End of the Year Gunsmithing Checklist: 7 Important Projects to Finish Up

The new year is all about starting with a fresh slate. How can gunsmiths prepare for the new year to help improve success and overall organization?

Most gunsmiths are artists first. Business acumen, accounting skills, marketing, and advertising are all supporting skills that aren’t necessarily passions. So, the end-of-year checklist for a gunsmith goes something as follows.

The 7 Important Projects to Finish Up this Year

1. Are any projects due before the holiday season? Getting anything done at the very end of the year can be more difficult, as help and subcontractors take vacations. Considering how many improved and decorated guns are meant as season’s gifts, it’s worth looking at the deadlines mentioned or specified by customers.
2. Should anything be wrapped up before December 31st for tax reasons?
3. What do the year’s receipts show: have any projects or types of work been significantly more or less profitable than others? If engraving is fun but yields less per hour than Cerakoting… or vice versa? Should certain services be kept as loss leaders? Was lucrative work turned down for lack of skills or equipment?
4. The slow post-Christmas time can work well for reconnecting with the existing customers through announcements and specials. You can also take time to learn more about winter firearm care for yourself and your customers.
5. Reach out to your accountant: do you owe tax documents to anybody? Getting on that early avoids the pre-April rush.
6. Are any new laws relevant to your business going into effect soon?
7. What particularly impressive work have you done during the year that’s worth celebrating and promoting in your portfolio?

The check list should be created long before December, with points added as they come to mind, yours or your advisers’. Doing so avoids situations where professional consultations are needed but aren’t available due to vacations. It also lets you fill pre-written social media posts and other communications with last-minute details and images.

Written by: Oleg Volk, Firearms Photographer