Ok, guys, I currently own a home in the eastern SF Bay Area, PRK, where my brother and I live.  Like most of you know, being in the PRK sucks dog.  Although the weather is terrific, and the geography can't be beat, it's WAY overcrowded, liberal to the max, and oppresive to gun owners.  We want to move in a year, and it's probably going to be to the Boise area.  My goal is to open a gun shop in Boise and provide excellent customer service, as well as conducting gunshow and Internet-based sales to help bolster sales.

If I were to sell my house today, and paid off all debts, I'd have $60-70K in cash.  I would want at LEAST $10K for living expenses for the first (rough) year getting off the ground.  I plan to rent either an apartment, or preferably, a small house, just big enough for two guys to live.  That will allow me to get to know the area and scope out some property to buy (hopefully within the first 2-3 years).  I currently have an hour commute, so I'd have no problem living 30-40 miles out of town, but the store would obviously do better in or very near Boise.

So, I am hoping to be able to set up a SMALL storefront somewhere (LOW overhead), and get a small but decent inventory to start with.  Does anyone think that this can be done for $30K or so (I'd like to have at least $10K reserve)?  I don't want to have to get a loan if I can possibly avoid it, and I've always wanted to own/run my own business, though until the last few years, I didn't know what kind.  I think I could run a great store, especially with gunshows and the Internet as sidelines.

I have a few concerns already, but would appreciate any feedback about the area, or any lessons from other FFLs.

My concerns now are: money (do I have enough to start off?), knowing my market (a lot of hunters & handguns vs. AW sales, I'd imagine), and moving to an unknown area.  I know that Idaho is nearly as gun-friendly as states get these days, but are there any laws, zoning requirements, permits, or the like that I need to know about?  About how long would it take to get my FFL (remember, I'd be moving there, so I can only do so much before I arrive)?  I don't want to have to pay overhead for a shop and not be able to sell anything for 9 months.

All feedback is welcome.  Thanks!

-Troy

Thanks for the comments!

Anyone else?

-Troy

I can't tell you much about Idaho, but I did help a friend get started in his gun buisness. He started out small but is growing, and with only about $5000. One idea is that if you need stuff just to make the racks look full get an assortment of cheap surplus rifles to compliment everything else. 30K should get you off to a nice start, at least it would around here.

Hell, come to western NC, we need more FFL's.

ACK!  After 8 straight hours posting and reading, it's far to easy to make a REALLY BAD typo...

To clear up any misunderstandings, I actually live 45 miles inland from SF, in a relatively conservative town, and are very much hetero, despite not having had a GF in a while.  I'm still holding out for Charlize Theron.  :)

-Troy

Where I live, summer is 4 months of above-90F temperatures, with a few weeks of 100+, so I'm not worried about that.  Dealing with snow will be different, though.

I do have a few friends in Boise, and I'm planning a trip during the summer to check things out.

-Troy

Around my area, most gun shops are owned/run by middle-age jerks, or by older, gruff, retired vets or hunter-types.

The former are the guys who have mostly old, used junk, with an occasional $700 NIB Glock or (in the past) $2200 "pre-ban" AR built on a post-ban Oly lower.  The latter are the guys I deal with, and they are great guys once you get to know them, but they put off a lot of people at first, and they often aren't willing to order you a gun unless they can get it from their regular distributor.  They also tend to know relatively little about their inventory, and have trouble making recommendations to people.

