Glock Aficionado Lenny Magill Continues the Story About His Journey to Becoming the Founder and CEO of glockstore.com
Live from Music Row Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Leahy welcomed Founder and CEO of the Glockstore.com Lenny Magill in studio to continue the story of how he came to be the leading manufacturer of Glock parts, pieces, and accessories.
Leahy: We are in studio with our Guest Lenny Magill, the founder, and CEO of the Glock Store. On the web at glockstore.com. So you’ve been very successful with your gun videos. You decide to open up a facility in San Diego, and that does well.
Magill: Well, yes. We were starting to sell and manufacture Glock parts, pieces, and accessories. And we had so much traction, really once the Internet started to happen. And we started doing a catalog of lock pieces and parts. People started walking into the facility. And we weren’t really set up as a retailer, but they wanted to buy pieces and parts.
So we opened up a little retail store, and it became very popular in San Diego. We bought a bigger building, opened up a bigger store, and it was a big hit. And so obviously, the business got larger, larger, and larger. And the larger you are in California, the more they penalize you. (Laughs)
Leahy: Exactly. They penalize success.
Magill: The more successful you are, the more they penalize you. It’s brutal to do business in California. And we saw the writing on the wall that it’s just not going to scale out. We cannot grow a business in California without just being attacked by these legislators and lawyers out there who are looking to pounce on any misdoing. And my wife does a lot of the HR work, and she says that it’s impossible to stay compliant in California.
Leahy: When did you just decide I’m going to leave California?
Magill: About three years ago we decided we’re going to expand outside of California. And we wanted to move the corporate headquarters out of California. So we looked at Texas. Looked at Nevada. Looked at Arizona. Looked at Florida. And looked at Nashville.
Leahy: And how did Nashville come on your radar?
Magill: Well, my wife’s from Dalton, Georgia.
Leahy: Ah ha!
Magill: And I’m from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Leahy: So sort of in-between.
Magill: No trees, no water. Nevada, no trees, no water. I mean, relatively speaking, Texas, no water. Flat, boring. It’s an island. Texas is really if you think about it’s a great state in many ways but it sits out there by itself. So we wanted to be able to attract people to come to the Glock Store. And Nashville is a perfect location. In fact, the statistics I read, I guess Nissan put this out, that 70 or 80 percent of the population in the United States can drive to Nashville within a day.
Leahy: Exactly.
Magill: Which is amazing.
Leahy: That’s why we’re sort of a distribution center as well.
Magill: And plus, there’s water, there are rolling hills, there are trees, there are animals. It’s just a beautiful place. And there are no taxes. (Laughter) I mean, California is punitive in taxing. I like I said, it’s not only the taxes but the fees and fines and other things that they pile on top of businesses that people don’t even see.
It’s kind of under the radar money that they just collect and they’ll throw anything, they’ll throw some supplemental taxes sometimes because they need money. I mean, they did this little scheme the other day where it’s called CalSAVE. And basically, they said, we’re going to start taking money out of your check to save for you.
Leahy: Oh, how nice of them.
Magill: Now listen to this. It was automatic unless you opted out. You had to say, no.
Leahy: The old opt-out ploy.
Magill: Yeah. Now here’s what they’re doing. They’re collecting this money and some people say, Oh, Yeah, that sounds like a great idea. I don’t know that this state will ever be able to give it back. So it’s pretty crazy. Nashville was such a great choice in so many ways. And we’re so happy to be here. We’ve opened up a 75,000 square foot building right there at 1930 Air Lane Drive.
Leahy: 1930 Air Lane Drive. A little birdie told me you might be having a soft opening today.
Magill: We are. It’s perfect timing to get here. It’s April first and it’s no fooling. (Leahy chuckles) We are soft opening. The Grand opening will be May 15. I’m hiring people. So I’m looking to hire.
Leahy: You are hiring people?
Magill: I am.
Leahy: If people want to apply for a job, just go to glockstore.com.
Magill: Yes, they can do that. We have a careers button there. Click on that and send a resume. And you can always call us.
Leahy: So what are you looking for? What kind of people are you looking for?
Magill: Well, I’m looking for some high-level managers, to be honest. I’m also looking for shipping, handling, receiving people, and assembly people. We manufacture pieces in parts, so we have to assemble them to package them and get them ready for shipping. And then, of course, people for the retail store. Firearm trainers were always looking for.
Leahy: How many people you looking to hire?
Magill: Well, we have 100 people in California. We’ve got about 25 here right now, so I need to hire another 75 people.
Leahy: glockstore.com if you’re listing and you need a job.
Magill: Yes.
Leahy: Go right now to glockstore.com Don’t wait. Apply. And then they’ll go in. They’ll go to the HR Department, which is run by a very nice person, I hear.
Magill: Well, my wife is in charge of it. She doesn’t run it. She likes to say, he’s higher up on that level. (Laughter) But we certainly have an HR Department. We are looking. Like I said, one of my immediate needs is some facility managers. Whether they be shipping managers or overall managers of the facility itself. So we are hiring and it’s a great opportunity. The business is booming and it’s going to continue to grow. We’ve got some great opportunities here not only in Nashville but nationwide because we are a website and we ship orders. We’re shipping up to 2,000 orders a day.
Leahy: My head is spinning. That’s a lot.
Magill: It is a lot. It’s crazy.
Leahy: And it’s all because you didn’t want to be a cook anymore. (Laughter)
Magill: Well, it’s interesting how the world works. My take is really it’s about the people. Remember, every time you meet someone, do something good for them, and the world will open up to you. And be kind and be considerate and just always be aware of that.
Leahy: So if you want to get a job, go to Glockstore.com/Nashvillejobs. That’s glockstore.com/Nashvillejobs.
Magill: That’s exactly right. Thank you. Yes.
Leahy: And there are a lot of people here. We’ve been hit hard in Nashville by all of these rules and regulations that have been put out in Davidson County I’m sorry to say by our Democratic Mayor, John Cooper. We have another description for him but I won’t use it right now. But it’s not a kind description. But I think he deserves it. But he’s been shutting down a lot of restaurants and making it hard for them to make a living. If you’ve been a waiter or a waitress or a cook and you’re looking for a job, Glockstore.com/Nashvillejobs.
Magill: Absolutely. And we don’t encourage people to wear a mask in our place. So how about that?
Leahy: I like that even better!
Magill: In fact, I encourage them not to wear a mask.
Leahy: I like that even better.
Magill: I like to see people’s faces.
Leahy: Lenny Magill, I’m so glad you are now a Tennesseean.
Magill: Michael Patrick Leahy, thank you so much. I am so glad to be here as well. Thank you very much. Thank you to the people of Tennessee and Nashville in particular. They really embraced us. It’s been wonderful.
Listen to the full third hour here:
– – –
Tune in weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 a.m. to the Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy on Talk Radio 98.3 FM WLAC 1510. Listen online at iHeart Radio.
Photo “Lenny Magill” by Lenny Magill. Background Photo “Gun Show” by M&R Glasgow. CC BY 2.0.