Fist I will tell you that I have been on this forum for the last 5 years. And thank everyone for there help!
I`m a part timer (not by chice) . I have been in the yellow pages the last 2 years and its not helped my business one bit, I put up flyers, hand out business cards and all that kind of advertiseing.
The first year I took in 2 deer, second year 4 deer, third year 3, this year 3.
I played the game just like you guys suggested not be to cheap , but give a fair price for the quality of work that I can put out. Usually this meant that the top deer guy in my area were getting around $295 and I was chargeing $250. the cheapest guy that I knew of charged $200.
How can you get any business without being really cheap?
Last deer season I had alot of calls , but most after hearing my price which I had raised to $300 ( my mounts have really improved in the last 4 years) (top guy is now chargeing $325) said they would bring there deer to me "if they couldnt find someone cheaper".
Heres my problem the best guy around has a established business 25 years I think.....He has so many mounts on the wall that he dont really even need to advertize. Most of the mounts around here go to him and ...the rest go to the cheapest person people can find.
On the last day of season I ran a sale on deer just to see what would happen I dropped the price on deer to $225 and took in 2 deer the last day or this year I would have only got 1.
Question is should I leave the price way low like this just to get work. hate to , but dont know how else to get some of my mounts out there. Is being cheap mean you are no good? or does it mean that you are willing to do alot to promote yourself and your business.
Needless to say my business has been in the red since I started it, built a shop and the yellow pages have eaten me up and put me in the red year after year. To date I havent taken money out of the bussiness fund. And have put money in it many times... this means that I really work for free......
I know what most people would suggest that I do "QUIT".......
I have a regular job make about $9.50 an hour at a local factory, we have no benifits, no retirement. I started this business in the hopes that it would be something that I could do when I retire and maybe even retire a little early. My Wife doesnt care that I dont really make any money doing this, says that everyone needs a good hobby and in reality , If I drop the yellow pages ,which I`m going to do. I might make a dollar or two. If I save up I might just be able to afford a happy meal in a month or two.................
venting mostly I dont see how anyone can help this situation
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There's too many variables to pinpoint any one thing that might be causing this. For me, when starting out the Yellow Pages were imperitive. Now, I'm not so sure if I'm getting much in return for my investment.
Since you say that most of the work goes to the one guy around you I would recommend a couple of things. First and foremost, your quality. Get some qualified opinions on your work and where it ranks in your area. Once your quality is as good or BETTER than your competition, then you can bring in customer's via a reasonable turanround time. Typically, the busy veterans cannot compete with this portion of the equation. This typically is a good marketing angle for beginners, but again the quality MUST be up there.
Now that you've got the two most important things under your belt, now you need to focus on the business side of things. A lot of people that do good work FAIL at this portion of the ballgame. It takes good people skills and you need to be a good salesperson, period. I know when that phone rings, 75% of the time I can sell myself and win the job. And there are many different techniques to get the job done in this arena. You need to figure out what's best for you. Know your target market and pitch yourself accordingly. You may do the best work in the world, but ultimately it comes down to being able to sell YOURSELF...
I have a guy in my area like that. Everyone knows his work and always go to him if they want a primo job. There are a few others getting some work but I have a friend who does taxidermy out of his home as well as small engine repair and he makes a living at it. I think he does all of his own tanning too. I see how so many can't make it because so many want it done as cheap as possible. I don't think I will be doing it as a business myself. It will be a supplement and hobby for me. I'm finding I don't enjoy some of the aspects of taxidermy work as much as I thought I would. I understand now it is a labor of love. I see it also as an art form and I do several different types of art only to find that NO ONE want's to pay you for your talent and your work at least not a fair price anyway. That goes for where I live anyway. I think if I were you I'd do it for the enjoyment and maybe go to the local fair and show your work and stick to what you charge. If people really like your work they will pay your price. I think word of mouth speaks volumes.
Not from taxidermy but from deer. Whats the fish market like in your area?
i cant believe taxidermist are still charging under 300. ihad the same problem when i first started. i would drop my price to get work but when i finally grew it became hard to raise the prices to were they should be. i charge over 400. i would suggest to set your prices to were your not working for free, and then go out and promote your self. the yellow pages, local adds,and flyers all did nothing for me. i did however hang work in my local tackle shops, hunting shops and even joined the hunting clubs. Hardware stores also worked out great. Several times instead of hunting i would drive around to all the hot spots and like the feller above mentioned i would sell myself to the hunters. for every 10 guys i would talk to 1 would come around and thats all it takes is to win one guy from each group and they will all slowly come(providing you do quility work). i would also say you need to present the location where your doing the work as well. have an area were you can display some finished work seperate from the work area. you may want to purchase specimens that you can mount for display and keep this area clean and free of oder. although most of my work is north american, my african display really shows my ablities and wins the clients. be carefull not to go broke building your buisness.good luck.
