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Hey guys, so I'm thinking about starting a small gun business..... Thoughts? Advice?
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This may be the single worst time in history to enter the gun business.
Before you invest a single $1 do the following:
Write a business plan:
-Research your market. How many other gun stores are within a 20 minute drive? How many retail gun shops are no longer in business in your area?
-What can you offer that other gun stores cannot?
-Getting a retail storefront and the license is cake.........the hard part is retailing in the age of Amazon and the internet.
-What are you going to sell? Can you beat PSA, Bud's or CDNN on price?
-How many transfers a month to just cover your rent? Utilities? Insurance? Alarm?
-Building custom rifles? Unless you have a rep you are going to lose your shirt. ANYONE can throw parts on an AR lower. It's a race to the bottom as to who can do it cheaper.
I'm not saying this to dissuade you, but to hopefully keep you from making the same mistakes others have made before you. You'll have to search the archives for the previous tales of woe. I'm in Plano, and can name a half dozen gun shops that have gone belly up in the last year. And it's not due to the market, people in DFW buy a lot of guns.
I'm a kitchen table dealer who averages 170 transfers a month. There is no way in hell I'm investing a nickel in a retail storefront. Why? Because I'll never match Palmetto State Armory and Brownells selling S&W Shields for under $300. Right now dealer cost at RSR on those is $343 for a small time dealer. How many of those do you think are sitting in retailers display cases right now? And the shield is just one example.
Was thinking about getting a place for a classroom to do public LTC classes.
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And how will the online LTC classes affect this part of your business?
You'll be paying rent for that classroom 24/7/365.........how many classes can your market support?
I don't teach LTC but have many customers who do. Most use an existing business and bring in folding chairs and card tables. They don't do anywhere near the business that an instructor with a range can do.