Does anyone understand this process enough to explain it?
I want to start my own but I have no idea who to talk to about the business side, taxes, event insurance, ect.
You need a business plan.
You own/bought 50 tables? Or only have room for 50 tables at your preferred venues?
You can rent tables and chairs.
Before renting any venue, make sure they know you will provide all the loopholes.
Seriously, not all venues will allow a gun show.
I plan to use Facebook as a primary means of advertisement along with posters in every location that will allow it.
You'll fail. Facebook is like the Yellow Pages......you have to know what you are looking for in order to find it. Quite a few conservatives avoid Facebook like a leper in the hot tub.
The most successful gun show promotor in Dallas budgets dealer table fees for advertising. If she sells 1200 tables at Fort Worth for $90 each.....thats her advertising budget for the next FW show. She runs radio and TV ads and billboards on major highways. She also distributes flyers at every show in Texas about her upcoming shows. Its her business, not a hobby.
I plan to charge $10 spextator admission,
How did you arrive at that?
No way in heck would I pay $10 admission to a gun show with less than 200 tables. For 50 tables it better be free and a coupon for a cold hot dog on a stale bun.
$50 per table for vendors which cover Saturday and Sunday,
Again, how did you arrive at that figure?
Discounts for multiple tables?
Do you only have room for 50 tables?
Again a business plan that details venue rental, utilities, security, insurance, etc is needed before you ever begin to calculate what you are going to charge attendees and vendors.
I will be giving away 2 firearms a weekend a ticket at admission gets you in drawing.
But, but, but........why?
Guns shows have people lining up for blocks and you think a drawing is needed to attract them?
What brings people to gun shows is lots of dealers with guns, lots of collectors with guns and above all lots of guns. You won't get lots of dealers and lots of collectors unless you can draw hordes of attendees. Its a Catch 22.
Edited to add:
I couldn't find it last night, but OP needs to understand the following:
https://www.atf.gov/firearms/docs/n...earms-licensees-newsletter-june-2010/download
Gun Show Guidelines
A licensee may conduct business temporarily at a gun show if the gun show is located in the same State specified on the license. Provided, that such business shall not be conducted from any motorized or towed vehicle. A gun show is a function sponsored by any national, State, or local organization, devoted to the collection, competitive use, or other sporting use of firearms, or an organization or association that sponsors functions devoted to the collection, competitive use, or other sporting use of firearms in the community. (Defined in 27 C.F.R.478.100) Federal firearms licensees may only sell firearms at bona fide gun shows within the State in which their licensed premises is located......
So, in order to have a gun show, one needs a sponsoring organization who meets the description above.
"KY Dan Hunt Club" could be incorporated as a non profit, tax exempt organization and then HIRE a promotor to manage and operate it's gun shows.
For many years the Big Town Gun Show in Dallas was sponsored by "North Texas Gun Club".....which had a board of directors but there was no way to join. The BOD was oddly the same family that was contracted to run that show.