Granted, I've never seen your work, but after only 12 heads, are you worth $300.00 ? You may be ! You judge yourself fairly, or get a fellow taxidermist to do it. Compete at the state convention. If, your worth the charge, then stay with it and the work will come. Good Luck !
Last week Western Union announce (and not a single person noticed probably) that they would no longer deliver "telegrams". Like the slide rule and the rotary phone, the Yellow Pages are just done. Tell me how many of you have cell phones? Do you carry a phone book with you? Hmmmm. But do you dial 411 and ask for a name? Ahhh, there we have it. This year I got half a dozen calls from hunters walking up to downed deer in the fields and woods wanting to know how to field dress the animal or where to take it for processing. The world has changed drastically and the Yellow Pages times have passed. Sorry.
western union did that.wasn't worth the money i guess..unestablished try to make a really nice flyer.if you need help feel free to e-mail me and i will make one up for you to look at or send you a copy of mine to look at..A good looking flyer draws attention to itself.then put them out at check stations if you have them in your state..a local butcher.wal mart.bait shops or anywhere you think a sportsman might go..the trick i used in the beginning was to advertise on the local radio station during the friday night high school football games...good luck and stick to your prices...
Here's a short history how it has worked for me. Being close to retirement and looking for a part time job that I would enjoy after retirement I decided to try taxidermy. I only do deer. My goal was to reach a point where I would be able to do 20 and 30 deer each year I started in the fall of 2001 mounting deer free for my friends. The second year I charge my cost only. The third year I raised my fee so my profit would be $75. This is my fifth year of mounting deer and first year of retirement. I'm charging $250 this year and have 24 deer now and another coming this week. I know that the general comments have been don't start cheap but in my case it has worked. I have already had several return customers and referrals from old customers so I assume my quality of work is okay. Last year was my first year to advertise which consisted of passing out the McKenzie pamphlets at the local check stations and running one add in the local newspaper the week before opening deer gun season. I got three customers from the add this year and one from the pamphlets that I know of. My fee will go up next year.
other options to advertise? Most people I have found will pay for quality work if they know the difference. I had a guy locally that had better word of mouth than me and took in more heads, but his work sucked a**. I cut a couple deals and donated a couple mounts for charity hunts to raise money and after people seeing my work and the difference, I'm getting his heads from the customer that cares about the quality.
I've also taken some mounts to the local processor, people want to see your work. If the processor lets me hang a nice mount and I'm as cost effective as the next guy, I get exposure. Word of mouth is still the best advertising goin.
Many folks find me via the INTERNET Yellow Pages. I believe you get the basic internet ad for free when you advertise in the paper copy. Plus fyi, many folks have wireless and access the internet thru their cell phones nowadays.
Again, I believe every situation is different. For me, I had immediate access to 12 million people (literally) in my backyard! I suspect the Yellow Pages got me in business fulltime 2-3 years earlier (at least) than if I would've used other avenues. There aren't too many ways to reach that many people that quickly. Now, once you're established that's another story. If you don't have the numbers OR your area is flooded with several Yellow Pages, then it is indeed a waste.
I'll admit that the paper copies of the Yellow Pages is a dying breed. But the internet Yellow Pages will flourish. It's nice to be at the top of the list in other search engines as well. But, the market is saturated with search engines though and that is why I believe there will always be a place for the (internet) Yellow Pages.
I still say that you first need to take a look at your quality. Given the extremely low numbers you have compared to your competition I suspect there are issues there...
He can spent $50,000 on advertising but it does no good if he lives in a county of 12,000 people. Will your location support 3 or 4 taxidermists?
i forgot to mention in my earlier post that by offering deer butchering, my intake has increased. Hunters in my area like the convience. The processing also brings in alot of extra cash before the holiday. If you decide to offer this be shore to charge in advance. also a credit card machine makes it very easy for them to decide weather to mount something or not if money is an issue.
I mounted quite a few deer in the beginning before I started a business. I dont know the exact number of animals that I have mounted but I would say its around 25deer.and alot of other animals just about anything that I could get my hands on.
I know everyone says they are the best taxidermists in the world but few really are. I think that I`m good enough to charge what I have on my price list.......even before I dropped it for that sale.
I plan on putting some mounts in some local shops , I`ve already talked to some of the owners about this.
I`m looking into fish..........
I guess my worst falt is that I`m not the greatest salesman in this area.
