Coaching Lessons Found at 2018 Minefaire in Houston, Texas

This last weekend, I took my son to the 2018 Official Minecraft Community Event - Mainfaire at the NRG Center in Houston, Texas. At first I thought to myself "nerdfest", and that by attending this event with my son, it covered my responsibilities of raising him for the next year. I am a person that studies behavior and learns through observance, and what I discovered was I was smack dab in the middle of my next coaching case study. In the end, I had a greater appreciation of the "gamer" community, and I realized in the end Minecraft is one beautifully executed business.

UnspeakableGaming, his real name Nathan, currently has 4.6 million viewers. So what you need to realize is that these individuals capitalize on the number of eyeballs that view their videos, and how they capitalize is through ad placement by major companies that benefit from the marketing associated with the videos. More views, more money. His estimated net worth according to one site on the internet, and we know everything on the internet is true, is just shy of $2 Million. Wow...for playing video games. Yet wait a second, is this guy getting paid just to play video games, or is there something more here.

The more and more I looked at these individuals, I saw successful business people that just happen to be playing in the gaming world; a mega industry across all age groups. Here are my takeaways:

1. Passion and Fun - I heard this often from the stages and from the YouTube stars whether it was in word or their actions. It is hard to be successful at something if you don't have a passion for pursuing it at a high level. It should not feel like work rather play. Are you passionate about what you are doing as a business owner?
2. It's About the Merch - It may or may not be as my guess is more money is made from a video going viral and ad sales. Though we dropped a quick $20 for the Unspeakable shirt to be signed by Nathan after waiting in a long @#$ line for over 2 hours. What it made me realize is that each of these individuals had multiple income streams. Yes their was the primary business of building content, yet many of these individuals were successful in creating other streams of income as a result of their ONE Thing.
3. Be Humble. Be Kind. Share. - Every individual that my son was able to meet where humble people, kind, and they were willing to share what has made them successful. No wonder they all had such huge followings on YouTube. They were likable, and they were willing to pour into others that followed their passion of gaming.
4. In and Out - Do these people have systems? Absolutely. In the meet and greet lines, systems were in place to move people through as quickly as possible while selling them lots of merch and each individual getting to meet the YouTube star. Without systems trying to accomplish something at this level would be a large cluster. I noticed throughout the day, everything operated off a calendar of events that were executed with precision. Getting people in/out indicated the importance of systems and planning.
5. Deliver Value - Lastly, I noted the delivery of value. The value in this case was taking my son to a fun, family-oriented event that provided a place to learn and grow. My son said it was one of the funnest events we've ever done together. Obviously my son is a "gamer". Are we delivering value at this level in our businesses? Are people saying, "That was the greatest experience ever"? Or, do we just offer enough to get by, and play the game of mediocrity? Always, always, always make sure your value level is where it needs to be successful in your business. 

There is always things we can take away from our experiences even events like Minefaire. My encouragement to those that have read this far is to be observant, be a student, and there is a lot that life can teach those who are open to the opportunity. Enjoy some of the other photos below from the event.