| Stay-at-home Dad Turns Businessman, Buys Into Mobile Video Game Truck Franchise Scott Beskid said he couldn't imagine a better job than the one he has had the past eight years: stay-at-home dad for his two boys, Nathan and John. GameTruck is a customized, 33-foot-long wheelchair-accessible trailer pulled by a heavy-duty truck. "The parents are in control," Beskid said. Beskid said GameTruck also serves as a mobile classroom of sorts. "You say 'patented mobile game video theater' and people have no clue what you mean," he said. The former social worker took a giant leap into the world of business as a franchise owner of GameTruck, a fully furnished video game room that can be towed to homes for family parties or to day-care centers and schools for education al programs. He also likes being able to control his own schedule so he can remain chief day-care provider for his sons, ages 7 and 9. When Beskid and his wife, Tina, started a family, Scott cut back to part-time hours while Tina, an accountant, remained at her job full time. "But the desire to play together has never abated," Novis said. So Novis said he "envisioned creating some kind of living room where there were no barriers to play, but it had to be portable, something we could easily take to people's [homes]. Today, GameTruck has 82 units owned by 65 franchisees serving 50 major metropolitan areas. "Ohio is a great state with amazing people and strong families that love their kids. "It was a big investment, and I didn't know if it would work," Beskid said. Adding to the problem is having to educate people on precisely what he offers. There is also one PlayStation, one XB Connect with room enough for dance games and a concession window that opens access to a seventh TV facing outside for some outdoor play beneath an awning. Tina Beskid took advantage of job opportunities that moved the family around for a few years -- including some time in Mississippi, where "it's a foreign idea that a man would want to stay home to take care of the kids," Beskid said. He admits there were uncomfortable moments, but "I can small talk just as good as anyone else," he said, and he soon won over Southern moms who at first weren't sure of what to make of him. Last year, Beskid's long-unused social worker's license was coming up for renewal. That's when he started looking into a small business opportunity that would allow him to still have squirt gun fights and throw footballs to his boys on summer afternoons. GameTruck can be rented Monday through Thursday for two hours for $275. Discounted rates are available for longer rentals. Eight years later, it has become far more acceptable to be a stay-at-home dad, Beskid said. Thanks to some advertising, a lot of word of mouth and hours of cold calls to potential clients, Beskid put 13 parties under his belt in April. He and Tina looked at lots of franchise options, from senior care to food to handyman services, before settling on GameTruck. Because families use the truck on weekends, and day-cares and schools can use it during the week, he knows the job "may turn into a full-time one for me," he said, "but I'll always be able to run it from home, and I'll always know my schedule in advance. Scott Novis, founder and chief executive of GameTruck, said his idea for the business was born in 2004, when he held a birthday party for his son at a pizza arcade -- what a comedian once quipped was the equivalent of "casinos for kids. "Dads always say, 'You have the coolest job,'ââ‚ ‰" Beskid said. "I don't think they always realize what's involved, what their own wives are doing every day," he said. Stay-at-home Dad Turns Businessman, Buys Into Mobile Video Game Truck Franchise |
Tuesday, 8 May 2012
Stay-at-home Dad Turns Businessman, Buys Into Mobile Video Game Truck Franchise
