Back to News
May 23, 2019
Mapping Success: The Beauty of the Business Plan (and Finding the Funds to Make it Work)
You’ve taught friends to shoot, and each year you lead a new troop of Boy Scouts through their first shots. And you’re a hunter who counts the days until your annual elk or pheasant hunt with your 10 best buddies because you get to help bring their kids into the fold as they grow old enough to handle the responsibility. Or maybe you’re an avid competitor who gets a big kick out of mentoring those new to your favorite sport. Still, you want more, a better, bigger way to get others involved in the sports you love, and you’ve decided a firearms retail store or shooting range is the way to make an impact.
Your enthusiasm and knowledge for firearms and the shooting sports will go a long way toward making such a new business a success, but it won’t get your doors open. For that you need a solidly constructed business plan.
While some will see that as paperwork drudgery, Jeff Swanson will show you why taking the time to hone and polish a well-designed business plan delivers value across a spectrum. Swanson is the owner of the highly successful Wilshire Gun shooting range in Oklahoma City and the Managing Member of NextGen Range Consulting — and he’ll be the first to tell you that none of that would have seen the light of day without a comprehensive business plan. His session “Business Planning” will show you why you need one too as you approach investors, bankers, town planning commissions, real estate agents and others from whom you’ll need rubber-stamping before you can welcome your first customers. He’ll also show why a great business plan serves as map not just into territory you’re unfamiliar with, but one that answers all those “if-this-then-what” questions on your way to the grand opening, at the end of your first year in business, after five years and more.
Speaking of investors and bankers, you’ll want to sit in on the next session on the schedule, “Financing,” presented by Jimmy Neil, General Manager of Live Oak Bank’s Entertainment Center Division. Traditional brick-and-mortar banks are still the go-to choice for most small business loans, and Neil will walk you through what it takes to make a successful loan application — including that business plan — and what you can expect when it comes to down payments and terms.
Both sessions are suitable for those already in the firearms range and retail business. Experienced entrepreneurs looking to get started in this these businesses are also encouraged to attend and take advantage of the opportunity to connect with those on the inside and learn the specific ins and outs of our industry.
Business Planning
Date/Time: Monday, Aug. 19, 9:45-10:30 a.m.
Financing
Date/Time: Monday, Aug. 19, 10:45-11:15 a.m.
Categories: BP Item, Featured, Media, Ranges, Retailers, Top Stories
25650