I really think I could do better, in many cases, a LOT better.  And I know that I can use the net to bring in additional business.  Having been an Internet user since 1992, and an Internet consumer since 1994, I have a pretty good understanding of how that works.  :)

-Troy

Troy,
About nine years ago I partnered up with some friends and opened a gun shop in western Illinois.  Three years later, we split up and went our seperate ways, but the core store is still going strong, growing steadily, and has more inventory everytime I stop in.
Let me give you some pointers to maybe help you a little going in:
1.  Find a niche and stay in it.  You can't carry everything for everybody, and while a few a-holes out there can't figure out why, most shooters are understanding when you say you don't have whatever it is, but should be able to get it.  If your "thing" is AWs, stay with it.  Start with a decent supply from a few different makers (not the big custom stuff, just the normal production stuff...don't want to tie up money in inventory that won't turn over), along with accessories, optics, etc..
2.  Always have some of the manufacturer's catalogs lying around for the oooh, aaaah effect.  
3.  Be able to help trouble-shoot problems with the models you feel comfortable with, but admit lack of knowledge on those you don't.
4.  Have multiple suppliers lined up, as well as going direct with a couple of companies if you can do it.  Quite often, parts come from the same manufacturers,and if one maker is out, it normally means someone else is getting their order filled for the same thing.
5.  Be nice to your friends, but don't lose money on anyone.  IT IS YOUR LIVELIHOOD!  All too often, everyone is your best buddy looking to get it for nothin'....and you have to fight the impulse to let them do it.
6.  When you've got a customer wishing to sell you something, have someplace private where you can conduct business without the traditional hangerson drooling over it before its yours and knowing exactly how much you've got in it.
7.  Keep a running list of which of your customers is looking for what...and their day, night, cell numbers etc...so you can get ahold of them immediately if you have to.
8.  Always have a pot of coffee on and a fridge (or vending machine) full of pop handy...during the summer, there were months that pepsis could have paid our rent all by themselves).
9.  Keep that reserve as just that.  if you have to spend out of it for something, replace the money into that fund ASAP.  Its your cushion, ansd keep it as such for a few years.
10.  The internet and show sales will help, but emphasize the prior more than the latter.  If you go to a gunshow, several things happen...you and some of your inventory are gone from the store, which then requires that it be closed or you get someone else to run it for the day.  Also, guns can and do get banged up at shows and going to and from, lowering their value and cutting into your profit.  Additionally, weigh the table rent for the two days of the show against what you're already paying for your storefront for the month.  Is it worth it?  We found that running a special at the store on the weekends of shows actually saved us money and was a lot less work.
Enough for now.
If I can be of more help, just post here and I'll e-mail or call you or whatever.
Best of luck.
Sluggo

sluggo,

Thanks for the excellent advice!  I knew some of these things already (for example, being that I'm moving out of state, I won't have many "leech" friends), but you brought up some great points that I hadn't considered.  The coffee/pepsi thing, for one.  Great idea.  And, I agree that most gun shows are more hassle then they are worth.  Fortunately, a lot of the older guys aren't comfortable with Internet stuff, and I'll be able to take advantage of my experience there.

The stuff about suppliers is great!  I'm sure I would have figured it out, but it's much better to learn from others' mistakes than to have to make them yourself!  [:)]  And, yeah, I'll probably focus mostly on the "tactical" and military stuff (ARs, FALs, PSSs, 590s, 870s, and handguns).

Again, great advice!  Thanks!

-Troy

Thanks for the info about the other store.  That will help.  I also believe that participation on the 'net and perhaps at matches will help get people through the door.  I'm hoping that will give me an edge, especially out of the gate.  But, I'm certainly willing to stock (or order) other types of guns.  If it turns out that it's hunting rifles and revolvers that sell the most, I should be able to handle that.

However, I do think that there is more interest in AW-type guns as of late, especially with all of the parts guns (FALs, HK91s, AKs, etc.) coming in.  Lots of people are finding out that they can do more than just fight a war.  And with the growing 3-gun sport, that should help too.

Still, knowing what to expect is a major part of the battle.  :)

-Troy

Matt,

Thanks for the kind words!

Clearfire,

I don't plan on working for someone else.  I couldn't afford to, really, and the whole idea is to work for myself.  Plus, I work in the high tech field now, and such agreements are common, and I'm very familiar with them.  :)

-Troy