Is the taxidermy business a difficult one to break into and would specializing in one category(ie. fish)be a disadvantage? Asking this question at a couple of local shops didn't get any response. They wouldn't even talk to me!
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lol-yep there's lots of them SOB's that won't like you at all!
I recommend first,that you search the archives, or at least take a few hours to just browse this forum. there have been several discussions on this subject and I'm sure you'll find plenty of helpful
advice.
this is my recommendation for your specific questions. Dont try to
break in to this business. instead, just kinda sneak in gradually.
most of us started part time, or hobbying, and gradually reached a point where you could make a comfortable business decision about whether or not to go full-time by quitting your "real" job.
it's also easy to "hobby" on a specific area of the business. it's much more difficult the specialize and make a living (of course a few do it very well!)
You'll find that taxidermy is seasonal--(example-if you decide to do only deer heads, you might be starving by summertime, unless you also mount fish.)
I think it would take years to build up a specialty business, and it would probably be done by doing all mounts, then gradually eliminating specimens until you were a "specialty taxidermist"
Good Luck
Dave
John,
I am just started my taxidermy business full time. I have been practicing taxidermy for over ten years and it got to the point where I felt that my work was as good as, if not better than the surrounding taxidermists. There are about 4-5 full timers in my area (30 mile radius) and they all seem to be very busy, though I have never talked with them directly.
In my state (Vermont) the deer and the turkey population are higher then they have ever been, duck bag limits are the highest that I can ever remember, salmon and lake-trout are getting bigger and healther, the state of VT is sponsering youth hunts to keep the hunting tradition going ( I am going to take advantage of this and offer deals for youth hunters), and finally the economy is booming, and so more people are giong on hunting trips.
The factors above are what I took into consideration when I decided to quit my job and go full time. The most important factor, I feel, is that in lean times I will still get customers because of the quality of my work. Basically, I feel that I can compete directly with the surrounding taxidermists (via quality and turn around).
I would be a liar if I told you that I was not taking a chance, and that I am not nervous about the up-coming hunting seasons, just like any small business.
In my opinion it would be very difficult to start off specializing unless you lived in an area that would enable you to. An example would be the great lakes region where they catch a variety of big fish year round.
Good luck and let me know how things turn out,
T.J.