What Do You Do for a Living?

Where I work may offend you, but it also may also save you.

Eventually when you are out and about you will be asked, “What do you do for a living?” My answer always is: “I work with shooting sport ranges and retailers around the country. How about you?”

Hopefully, the person or persons you interact with will respect you enough to be nice when you issue this answer. Other times, though, they may react with hostility. This is a story of the latter. But before I delve deeper into the subject I’d like to say this: all of us in the shooting sports family should be proud of who we are and what we do every day. Retailers are the front line and face of the industry. They are also ambassadors and leaders in their hometowns across the nation.

I have been in the shooting sports business for 40-some years now. I believe it’s a noble field even though we certainly have a high level of stress factors that must be endured. These range from being bogged down by federal record-keeping requirements and the endless calls for “gun control” from people who have no idea what they are talking about to the long hours we log in order to run a successful business. And, yet, we soldier on. Why is that? I truly think it comes down to four simple words that all of us have grown to embrace. Those words are: It’s a great life

Let that sink in a bit. When I said that to the young man who asked the above question while seated next to me on a two-hour flight, you would have thought I proclaimed myself to be the Antichrist. I kept after it during the flight, elaborating that the shooting sports is a deeply rewarding career choice, insisting again, it’s a great life. I also shared that we get folks in for lots of reasons. Sometimes, they are worried about their personal safety and so we must work with great compassion. Compassion means to suffer with others, I told my fellow passenger (just in case he did not understand the word). We do not need to do this, but we do. Our role is to be there, to provide comfort, to listen, and to be engaged. We also provide empowerment, helping people defend themselves against the evils in this world.

I have learned (painfully at times) that when some of these so-called well-intentioned folks get honest answers, they are not understood. I have had some folks say they were highly offended that I would say or even imply that the shooting sports was a great life. One lady told me that there is no way we could have compassion; our work was all about killing innocent people or animals. That’s when I smile and say, “Well, sorry you feel that way, but we help thousands of folks every day live safer and happier lives.”

I think a lot of these so-called “well intentioned” folks are actually a bit elitist. They think that they can judge us by what the national news and talk shows banter around as facts. They do not really know us or the industry and they have no desire to broaden their understanding of us. Their minds are closed.

In my years in this business I have learned that every person who walks in has a story. The situations we face are varied, and many customers are filled with deep emotions in need of clarity and comfort. Being compassionate and caring for the guests we serve every day is what we do.

I recently related the story of a woman who was a victim of a brutal assault. She told me she felt stronger and more confident after taking a gun safety class. She said, “I hope to never have to use it, but I’m not going to let the bad guys win.” Hers was a very emotional—and very real—story. I was able to provide words of comfort and support and then gave her advice on how to change the feelings of weakness and helplessness into feelings of strength. There are very few jobs out there that allow a person to do that. But that’s what we do. It’s what we as ambassadors for the shooting sports signed up for.

Being a firearms retailer can be a very hard job, but it is also one filled with incredible rewards, both spiritual and even financial. Most important, our work, especially the products and training we offer, leads to the empowerment of our guests.

When you think about it, we are keepers of the public well-being. We are in an industry that is rooted in the foundation of our country, and one could easily conclude that America is as strong as it is due to firearms dealers. I sleep well knowing that all of us in the shooting sports family are vital to America, making a positive difference every day. What we do is so much more than “selling stuff to people.” The Simple Truth is: the work we do with such honor saves lives.

Author bio: Miles Hall was founder and president of a multi-million-dollar firearms retail store and gun range in Oklahoma for 36 years. He is now a senior advisor helping FFLs around the country run more efficient, profitable businesses. (HallnHall.com)