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Gene Kelly:
Gene Kelly here, President of the American Gunsmithing Institute. I have a really important interview you need to listen to. David Johnson is going to tell us why it is really, really important to have a plan B. David, tell us a little bit about your story. It’s very interesting.
David Johnson:
Three or four years ago, I started thinking one night as I was reloading some ammunition about what am I going to do after retirement? I’d been with the company that I was with for, at the time, about 23 years. And I knew if I retired, went home, and sat down that that would be it… I wouldn’t do anything else. So I thought about a gunsmith, becoming a gunsmith. And I’m just real interested in it. I’ve always hunted with my dad. We fish, love the outdoors. And as I was thinking about it, I started looking online at colleges, schools where I could learn to be one. And my plan was to retire with 30 years with the company and open my own business. And at 25 years, actually the day before my 25th anniversary with the company that I was with, they came in and terminated my position.
Gene Kelly:
Wow.
David Johnson:
So in the meantime, I had met with a gunsmith, a local gunsmith here in Athens as well who is an alumni of AGI.
Gene Kelly:
Yep. Robert Stevens.
David Johnson:
And he brought me in and sat down and talked with me for about two hours on a Saturday, and things just started rolling. I started going out to his shop and just piddling with him, watching him on Saturdays. And then in November of 2019, I ordered the level one course.
Gene Kelly:
Okay. You enrolled in that course, pro level one course.
David Johnson:
I did.
Gene Kelly:
Yeah.
David Johnson:
Got the material. Started doing the studies. I completed the course, level one, in May of 2020. I started looking at going ahead and opening up a business to build my clientele. Where I live, you can’t work out of your house, so I had to have a spot.
Gene Kelly:
Oh. That’s unusual. Most guys can gunsmith right out of their home.
David Johnson:
Right. Right. I found a spot in July of last year, applied for a business license with the city, was accepted, got my license, applied for my FFL license. And on October the 14th, my FFLs came in the mail. On October 15th, I lost my job.
Gene Kelly:
Oh. And you didn’t see that coming.
David Johnson:
I did not see that coming. I have 25 years with a company, never been written up, never had an issue. So…
Gene Kelly:
Wow.
David Johnson:
Like I said, that was on October the 15th. I’m sorry, November the 2nd I officially opened my business last year. This is October, in case somebody sees this in the future, of 2021. I’ve taken in over 200 guns. Less than a year. That doesn’t include the transfers that I’ve done, which I think that’s around 16 transfers for people. But by knowing the basic, the design, function, and repair that is taught by AGI, I’m confident that I can repair anything. Now, it may me a while on some of the guns, but having the videos to be able to go back and look at and watch again to help with my knowledge and understanding of these guns has made a huge difference. It’s given me the confidence that I need to keep my door open and people still coming in. On top of that, the only advertising that I’ve really done, I have my name on the door, I have a sign out next to the street that simply says gun repair and my phone number, and then I have it on my truck. And I’ve literally had people call me and I’ll ask them, “How did you hear about me?” “I was behind you at Hardee’s the other day and I saw your number”.
Gene Kelly:
Yeah. Yeah. And of course it makes a nice tax deduction that way as well.
David Johnson:
It is. I have a Facebook page for my gun repair business. I have a website. In September of this year, I had over 2,700 hits on my webpage.
Gene Kelly:
Wow.
David Johnson:
That’s just in one month. I mean-
Gene Kelly:
People are interested. They’re desperate for a gunsmith.
David Johnson:
They really are.
Gene Kelly:
How much work have you got sitting there now?
David Johnson:
Three months. I’m behind. Three months.
Gene Kelly:
You got three months’ worth of back order and you’ve only been in business less than a year?
David Johnson:
Less than a year.
Gene Kelly:
You got better job security now than you ever had with 25 years in that company. Man.
David Johnson:
That’s true. That’s true. It is.
Gene Kelly:
So you’re continuing to learn.
David Johnson:
Absolutely.
Gene Kelly:
You’re continuing to stay attached to us, which is really smart, and get that monthly education. Where do you want to go take it from here? Sounded like you’ve… By having a plan B and acting on it before you needed it, put you in the catbird seat. You’re perfect.
David Johnson:
Right.
Gene Kelly:
Yeah.
David Johnson:
Right. I constantly have people asking, “do you want to open a gun store? Do you want to start selling guns?” Right now, no. I don’t. I enjoy what I’m doing. I enjoy taking guns in, especially ones that I’ve never seen before, and being able to take it apart and figure out what’s wrong with it and put it back together and hand it back to the customer and say, “It’s working fine now,” and seeing the look on their face. Especially if it’s a family heirloom, and I’ve done many of those. I actually worked on an old Marlin model 37 a couple of months ago that’s fixing to be passed down to the fourth generation.
Gene Kelly:
Oh, that’s cool.
David Johnson:
It is.
Gene Kelly:
That’s very cool.
David Johnson:
It is.
Gene Kelly:
Yeah. Literally our students bring those guns back from the grave, if you will.
David Johnson:
Yeah.
Gene Kelly:
Turn wall hangers into guns that are back in the field at fourth generation. That’s awesome. Well, I’m just really impressed with what you’ve been able to do, David, mostly because you made a decision to do something and you started on that path early, not late. And too many people get to the point where they’re desperate and they still can move forward, but it’s better to plan and get started sooner. You know? And boy, the timing… As I recall, what you said was you got your FFL which officially put you in business on the 14th of October, and on the 15th of October you were terminated?
David Johnson:
That’s correct.
Gene Kelly:
Without cause? Just boom?
David Johnson:
Without cause. Yes.
Gene Kelly:
How long did it take you to get into plan B became plan A? It was already there, right?
David Johnson:
It was already there. It was already there. As I mentioned earlier, I wanted to go ahead and start the business and build up a clientele. Build a relationship with customers and get my name out a little bit. I started going around to the pawn shops in town and the gun stores in town and just introduced myself in total. A couple of them already have gunsmiths, and I said, “If there’s anything that you take in that you don’t want to fool with, pass it along. I’ll be glad to do it for you. Anything, even if it’s just cleaning guns. I’ll do that,” and left cards with them. And some of my best customers have come from those gun stores that they’ve gone in and picked up one of my cards, gave me a call-
Gene Kelly:
That’s great.
David Johnson:
… came by, and the rest is history, so they say.
Gene Kelly:
Yeah. Well, congratulations on being wise enough to plan ahead, create your own security, and to being successful because you followed a proven system. And so, David, congratulations. Thank you so much. Love to even talk to you more about this. But for everybody else, there’s a really big lesson. Get your plan B started right now, because it might suddenly become your plan A and you want to be ready.
David Johnson:
Right.
