Today we’d like to introduce you to Tachmonite Butler.
Hi Tachmonite, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
When I am not struggling with the effects of depression, I enjoy playing games. The problem is where I live there are no arcades or limit access places to play trading card games. Thus, from the idea that the area in Mississippi County Arkansas could use a place for entertainment and fun, Heroes United Because of Games (H.U.B. Games) was born. H.U.B. Games is quite at the stage of being fully realized yet; it will be a location where people can find and enjoy their favorite games in a friendly location.
Where I am right now is doing a bit of research one into the number of people in the area who are interested in tabletop gaming and the best ways that my company can help serve them. I have a good idea that they want both a place to buy items, but they also want a consistent and safe place to enjoy the games they play.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has not been smooth. The biggest struggle at the moment is trying to figure out the how to obtain money to start making money. A big goal is to try to get into a storefront building in Mississippi County, AR which will in turn make getting stock a little easier to obtain (as most wholesalers of the popular games are working more with their brick-and-mortar locations). Meanwhile, I am just be gathering information on how many people in the area enjoy games and researching how H.U.B. Games can serve them as it works towards a building. Beyond that, it has been just trying to get over the mental hurdle of pushing myself forward and doing a lot of the work alone. For example, I built and managed my website alone; I designed my logo alone; and others that included learning new skills that come with it.
By keeping the end goal of making sure there is a place that others like me can enjoy games, I am chipping away at everything a little at a time. It also helps to have a strong support system lead by people like my girlfriend and the friends I made in the area who keep pushing me. Even if sometimes, I frustrate them.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about H.U.B. Games LLC?
Heroes United Because of Games, or H.U.B. Games aims to be a location where people can find and enjoy their favorite games in a friendly location. Born from the idea that the area in Mississippi County Arkansas could use a place for entertainment and fun, H.U.B. Games hopes to create that space for people who enjoy playing games. While the target audience aims to bring gamers from the trading card, board game, and role-playing game audiences together to enjoy their hobby; other gamers in the area can come and learn a new hobby they may have been curious about.
I need to say something before continuing, that there is definitely going to be an online component to the business. But, in that regard that is taking a little bit more time to get set-up since 1) I am working on everything alone while managing my full-time job, and 2) the idea of getting stock to sell online with most wholesalers wanting to work more with brick and mortar businesses keeps my focus there. After all, I can’t sell items if I cannot obtain them. The beginning stages of the online component will be a small shop where I sell some of the cards from my collection – especially the rare cards. From there, or perhaps before it, launching a livestreaming Twitch account or YouTube account to upload content for viewers.
H.U.B. Games will be a storefront building with enough space for items to be sold in-store as well as allow customers to sit and enjoy playing games in-store. It will have an online side to shopping and gaming, but it will be developed in small steps. However, until the cash flow comes in the starting point would be to find a location that is in an easy to find location – either Main Street in Blytheville, AR or Airbase Hwy in Gosnell, AR – to simply lease and do business.
Besides providing a place where the men and women can buy items, the store will have an area where people can play the trading card games, board games or RPGs they enjoy. The hardest thing about being a collector of cards that are a part of a game is finding people to play with. The shop will allow collectors to build that network of friends and bring the games they enjoy to life with others. If finding people to playing trading card games with is hard, consider finding people who enjoy a good RPG a rarity. Normally the issues that plague table-top roleplaying gamers are finding people to play the game with, a neutral place where can they gather to play, and time to play. Other than the issue of time, the store will allow people to connect with others to play in a safe and mutual place to enjoy themselves.
The ability for the store to be a hub (pun not intended) for people to gather to enjoy a good time playing games speaks to the idea that communities need recreational places that people can enjoy themselves. For the non-video game gamers, this is extremely important to have a space to enjoy your favorite hobby with others and not have to travel miles and miles away to play.
What were you like growing up?
Born and raised in New Orleans, LA; I am the oldest of my parent’s three sons. I was the overachiever in the group – I was a good student. At 19, thanks to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, my family swam (ok, we didn’t swim, but my mom, dad, 2 brothers and I – along with others in my family – were in the city during the storm) to Arkansas (deciding to stay really).
As a kid, I think that I was in a kind of weird space because of the things that interested me. I was interested growing up. I was into sports, games, video games, writing poetry, and books. I think I can safely say video games – specifically the music and the ability to play those games with family at home – were some of the happiest times in my memory.
I remember watching my dad and uncles play chess and wondered how the game worked. Eventually, my dad taught me the game, and I went on to join the chess club in high school. Chess is one of those games that even now, it gets me a little excited to play because it stretches my brain a bit.
In middle school, not to completely go too far out of order, I got into the trading card games with the Pokémon trading card game, and I only got into that thanks to the small crowd of friends I ran with at the time. I was not good at the game, but I had fun just doing something that was interesting to me. Those middle school days opened the door to the curiosity of wanting to play trading card games, but sadly, finding people near me that wanted to play regularly – and without cheating in some cases – was a difficult task. A task that still exists today and a task I hope to eliminate where I live. To keep it short, besides money to buy the cards, etc., the issue with liking tabletop games was finding people to enjoy them with you when you are an African American in a poor neighborhood.
Contact Info:
- Website: neahubgames.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NEAHUBGames
