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    Taxidermy as a profession.

    I have been interested in, and thought about being, a taxidermist for years. It is just a hobby for me now, but I have alot of business related questions I was hoping some of you G.S. taxidermist might not mind answering for me.

    How many are able to make it your full time job? How many do it on the side or in combination with something else? If so what?

    If it is your full time job, how long did it take you to establish the business to a point of income that supports you?

    Is it unrealistic to think I could be as busy as I want to be, and even maintain a couple of full time employees?

    What percentage of your business is shoulder mounts? birds?, Fish?

    What do you make your largest profit margins on? Deer, predators, exotics, birds, or fish?

    Thanks in advance to any that don't mind answering. Feel free to pm me if you would rather.

    #2
    I only lasted 3 yrs before RA had my hands to messed up to get the work out in a timely manner and I closed the doors!
    So I'll just give you some very necessary things I learned!
    1 everything you do cost you money, add that cost into your pricing, water, sewer, electricity, trash pickup, your time-every little nitpicking penny!
    2. For every deadbeat taxidermist story you read about here on the gs, there's 5 deadbeat customers that'll come through the door wanting free add-ons, not wanting to put up a deposit, wanting a discount "since your just starting out"! Be very discerning about who you do business with.
    3. Use the deposits to get your supplies and get your work out, if you ever get into that hole it's a beee-aaatch to get yourself out!

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      #3
      I only do Euros, antler Mounts and turkey fan mounts. At one point I could have quit my full time job easily. I am ended up making it just a seasonal thing and turned down taxidermy work as it was just too much. But I know quite a few taxis that all do it full time.

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        #4
        Thanks guys, I appreciate your response.
        I'm open to anymore advise or input.

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          #5
          Been a part timer for over 30 years. I like it to much to have made it a job. I am now retired from the corporate world and still do it part time.
          tex4k has good advise. Your overhead must be included in your price along with an hourly rate for you when ordering supplies and other thinks needed other than working on a mount. Cash flow is king. Get deposits and give your customers advance notice when the mount will be done.
          I always thought if I was to do it full time I would open a shop for taxidermy and archery along with outfitting hunts. Like any business you need good employees. I would think a one man shop would be a tuff way to go.
          Follow your dreams and have no regrets brother!!!!

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            #6
            Originally posted by Allpublic View Post
            I have been interested in, and thought about being, a taxidermist for years. It is just a hobby for me now, but I have alot of business related questions I was hoping some of you G.S. taxidermist might not mind answering for me.

            How many are able to make it your full time job? How many do it on the side or in combination with something else? If so what?

            If it is your full time job, how long did it take you to establish the business to a point of income that supports you?

            Is it unrealistic to think I could be as busy as I want to be, and even maintain a couple of full time employees?

            What percentage of your business is shoulder mounts? birds?, Fish?

            What do you make your largest profit margins on? Deer, predators, exotics, birds, or fish?

            Thanks in advance to any that don't mind answering. Feel free to pm me if you would rather.
            It better be if its your full time gig..
            Taxidermy is a volume business.. A one man studio will not make a decent living by his or herself.... Good, reliable help is a must.. Go visit some big studios and look around and ask some questions before you put much thought into this endeavor because there is a whole lot that goes into running a successful, high volume, full time studio.. More than you can even imagine..
            It can be good, even very good, but it can also be a huge PITA..
            Last edited by PondPopper; 12-14-2019, 08:59 PM.

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              #7
              Thanks bo-n-aro

              Originally posted by ttaxidermy View Post
              It better be if its your full time gig..
              Taxidermy is a volume business.. A one man studio will not make a decent living by his or herself.... Good, reliable help is a must.. Go visit some big studios and look around and ask some questions before you put much thought into this endeavor because there is a whole lot that goes into running a successful, high volume, full time studio.. More than you can even imagine..
              It can be good, even very good, but it can also be a huge PITA..
              Thanks ttaxidermy. I do understand that taxidermy is a volume business and that it requires help to have a successful operation. I guess my question is, as a starting out taxidermist, is it hard to get the volume needed to support yourself and a few employees? Or did you find that once you were getting your work out there, business came quickly?

              Thanks for taking the time to answer and give me advice, I know alot of this just depends on me, and how hard I'm willing to pursue it, but I appreciate yours and any others knowledge and experience.

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by ttaxidermy View Post
                It better be if its your full time gig..
                Taxidermy is a volume business.. A one man studio will not make a decent living by his or herself.... Good, reliable help is a must.. Go visit some big studios and look around and ask some questions before you put much thought into this endeavor because there is a whole lot that goes into running a successful, high volume, full time studio.. More than you can even imagine..
                It can be good, even very good, but it can also be a huge PITA..

                This is good info. It can be a good living, but will never be a lucrative "per/hour" job. you will have to put in the time. Quality work will equate to a long term established business. Good luck.

