Time for a discussion including Founders and supporters.
As we discussed early, the minimum needed to produce our prototypes and launch our first media kit was a shoestring budget, and we hit it. Once we get to the day when we begin accepting orders, we'll know if III Arms will succeed or fail. If we sell units, we win. If people choose not to buy, we lose.
The more money we manage to raise to help with marketing reach, the better our odds of succeeding in selling III firearms.
How do we get there? We can ask Founders for more money - not a good option. We can all hold our breath and hope orders flood into our Distributor once we open the doors. Personally, I prefer to stack the deck in my favor as much as possible.
One of the reasons Holly and I are heading to Idaho is to get a lay of the land, and to look for a place that will be III Arms first admin office. But consider this: III Arms Gun Shop.
We open a small gun shop in some place such as Coeur d'Alene that serves not only the local population (there are already gun stores in the area, but I'm never afraid of competition) and we establish an Internet presence. As our prototypes are built and we slowly begin to earn name recognition via our marketing campaign for III Arms 1911s and ARs, we also build a name faster online via gun sales.
The up side: We start to build a name, faster. But more importantly, we begin to generate income, even if it is modest, so that we don't simply sit idly by and watch as the Investors bank account goes down and down with nothing coming in.
I am not fond of bank accounts that get smaller, as a general rule. ;)
We already have several dealer accounts with gear suppliers. Establishing accounts with a few more would be easy, and we could nominally outfit a shop. We would not use III Arms money to fund this venture, beyond the nominal money III Arms will pay anyway for rent. Holly and I will cover start-up costs. We have several FFL 01's amongst our III Patriots, one of whom may be interested in walking into a turn-key shop.
Here is the one detail that will make or break the concept: Holly and I can't invest enough money at this point to stock the shelves with a full array of firearms. That's a hefty investment.
If we decide to move forward with this project, we will put out the call to you III Patriots to look in your gun cabinets and find a firearm or two that you would offer the shop so we can fill the shelves. You can contribute your firearm outright, with no expectation of return, or you can donate it with a consignment price set. When the piece sells, the shop will send you the consignment price you have set.
If we do this, III Arms Company will have immediate revenue, even if modest, which will help with marketing our III 1911s, ARs and other offerings.
Are you willing to donate one of your firearms to a III Gun Shop?
We could even expand this shop to include used but servicable gear, a thrift store for Patriots/Adventurers/Hunters, of sorts.
Please discuss it here on this thread.
Yours in Liberty.
Kerodin
III
