I am thinkin of starting my own business when i get out of the military. I still have about 3 1/2 years left before i get out. It is just an idea i am thinking about. I am thinking of a gun store/outdoor store. What advice do any of you have. What troubles did you experience while opening yours. How much money was required, how hard was it to get a small business loan. How much collateral did you need for you business loan. How much cash did you have saved up when you started. Any other tips or advice would be appreciated.

 

I am the fourth generation in a family business that has been around since 1925. Being in business is not an easy road to hold both emotionally and mentally because you never get a day off and there are no vacations you are always thinking about business and what your competition is doing 24-7-365. We have about 90 people employed buy us and it’s a little daunting when you know that those people are looking for you the owner to make the right decisions on a daily basis and keep the company viable so they can live there lives. As far as cash and financing are concerned every business is different as to what they require to run and survive. You have to take into account are you going to be the only person there or are you going to have employees because you have to take into account taxes both state and Federal, workers comp, health insurance, and its almost an endless list that I could fill pages upon pages with. Financing is a hole different animal depending on what your business is and where you are located in the country and you are taking a huge risk because everything that you have is going to probably be mortgaged to the hilt to start and finance the business and if the business fails you loose everything. Hope this helps and that I havent scared the crap out of you.

 

Start right away as an online business. That way you can start to have some experience on the field with almost no overhead costs and when you are ready if needed open a brick and mortar.

Keep as home business if possible. Maybe you never need a brick and mortar business or only need to rent a small office and warehouse or even better make an adition to your house thet way your house reevaluate if need to sell it.

 

I would check with your city for ordinances against this as well as your HOA because many HOA's have covenants about home based business's.

 

I looked into this a little bit and i think the constraint for this is if i wanted to sell guns you cant get a dealer FFL (federal firarms liscense) and have it registered to my house. From what i understand you have to have dedicated building and address to register it to and it cant be your residance. I thought about starting out by just trying to sell guns at gun shows but i know you cant get a liscence to sell them just at gun shows. I could try selling other outdoor supplys then online but then i would be competing with the big guys online like cabelas and bass pro. My thinking behind a gun store was that guns are still something the average joe cant buy online unless they have it delivered to someone with an FFL.

 

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Some questions you need to ask yourself:

What's "cost" on a Gun
What Can I sell them for
How many guns do I need to sell to cover rent
How many guns do I need to sell to cover Me, My staff, utilities, insurance, fixtures, etc.
What kind of inventory do I need. How much does that cost?
Marketing?
Why would people buy guns from you instead of Walmart?

Basically you'll need all this worked out and put into a "Business Plan".

Only then will you have a chance of getting a Business loan.

I hope it works out!

 

There are ways around needing a business front with an FFL. I'm not exactly sure on what they are, but the guy that does my FFL transfers is a "kitchen table" FFL. He doesn't have a store front, but he still orders, sells, and transfers from his home. He's retired and does it mostly as a hobby, I doubt he's making enough to earn a living if he had to, but it is possible.

You'll have to start with asking big brother ATF and checking your local zoning codes.

 

i would work for someone else first, in that industry.

you will learn what works and what dosent. To me it is all the little things that make one business good and another bad.

 

You don't have to have a brick and mortar for an FFL. A guy that works with me has one and he runs it from his home.

 

Ill have to look into this. On the ATF website it said that you couldnt get an FFL to sell exclusively at a gun show. Ill have to see what the law is about selling out of your house.

 

start a buisiness that is a "needs "buisiness, not a "wants" buisiness-i own my own hvac buisiness -since starting in 04 with my self -went from myself and a van to 8-vans , 14 guys , had a record shattering year in 08- own a buisiness that is a necessity to people ,not a luxury or want-imho