Today we’d like to introduce you to Nate Patel.
Hi Nate, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
In my previous career of 14 years, I was an aircraft inspector for Bombardier aerospace. That line of work kept me traveling for years without coming home. When I started having children with my wife, we decided that traveling was no longer an option, mainly because I no longer wanted to be away from my family for long periods of time.
I had been painting guns since my teens but had recently seen some videos on Instagram of gunsmiths laser engraving firearms and customizing them. I wanted to learn how to do that myself and so I bought one and started in the garage. It took a few years but I finally mastered the machine and was able to do all the creative things I thought of in my head.
The business quickly outgrew the garage and I moved to a retail space.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
I think like with every other start-up business out there you will encounter struggles along the way. What determines whether you survive those struggles is how much drive and passion you have for what you’re doing. I have definitely had my fair share of struggles but I have always found a way to overcome them because I have always felt like this was not really a job, I was pursuing a passion. I know people say that you should do what you’re passionate about so that it doesn’t feel like work, I never understood it until I did it. It’s a liberating thing to do what you love for a living.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I specialize in laser engraving and custom firearm refinishing. I offer mild to wild paint jobs for your guns and high-quality laser engraving for knives and guns. I think what makes my store different from most other gun stores around is the custom artwork you can have done at my store. There are not many shops in North Georgia like mine. I am not here to compete with big gun stores either because I don’t sell guns on a big scale. I sell unique firearms customized the way I would customize my own collection. I’m definitely most proud of the growth I’ve achieved even during the first year of Covid. I love my customers too; they are just as enthralled and excited about customizing guns as I am. It’s always a great feeling to see a customer “freak out” in excitement when they see their gun after an idea has become reality.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk-taking?
I am a giant risk taker I have spent every penny I have on my laser, my equipment in my store, including the products that I sell. I believe in what I’m doing and so taking a risk in my mind is not really risk it’s just what I have to do in order to achieve the next level of success. Failure is not an option.
Contact Info:
- Email: Thekingofcamo556@gmail.com
- Website: Www.thekingofcamo.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/king.of.camo
- Facebook: Facebook.com/thekingofcamo
- Youtube: Www.YouTube.com/channel/UC9s_EVP4J2SAUHgD391MzRg
