Given the current status of society (breakdown) and the increase in crime of all sorts, it shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone, the exponential increase in gun ownership as of late. in fact, 44% of US housholds owns a gun. That means there are a lot of “concealed carriers” out there. We are all on our own personal journey to self reliance, empowerment and protection.
We all have a right to defend ourselves. It’s a God Given right, regardless of what others may try to convince you of.
In this video, some of what many trainers in the industry agree with, are skills to hon in on and to practice.
Learning a new skill and habits take time. Learning a “new way to think” takes practice.
So, what is the most important skill when you carry?
Situational awareness!
As one who carries on a regular basis, it’s my hope and prayer, that I’ll never need to use it.
By utilizing my senses, sight first, keeping my eyes and head scanning the area around me, I can see who’s coming and going. I can avoid any potentially harmful situation.
This is the importance of SITUATIONAL AWARENESS! It gives you a chance to retreat, escape, and avoid being robbed, attacked, or worse…
Secondly, Making a wise decision to leave or flee a situation BEFORE the unthinkable happens, this my dear friends, is your Goal. Decision making is your next best skill to master. When the adrenaline starts flowing, your fine motor skills won’t. This is why thinking through “what if…” scenario helps to keep your mind sharp and to run on “auto-pilot” when your body enters into that heightened state of stress.
Remember, Your best fight is the one you didn’t have. And that is what we all hope for.
I bet you are feeling like me – everything seems to be crazy and every thing is an emergency. Whether its financial, career, self protection, or food. We’re in a time of crisis but not all of it is of our own making.
Let’s talk about where we find common emergencies. How can we prepare for the unexpected and what are the solutions.
Sometimes the ER is about self defense
When its in the middle of the night, and something goes “bump”, that’s an emergency.
Maybe your husband is out of town on a business trip or you’re a single mom, how and what do you do to keep your family safe when you’re startled awake at 3:00 am.
This could be you… you wake up and see a stranger ascending your stairs toward the bedrooms. Are you prepared to protect your family?
Fortunately, for this particular woman, she’s a gun owner.
Training is vital and practice makes perfect right. With the country on lock down, it’s easy to slip out of routine…. and out of training.
With the recent surges in gun sales and much unrest, ammunition is in short supply. So, how do you practice with stay at home orders?
A great and very effective measure of training is called “dry-fire”. I”m giving myself a wake up call and need to schedule in at least 5 minutes to practice, ideally, every day. The main thing is just to start, right?!
Be prepared for self defense. A lot of people are being hurt. Do you have a way to protect yourself, your kids, or others?
Maybe firearms are a little intimidating right now; there are many non lethal tools available. You can check some of them out here.
A “Get Home bag” or a “Bug Out Bag”?
A Get Home Bag (GHB) is just that. You are out, away from home and need to get home. Maybe you’re unable to get home due to weather – I’ll never forget “Snow-Mageddon” in Atlanta.
A Bug Out Bag (BOB) needs different gear as you are leaving the safety of home and will be among outside elements for survival (for awhile).
Basically, gear for survival – food, shelter, water. A means of self defense (knife, firearm are ideal because they can also be used for hunting). Don’t forget about a first aid kit. Things happen! Keep in mind you want items that are portable and lightweight.
As far as self defense tools, it’s ideal to have some layers of protection. A firearm isn’t always the best option. I’m a rep for Damsel in Defense and all our gear is non lethal.
Non lethal tools range from pepper sprays,Tactical pens, car care kits, striking tools, stun guns, concealed carry purses and more.
What about your finances? Yes, we even need to have an emergency fund.
Honestly, in thinking about emergencies, finances weren’t at top of the list, nor was thinking about insurance. Not everything you think should be covered is actually covered. You certainly don’t want to find out after a natural disaster, you didn’t have the coverage your thought. Remember Hurricane Katrina?
This is a good time to double checking with your insurance carrier. You don’t want to be surprisd!
After all, We are in hurricane season and you may be surprised to find out that most policies don’t cover flood damages. Are you prepared for natural disasters?
With the world upside down, I hope I have shared some things that can help you to feel more prepared and protected.
Remember, your life is worth fighting for. I design clothing to make it easy to dress around your defense tool. As American Express said; “Never leave home without it” – a self-defense tool.
A memory- Wow. I can’t believe this journey started 4 years ago. This is my VERY first set up / booth. I’d just started my business and a scared first time vendor at the USCCA concealed carry expo in my home town.
2016
I remember thinking what am I going to do if my clothes come! My samples had to be shipped overnight, and grateful they made it!? I was warmly greeted by the neighboring vendors, given much needed assistance, advice and well wishes. Of course, I also got a lot of interesting looks as to why a “Women’s Boutique” ??was at this trade show for self defense. Well, for me, that was exactly the point! It was my purpose.
I was a gun newbie and SO frustrated in trying to dress around my firearm and concealed carry. I couldn’t believe the words that came out of my mouth – I really had nothing to wear! I knew with the amount of frustration I was experiencing, I couldn’t be alone in this silent struggle to dress fashionably and be armed.
So, being called a “Women’s Boutique” was the bomb… along with the sales! That was the best feeling to be able to help other women to live this lifestyle; confidently, and well, be armed and incognito!
What about that “Behind the scenes” Part? Honestly, a lot of cussing and tears.
It’s been a long journey working full time and starting a clothing line by yourself on a side hustle. I had no idea what was a head of me… if I had, I’d been too afraid to start!
There’s so many facets to creating a garment – who knew?! You just go to the Mall or boutique and search to you find something you like. But, what if you can create it? Can you say how do I start and oh, it’s overwhelming.
