i've been mounting birds and fish only and been doing it for two years. and so far its been all word of mouth for friends and etc.
but now i listed in three differnt yellow pages and was wondering what to expect. everyone i've done stuff for has been very happy with there mounts and have refered others to me. do you get alot of calls from the yellow pages? can customers get hard to deal with?
i have my state and fed lic so i'm set there. i work full time now will there be alot more business. where full time will interfere. i live about 15 miles south of the twin cities in minnesota. all the help from this forum has been so much help and look forward to help other beginners in the future.
brian k
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When I first opened the studio, I left flyers at all the local game check stations just prior to deer season. And gas stations, etc., advertising they would be serving breakfast to hunters. Don't forget to leave business cards, too.
Now that I've settled into a comfortable sized clientele, I only have a minimal size yellow page listing. I personally don't want to grow into a multi-employee business because of all the added headaches involved.
Yes, clients can be a pain at times. Fortunately, for myself, anyway, I've only had two that really aggravated me, and several that were annoying (calling often to check on their mount, then taking their time to pick it up!).
Read the archives (use the orange search button) for more info. Be sure to have a contract, too. And insurance is a necessity, just in case.
Good luck! =)
I had an add in the yellow pages once. It did get me some business. But what I discovered was that it got a ton of price shoppers. It also got guys that wanted to talk to taxidermists. guys that had not even gotten a dear yet. But wanted to talk about having one mounted if they did. they always wanted to talk about hunting and all sorts of other stuff. Be sure your business number is different from your home number too. Because you can bet you will be getting calls from drunks at 2:00 AM that want a ride home. Maybe it is just the area I am in. but be prepared. Good luck
Yellow page listing is helpful by listing you with others who do the same work, however keep it simple. You don't need a display ad that costs $$$$ just list your shop in the directory. Don't give prices over the phone....simply state that you dont price your work this way and that you have to see the specimen in order to price it since all mounts are different,(AND DON'T RELENT!). This will discourage price shoppers or your competition from undercutting your prices.Also as stated above, your listing will be right after TAXICABS and drunks have blurred vision at 2AM...lol Good luck....JL
Yellow pages work great. I spend about $540 a month on yellow page advertising. Don't expect big results right away. My experince is it takes about a good year or so for most people to get rid of there old yellow pages after the new ones come out. They don't look at the new ones right away, they must have to break them in slow or something
Some people contact me because they say it was the largest add. I do get some price shoppers that look for the cheapest price. I don't really need them. I do get many of them anyway when I invite them over to see the work. I educate them in what they will be getting, and let the work speak for itself. The price checking, price cutting taxidermist doesn't bother me either. If they are any good at all they should know what they're work is worth. They usually get the price shoppers. There still seems to be plenty of work for most everyone in the area. Advertising also depends on where you are and how far out the book covers. Sports shows exposure, and word of mouth works th best. They need to see your name and work enough times that it is remembered when they need your services. You also need to spend money to make money. You also need to stay in there face so you are remembered. It helps to be INVOLVED with different sportsman groups.(Not just a name)That exposure also works great.
thank you for all your respones they help me be prepared. i will take all of them into thought. i work for a printing company now so i can get stuff printed for free so that helps alot. and it would be great if i could make enough money doing taxidermy so i could not be a printer anymore TO MUCH CORPRET GREED! even if i could do taxidermy and work somewhere part time would also be great thank again
brian k
do your (taxidermy) shop's financials (cash flow, balance sheet, income statement; and don't forget direct labor, indirect labor, manufacturing overhead)... Then imagine what your employer goes through.
Most people have a different view of "corporate greed" once they actually have to manage a business. (And I'm not saying that there aren't exceptions to that, they're just the VAST minority).