An Interview with Rhonda L. Carson of GIRLZ on F.I.R.E

Rhonda L. Carson is the the owner of GIRLZ on F.I.R.E., a #FirearmSafetyTraining company. She was first exposed firearms as a young girl by her grandfather shooting BB guns and pellet guns in the backyard, and received her first handgun at the age of 19. She has 30 years of experience in the safe use and operation of handguns. She is a certified NRA Basic/First Steps Pistol Instructor and Certified North Carolina Concealed Carry Handgun Instructor.

GIRLZ on F.I.R.E. will celebrate three years in business this coming May.

What was your motivation to start your own business?

In the Fall of 2014 the company I work for had a club fair to introduce employees to the various corporate clubs. I discovered that there was a sporting club. I immediately signed up and soon volunteered to be a sporting club officer. In January of the next year, I started searching for a group of ladies to do some recreational shooting and there were no local groups in the area. I reached out to a lady in Florida who is the owner of Armed Lady and found that she was interesting in starting a chapter in North Carolina but required chapter leaders to be NRA pistol instructors at a minimum. I respected that because other groups that I researched didn’t seem to have that requirement. I decided to move forward with the NRA training and found that it was a prerequisite to becoming a concealed carry instructor.

Having gotten my first firearm at 19, most of my female friends would say that they were afraid of guns when they found out that I carried one. My first thought has always been that I’m afraid to not have my firearm. I began to think that my training may be a perfect way to eliminate the fear of firearms in women and get them trained to protect themselves and their families.

Being a spiritual person, I began to ask God was he behind my desires or was I trying to do this on my own accord. My good friend invited me to her annual Friends and Family Day at her church and it was there that I got my confirmation.

The Bishop’s message of the day was ‘Make a Move”. He said get out of your comfort zone, stop procrastinating. get ready. My arms were in the air praising by the time he said “I don’t know who this message is for”. I said, “me Bishop”.

What path did you take to get to where you are now?

One of the first things I did was register my business with the State of North Carolina. Next, I started drafting my business plan, which gave me clarity on my service offerings, needed finance, and competition. During this time, I registered for small business training classes at the local community college. These classes are typically free but the knowledge obtained is priceless. I registered my website domain name, Facebook business page, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, and Pinterest accounts so that I could start building my brand. I also created a women’s only Facebook group due to it being such a controversial topic. I felt women may feel more comfortable discussing self-protection is a closed forum. I was right!

Tell me about a project or accomplishment that you consider to be the most significant in your career and why.

I think my most significant accomplishment is stepping out on faith and getting the business started. So many people are afraid to take a risk and start! With the right planning you can start your own business with a minimal investment and keep your overhead low depending on your service offering.

I think of the quote by Lewis Carroll. “IN THE END… We only regret the chances we didn’t take, the relationships we were afraid to have, and the decisions we waited too long to make.”

If we circle back here a year from now celebrating what a great year it’s been for you in this role, what would you have achieved?

My brand will be even stronger, I will have empowered close to a hundred more students to protect themselves and I will have a steady flow of customers wanting training having to increase my course offering to twice a month to accommodate the needs of those on my waiting list.

What was your take away from Rhonda's interview? Should women learning how to protect themselves with firearms still be so controversial in today's world?  If you are interested in learning more about Rhonda and her company, visit her website GIRLZ on F.I.R.E