The teenage hobby that helped Jade Rall buy a house and launch her first business

She was mocked and given a hard time for being the girl who kept turning up. Nearly two decades later, Jade Rall has used her passion for trading cards to help buy her first home and launch Side Quest Cards at Yamanto Central, with plans to build the business into a national franchise network.
 

At 17, Jade Rall would turn up to Magic: The Gathering card nights in Brisbane ready to play and regularly found herself surrounded entirely by boys and they weren't always pleased to see her.
 

Rall said she was given a hard time, made fun of and forced to assert her right simply to sit at the table and compete.
 

Rather than driving her away from the game, the experience made her more determined to succeed.
 

Now in her mid-30s, Rall has turned the hobby she once had to fight to participate in into a serious business opportunity, opening Side Quest Cards at Yamanto Central Shopping Centre.
 

Her years of collecting and trading cards have already helped Rall achieve something much bigger than bragging rights around a gaming table, she has used the value built through her cards to help buy her first home and now she will also use it to build a national business.
 

"When I was 17, I would go along to the card nights and I was basically the only girl in a room full of boys. Some of them really didn't like me being there," Rall said.
 

"I was teased, given a hard time and made to feel like I didn't belong, so I learnt pretty quickly that if I wanted to play, I had to stand up for myself.
 

"It could have made me walk away, but it did the opposite. It made me more determined and nearly two decades later I'm opening a business around something I've loved since I was a teenager."
 

From trading cards to a first home
 

What started as a teenage passion gradually developed into a sophisticated understanding of collecting, trading and the value of individual cards.
 

Rall has built an impressive personal collection over the years and says trading cards can mean very different things to different people, from an inexpensive game played with friends to carefully curated collections built over many years.
 

For Rall, that journey eventually helped her enter the property market.

"People outside the trading card community can be surprised by how serious collecting can become. I have spent years learning, collecting, trading and understanding cards and that passion ultimately helped me buy my first home," she said.
 

"That's an extraordinary feeling when you think back to being the teenage girl who was being laughed at for wanting to play.
 

"I've gone from having to prove I deserved a seat at the table to building my own table and now everyone is welcome to sit at it."
 

Side Quest is more than a card shop
 

Rall wants Side Quest Cards to be as much about community as collecting.
 

The Yamanto Central store sells trading cards and related products while creating a physical destination where enthusiasts can meet, play and learn from each other. Gaming nights are already proving popular, with food and drinks adding to the social experience.
 

Rall also helps customers understand collecting and card care, drawing on the knowledge she has developed through her own collection.
 

"I wanted to create the kind of place I wish I'd had when I was 17," Rall said.
 

"Whether you're a girl, a boy, a complete beginner, a serious collector or somebody who has never picked up a trading card before, you should be able to walk through the door and feel welcome.
 

"Gaming is supposed to bring people together. Nobody should feel they need to prove they belong before they are allowed to participate."
 

Next move: her own product range
 

Rall is already preparing the next stage of the business with the launch of Mantle, her own range of accessories designed for the storage, protection and display of trading cards.
 

The range is a natural progression for a collector who understands how important the condition and presentation of cards can be.
 

"When you start building a collection that really matters to you, you don't just throw the cards in a drawer," Rall said.
 

"Collectors want to protect them, organise them and display the cards they're proud of. Mantle has grown directly out of my own experience as a collector and understanding what other collectors want."
 

Rall's ambitions extend well beyond one store. She is already thinking about how the Side Quest concept could be replicated in other communities, with a longer-term plan to prepare the business for franchising in three or more years.
 

"This is my first store, but I don't want it to be my last," she said.
 

"The priority now is getting Side Quest right, building the community, developing Mantle and proving the model. Longer term, I'd love to see Side Quest stores in other locations and eventually create franchise opportunities.

"I've learnt that sometimes the thing people make fun of you for can become the thing that changes your life."
 

A new kind of community destination for Yamanto
 

Vicki Leavy, General Manager of JMK Retail, said Side Quest Cards was a fantastic addition to Yamanto Central and reflected the growing significance of the Ipswich market for specialist retail and entertainment concepts.
 

"Side Quest is a wonderful addition to Yamanto Central and we are thrilled to welcome Jade and her business to the centre," Ms Leavy said.
 

"The opening demonstrates the growing significance of the Ipswich market and the demand for new and different retail and entertainment experiences across the region.
 

"Trading cards and gaming have incredibly passionate communities of players, enthusiasts and collectors, and Side Quest gives them a dedicated destination right here in Ipswich where they can shop, play, meet other people and share that passion.
 

"In my view, Jade deserves enormous credit for what she has created at Side Quest. Every aspect of the store has been thoughtfully considered, from the colour scheme and overall look and feel of the space through to its layout, functionality and even the design of the gaming tables.
 

"Her attention to detail, commitment to quality and deep understanding of the trading card and gaming community are evident throughout the store, with every design decision serving a clear purpose.
 

"The result is an authentic, engaging and welcoming destination that genuinely reflects the culture, passion and sense of community that make the hobby so special.
 

"What makes Jade's story particularly inspiring is that she has taken something she has loved since she was a teenager and turned it into a business and community of her own.
 

"As the saying goes, if you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life and Jade's passion for the industry shines through in every detail of the store.
 

"It is exciting to see a specialist concept like this choosing Yamanto Central to establish and grow its business, and we believe Side Quest will attract players and collectors from well beyond the immediate area."
 

'I'm nowhere near finished'
 

For Rall, opening Side Quest is less a culmination of her journey than the beginning of its next stage.
 

She hopes her story will also encourage girls and women interested in traditionally male-dominated hobbies not to allow other people's attitudes to push them out.
 

"At 17, I had two choices. I could decide I wasn't welcome and stop turning up, or I could keep turning up and make them get used to me being there," Rall said.
 

"I kept turning up.
 

"Those cards have been part of my life for nearly two decades. They've helped me buy my first home, they've now helped fund and inspire my first business and I'm developing my own product range because of everything I've learnt along the way.

"Now I have a store where I get to help other people discover collecting and gaming for themselves. I'm nowhere near finished, I've got big plans to grow and expand."
 

Side Quest Cards
 

Side Quest Cards is a trading card and gaming destination located at Yamanto Central Shopping Centre, founded and directed by long-time trading card collector and player Jade Rall. The store offers trading cards and related products alongside gaming nights, food and drinks, creating a welcoming destination for players and collectors to shop, play and connect. Rall is also launching Mantle, her own range of trading card storage and display accessories and has longer-term ambitions to expand Side Quest through franchising. Learn more: Sidequestcards.com.au
 

JMK Retail centres
 

JMK Retail is one of Australia's oldest and most successful shopping centre developers, owners and managers with sites located across Queensland. JMK Retail own and manage a variety of retail properties ranging from food orientated precincts, retail strip, neighbourhood and sub-regional centres. Their centres are in key locations, anchored by long-term tenancies with nationally identifiable retailers that incorporate a wide and varied range of retailers who are primarily focused on traditional retailing, day to day household needs, dining, finance and services, medical, health, fitness and beauty. Learn more: jmkretail.com.au