Frontsite: Focused on a safer tomorrow

As a firearms instructor for the last 12 years, and range master for a local municipal police department for four, I have found myself answering the same questions repeatedly:  

1. Where is a good place to go shoot? 

2. Where is a good place to purchase a firearm? 

3. Anyone have any good deals? 

4. Do you know someone that could teach me (or my spouse/family) how to use a firearm?  

The list goes on and on. I would usually not have a good answer for them, and just because I ran a firearms range for a living doesn't mean I had that many contacts. I personally had a hard time finding a gunsmith to work on my hunting rifle. It was then that I decided that there had to be a better way than "just google it." I hated using what I referred to as “the google machine” because of how the larger online or social media corporations were not “gun friendly.” Several individuals I do know in the industry had a hard time advertising and the majority of business they would get would be from word of mouth. Social media platforms like Facebook would throttle or take down posts about training events or sales those businesses were having, and one business even told me that they only advertised in the city newspaper, and only in print! He told me that as a gentleman from an older generation, he had a hard time getting into the social media side of advertising and just wasn't interested in learning it now.  

I met with my now business partner but longtime friend, Law Enforcement co-worker, and fellow Soldier about a business idea he had, and eventually his idea and my thoughts turned into Frontsite, the app that would change the future of firearms training and the firearms community. So what exactly is Frontsite? It is a computer and smart phone application that combines a social media platform with a search engine, specifically to help users and vendors connect.  

As a social media platform, you will be able to scroll through posts from other users and vendors to see what people in the industry are saying about new techniques, firearms they’ve tested, and equipment utilized to make everyone safer. Each user will have two feeds, one social feed that includes everyone, and one “following” feed, where you only see posts from people or businesses you are actively following. As an example, if you are following a local range page, if that owner posts something on their range page, everyone that follows them will get to see what they posted. So if that range is hosting a competition or a training class, everyone that follows the range page will get notified, and never miss an event! As a business, this is like getting free advertising, without having to fill up people’s email inboxes. As a gun or gear store, every time you have a sale or special, just one post is all it will take to let everyone know. As the business owner, it is a quick and easy way to reach your followers and build a larger client base.  

The other half of the app is the search function. Say you want to find a range near you, or maybe a gun store close by to purchase some ammo. Based on your location, you can search specifically for any of those and find the ones closest to you. You can also view photos and information about the business that would help you decide if it is the right place for you. So if you searched for a range, you would be shown all the ranges in that area of the map you were searching in, and on it you would see descriptors of those ranges. Are they indoor/outdoor? What calibers are allowed there? What types of firearms are permitted there? Do they do rentals? All of these questions can be answered at the click of a button. These vendor pages are an easy way for those businesses to “sell themselves” to potential or returning customers and can serve as a quick way for people to find the businesses they are looking for. App users also have the opportunity to rate those vendors, giving other users a good idea of the quality of service or goods they have to offer. Once the app is published and available to download, users will be able to search for gun/gear stores, ranges, FFLs, Gunsmiths, Training Organizations, Guided hunting property and Fishing charters. So if you are planning that “guy’s trip” or a family outdoor vacation, this app could help you find the best places to get out and find adventure. Currently this is the list of types of businesses we will have on the app, but we will continuously look for new businesses that we can showcase when other social media platforms may fall short.  

For those of you that might be hesitant to download an app that helps people “search for guns,” don’t worry...we have partnered with Duck Duck Go, the search engine that doesn’t track or record your search history. As a business, we also will never track you or sell your information to external organizations...we get enough junk phone calls and emails ourselves, we never want to be the one that adds to that nonsense!  

So, this all sounds great right? What's the catch? How much does this cost? What does the fine print say? Well, I’m glad you asked. There is no catch. This app is and will always be free to download and free to use. There is no fine print. And while we do have “Terms and Conditions” like all other businesses...we know people don’t actually read that nonsense. So, while we have to legally have that info in there, we really have four rules that we want people to follow when using our app...let's just call them the “Four Cardinal Rules of Frontsite:” 

1. Treat every post as if it’s loaded...Treat everyone with respect and dignity. We are not here to fight amongst ourselves.  

2. Don’t point or direct negativity or bad/unsafe information at anyone...Be honest and transparent. Do not spread information that is incorrect or could get someone hurt.   

3. Keep your finger off the send button until you’re ready to send it. The communities this app serves are unlike any other...do not conduct yourself like you are on one of those “other” social media apps. When in doubt, refer to rule #1.   

4. Know your audience when you post. This is not an app designed to hurt people, but to build them up and to strengthen the firearm and outdoor communities.   

Do these rules sound somewhat familiar? We wanted to have some rules that were simple enough everyone could understand and follow, and not “hide rules” in the fine print. So how does this app become profitable? We will have paid ads in and amongst the posts on your social feed for one. And while we hate multiple ads on other social media sites, these would be minimized and specifically tailored to the communities that would be utilizing this app. Another way we would generate revenue for the app is in the search feature. Just like how some restaurants like Olive Garden always show up first in your search feed on Google, we would have a similar option for businesses to pay a minor weekly fee to always come up in the top 3 slots when you search a general area. The last way, and the smallest way, is to charge a small “vendor verification fee” to any user that wants to create a “vendor page.” This ensures that we can keep the users seeing only legitimate businesses and keep the trolls off of our app that would try to illegitimately take your money. It is a very small fee that would only be paid once and ensures we are able to look you up and verify that vendor is a legitimate business. This will also help us keep the fake or duplicate names to a minimum. Like when you see “not the real Elon” on “X”...that drives me nuts. We would only allow the real business or individual to have that vendor page. “Glock” will actually be the manufacturer and not someone trying to pretend to be them.  

So that’s it, in a nutshell. In the next blog I will get more into who we are as a business and what our future plans and goals are for ourselves and our new app, but for now, if you want to be notified as to when the app will be released, please go to www.frontsiteapp.com and click one of the many buttons to be notified. I promise, we will keep emails to a minimum! Once the app goes live, the majority of our information we need to pass on will be through the app itself. I look forward to seeing everyone on the app soon. We are in the final testing phase just before launch so head to our website and click to get notified so you can be one of the first users on it and help us build the firearms community! 

Take care of yourselves, 

Chris