How do i open a store?

Ceera's post needs to be a sticky.

I'm thinking it needs to be added to my New SL Resident Kit! Just logged out though so will ask her later.

I dont know really, it just seems fun!

Serious advice to those considering starting an SL business (post #15)

I've been playing around with an idea of an SL business web type thing - where people could be pointed to when they ask these types of questions.

What I was thinking of doing was almost a mini website (not just a blog, information needs to be organized) that would cover content creation in general and then people who work in various segments (fashion, prefabs, scripting, gadgets, land, textures, etc..) would fill in different areas of expertise.

Because of the large number of contributors, it would need to be done with something like Wiki software.

Thoughts?

I dont know really, it just seems fun!
I dont know really, it just seems fun!
I dont know really, it just seems fun!
I dont know really, it just seems fun!
I dont know really, it just seems fun!

YES!!! FUN!!!!!


Bringing together this and the Apartment thread and the "When did we get so mean?" thread:

I would suggest that many responses to this and the Apartment thread are fixated on the business/profit approach to SL.
There are other second lives.

Have fun!

That is why it is recommended that she go out and have fun before opening a business. It is for her own good that she learn more, before becoming a disgruntled business owner wanting to quit the game in 3 weeks after no sales.

I dont know really, it just seems fun!
I dont know really, it just seems fun!
I dont know really, it just seems fun!
I dont know really, it just seems fun!
I dont know really, it just seems fun!

YES!!! FUN!!!!!


Bringing together this and the Apartment thread and the "When did we get so mean?" thread:

I would suggest that many responses to this and the Apartment thread are fixated on the business/profit approach to SL.
There are other second lives.

Have fun!

I dont know really, it just seems fun!
I dont know really, it just seems fun!
YES!!! FUN!!!!!

Bringing together this and the Apartment thread and the "When did we get so mean?" thread:
I would suggest that many responses to this and the Apartment thread are fixated on the business/profit approach to SL.
There are other second lives.
Have fun!

I dont know really, it just seems fun!

I own several successful businesses in SL. I make a profit here every month. And I work my tail off to do it. I make clothes, I build, I script, I terraform... I even create whole sims. It took me over a year to build my businesses to where they always made me a profit, and after more than two years it still isn't even close to earning me a full-time wage. I put in 20 to 30 hours a week and earn very little more than I would with a part-time minimum-wage second job. (Though the work is a lot more fun than flipping burgers!) Out of the MILLIONS of people who play SL, only 2 to 4 percent make a profit regularly, and less than half of that actually make a living working in SL full-time. Just a few thousand people out of well over 10 MILLION accounts!

Yes, you can certainly make things and sell them with no real intention of making a profit. But this article assumes that you don't want to spend hours of effort and work just to lose money!

Building a successful business in Second Life is no different than building one in real life. It takes lots of time, and effort and skill, and a certain amount of luck and good timing, to make it work. It also almost always requires an up-front investment of real money.

You can't be successful by buying a "Business in a box" and just throwing it up in one corner of a cheap mall. Those are rip-offs aimed at innocent dupes, almost always selling you stuff that is available free. It's like the people in real life (RL) that will sell you a "Business idea starter kit" that is nothing more than a list of postal addresses and web sites for free information on how to start a business, from government websites and offices. As others implied, those who pay for a "Business in a box" soon find they are one of thousands of other poor suckers selling exactly the same low-quality items, that any experienced Player will avoid like the plague. If these products were really so successful, the person offering them would be running those stores and raking in the profits themselves, and not selling the "great money making idea" to others.

Be aware also that using real-world brands, logos, and copyrighted material is illegal, unless you have a license from the company that owns those copyrights and trademarks. Yes, you'll see people selling "Nike Shoes" or other merchandise based on copyrighted game characters or bands... just like you'll find street corner vendors in big cities selling shoddy knock-off of name-brand merchandise that aren't licensed. Go to a flea market in the real world and you're likely to find quite a few low-priced items with Disney characters or other popular images, but that are made in Mexico or China, illegally and without license to do so. It's still illegal. DON"T DO IT.

So, how do you really do it? How do you be a business success in SL?

First, you need to spend enough time in SL to get to know what the market is like. Shop. Travel. Play. Make friends. Get to know what is already available, and what people like to spend money on. Part of that is learning the sorts of things YOU would be willing to spend money on. In this period, be prepared to whip out your own credit card and purchase a supply of L$ with real money, (or pay for a Premium membership so you get 80% of that fee back as a weekly allowance, called a stipend) so you have some initial funds to start with. Do your market research, while you have fun just *playing* in SL.

Next, learn the skills that people pay for, and that match your initial training and background and interests.

* Making textures requires artistic talent, and skill with graphics applications, like Photoshop.

* Building requires skill in using the in-world building tools - a skill you can only get good at with hours and hours of practice in-world, and which benefits from skill as a texture artist (so you can make your own custom textures) or access to purchased texture sets.

* Does fashion interest you? Making clothes in SL requires both a knowledge and skill in fashion design and skills as a texture artist and in some cases as a builder (prim shoes, skirts, and other prim clothing parts).

