Description
The Holster Business Blueprint: Field Manual 03
The business side of holster making, laid out step by step: setting up legally, pricing so you actually get paid, getting paid at all in a firearms-adjacent industry, and growing without getting burned.
Revision 3.0, October 2026. Rewritten and independently audited. Every fee, price and policy was checked in October 2026, with links to the sources, including current rules from the FTC, IRS, CPSC and the major selling platforms.
Who it is for
- Makers turning a hobby into a business
- Shops that want their pricing, tax and insurance done right
- Anyone selling holsters online who needs to understand processor and marketplace rules
What is inside
- Legal foundation: business structure, forming an LLC, sales tax on your own store vs. marketplaces, exports and trademarks
- Insurance: the policies a holster maker needs, how to read them, and what to do if a product may be unsafe
- Startup costs and break-even: three itemized budgets and worked break-even math
- Pricing for profit: a formula that pays you and survives wholesale, with a worked example
- Operations: lead times, the FTC rules for late orders, and quality control
- Marketing: what Meta, Google, TikTok and YouTube allow for holsters, email and FTC compliance
- Sales channels and getting paid: store platforms, firearms-friendly payment processing, Etsy, eBay, shows, wholesale and government sales
- Scaling and hiring: when to grow, paying people correctly, and the new-employer checklist
- Systems and money: cash forecasting, owner taxes and the numbers to watch
- Appendices: templates and customer emails, a 90-day launch plan, suppliers and sources
The details
- 41 pages, 16 chapters and 4 appendices
- 43 reference tables and checklists
- Instant PDF download, US Letter, print-ready, with linked contents and clickable sources.
From Kobra Holsters
Kobra Holsters has shipped more than 11,000 orders of handmade Kydex gear from our own shop. These guides are the working knowledge behind that, written up and checked against primary sources: material data sheets, platform policies and government rules.
Companion guides
General business information, not legal, tax, insurance or financial advice. Laws, fees and platform policies change; check them before you rely on them. Revenue figures and case studies are illustrative, not a promise of results.
File Details
- Format: PDF, US Letter
- Pages: 41
- Revision: 3.0, October 2026
