Mojave Ranger School is a family-friendly airsoft club that uses 2 paid Milsim teams (military simulation) to provide a persistent, fully-immersive, Fallout-themed airsoft game, played weekly from a 2.5-acre fort in the Mojave Desert. Mojave Ranger School uses Live Action Role Play (LARP) and video and tabletop games to teach real-world first aid, radio, Milsim and aviation skills with free online training and free downloadable PDF manuals.
Mojave Ranger School is a very tiny, localized version of a military business similar to the Civil Air Patrol, which uses the military structure to train civilians as part of the Air Force Auxiliary.
A Ranger Training Club is a local franchise managed by local independent contractors who are working upwards through the hierarchy of the Mojave Ranger School system.
- An Affiliated Club has a local club structure (President, Treasurer, Secretary) which manages the people in the club.
- An Affiliated Club has a franchised business structure for the airsoft/milsim operations and Merchant’s Guild sales programs.
- Mojave Ranger School managers and sales team function within the business structure of the franchise, while being members of the club.
Starting a Small Business v. Launching a Franchise
Starting a small local business involves identifying a market need, creating a solid business plan, and registering your entity with state/local authorities. Key steps include securing funding, obtaining licenses, establishing a bank account, and building a local customer base through networking or digital marketing.
When launching a Mojave Ranger School Affiliated Club you can skip most of those steps because all the heavy lifting has been done already,
- Business Planning: the Mojave Ranger School Franchise Plan covers structure, management, and growth strategy
- Market Research: A Fallout-themed LARP that teaches real-world skills, supported by a local Merchant’s Guild sales and marketing team, might have a small population penetration locally, while capturing a large percentage of the local LARP and gaming market
Legalize and Register:
- The business franchise for-profit structure is already done
- Local clubs need the club management setup (President, Secretary, Treasurer), which is done in-house for the club
- Licenses and Permits: managed through the Merchant’s Guild
- Secure Finances: Done already through Mojave Ranger School
- Insurance and club operating expenses are managed through Mojave Ranger School
- Rank-based stipends for Mojave Ranger School management and Mojave Rangers gamers are managed through Mojave Ranger School
- all product sales are managed through Mojave Ranger School
- Set Up Operations: Find a physical location or set up a home-based office.
- Merchant’s Guild managers will handle flea market and event management
- Mobile Training Teams will manage training operations and coordinate events with Merchant’s Guild
- Marketing and Sales: Promote your business through local channels, including local Facebook groups and networking.
- Merchant’s Guild managers will handle flea market and other events
- Mobile Training Teams will manage training operations
Mojave Ranger School Rank and Management
Mojave Ranger School is built on the Incident Command System (ICS) which scales from a Single Resource (1 player) out to a nationwide command that includes every player in the country.
ICS training teaches Mojave Ranger School managers how to manage their roles and understand the interplay of the roles above and below them using Chain of Command, Common Terminology and Span of Control to manage Ranger missions.
Mojave Ranger School management structure rewards players for getting more training and moving up through the system.
Owners and Managers
Mojave Ranger School is a non-profit business founded by an ex military medic/radio operator who was also a wildland firefighter and EMT.
Managers move upward through the Mojave Ranger School ICS hierarchy based on their willingness to accept more training and responsibility. Managers make rank-based stipends and other bonuses.
While each Affiliated Club may have ‘permanent party’ cadre who fill the same positions long-term, the system is also designed to encourage players to get more training and continue moving up through the system. The Mojave Ranger School ICS system expands based on the availability of trained management.
The ICS system is a paid apprenticeship that trains managers to move up through the system and start new Affiliated Clubs.
Plank-Owner Members are the initial instructors, merchants and cadre who help develop and launch the program and new clubs and who vest into ownership stock in the corporation, and who get regular profit share dividend checks from the business.
BOD and C&GS
- The Command & General Staff (C&GS) are the ICS positions that manage the game and retail franchises.
- C&GS are intended to be training positions that rotate every 2 years
- The Mojave Ranger School Board of Directors (BoD) are the people who help the owner manage the overall business. BoD members make dividends from a block of stock as well as other profit shares. Plank-Owners may become BoD members.