* Being a scripter requires skill as a programmer, using the LSL programming language. Many products in SL will benefit from adding scripts that you write. (door and window scripts, animation scripts, etc...)

* Custom animations and pose balls. A very specialized area. Requires external software that can make animation files.

None of these skills are anything you're likely to develop overnight. Take the time to practice these skills, and practice making all sorts of things. You may be surprised how difficult it is to make an apparently simple item. Or you may find you have a real knack for making something else. Be prepared to spend MONTHS learning to do a task well.

Then, find a niche that you think you can do well in. Is there an existing product that you can do better than what is currently on the market? Is there and item that you'd love to buy, or that your friends would love to buy, but that you just can't find, in spite of extensively searching for it? Anyone can make a simple T-shirt, and MILLIONS do. Competition in areas that have a lot of other merchants will make it very difficult to be a success, unless your product is different or better in some way.

Then, and only then, make a bunch or products. Price them competitively, based on your market research. then rent some space in SEVERAL malls, or buy land in at least two sims and set up your own stores. Visibility and advertising are very important, just like in the real world. Very few customers will come to your residential-area home to buy an item hidden under your bed. But if your products are available in a lot of malls or shops, especially if those locations are well-advertised and get lots of paying customers going through them (NOT camping chair zombies!), you'll get a lot more sales. They can't buy your stuff if they never see it.

Good luck!

=========== Other ways... ===========

There are other ways to earn some L$ in SL without an extensive skill set. But virtually all of those require a large amount of time investment, and many also have up-front costs.

Camping? There are places that will pay newbies to sit in chairs or on dance pads. It's a scam to inflate the 'popularity' rating for a store or business, and pays the equivalent of a few pennies per hour. You pay more for the electricity to run your computer, and even a minimum-wage job in the real world pays far more per hour.

Dancing, strippers, escort services? People will pay to watch your avatar dance, most often nude, or to have virtual sex with them. Requires a willingness to behave that way with strangers. (Do you REALLY want to be a stripper or a prostitute?) Requires an up-front investment in high-cost skins and clothes and hair, to get good tips. May require that you provide custom animations or pose sets to entertain your clients. And a minimum-wage job in the real world still pays far more per hour.

DJ's, Musicians, entertainers of other sorts. There are in-world classes, or 'club schools', where in a few hours and for a fee you can learn the basics for being a DJ or doing similar work. Sort of like attending a "Bartender school" in RL. You still have up-front costs, you still have to have talent as an entertainer, and you need to find a place that will hire you. Expect long hours and low pay, unless you are very unique and entertaining.

Real Estate? Some people make a lot of money buying low and selling high in the land market, or buying land and renting it to others, It requires a large, high-risk cash investment and LOTS of time to dabble in Real Estate, just like in the real world.

There are other ways to earn money as well, but I've listed most of the ones people encounter. To find others, you'll have to look around and learn how SL works.

You are right, Sling - there are other second lives, but don't you presume to tell people which one they should choose. And don't you presume to tell people that they should have fun instead of doing something that they would like to do. One person's fun is another person's boredom.

The OP asked a simple question and got answers. It is for her to decide what she wants to do, and not for anyone else to judge. For some people, SL is a business; for others it's all about music, dancing and socialising; for yet others it's about learning how to make things, script and create animations, etc. So don't judge others. You do it your way, and don't judge or criticise others for doing it differently. If you feel the need to post, be helpful, or don't post. And definitely don't poke fun at people who ask perfectly valid questions.

Unlike your false claim, I actually DID bring the "When did we get so mean" thread into this one.

And, btw, there is absolutely nothing wrong with being "fixated on the business/profit approach to SL." SL is a place where good RL money can be made, and using it as such is perfectly good.

Hello everyone,

I just signed up for second life. Can someone tell me how to open my own little store? I see alot of people have their own shops and i've looked on the forums and FAQs for a instructions and all i see is how to buy vacant land. Any help would be much appreciated, thanks!

Hi Carissa. Welcome to SL!

Okiphia summed up the basics of starting a business in SL in the post right after yours. Most of the rest are simply opinions based on there own experiences perhaps. If you feel you are ready to take the plunge into starting a business then go for it. If you have the right skills then you may be an instant success, if you fail then you will learn from those mistakes and hopefully succeed. Some of us learn better by failing and trying again. I wish you the best on your new endeavor. Goodluck.

Phil, I agree with your general comments in this thread, but I do not think that Sling was mocking anyone - in fact - he had much the same approach in encouraging as you did.

~Snowman~

By all means, if anyone wants to include my mini-article from this thread in a new residents kit, you have my permission to do so.

Phil completely and totally misread my post.

Marry Christmas to you too! Oooh, following your smooooooch, I edited my post to refer to you as "she" and not "he".....

If I did, then I apologise, but it was very easy to misunderstand.

Because of a "smooooooch" ?????
Hey... I could be a gay guy.
Maybe I am a "he".

Meaning no disrespect to gay guys, but at the same time pandering to the homophobics .....
... be afraid ..... be careful .....be very careful