How did you get into the industry?
My start in the industry sprouted from years of service in the private sector of contract security, sales, and franchise ownership. I learned what not to do in a franchise setting during my stint of ownership and how to make it easier for my franchisees. I developed this business out of necessity to create something to bring an added income. The concept grew too quickly to make it a secondary income and in less than 6 months became a primary income for my family.
Tell us about some challenges that you’ve faced and/or some successes you have encountered.
Finding ways to be efficient has been a challenge due this industry being so heavily regulated. The technology alone is hard to find. When I first started in this industry, I dove into everything from the free options to paid options and everything in between. I found that the free option had glitches, and I found other options required me to use both their website combined with their POS. I found that these sites were very cookie cutter — I don’t like being like anybody else and I knew right away that this wasn’t for Arrowhead Survival. All in all, I went through about 5 POS softwares before I decided to go with my current one. It is more customizable than anything. The technology came from a need to be more efficient and I spent a lot of money trying to find that healthy balance of cost effectiveness with the efficiency of operating the business. The success was finding that I could build my own POS and website that worked for our business model and for our brand philosophy.
Is there anything that you would like to add regarding your training and support model?
We are working with TeacherZone to meet the training needs of both our customers and our franchise partners. Not only will this useful tool work as an additional revenue stream through which our franchisees can sell pre-recorded training sessions and firearm instruction, it will also serve a Virtual Classroom for our franchise partners. This is a very robust system that will keep our franchisees up to date and help them feel confident as they operate their businesses.
What does your franchisee do in the business every day?
When they aren’t working on their store and keeping it up to date, they are researching more products. The POS teaches them sales trends and they are keeping an eye on that. They need to be learning about different styles of guns. When no one is in the store, they need to continually educate themselves and know every item on the shelf.
In your own words, describe the ideal franchisee.
I was a franchise owner and I found a lot of issues. The greediness was there from the Franchisor, but the friendliness and the support were lacking. I don’t want to be that kind of Franchisor. I want to find people who are eager to start this business — business background means nothing. It is the willingness to learn; they are learning along with the customer and that isn’t a bad thing.
I need people who are open minded politically and who are friendly and compassionate. Arrowhead Survival is about accepting all people, no matter who they are or what their political association is. We are creating an approachable, comfortable environment that is centered where everyone can come in and shop.
What are your goals for your company in the future?
Our goal is to be the fastest growing and the largest gun franchise in the country. We want to have all markets covered, so we can assist in the event of a natural disaster. Every location needs to have disaster preparedness. We want to be that place for everyone.
Training and Support
Arrowhead Survival’s expert support team works with each franchisee to understand and fully grasp how an ideal operation should be executed which begins with an in-depth training program. Ongoing support for business development management, oversight, maintenance, customer service techniques, product ordering, suggested pricing guidelines and administrative procedures is also included. Arrowhead Survival will supply franchisees with consumer marketing plans and materials for use at the local or regional level.
What is the Fee Structure?
Franchise Fee: $35,000
Royalty Fee: 5% of Gross Sales
Estimated Initial Investment Range: $136,125 to $245,167 (includes franchise fee)
Territory Definition?
Each territory will include a defined area and will be documented generally as a population base of 100,000 people.
For more information on the Arrowhead Survival Franchise model, visit the corporate site: https://www.arrowheadsurvival.com/