04/07/2025
Hey everyone, this is Russell, proprietor of this side business and this news has been a long time coming.
First of all, I would like to thank all the people for reaching out. I know that a lot of people have gone unanswered yet still and I need to clear the air on that. I know it has to be frustrating to not get an answer back. I apologize. I have been absolutely floored by the support and amount of inquiries I get, for better and for worse.
Let me give you all some context.
I am a disabled q***r person with ADHD and a college dropout from Missouri Western thanks to the strenuous work at UPS I needed to commit to in order to survive back through 2014-2019. I could not have both the ability to make rent, and succeed in my degree, so it hasn't helped me being unlucky with work and my ability to find stability in the job market since.
Essentially, I am wholly unequipped to serve the quantity of work needed by the community full-time and the demand is so extremely high I can't even consider doing this part time. Part-time as a side job is what this originally started out as while I was job hunting after exiting Target at the Tech Department, a job and environment frankly a real show of garbage as could be expected from retail, back in November 2023. You may have recognized me as the long haired person that used to work there, especially with the elderly. I was unemployed until March 2024 when I gained employment as an Inside Parts Technician at Snorkel in Elwood, KS until I was laid off with many employees end of October 31, 2024. I was unemployed for another month fighting with unemployment to no end and had been employed at solar company Brightergy as a Market Development Specialist up until last month of March. I have lost my job 3 times in 2 years and am currently unemployed seeking employment.
I have also had the displeasure of my main car of several years have its thermostat stop working intermittently, posing an overheating risk to my engine, forcing me to have bought a new car to make sure I get to my last job that I just lost. For my old car though, that means a coolant flush and some good wrenchwork to remove the thermostat housing, and fix it, and while I'm at it replace the wiring harnesses in my vehicle as there is a short in the circuit. Besides draining the coolant, I haven't been able to work on this over the winter.
On top of all the contacts I get related to this work I have also been on the receiving end of dozens of sales calls and supplier sales messages. My voicemail box that can keep up to 20 messages has been regularly flooded, and I certainly haven't been taking all of my messages so far.
The pressure I've been put up against is immense, and my passion can only do so much when my back has been against the wall. I've had a lot of things fall apart on me, myself included. It's been a mess, whether it was a good mess I cannot say, but I know I am not well and stable. So I hope you understand all this, and you might forgive me for not answering your call or message. It's been a mess. For the time being, I simply cannot do this anymore. It is unfeasible for me to commit to this unless I did this full-time as a small, locally-owned business and expanded the variety of operations, such as to being a game store that served tabletop and card games and local sales.
While I do know a few business owners who may be able to help me put together a business plan document in order to seek a business loan and open up shop, it is by no means something I've been chasing especially under the current administration tanking the market and imposing extreme taxes we all have to pay on imports, which includes parts and all things video games, amongst other things. As someone who knows business and sales, I know I have to protect my time, so I didn't waste my time doing so as I made a bet on the bad future we're currently seeing unfold, and unfortunately I made that bet correctly.
So what does that leave for this, for me, for you, for the future?
I need to:
Secure another job, quickly.
Work out the wall that is unemployment, again.
Complete existing work, and put together some posts here to document some of the work I've done as proof that once upon a time I really did this.
Communicate to all folks who have been waiting on a response my thoughts on your needed work, and refer you all to CPR Cell Phone Repair of Leavenworth, KS. They are the closest local shop that can do this, and they do some good work on game consoles and consumer electronics, including HDMI Repairs. Support them, they will need it.
A few more professional development items, including a blog, which I may consider dropping here in the future.
And maybe, just maybe, make a plan to relaunch this in the future after everything shakes out. After we survive.
If anyone has any job leads and would be willing to send them my way, they would be greatly appreciated. I will be making some changes to this page, the google page, and trying to get to everyone by the end of this weekend.
Things may look bleak but it is not all doom and gloom. Connect with people all around and across the table, and share good faith to your fellow working class. Don't let social media entrap you with hate and spreading it. Billionaires aren't looking out for us, it's what they want. Being good is the only way we'll make it.
Thank you all for your time, your patronage, and your patience.
- Russell Ferguson Jr 🇺🇸🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
