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 Dear Folks
Taking care of your businesses' #1 Asset
Take a look around your shop and figure out the one thing that provides you with the largest return for what you have invested in. Some people point to the lathe, some to a drill press, some to their bluing systems, maybe an engraving set, we hope some of you pointed to the Brownells catalog, but none of those are your most precious asset as a business person. The distinction of the most precious asset would be ....you!
Think about this! All ideas and the follow-through and executions of those ideas, money generation activities, goodwill activities, and all of the energy it takes to make a successful business come from you. So ask yourself, how are you taking care of your number one asset? This is a big question but what I'm talking about is how you can become a better rounded businessperson, a better gunsmith and a better member of your community.
To start with, take care of yourself physically. Rest, exercise and diet are just as important as your shop and making money. You can't do one without the other. In addition, are you feeding your mind intellectually? Are you trying to improve the skills that you have? Here's the big one: Are you giving yourself enough time to think about your business or are you just working in it?
If you accept the challenge to improve yourself the rest becomes pretty easy. The first thing needed is a structured approach for improvement. Put together a plan for increasing your skills and your knowledge. Over the years we've talked to many gunsmiths who are very dedicated to the notion of self-improvement in all aspects of both their business and personal lives. This isn't one of those self-help book or those fuzzy, huggy, positive statements about feeling good that people tape to the refrigerator, this is hardcore business. This is the time you ask yourself what it is your business needs most to make more money. You could ask yourself, "If I had a five-axis jaw for my lathe, could I become more efficient and make more money?" Think about the possibilities that you could do. Finding a niche and becoming a master at it will have huge rewards for you in time. Take a look around, listen to your customers, ask them what they'd like to see you expand into. If it's viable and you can make it a success, go for it. More examples would be:
- If I knew more about reloading, could I sell custom loads to my customers?
- If I knew more about fitting shotguns, could I offer that service to my customers?
- If I knew more about profit and loss financial statements, could I be more profitable?
- How can I learn to market my business and myself more effectively? What would the benefits be?
There are some great resources out there to take advantage of to learn technical skills within our trade. Take a look at marketing education or public relation education, or financial profit and loss seminars or small business management classes as well. These generally don't take up a lot of time or money but the time you take to invest in yourself will reap rewards for many years. I really like to talk about education. It's not just sitting in a classroom taking notes and listening to a teacher lecture; it can a lot of fun and it will let you go further with your career as a gunsmith and as a business person. Education takes on many forms from reading, hanging out with other gunsmiths to learn different ways of doing things, talking to your customers, going to seminars and even going to gun shows. Think about what you're truly passionate about, then, go and find people who share your passion and dive in.
The challenge here is to spend time thinking about your business and how you can continue to add more and more value to it. The opportunities are out there just waiting for you to find them and take advantage of them. So this month think of one thing you can learn to improve your business, via a business skill, a technical skill or simply on a personal level. Find that one thing that you want to understand better and then do it. The next step is to have the discipline to stick with it and really use and share what you have learned with your customers and the rest of the firearms community.
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 Lyman Revolution Rotating Gun Vise
Innovative gun vise angles 45° left- or right-of-center for easy access when working on your rifle, shotgun or handgun. Adjustable, rubber padded vise secures the buttstock end, and when combined with the wrap-around forearm support provides a firm, non-slip grip.
[Read More] |
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 Brownells Gunsmith Kinks - August 2008
I have a bolt stop mod I thought up this past winter for an M98/M96 Mauser. With the square look of the bolt stop, I wanted to remove the blocky look so after playing around on the Bridgeport this idea was born.
Nothing special just a carbide 1/4" diameter ball end mill. Chuck that in the Bridgeport and index for squareness.
[Read More] |
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 Changing A Gas Block
NEW!!! Follow some of the expert gunsmiths at Brownells as they walk you through simple procedures for customizing, repairing, and maintaining your firearms. This month's video feature is a demonstration of how to change a gas block.
[Watch Video] |
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Brownells 3rd Annual Gunsmith Career Fair
If you're a gunsmith who wants to grow your career, a gunsmithing student just starting your career, or a gun shop that wants to grow your business, you'll want to attend Brownells 3rd Annual Gunsmith Career Fair, April 17th and 18th, 2009.
[Read More] |
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Brownells Gunsmith Corner
Question: I have a situation with my Remington 700 rifle that I have never had before with any of my other 700 rifles and need some advice. I have the Rem. 700 in 300 Rem Ultra mag. I was sighting in/breaking in the barrel last weekend and noticed on the primer I had signs of what appeared to be high pressure with the firing pin strike on the primmer being cratered with a lip that you can feel when you run your finger nail over it.
[Read More]
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Pastors Sven & Ole, Nort Dakota
Reverend Ole was the pastor of the local Norwegian Lutheran Church and Pastor Sven was the minister of the Swedish Covenant Church across the road. I saw them yesterday standing by the road, pounding a sign into the ground, that reads:
[Read More] |
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Fast, Fast, Fast Relief! - Part II
When I left off at the conclusion of Part I, I was in the middle of a self congratulatory, one man high five, which is not nearly as rewarding as one might think. I was also searching for a bottle of Green 609 LocTite...again, not as exciting as one might think.
[Read More] |
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Gunsmiths.com Spotlight
This month's Gunsmiths.com featured showcase listing is Overland Plating, a division of Overland Industries, out of Hesperia, CA. They offer the highest quality plating, polishing, gunsmithing, and engraving services with personal service at a reasonable price. They take pride in doing everything in house, by hand, and one at a time.
Read more about Overland Plating at Gunsmiths.com
Sign your business up today with our New, Low Price Showcase Listing for a chance to be listed here next month. |
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