We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Connor McGaffey. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Connor below.

Alright, Connor thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

In 2014 I started a business in Detroit called “Detroit Dart Club” It started off with an idea in my house when I was hosting nerf battles. I thought this could be a good idea. I had some money saved up from working multiple jobs that were burning me out. I was highly motivated to do something I enjoyed and was willing to take a risk on this business idea. I started the business off at the Russell Industrial Center and that giant lion tiger mural with wings (Detroit chimera) was the front door to my space. I couldn’t pass this up with having the coolest front door in Detroit. I built the space out with stuff I found around the building and cheap foam floor from Costco. After rushing to open up for an open house at the Russell Industrial Center, I booked my first party. It happened to be some top people at Rocket Mortgage (it was Quicken Loans at the time). They had a great time and sent an email throughout the company. After one year in business it became my full time job and I was hosting around 45 parties a month all on my own.

After 2.5 years of things going really well, it looked like the Russell Industrial Center was getting shut down for code violations. So I packed up and started looking for a new location. I ended up finding one and expanded throughout that building with a total of 17,000 sf. I had 4 arenas, added dodgeball, a podcast studio, and Virtual Reality arena. Once again things were going well. Then 2020 happened and I had to close the business. I actually decided to close the business pretty early on. I didn’t see how it could survive with how things were going.

From there I sold everything, converted a van, and lived in it for a year while starting my new dream job. I now have been working at Firefly Drone Shows for 4 years and I get to travel the world filming drone shows. I’ve grown their social media to 1.7 million followers on til Tok and 470,000 followers on Instagram. I’ve made several viral videos over 30 million views and the most has 55 million views. It’s an exciting company to work for.

I started a YouTube channel back in 2014 and it has turned into many themes. First was a business vlog, then van life, and now a travel vlog with some drone show behind the scenes. I like to capture moments in my life so I can look back on some of the adventures and risks I have taken in life. I’m glad I take risks. Even if things don’t work out I at least know I tried. And I’m going to continue to take risks because that’s what gets the heart pumping!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I think I touched on this in the previous question. But I’ve gotten into my past businesses and current job from being passionate about hobbies I’ve tried. I am a big fan of hobbies. I am a little impulsive when starting hobbies or making life changing decisions. The biggest one being starting a nerf arena in Detroit from being inspired by playing with nerf blasters in my house.

One thing I am glad I did before starting my business was working many years in different types of customer service jobs. They weren’t fun at the time but I definitely learned a lot. I also give a lot of credit to my parents for raising me to be polite, patient, and have the drive to start a business like this. But if I did not have that customer service background I don’t think Detroit Dart Club would have been possible. I believe I had all positive google reviews in the 6 years I was in business.

Detroit Dart Club is strange to look back on. It almost feels like a dream. We were bringing in over a thousand customers each week and most people in Detroit didn’t know we existed. I hope the people who had their corporate parties, birthdays, bachelor/bachelorette parties, fundraisers, all had a unique fun experience where they got to forget about the stresses of their lives and just have silly fun. Almost like recess when we were kids. Adults still need to play!

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

When I was in my early 20’s I would watch a lot of motivational videos on YouTube to keep me going mentally. I haven’t watched them in years but maybe it’s a good idea to get back into watching them. There is one that stands out for me. It is called “why you will fail to have a great career” by Larry Smith.

Essentially he calls us out for not following our passions (not interests). Basically we make up excuses to not do what we say we will do. I think this is what stands my self and other entrepreneurs above the rest in this instance. And that when we say we are going to do something, we are going to do it. We might fail but we are going to try.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

I think helping artists build communities to share their knowledge to the youth or peers is the best way to keep these ecosystems alive. Just like in business I believe community is the most important aspect to keep it growing.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/connor_mcgaffey/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSwmJpcf-qv_-Q7ocuaqr3Q