Learning how to source fabrics and where, finding industry experts like a pattern maker, learning the industry vocabulary like having tech packs, and ultimately the key to getting clothing made is finding and working with a manufacturer (in the USA). And then, finding a factory willing to work with a new designer/company, my small quantities and I believe the type of clothing I was designing was a touchy subject for some.
And that’s just for making the clothes – then there’s the marketing conglomerate… designing a website and the web platform and a check out process. Decisions have to be made about the overall look, what colors to pick and why, coming up with a logo and a design, and the legal side such as trademarks, business licenses, tax numbers, and the like.
Then you shout from the roof tops to get the word out. Well, you turn to internet and the social medial world to market yourself and your business. Email marketing and blogging – oh my!
The world of social networks
I want to encourage you if you’re thinking of a business. Stop trying to make it perfect and just start walking. I still don’t have it all figured out but if I waited, I wouldn’t have been able to help so many women to have the courage and confidence to carry their firearm so they can protect themselves and save lives. After all, helping others and having them looking great is what’s matters.
Thank you to all my wonderful customers! I love working with you at these shows! Thank you to the industry folks and trainers, I’ve meet over these past few years. Thank you for your support, encouragement, and accepting a new concept to dressing around a firearm.
No matter what the industry is, there are a lot of players, but there’s only one you and you have a unique gift and voice. It’s baby steps – Just keep walking! You’ll walk into success.
Cape Coral, FL — October 3, 2019 —The Women’s Concealed Carry Alliance is pleased to announce the launch of its website and alliance community!
The Women’s Concealed Carry Alliance announces the launch of their website – www.WCCAlliance.com <http://www.wccalliance.com> . Led by Kristen Franke, the WCCA is a collaboration of women business owners from the firearm’s industry whose main focus is to bring high quality concealed carry solutions to more women. We’re calling all women to join us, sign up, it’s FREE to be a part of this exciting community.
The WCCA is founded by a group of women entrepreneurs who have united their businesses and strengths to assist others in their walk to becoming self-reliant. Collectively, these women have over 25 years’ experience selling their products to the gun industry, primarily women. This alliance creates a resource for ladies looking for empowerment, support, encouragement and products as each one blossoms to be who they were created to be with confidence.
“We each started our small businesses to help women in crisis. And now we want to combine forces to not only
encourage more women to learn about personal safety but also provide them with
the proper resources,” said Marilyn Smolenski.
“Through this partnership, we plan to reach more women, provide more resources, create a community and support for women in their endeavor for real solutions,” said Jan Wolbrecht. The WCCA includes six established women-owned businesses including Packin’ Neat (Kristen Franke), Cute & Cocky (Nikkita Gordon), Hiding Hilda (Dawn Hillyer), Nickel & Lace (Marilyn Smolenski), Dark Alley Denim (Joelle Orem) and Incognito Wear IX (Jan Wolbrecht).
“From first-hand experiences, we know the struggles of
finding women-specific concealed carry options.
Why not supply these options in one place and allow these industry
leaders to share personal experience and insight,” stated Kristen Franke.
The Women’s Concealed Carry Alliance is a collaboration
of women in the firearm’s industry. Real
women who created businesses solving the unique challenges they faced in their
own lives for concealing a firearm and or protecting themselves and loved ones.
Joining forces, these female-focused companies have partnered to launch the
Women’s Concealed Carry Alliance. It’s a
collaboration with a focus on bringing high quality concealed carry solutions.
Look for more from the Women’s Concealed Carry Alliance.
“Come join us in this mission, sign up today!” It’s FREE!
We’ll be soaring soon for the NRA Personal Protection Expo (Sep. 6-8, 2019) – Booth #1809
If you’ve been “meaning to” learn about firearms and your safety – this is the place to be. Not only will you have the best of the best of instructors teaching but hundreds of vendors supplying everything you would need from clothing, gadgets and tools, firearms, ammo – even an opportunity to shoot on a live fire range – all in one place!
It’s never too late to learn to shoot. Learning to operate a firearm will
give you confidence and skills for survival. Becoming educated about firearms
gives you knowledge and an understanding of Gun Safety. Gun safety is critical
and so important to pass on to others. Whether it be for hunting, shooting
sports (for fun and it reduces stress), or self-defense and personal
protection. It’s important to pass this precious right to bear arms on to the
next generation.
There is value in passing skills on to the next generation. Hunting is a
great way to grow a friendship. Many life lessons happen around a campfire
(after the hunt). Hunters are ethical and play a huge role in maintaining the
health of herds of wild animals – deer, duck, turkey, etc.
As August – National Shooting Sports Month draws to a close, check your local range for special events for introducing someone new to the exciting sport of firearms. It may save someone’s life!
You’re timing is great, because in a less than 2 weeks, is a fun filled packed weekend to give you all the information from the best of the best in the firearms industry at the Personal Protection Expo in Ft. Worth. See you in booth #1809! 🙂
In case you are traveling to Texas, as I am, here’s some things to note regarding Texas gun /concealed carry laws. Always research ahead of a destination.
According to US Concealed Carry, “you may Open carry or concealed carry with a Texas License to Carry (LTC) or a concealed carry license/permit from a state with reciprocity, provided the handgun is in a shoulder or belt holster. The minimum age is 21 years old or 18 years old for active-duty military. Some areas are off-limits, including racetracks and secure areas of airports.”
What you need to know about carrying in Texas, besides they love their guns:
Pack ’em up and we’ll see you on Friday Sep 6 for a spectacular event of concealed carry fashion show! Don’t miss this event for tips and secrets on how to concealed carry with style.
