"Anyone run your own convention?" Topic

I attended a small new one last weekend and I was reminded of how much I want to put on one.

Im curious if you need to form a LLC, be insured and what all it takes

I ran JohnnyCon 2.5 one time. As that is more of a social club meeting than true con I didn't have an LLC or any insurance (beyond my personal liability insurance).

Depending on the scale you're talking about, an LLC is overkill (and of dubious value anyway). Many venues provide insurance as part of the rental or as an upgrade.

What you really need is a lot of time and passion to get good GMs to run games, and to promote it non-stop.

In the UK as far as I understand a venue should have an LLC before they can offer their venue to others for an event.

Whether they charge the event holders for it is another question.

We've been running our show for 3 years now, this year being our 4th event: battlegroundshow.co.uk

Our current venue have their own event insurance so anyone can hire the place for an event without needing extra cover. The previous venue had limited insurance in place so we paid for extra cover there.

Also, our Pendraken company insurance has our show included in it, so we're covered on both fronts.

what about taxes on the income generated?

I ran three at Bushy Run in the past two years. Hopefully we will have another one this year.

Shakespear, where are you located? I am the lawyer for a convention in California and would be happy to talk with you offline.

Im in Mississippi

Shake,

kyoteblue is on the right track. An educational non-profit would be your best bet if you are worried about taxes long-term. Likewise, a non-profit Corp is a must for liability purposes. I'm a CPA and I strongly suggest you find a good one who can walk you through the pitfalls of the endeavor.

Ran cons for years. Never an LLC, no insurance (venue
provided). Profit ?!?!? What's that !!???

Just keep good outgo/income records and you'll probably
at best break even. If you do have a surplus, donate it
to an organization which provides you with a tax write-
off.

Ed Mohrmann is correct. I've run THE WEEKEND for the past seven years. No LLC, venue provides insurance, AND tables, AND chairs, No profit, run entirely for the games and in fact we desire no profit, so long as we can run our conventions and cover expenses we are happy. In fact, we only have a hundred or two carry over from convention to convention, and there's no disbursement so no profit.

I will say the one thing you have to have is labor to do the work of coordinating. That's considerable and you need three or four guys who are going to pitch in. You also have to have them willing, in case you don't get enough "gate" to cover expenses to pony up any shortfall, which, in our case, is tiny when it happens.

GM's are no problem, we have lots of them, many of them disgruntled ones from HMGS.

We don't have a dealers area, but are thinking of adding one in 2017. We have plenty of space (more than 8,000 sq ft). We probably won't charge them anything to come if they take a room at the hotel, which goes against our bill. That's important. You want a hotel that will credit the number of rooms you take against the bill. That cuts down the expenses a LOT. That's why we don't charge admittance to the convention unless you are a walk in or stay at a different hotel.

If we can get enough dealer interest we won't be charging them money either, we figute that Dealers, like GM's provide the fun of a convention experience and are just as valuable to that as games and game masters.

The emphasis at "THE WEEKEND" is on friends, gamers, food, fellowship, games, having a good time, laughs, and socializing. We do have several dealers attending now, but they don't bring stuff to sell, they come just for the games and the fun. This is why HMGS hates us. We're everything they're not.

Love THE WEEKEND!

I did back n the 80's. Called Wargamers Weekend in Newburyport Mass. Twice a year. If I recall we did about 14 total.

Chris

While it sounds enticing setting up a non-profit can be costly, is time consuming and comes with a great deal of regulation and reporting requirements (not to mention it is no sure thing anymore). Setting up a simple company is much easier in the long run and despite the specter of taxes not all that expensive nor complicated to run.

Depending on State laws and the contract with the facility, as many here have mentioned, insurance is figured in by the hosting site. Tables and chairs can be spelled out in the contract but be aware that many, for places like hotels, are not suitable for miniatures (they are round tables meant for dinners, weddings and the like), so you may have to augment with rentals.

What it does take, most of all, are some dedicated individuals to take care of the details. Without folks willing to donate their time and hard work the effort goes nowhere. It also takes round pegs for round holes, expertise does matter. We are fortunate at HMGS-South to have some experts donate their time. For example our Treasurer is an accountant and our Web Master a programmer.

One way to dip your toe in is to organize a game day. Maybe 2 sessions in 8 hours and use a local library's spaces or community center. Perhaps check into your local church or social club. No need to incorporate, insurance over overly complicated organization and give you a taste for what a larger undertaking will require. Also allows you to grow some expertise.

Dear Mark 3354

I once worked with a local group putting on a convention and they had a problem when they found a nice hotel and place to have it. They had he same problem with round tabled. I told them that they could use the round tables by buying six 4 x 8 sheets of thin 1/4 luan plywood and having them cut in half to make twelve 4 x 4 sheets which could be put over the joint between two round tables thus creating a large oval with flattened sides. Tale cloths fit fine over the seam and there was only a small bump and they then had twelve tables. The sheets could be stored easily in anyone's garage, and they worked fine. They said that the rounded ends made great platforms for setting up and holding troops and cans and drinks etc.

You are correct though. The thing you need is not money, but help in doing the grunt work.

Ran 2 Ancient Tournament conventions 15 years ago. No Insurance, no LLC. all profit went into buying pizza for attendees.

Lots of work, lots of fun.

Xin/Jeff