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History of Fox - Part 2 - The Early Years

Posted by Matt Meraz on 5th Apr 2016

The shop is up and running - smooth sailing from here, right?  Not the case.  When I mentioned in my earlier article that we didn't put any other thought into starting a business other than let's do it, that wasn't an exaggeration.

I figured, I love airsoft, what could go wrong?  To give you an idea of how ill prepared we were - our first shop did not even have price tags on items.  You'd find something you like, come up and ask how much it was, we'd pull out our 10 page printed spreadsheet list and try to find the correct pricing.  One of these days I intend to write a book titled "how not to start a business".

Despite being ill prepared on running an airsoft business, I have a deep passion to serve people  - I really want to make sure I find the solution that best meets your needs and that you have a great experience. We used to be very reactionary in the way we approach this compared to our current proactive approach.  When I look back at these early years, I'm convinced that the only reason we made it through them was because we had such a deep rooted desire to take care of people.

Now that you've heard the story of selling out of the back of the Jeep, I'll tell you how we got to our first physical store front.  We limped around the first couple of years as a hobby/business and we came to the point where it was time to pursue this wholeheartedly or move on to something else. 

In any business, resources are scarce, and this time was probably more amplified than any other.  Our inventory consisted of about 6 guns (on a good day), some BBs and a random amount of parts.  This is what we had when we decided to make the leap to a physical store front.

Making the leap was very intimidating - we had very little inventory and money to work with.  When we first opened the shop we were open 3 days a week for only 2 hours each day ( Tuesday, Thursday, Friday).  Since all of us we're in the beginning stages of our other careers, we only had so much time that we could dedicate.  We rented this office that was on the 2nd story of an office building with an external stair way that would allow entrance into the store without going through the building - yes this was very sketch.  The location has become affectionately known as the "n00b cube"

*This picture is of some of the team members in the original "N00b Cube" - notice how few guns were on the wall

Earlier you heard my inventory woes of only having 6 guns in stock on a good day - this created some enormous challenges - as customers would walk in, we'd work with them to find what they wanted and then order it in and try to have it within 1 week.  It is considerably harder to service someone this way versus having everything at your fingertips ready to provide, but this was the routine, and we kept it going in this format for about 2 years.  During that time we produced one of our first youtube videos, titled "Don't Be a N00b" - this was our first attempt at advertising humor.

*This was one of our first advertising videos titled "Don't Be a N00b"

After limping along for a couple of years in this fashion, we were at a turning point again where we decided to bring on Jarrod full time to run the shop.  I remember Jarrod's enthusiasm to get into the shop and make this thing work, to which my reply was: "that sounds awesome, but the reality is I don't know how I'm going to pay you in 2 weeks..."

*This was our 2nd Shop Location - this was an upgrade from the original N00b Cube

That change was in the Summer of 2010, and Jarrod has been working full time since then - currently he is working on business development in the Fox Custom Shop.  Over the next 2 years we moved locations 3 more times as we continued to expand our retail shop into the current facility we are in at the time of this writing.

*This picture is an early version of our current shop - this was our first purpose built location

During this time, we continued to participate in major airsoft operations, we attended many events: Irene, Bulldog, Lion Claws, Oklahoma Invasion, Sudden Strike, and Night Scorpion just to name a few.  In my next article I'll talk about the major changes we have made since starting moving into our current location as well as some of the fun adventures Jarrod and I have had.

Click Here to See History of Fox Part 1

About the Author:

Matt is one of the owners of Fox Airsoft and actively participates in national and international airsoft operations.  He also enjoys: flying, running, hiking, and anything that challenges him personally.

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Honestly, this is the only airsoft shop I will ever buy from. Their guns are always quality. Their custom work is mind blowing. Their staff is not only helpful, but always happy to help. If you are just starting out or have been playing for years, these guys have guns, gear, and good advice for every situation.
— R. King
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— John
Great people great place I've ordered a few small things. Delivery was on time both times great items. Yesterday I checked my mail they sent me a fox airsoft patch just to say thanks and to me that's a way to do bussiness. Fox y'all have got business keep up the good work.
— Matt
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