sell, learning the ropes. They didn’t rent permanent space at Towers since the wall owners wanted them to sign a very long lease. Later, though, they were offeredbusiness space by the Confederation Court Mall, which needed stores to fill its space following recent renovations. The partners were guaranteed a space, but since it was under construction they spent much of the summer months working out of a stand in a corner of the mall. This had advantages, though. This location gave them good exposure and was cheaper to rent than actual storespace. As the tourists rolled in, business bounced, and they increased their inventory greatly. Eventually, they moved downstairs into their very own storespace, where

they have continued to expant their inventory and _

pick up customers. now, healthy.

"The Comic Hunter" is, for

Its more or less a success story, so far anyway, and one might wonder what the secret of the success in this case is. Jeff laughs about it when I ask. There are a lot of things that contributed to it, he thinks. Experience helped a bit, as Jeff was once a sort of junior parner in an earlier business. Although it failed, this experience gave him some knowledge of business pracites. They were lucky enough to find a good location, and to obtain a healthy loan for their business. They were starting up at a time when the Confederation Court Mall needed businesses. They were lucky enough to build up their inventory by buying up the stock of the defunct Darkside Comics, and finding other collectors items here and there, and buyers and investors willing to purchase them. So, | asked him, their success might then be based on timing and lulck as opposed to fiscal master-minding? He laughs and says "that’s a pretty good interpretation. We'll become fiscal masterminds later."

However, he assures me that he and Mike "...aren’t stupid!". There are important methods and ideas that have helped them get their business going. He said that they were really confident, and very certain of what shape their business would take, so he seems to think vision is important. They've been committed to the project, sinking their cash and all their time into the idea, working sixt -

hour weeks. "I just work all the time," he says. "It's crazy!" The work, though, seems to pay off, and that’s something he emphasizes. "I’m not a brainy person," He assures me. "I’m convinced that you get a lot through hard work, but it has to be efficient work. It has to have a purpose." Another thing he stresses is to know what you sell, as knows comics. That’s so important. "Knowledge," he says, "is what you're selling." Also, he stresses that if you can’t handle everything involved in running the business, find someone who can. For instance, as they have difficulty keeping track of. their books, they've since hired an accountant. "You ahve to be ready for growth," he believes. Finally, everyting taken into account, a little luck is always helpful. "We've had the right things happen at the right times,” he says.

As for what his future plans are, Jeffs sort of cagey about that. For one thing, he plans to return to school and finish his education, perhaps as a part-time student during the slow winter months of business. The store is currently his main concern, but not his only one. While he plans on continuing school, though he also plans to continue exploring the business world. He considers this store a project, an experience from which to learn. For now he’s devoting all lhis energies to making this the highest quality store he can develop. If and when - it’s a complete success, he may start parcelling some of his duties out to employees, and go on to a new project,perhaps making use of profit and experience from this project to start a new project of some sort. What sort of project, he has in mind he didn’t say, so I simply interpreted this as plans for a future venture. "Yeah, ’venture’,” he says. "That’s a good vague term. Don’t let them (the competition) know anything!" While the future is still in the top secret planning stages, though, for now Jeff's plans are clear, as he and his partner Mike direct all their efforts to making the "Comic Hunter" the best bookstore they can run.

October 4, 1990

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