Knock Out Success!

Article and photography by Dawn Wilson, Med Vet Communications

Many people dream of working for themselves. But running a business lets Joe Keilman, Owner and Founder of Foundation Fight Gear, put his tactical skills to work while also testing the products to find the best for his customers.

Foundation Fight Gear is an online retailer focusing on martial arts gear and apparel. Products include uniforms, gloves, punching bags, rash guards, pads and much more for beginner to professional martial artists.

Keilman’s business idea started with a little frustration in the martial arts industry, an area where he has practiced mixed martial arts competitively for the last two years.

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“In my own martial arts training I found I couldn’t get the quality gear I needed, couldn’t find good equipment and I couldn’t try on apparel and gear,” states Keilman. “Other martial artists told me the same thing again and again, so Foundation was born.”

Keilman started with the Larimer County Small Business Development Center (SBDC) about a year ago where he was connected with other entrepreneurs who helped him turn his business ideas into a viable business. Numerous meetings with counselors and professional advisors gave him the guidance needed to write a business plan that ultimately helped to secure a start-up loan through Colorado Enterprise Fund. And today, he continues to receive help evolving his business plan. (Click on the picture to advance the story)

“I find I have to constantly re-evaluate what I am doing with my business to make sure what I am doing is profitable,” said Keilman. “The advisors helped me see that a lot of what I expected, such as a storefront at start-up, wasn’t realistic.”

Today Foundation Fight Gear, which officially started in May 2011, sells most of their products online at FoundationFightGear.com. Keilman has continued to expand his business and is now the exclusive supplier for clubs, such as the Colorado State University Judo Club, and supplies local schools with martial arts equipment.

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Keilman still dreams of opening a traditional store for his Fort Collins and Loveland customers. Plans are in place to make this a reality in the next 12 to 24 months. Meanwhile, he intends to expand his presence in schools and increase his marketing to include Cheyenne, Denver and Boulder.

The adventure hasn’t been all fun for Keilman. His initial expectation of large sales at fight events didn’t materialize, and participation cost a lot of time and money. He also continues to push himself at cold calling and make website improvements. And he was surprised at how long the start-up process took.

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In Keilmans words, “If you think you’ll be ready in thirty days, you’ll be exhausted and still not ready in sixty days,” said Keilman. “I didn’t fully anticipate the time component to get the business launched.”

While working with the SBDC, Keilman spent a lot of time researching and doing his homework, attending classes about tax structure and writing a business plan, and had his work critiqued as frequently as possible.

Keilman stated, “The most rewarding aspect of the process has been watching my loan total go down. The business is paying it off already without me having to put personal money towards it.”

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