7 Entrepreneurship Lessons from a Gun Show

I grew up in Nashville, TN.  I have relatives who live just a few hours away, in the mountains of East Tennessee and Virginia.  They're (mostly) good people, but they're rednecks.  And like most rednecks, they love their guns...a lot.

Because of this, if a big gun show came through town, which was usually a few times per year, my relatives would come down for it.

If you're not familar with the concept, a "gun show" is where hundreds of gun dealers and indiduals who love guns get together to "buy, sell, and trade" gun-related things.  It's very similar to a flea market, but with rifles, automatic weapons, blowguns, self-published books on various conspiracy theories, and various types of ammunition instead of flea market stuff.

My grandfather was an ammunition dealer.  As a very practical man, he went against the redneck tradition of picking either Ford or Chevy (and never switching) and drove a Toyota Tercel hatchback.  As it had almost no hauling capacity and weak shocks, when packed with a load of ammunition, it looked like he was driving a lowrider.

I had no interest in guns or anything at a gun show, but when my grandfather came though town, I tagged along to help him... And that was the start of one of my first businesses.

A lot of the gun show guys were old and out-of-shape.  They traveled the circuit every weekend, living on fast food, sleeping in trailers they pulled behind their trucks, and generally sitting around all day.  If they got any exercise at all, it from loading and unloading their items for sale.

But why load and unload a bunch of heavy stuff when there is a 13-year-old boy who will do the work for tips?

People saw me helping my grandfather and approached me to help them.  I did, I got paid in tips, and pretty soon, I was showing up every time a gun show was in town, approaching them as they checked in.

For a kid in middle school. I made pretty good money.  However, I walked away with some lessons that were far more valuable...

1. Buy Low, Sell High

There is big money in the gun business.  My grandfather's goal when buying something was to be able to sell it for 100% profit and I saw him do it again and again.

If you're in a business with low margins, find a new business.

2. Repeat Customers = Easy Money

My grandfather was in this business for years.  People would call my parents' house before he even made it into town, wanting to set appointments with him, before he met with anybody else.

Being a marketing guy, I completely get the appeal and excitement of finding new customers, but if you're not keeping contact info and reaching out to people whom you've already dealt with, you're leaving big money on the table.  At the very least, set up an autoresponder and let it do the work!

3. Leverage Your Knowledge

My grandfather knew a lot about guns and even more about antique ammunition.  Because of the relationships he had with customers, he also knew what people had to sell and what they were looking for. 

Specialized knowledge allows you to buy for less, sell for more, and be the "dealmaker" that puts everything together.  Even if you're not getting money on the deal itself, simple putting an opportunity together is likely to pay you in the future with goodwill and additional business.

 4. Leverage Your Time

I made good money hauling guns and ammo for out-of-shape guys, but the majority of my time was waiting around for them to show up.  Because of this, I decided to make use of the money I had in my pocket...

5. Leverage Your Money

There is big money in the gun business, but the gun show was also full of guys making good money selling knives.  As I had no interest in guns, I started to invest the money I made in an inventory of the coolest looking knives I could find.

I made a connection with a knife guy who had a bunch of cheap, Chinese-made "Rambo knife" knockoffs that he was willing to sell me for $5.  The handle was made of plastic and the blade sucked, but to the average 13-year-old, they looked badass.

And since looking badass is pretty much ass the average 13-year-old boy thinks about, I bought everything the guy had...

The next week, I was selling the knives at school for $20, but that's another story... ;)

6. Make Your Own Rules

Every industry has the equivalent of what the gun show guys call "commie gun laws."  I'm not saying it's a good idea to break the law, but I do believe way too many entrepreneurs get caught up in "rules."  Even worse, we get caught on "perceived rules."

Just because nobody else is doing it doesn't mean that you can't.  And just because nobody has ever done it doesn't mean that it's impossible.

7. Be The Boss

Guys on the gun show circuit made a ton of money.  I know because they'd pay me by peeling a few bucks off huge rolls of cash.  However, regardless of how big the rolls of cash were, the guy who made the most money on each show was the guy who was running everything.

The "boss" was a huge man.  He looked like humpty dumpty and I got the feeling his knees were going to give out any minute.  He was racist, paranoid, and didn't seem too smart...certainly unlike any boss I've ever seen.

I was curious about him...

One of the flyers with upcoming show dates on it had his address, so I looked him up.  Imagine my surprise when I found out he was living in a very nice area of town, in a neighborhood known for attorneys, doctors, and businessmen.

I was a smart kid, but never thought of myself as the type to be a doctor or attorney.  I mean, I knew how I could do it, but I was never able to put two and two together in a way that made it seem like an option for me; that was for everybody else.

So this gave me hope...  If a guy with seemingly little formal education, physical gifts, or social skills could be the person more money than anybody else, I had a shot.

And you have a shot too!

Questions:

Where have you learned your biggest business lessons?

Comments

[Online Business Man]

Interesting topic you have in here since it is not the typical post people normally can see on the net. I can say that I learned a lot of my business expertise from my Dad. He taught me everything and even those things that I can’t mention in here that might sound negative to other people.
He always said business as usual.

[Kevin]

I agree with you “Online Business Man" very interesting indeed. Me either, I never thought to be a doctor and lawyer; I ended up with managing a restaurant. It’s not that big and successful yet… but I am positive that one day it will be.
By the way @ online business Man – what kind of business do you have? From your name, its sounded like you are handling online marketing. Am I right?

[Undergraduate]

Wow! Thanks for the inspirational message. You gave hope to people like me who were not fortunate of finishing school but this is really something so I highly recommend this to my friends.
Those guys above my comments were very lucky and I know that day will come to me.

[Mr. Abt]

I think you will only learn when you fail and let that failure be your strength especially when we are talking about business regardless of what field it is. Thanks for sharing and thanks for the wonderful tips. I learned something from this post.

[Nick]

For me? I think we should choose the people who we trust because it’s really hard to depend on somebody that we don’t know that much. I’ve encountered that before so I now learned my lesson. So beware and observe those people around you. A safety reminder won’t hurt.