How Gaming can Inspire an Entrepreneurial Mindset

Gaming and Business

When we take the time to think about it, gaming and entrepreneurs can be linked. Whether you are a video gamer, a gamer who loves casino games, or like to play on your cell phone – they share similar qualities to an entrepreneur.

If you take the time to think about it – an entrepreneur can be compared to a gamer, not just a gamer on jackpot slots or mobile simulation games, but a hard-hitting gamer. This sounds a bit strange, but they do share similar qualities. Chasing a thrill, hustling to the next opportunity, and always keeping an eye on the prize. Today, video games can be seen as problem-solving simulators, usually something that requires both hard work and persistence. In reality, this is the same for any kind of entrepreneurial endeavor.

It is no secret that there are negative associations with video games. People often view them as a waste of time, especially young people, distracting them from the real world instead. Some view them as too excessive in terms of violence, setting a bad example. This article will discuss the different ways video games have positively impacted the next generation of entrepreneurs.

Gaming and an Entrepreneurial Mindset

1. Build a culture of ‘quick wins’ and swift moves

When you break it down, the main concept of a video game is usually designed around quick fixes and short terms with the player while maintaining engagement levels. By doing this, games instill an overall habit for success in the long run. If we compare this to an entrepreneurial mindset, in business, it is totally dominated by owners and leaders, whose responsibility, if you like, is the ‘game developer.’ They must establish and celebrate quick wins in an effort to maintain a long-term success stream for the business. This requires people to follow actions, set near-term achievable goals, and see a clear route to where to go next. Sounds familiar, right?

2. Make the concept of ‘iteration’ a part of your process

Let’s think about some of the most popular games in the gaming industry today. Assassin’s Creed, Fifa, Call of Duty, Madden, or NBA 2K20. What do they all have in common? They all practice the concept of iteration. We can see this in the development of each game, whereby each game has more successful improvements from its earlier versions.

It is likely that the developers of these games did not wait until everything was totally perfect before releasing the first editions of the games. Naturally, they have to rely on their customers’ overall utilization of the game before they can identify any areas for improvement or flaws within the gameplay, which happens continually.

If we compare it to the world of work, this is exactly what founders or CEOs of start-ups have to do. Most of them started with an idea and had to develop an iteration of their business model through trial and error. Similar to video games, success in any kind of business venture is an ongoing process rather than a static goal.

3. Save your game or start over

Playing a long-winded, story-focused game is not a short process. Entrepreneurs, much like gamers, are in a stream of spending a lot of time working, progressing, advancing, and collecting knowledge and experience as they go. Although sometimes, when playing a video game, it might be easier to start it over and change what you originally had gotten wrong, it is much harder to do this in the world of business.

Usually, the most strategic and rather obvious thing for business owners to do is to make sure they have a strong bank of backups and redundancies for important parts of their enterprise. In the same way, as in a game, you ensure you are backed up with energy, fuel, and supplies; it is also important in your business life to practice the concept of personal backups.

It is common when working that we can end up making the same mistake over and over again. Even when there are times we think: “I won’t make that mistake again,” we could very well end up failing again in a similar situation. Instead of worrying about it, we can consider how to capture these lessons or ideas and have them written down. Successful people from all walks of life and professionals from an array of industries all recognize the benefit of keeping a journal for work, similar to that of a ‘log’ in games.

In life, a lot of young people will start gaming early. It is an industry that will never die out and gets increasingly popular each year, having a net worth of $100 billion globally. Facts have shown that almost 9 out of 10 young people regularly play video games in the U.S. This can then make us question if playing games, particularly in moderation, can set a young person up for a route to an overall entrepreneurial mindset or even spark an interest in technology and computer science.

It is no secret that video games have positive qualities, whether that is increasing overall attention span, improving problem-solving capabilities and the ability to make a decision quickly, or improving memory and learning. Like all things, it should be done in moderation.