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                  #9
                  I ship my animal hides and skull caps back home to Tennessee.
                  $275 there -vs- $500+ here

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by Spoiled_TN_boy View Post
                    I ship my animal hides and skull caps back home to Tennessee.
                    $275 there -vs- $500+ here
                    Any pics of these Tennessee mounts? I would love to see those.

                    A quality deer manikin, quality eyes, tanning and shipping on the above will be $200 or more. And that's before you even take them out of the box..

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                      #11
                      Turn around time is how you will build your business. If you can get a shoulder mount out in a couple of months it would bring you business. People don’t mind paying for expedited great work. If I could have pod an extra $150 to get my daughters back in dec va March or April , I would have. People are anxious about getting their animals back. 10-20 months later the luster fades.

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                        #12
                        Originally posted by warrington View Post
                        Turn around time is how you will build your business. If you can get a shoulder mount out in a couple of months it would bring you business. People don’t mind paying for expedited great work. If I could have pod an extra $150 to get my daughters back in dec va March or April , I would have. People are anxious about getting their animals back. 10-20 months later the luster fades.
                        At the moment most good tanneries are running 90-120 days and longer on skins. Unless a taxidermist tans his own, which most don't, then 2 months is impossible.. I don't know any taxidermist, and I know a bunch(100's), with a 2 month turn around..

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by warrington View Post
                          Turn around time is how you will build your business. If you can get a shoulder mount out in a couple of months it would bring you business. People don’t mind paying for expedited great work. If I could have pod an extra $150 to get my daughters back in dec va March or April , I would have. People are anxious about getting their animals back. 10-20 months later the luster fades.
                          Taxidermist like to hunt and fish as much as the next guy. And if they are any good they will have a lot of work.
                          I dont think you would be happy if with the quality if you wanted a rush job

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Miss understanding. I thought that the tannery would take 4-6 weeks

                            A rush job doesn’t have to be a crappy job. Slow jobs don’t always mean excellent work either. When the cape comes back, if they start working on it immediately and finish once it’s done doesn’t mean bad job, it’s just efficient.

                            If your business is not busy, then turn around for the mount should be much quicker than a busy taxidermist. A cape siting one the shelf waiting to be mounted, is not efficient

                            If you want to grow a business, taking as long as an established busy taxidermist, isn’t going to bring you more clients. If it is your main job. Turn around time should be as minimal as possible with out sacrificing quality


                            Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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                              #15
                              I’m not a taxidermist, and have only dealt with one. Place has been in business for 40 years, has a storefront, and isn’t cheap. They do impeccable work though and you don’t have to worry if your stuff is going to disappear.

                              I do have feedback on starting a business though, having done it successfully multiple times. How busy you can be depends purely on the quality of your work. Don’t turn out stuff that isn’t great and price it cheaper. That’s not how you build a reputation, and word of mouth referrals are everything.

                              It will take awhile to be busy to start, especially with turnaround times slowing things considerably. However, most taxidermy businesses are very old school and make almost no use of technology. They have 3-4 page high school project level websites, are slow to communicate, use carbon paper hand written receipts, etc.

                              Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, etc, have become so prevalent that you can dominate competition by using them effectively. I’d build a quality website with high res photos of your work, start social media pages that you update several times a week, and at least make a YouTube video of the basic process of a shoulder mount.

                              One frustrating thing these days is people expect constant communication. You can tell them a mount will be ready in September and they will call you every other week starting in June just to “check in.” I would look at tweaking some type of shipping/order fulfillment software to give them updates when their skull is caped out, sent to the tanner, back from the tanner, and completed, without you having to type it all out constantly, or be chasing calling people back while you’re trying to work.

                              Get a 50% deposit up front, and the other 50% when they pick it up. No exceptions. Take credit cards.

                              Figure out how you’ll deal with legal issues like people coming in with undersized deer from AR counties, not having a tag, having an expired hunting license, etc. It will happen unintentionally.

                              The other unique issue you’ll deal with due to 6-12 month turnaround times is not being able to get ahold of customers when their mounts are ready. People get new phones, get relocated for work, get deployed, get arrested, etc, and contacting you about an unfinished mount isn’t always going to be their top priority. They will show up a year later and be mad that you sold their mount after doing your due diligence to contact them. I’d want a phone number, email address, mailing address, and phone number of a spouse, father, hunting buddy, etc.

                              Your worst case scenario will be a freezer going down, you need to have an alarm, backup power, and potentially the ability to move everything within 24 hours. People won’t be happy with getting their deposit back if you ruin their once in a lifetime animal.

                              Send me a PM if you’re interested in more, I’ve been launching a small business consulting firm and have enjoyed exploring how I can help in certain industries, free of charge.
                              Last edited by gatorgrizz27; 12-15-2019, 10:36 PM.

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