Increasing Your Revenue

So, you are doing what you love and you’re running your own gunsmith shop or some other firearms related business and doing pretty good. But you can’t help but wonder what else could be done to bring more customers through your doors. I constantly ask myself what else I can do to stay current, proficient, and relevant. What other amenities can I offer without over taxing myself? What are my customers looking for now? What does the future look like?

If you ask yourself similar questions or have ever been curious about how to increase your revenue, then keep reading. I’ve put together a few ideas that most gunsmith shops and independent firearm retailers can add in to bolster profitability with a minimum of cost and effort. Keep Training Quoting the words of Henry Ford, "Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty.

Anyone who keeps learning stays young." Now, physically being old is not necessarily a bad thing when it comes to guns but having an old mind may prevent you from getting young jobs. Establish some sort of training plan for you and your business, dedicate a few hours or days each month and/or year toward continuing education. Find a mentor to study under and visit that person often.

Sign up for courses and seminars, dedicate time to visiting gun shows and auctions with the intent on learning about the resale market and how firearms are graded. Join organizations dedicated to your profession and actively participate in with them and their events. Take Care of Your Employees In the words of Richard Branson, "Take care of your employees, and they will take care of your business." If you have employees, your goal is to get them working at their full potential to accomplish common goals.

To do this, you will need to support, train, motivate, and encourage them. Some key factors that motivate employees are appreciation or recognition for a job well done, being in the know about company matters, job security, good wages, loyalty from management, and good working conditions, just to name a few. Look at your employees. Are they trained? Do you offer continuing education? Do they feel like they are truly part of the team, along with some formal acknowledgment and an "attaboy" for going above and beyond?

Are reasonable corrective actions taken when your workers fail to meet standards? Many departing employees are not leaving their jobs, they’re leaving poor management or a subpar working environment. Don’t give good employees a reason to leave. Take Care of Your Customers Once you have a good employee package and management in place, look at your customers and customer retention. Are new customers coming into a welcoming environment? Do returning customers feel valued?

Look at your shop through the eyes of a first-time visitor. Confirm that you have desired products on the wall. Identify what would turn you from a visitor into a customer and then make those changes. Consider a customer loyalty program or a members-only discount program for your returning customers. If a customer is willing to return to your business, you can bet they are going to recommend you to a friend.

Put Yourself Out There If you want to grow, you definitely need to consider a website and social media presence. Keep your website current and easy to navigate. Use social media to showcase some work you have done and encourage customers to follow, like, comment on, and recommend your social media page. Business cards are also great, but you need to be out there putting them in the hands of potential customers. Make yourself known at the local sportsman’s clubs, hunting clubs, ranges, and gun shops.

Set up a table at gun shows and shooting related swap meets. Be present (better yet, participate) in local turkey shoots, shooting leagues, and shooting competitions. Go to any turkey shoot (also known as a block shoot, card shoot, or meat shoot in some areas) and ask a shooter who made their barrel. They won’t just say a name, they will actually point to their gunsmith if there. At a bullseye pistol league, ask a shooter who did their trigger job or mounted their optic.

Again, they will likely point to the ‘smith if there. Bottom line is, in those situations the gunsmith was there, part of the shooting community, and known to the shooters. Expand Your Scope of Practice Many people are buying guns online now and those guns must be sent to