08/26/2026
I made this post on my personal page, but also wanted to take the time to post it here as well!
A year ago, I set out on journey that, on the surface, looked like an easy decision to make. Normally I find myself being able to express my words and feelings with ease, however I’ve been putting off writing this for over two weeks now. Not for any bad reason, but because I know that ultimately no matter what I type, I truly won’t be able to express and explain everything that has truly taken place over this past year. If you don’t feel like reading everything I am about to post, feel free to just cut to the last few sentences for the TLDR segment of the post where I will recap everything, for everyone else who enjoys reading my long update posts, sit back and enjoy the ride!
As we all know, one year ago I moved into a physical location to set up my own business, a card shop, while also undertaking a renovation project on a shop I called home for over a decade. Opening my own shop wasn’t a choice that was made easily, but it was something I had been working on in the background for many years. I had been buying and selling cards online since 2012, but everything truly didn’t start ramping up until 2019. I had fostered a reputation for being transparent, working with people in real time to catalog their inventory they wanted to sell and showed them in real time what each card was worth and offering the highest cash rates in the area. It grew from maybe meeting different individuals 2-3 times a month to eventually meeting people 2-4 times a week setting up acquisition deals, all of this happening in the background while working full-time. I quietly built a website, watched hundreds of hours of business management information, applied my degrees in psychology & sociology to my business practices and became a top 1% seller on TCGplayer & eBay. So, while opening a card shop might have looked like a decision I made abruptly, believe me it was not.
I want to be perfectly clear I was incredibly hesitant and nervous to take on this endeavor. While I had loads of people that supported and believed in me, I also had people that couldn’t see the vision I could or even acknowledge that what I had already accomplished was a feat already. I had people tell me I was wasting my time, that I could never build anything meaningful by selling cardboard and cardboard accessories, (a little nod to hank and his propane lol) and that what I was doing was pointless. For those of you that know me I operate and thrive based on information, facts and learning. I very rarely make any decision based off emotions; I am very much a logic-based thinker and problem solver. So even though I had people that couldn’t see what I could, no matter how much fact-based information I gave them, I didn’t let that stop me. I couldn’t blame them for not believing, as we all have personal experiences that shape us and cause us to have risk aversion. They couldn’t see the work I had poured into my knowledge pool since 2012, the concepts I developed and refined that allowed me to navigate a cut-throat field and economy successfully or the passion I had for creating something truly unique not only in Wi******er, but on a scale much larger.
When I tell you I had a plan, a vision to change every single dynamic of what a “card shop” was and could be, it would be an understatement. Even as I type this, I have plans coming to fruition that I can’t even talk about; plans that are being set in motion that will fundamentally change the course of operation and the ability at which the shop will be able to provide for the community in a way unseen before in this area. I am already beyond excited and thankful to be given the opportunities to provide such a space already for everyone to hang out and freely play whatever games they want. Knowing I’m going to be able to provide even more has made me incredibly excited beyond what I thought was possible a year ago when I first set up. If literally anyone would have told me in less than a year, I would have had Bushiroad representatives from Japan traveling to my shop to host a learn to play for their newest card IP, Palworld, I would have laughed. That wasn’t even something I could have dreamed about, to be chosen to host a demo that had a capped player capacity of 16 people, yet we had 48 people show up for the event… I got to answer questions for over an hour about the community, the passion, the desire for something bigger while also simultaneously getting to see stuff and develop plans I can’t even talk about due to the NDA I entered with Bushiroad. It’s humbling and quite honestly, still incredibly difficult for me to believe even though this event happened over two weeks ago now…
In one year, I’ve worked the hardest I ever have. I’ve poured hundreds of hours into renovating the building, reading into data analytics to pinpoint ideal days to host tournaments, developing structures in the business to allow better customer experiences, developing and curating an image that is community focused first and fully creating an image within the community that is inviting, safe and clean. I love what I do and everyone that knows me can see the passion I have for this community and the desire to create a space for everyone and a space unlike any other. I am beyond blessed to have been able to provide a space for over the past year for everyone and I know I will continue to provide this space for many years to come. At the end of the day, all we want is a place to hang out with our friends and enjoy the time we can spend together ❤️
Massive changes are coming and I cannot wait to see where another year puts us. Thank you all so much for your support and I truly appreciate all the new people I’ve got to meet and know along the way. For everyone who believed in me and could see my vision, thank you, from the bottom of my heart thank you for seeing what I could… When I can announce some of my bigger plans I will, but for now just stay tuned, because massive things are just over the horizon. I love you all, and thank you again ❤️
Enjoy the pictures showcasing all the progress we've made throughout the year ❤️
