Meet Dan Fisher: Owner and Chief Operating Officer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dan Fisher and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dan, what role has risk played in your life or career?
For my entire career, I had been a company man, working in agency support to some of the largest brands in the world. It was fun and it was very safe – I contributed to my 401(k) like clockwork and had a comfortable life. When my role was downsized in corporate America, I was at a crossroads deciding between the safety of seeking another corporate position or looking into entrepreneurship. Starting a business was an enormous risk for me – commercial real estate generally requires a personal guarantee for the space that we are leasing which entitles the owners to be able to seize my assets should we not be able to pay rent. With a young family at home, I risk losing my house should my business fail. I believed in my business plan and thought that the reward of working for myself would outweigh that risk. We opened our business on January 10, 2020 and had to close our doors for the pandemic on March 23, 2020. You can imagine the stress that situation created. Customers began to return in June and we did everything right to create a safe environment for people to enjoy themselves and be socially distanced. I am so proud that we were able to fight our way through surviving the pandemic and now feel even better prepared for the inevitable next business challenge.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
The Axe Throwing industry is erupting with new ranges opening across the country – it’s a very exciting time and we are positioning ourselves to become a larger brand with a multiple site presence, we want to be a lasting brand within the Axe Throwing community. What sets us apart is our customer experience. We really put a strong emphasis on coaching and staffing appropriately to educate new customers on how to throw axes. What tells us that we are successful is when customers return to visit us again. Opening a second location in the Atlanta market is going to be a huge step for us, it will be our first attempt in a heavy retail location and with access to excellent food and beverage, we will be uniquely positioned to offer something that no other axe throwing range in the area can offer. Getting here has not been easy, especially with the pandemic happening in our first year of business. Growth was slowed tremendously because of the Pandemic, but the goal of growth within the Atlanta market is something that we are extremely proud to accomplish in opening a second store and will hopefully accelerate our opportunities in the future. In the process of growing, treating potential partners with respect and taking many sales calls have been things that we have done. We may not end up purchasing a product, but if there is a chance that someone might have a product that can make our business better, we will at least consider it. Treating job applicants with respect is another thing that we are proud of. We may have had to say no to hundreds of people, but when we do, we invite them to come to our store to throw axes for free to get to know more about us. We ended up hiring an employee that way and made a few new fans of our business in showing that we cared enough to offer more than sending a cold auto reply.

I want the world to know that American Axes goal as a business is to create fans of axe throwing – we want to transition our customers from being curious about trying something new to enjoying the game enough to do it again and again. Axe Throwing is easier to learn the basics when compared to bowling or driving ranges and because of that, we believe it will continue to grow. Our experience will always be around the basis of proving to our customers that Axe Throwing is Safe, Easy & Fun and an activity that is repeatable.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Visit the aquarium, Piedmont Park for a farmers market day, hike Stone Mountain, watch a Braves game and enjoy The Battery, taste test a few different Atlanta BBQ restaurants, the Marietta Beer trail. Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Our employees deserve a tremendous amount of credit for where American Axes is today. Our best-in-class experience makes us stand out in an increasingly crowded market for the entertainment dollar. I am very thankful to our staff for having fun every day and making a difficult time in America much easier because of the community we have at work.

Website: https://american-axes.com/

Instagram: @americanaxes

Twitter: @americanaxes

Facebook: @americanaxes

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/american-axes-marietta?osq=Axe+Throwing

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4KNRETWeAsfKT8NbjrimZQ

Image Credits
N/A