also something we will likely need if we want to keep moving the business forward.

Thomas is starting a new YouTube series documenting our journey toward making that happen. The plan is to begin setting money aside and then grow that money through buying and flipping items, with the long-term goal of eventually purchasing a warehouse or land to build one.

The series will show the wins, the challenges, what we buy, what we sell, and how the warehouse fund grows over time. It should be a really fun way to document the process while giving everyone a behind-the-scenes look at one of our biggest future goals.

You should definitely check it out. It is going to be awesome, and every view, like, comment, and share will help support the series and Nerd Nation’s continued growth.

Lack of Inventory

We have started to notice that the shelves in the back are getting a little slim, so I am continuing to focus on buying more inventory to make sure processing has enough product to keep moving.

Hiring and Team Updates

This month, we had three main positions open: manager, console processor, and retail associate.

We filled the console processor role, and Daylan will be stepping into that position. Shoutout to him for taking that on.

Hiring has been rough. We will sometimes schedule interviews with 10 or more people, and then almost nobody shows up. It has been frustrating, but we are going to keep pushing.

We also hired Simeon as our warehouse manager. He is helping get the back of house more organized and making sure we have the supplies we need. If there is something you are constantly running out of, please let him know so he can help get it on a regular ordering schedule.

Susie was also hired as a game cleaner. Shoutout to Susie for helping clean games and keep product moving.

Manhattan and Shawnee

Manhattan had a slower month, which was expected with students being gone for the summer. I am hopeful that sales will begin picking back up as school starts again, students return, and K-State football brings more people into town.

Shawnee had a stronger month and continues to be our biggest sales channel. Shawnee is currently at $560,831 for the year, which is something the team should be proud of.

What’s Coming Up in August

August is going to be busy.

We are launching the Nerd Nation $1K Speedrun Shopping Spree Sweepstakes. Customers can enter for free through our website for a chance to win up to $1,000 in merchandise. The winner will have 10 minutes to shop.

Entries close August 30, and the drawing will take place August 31. Purchases and trade-ins are not required and do not provide additional entries. Staff should direct interested customers to the giveaway QR code or website. The website will be posted in announcements when ready. Staff is not eligible to enter.

Our next whatnot show is Wednesday, August 5 at 6:00 p.m. Central.

Our Back-to-School Power Sale runs August 21–23 at both Shawnee and Manhattan.

Sale details:

We are also working on improving our website further. This includes updated buylist offers, clearer condition guidelines, improvements to mail-in trade-ins, and more promotion around customers building batches online and mailing their items to us.

Other upcoming updates include cards for sale on the website, the new Nerd Nation mascot, and a larger email push focused on the giveaway, trade-ins, Whatnot, online card sales, and the Back-to-School Power Sale.

Looking Ahead

July had its challenges, but we are still moving forward. We are now at 49.88% of our $3.5 million goal and only $4,267 away from reaching the halfway point.

The next few months are going to be important. We need to keep buying inventory, processing quickly, staying organized, improving cash flow, and preparing for the stronger sales months later in the year.