Hey all. I have noticed several posts on the forum in the 9 months that I've been here, where people get upset and leave DE if their business doesn't end up being a smashing success. While everyone hopes their business is a success, the truth is, the majority of them, even the most successful ones, are dead a good bit of the time. I hate that people take it so personally.

Running a business in DE isn't easy....it isn't something that anyone else is going to come flocking to and decide to build their story around....it is YOUR story. Many times, the place will have a great turn out at a grand opening and then rarely see another person stop in.

I would like to start this thread as some advice for future business owners and hope that others will chime in.

A few basic suggestions from me about business in DE...these are simply my opinions and I"m sure there will be people who don't agree with me. I believe in being upfront about things and don't find a need to hide behind any rose colored glasses:

This one might get me in trouble: If you struggle to find role play for yourself before you have a business, owning a business is probably going to be a waste of your time, unless you are in it for the long haul and don't mind waiting...a lot. This may sound harsh, but I believe it to be the truth. I think, in most cases, it takes someone with a really outgoing role play strategy to make a DE business work. Someone who is able to go out and find reasons and ways to drag people back to their business, and is able to come up with creative ways to make them come back. If you are someone who waits for role play to come to you, then you might be waiting a long time....

If you are a sensitive person and will feel like people are not participating because they don't like you....then owning a business may not be for you. The truth is, people are busy...they only have limited amount of time online. There are so many people that I want to play with and so many stories out there waiting to happen, that I find it very hard to hit a bunch of businesses for the hell of it. I try, when I can. And usually it's when I have some sort of IC reason to be there. Again, I can only stress the importance of the fact that your business is not going to be a part of the story for anyone else, in most cases, unless you find a way to make it happen. Yes, we have an obligation to try to support each other...but there are a lot of people on the sim, and we can't be everywhere at once. And, generally, we go where people have drawn us.

I think I'll leave my opinions at that for now. It's just frustrating to see others frustrated, and I hate that it happens....but I'm a firm believer in the fact that you're in charge of your own story...and though it saddens me when I realize that I didn't really participate in rp with someone when they announce their departure, and start to feel some guilt over it...I usually realize that they never really tried to start anything ICly with me either. IC persistence is key to owning a successful business in DE.