Posted on: 10/08/2009 

A Triad couple said they have found a way to start a business and and still survive this economy.

"I think small business is probably the primary way that the economy is going to recover," said Kevin Roberts.

He and his wife, Jill, recently started Games2U locally. It's a franchise of a Texas-based business that brings games to events.

It includes video games on the inside and outside of a van, laser tag and a giant "hamster ball" for humans.

The parents of three teenagers said they wanted to start a business together after Kevin retired from the Air Force.

"We were looking for something to do that we could do on our own and sustain a comfortable lifestyle and this certainly is starting to provide for us," he said.

They went to an expo in Washington, D.C. where they saw many different types of businesses available for franchises.

"From there you walk around, you see the different types of booths that they've got, the different types of businesses. We just went through and filled out cards," he said. That eventually led to a franchise promoter contacting them.

The Roberts said the support of being local owners of a larger business gives them the support they need.

"I think that's why we chose the franchise area, because of that support system, versus going out completely blind. That way, we've got somebody that's got our back whenever we have a little bit of a hard time," Kevin Roberts said.

They said part of their success was in finding a business with a market that would survive the economy.

"People will cut back on a lot of different things, but childhood memories, that's one thing that they won't really cut their cost down for," he said.

He said there is a market for what they do as kids outgrow inflatables and businesses that cater to kids' games.

"We fit a market that after kids are kind of done with that, there's not really something between the age of seven and 17," Kevin Roberts said.

The couple said they are the only Games2U franchise in the Carolinas. They said they're getting requests to travel with their games to as far away as Hickory to Wilmington. They said they would like to expand to Greensboro in Charlotte.