On Turning My Hobby Into A Thriving Outdoor Knives Brand
My name is Aaron Gough, I own and run Gough Custom where I make high-end hunting, camping & survival knives. My philosophy is to make a small selection of products with the highest possible level of quality and functionality. I also focus on transparency and leadership, trying to do what I can to push the state of the art forward for knifemakers and small manufacturers in general.
I started the business in 2013 as a side project, working out of a shared basement. Being really open about my process and making ‘process documentary’ videos on YouTube quickly drove me to the point where I was able to support myself making knives full time. Being a small manufacturer is not an easy life though, so there have certainly been some ups and downs!
Over time I evolved my focus and realized that the ideal business for me was more of a ‘lifestyle business’ where I freed up as much of my personal time as possible to work on passion projects and learn new things! The business has definitely delivered on that front and I usually spend several days per week working on research and development projects.
