class over!
Well, it's official: as soon as the NRA signs off on my credentials, I will officially be an NRA Certified pistol instructor. Yay! This has been a long time coming. Same Training Counselor is offering a rifle instructor certification course later this month. I will have to do that as well. The pre-assessment should be interesting. I am, er, much less a rifle shooter than a pistol shooter. Clearly I need to live at the range for a while.
There were some really nice guys in the class -- I got on really well with a couple in particular, and we're planning to help each other out in classes once we start teaching. This is especially useful for me because 1) one of those guys, who works as a counselor for kids with behavioral problems, is a garking brilliant teacher -- he came up with a couple of teaching techniques that everyone in the class, the Training Counselor included, immediately decided they were going to steal and 2) I am planning to offer Range Days to student organizations at the university, and if more than a couple people in any organization take me up on it I will need ALL THE HELP I CAN GET. The idea is that after such a thing, maybe some people will want to find out more about guns, even get training, possibly through me.
Alas, my certification will not be processed anywhere *near* enough time to do a Dred Scott anniversary shoot with the Organization of Black Students. In that decision, among other things, Chief Justice Roger Taney argued that you couldn't let black people be citizens, because if they were, they could, among other nasty civil liberties, "keep and carry arms wherever they went." One of these years, I really want to do a Dred Scott Memorial Shoot, just to make Roger Taney roll over in his grave. I could do one anyway, and I will, sometime, but it'd be more fun and appropriate as a commemoration of that decision.
I'm drawing up lists of organizations who might be interested. I really hope the disabled students' organization is, because there are lots more opportunities for disabled people in the shooting sports than most people realize, and experience with coaching people who have a variety of disabilities will only help me with clients in the future.
Also, range days with student groups give me an excuse to buy more guns.
Not that I NEED one, mind.
Congragulations!
A couple thoughts and hints.
#1. Always get a deposit! Whenever you run a class where payment is required (as opposed to a free intro, etc) always get an advance deposit. If people send a deposit, they'll show up. If they don't send a deposit, they won't. It's as simple as that.
So, ALWAYS get a deposit! Or you'll find yourself short on students on class day and the class that would have turned a profit will suddenly become a money loser instead.
Once you get your NRA creds you can do self study to get the NRA RSO creds and the "Refuse to be a Victim" instructor creds. Both are worth doing.
Keep good records of your gun and shooting related purchases and expenses and keep even better records of any income you make as an instructor. If you try to make a profit, any expenses are tax deductible. You don't have to form a LLC or anything to deduct these on your taxes or report the extra income. There's just an additional schedule you can file. Get a good tax guy, talk to him, and take his advice as to what you can deduct and what you shouldn't.
As soon as you get your creds, make copies of your instructor cards. Many companies offer instructor discounts on firearms or gear used for instruction. You'll need to contact the companies directly to see who to talk to and where to send your creds, but it is worth doing. Generally try to contact someone in PR and ask about instructor purchase programs. Sometimes their run out of another department, but asking for PR/Marketing is a good start.
S&W used to have a program, but I don't know if they still do. Kahr Arms does. Crimson Trace does, and other's do as well. Oh, Ruger does as well.
Btw, you want to share those new training techniques the other student came up with? I'm interested.