MagnumDweeb
Member
I'm a relatively new NRA certified basic pistol instructor. I was only really interesting in doing one class of five a month, put some new and responsible gunnies out there with their CWPs. Now I don't advertise publicly, I do my lecture portions out of a VFW with permission of the powers that be so long as I pay 'rent' on my classes. And still I got sixty-five people over the last month, and I've got more. Most are folks who are the elderly(veterans or the spouses of veterans, and social clubs[little old ladies who want to go out to the range once a month to shoot]), and then there are recently retired and non-active veterans and their family, but guess what, when you are charging twenty bucks less than the other guys, and are offering two tag-along sessions included(mind you I get their spent brass for reloading), folks find out and want to do the classes.
In the immediate locale, I've got people calling me up who are on three month back logs for the classes with the other guys. I decided to take the comming three weeks off because of exams and law school, and have been getting bitched out by people who hadn't previously reserved for those times(I told previous would-be clients well in advance that I'd not be holding classes over that time period). I only put people on wait lists with a twenty buck non-refundable downpayment which I collect for every Sunday at a public bookstore, and I can collect when I'm hosting classes. And so now I've got another forty folks who have reserved classes, ten of which want a private (a family group) class at an additional ten bucks per person. Who are waiting and ready to take the classes once I go back to teaching them.
Have gotten lots of other calls and e-mails, but they are usually "well I'll call you then", and I politely remind them I can't reserve without a down payment and I don't put people on call lists, I figure if I make it conveinent for people to make the down payment and they don't want to, then they don't really want to take the class. My going rate is fifty for the lecture and another ten for the shooting portion(and won't go with fewer than five people)(locallly they are asking 85-100 dollars) and I provide two different .22lr revolvers to shoot with, and the ammo Federal or Colibri, and I allow folks to bring their own if they want me to check theirs out(have gotten a lot of first timers who want some help getting started) for them (get strange looks sometimes field stripping semis). The folks also get the NRA materials(books and pamphlets) as part of the class to keep. I've only been teaching First Steps Pistol, no Basic Pistol yet.
I've still yet to check my e-mail and I've got two dozen plus voice mails from numbers I don't recognize so it's going to be interesting.
In the immediate locale, I've got people calling me up who are on three month back logs for the classes with the other guys. I decided to take the comming three weeks off because of exams and law school, and have been getting bitched out by people who hadn't previously reserved for those times(I told previous would-be clients well in advance that I'd not be holding classes over that time period). I only put people on wait lists with a twenty buck non-refundable downpayment which I collect for every Sunday at a public bookstore, and I can collect when I'm hosting classes. And so now I've got another forty folks who have reserved classes, ten of which want a private (a family group) class at an additional ten bucks per person. Who are waiting and ready to take the classes once I go back to teaching them.
Have gotten lots of other calls and e-mails, but they are usually "well I'll call you then", and I politely remind them I can't reserve without a down payment and I don't put people on call lists, I figure if I make it conveinent for people to make the down payment and they don't want to, then they don't really want to take the class. My going rate is fifty for the lecture and another ten for the shooting portion(and won't go with fewer than five people)(locallly they are asking 85-100 dollars) and I provide two different .22lr revolvers to shoot with, and the ammo Federal or Colibri, and I allow folks to bring their own if they want me to check theirs out(have gotten a lot of first timers who want some help getting started) for them (get strange looks sometimes field stripping semis). The folks also get the NRA materials(books and pamphlets) as part of the class to keep. I've only been teaching First Steps Pistol, no Basic Pistol yet.
I've still yet to check my e-mail and I've got two dozen plus voice mails from numbers I don't recognize so it's going to be interesting.