Thanks for your responces and hopefully I can get things turned around
What else are you doing to market yourself and your business? I think George is right, yellow pages are a weak option today...
Cards and fliers at local businesses and even in neighboring towns always helped us...That card goes in the wallet and its with them all the time. Great fliers can be put together pretty easily on your PC...once you get your name out there and folks get familiar with you and your work, it will pick up. There are alot of things that you can do to market yourself and bring the folks in if only to take a look...then your work should sell itself.
I treid the Yellow Pages a long time ago and got very little response for my money so I dropped the ad after one year. At that time there were three yellow pages companies in the area. Since then two have merged, so I will try again this year because they offered me an almost free trial offer.
I get most of my new business from the Internet these days. A good webpage can bring in lots of business and by good I mean well laid out and professional, but most important is a top 10 ranking in Google for key search words. If you go to Google and type in Michigan taxidermists, you'll see my page at the top. I also rank high in anything looking for major towns and counties in my area along with the word taxidermists, taxidermy or taxidermist. I can tell you that it took a lot of work to get my webpage to work that well, but I did it all myself and only pay a small fee per month to my webpage host using Lowesthosting.com
a few different areas of advertising. I recently stopped in a gun shop that the owner was impressed with my work and low and behold he is also the guy that arranges some of the gun shows here. He wants me in his shows, $50 a table and I get to be infront of a few hundred. You have to be able to sell yourself. There is a guy near me that DP's his deer for $165 (THAT ISN'T A TYPO) and another "popular" one that charges $325 and his work is not very good. I joined my state association and had a few members look at my work and they feel it's better quality and I do alright in comp. I am also working on a brochure and flyer for these shows. Where I work days I have a few contacts that make brochures pretty cheap. And I also have a guy that does high end screenprinting (4color) that I'm working with to come up with shirts. I am putting mounts in a archery shop near me and in the gun store. The problem is that I don't want a lot of work but I want people to know me and my quality. Maybe try thinking outside the box and look at where you others haven't hit.
If I really wanted to increase my numbers, I would start accepting credit cards...
is almost totally useless. I put an AD in the largest newspaper in this area (9 county coverage)...every day in the sports section, for the months of Dec & Jan...total expense $418.00...returns 1 pheasant, and 1 european skull mount. There is a big buck bounty contest in our area and one taxidermist gets most of the large racks...and he can have them. I'll be darned if I want to stop what I'm doing 10 times a day to score a rack. It's really not fair that we measure our success solely on deer. I do 20-30 deer, 3 or 4 exotics, one or two large gameheads, several mammals, maybe 12 birds, 20 fish, and a huge pile of european skull mounts annually. I am retired and volume does not matter. I think the more complacent I got about the volume of work, the more work I actually received. I just want to enjoy what I do and then do my best. BTW, I charge $325 for shoulder mounts, and am going to $365 in July. Europeans are $125.00, including panel.
The guy who gets the most work in this area does piss poor work. He uses a magic marker to paint the noses. No eye detail, no ear butts whatsoever, 1/2inch gaps around the mouth, etc, etc. He charges around $150-$170. I charge $225, do above average work..(I've been told by a state champion taxidermist I need to be chargig $400 plus) yet he takes in 300 plu heads a year and I cant break te 50 mark.
Go figure...Turning out top quality work and being within rock throwing distance of the others pricesdoesnt mean you will get the work. 90% of potential customers dont notice the difference in quality and only want the cheapest price they can get.
... you could lose half your customers and still make the same profit.
Of all the places to advertise your work.......IMO ....this is the best........Most the big boys go here first and the taxidermists that display thier work and if it looks better than the rest will take the mounts.......find out how your compition mounts his/hers deer and use it as a weapon.....don,t say thier names ....just do yours better and be sure to point those areas out to the hunters....for example.....tell people to shop for quality and not price.....tell them how.....like say check the ears for druming.....if they,re useing ear liners wth the cartlidges ....tell them what will happen......and if thats what your competitor does they will notice it.......when they carry a deer to the other taxidermist.... they will look closer at thier work and find the flaws......but dont ever talk bad about them..... GL
It might be that you missed this statement by him...he said he works at a factory and makes $9.50 an hour. Guys, I made more than that when I worked at a factory...in 1980! What that might very well mean is, his area pays a rate low enough that his $300 deerhead IS expensive. I hate to say it, but if I lived in an area where the pay rate is low, and guys wont pay much for a deerhead, Id get a job based on NEEDED SERVICE, not luxury. That, and do a few heads for the love of it, and not to make a living. I hope it works out for the guy, though.
Factory wages fluctuate immensely mostly depending on experience. Toss in whether or not they're union and there's a few more bucks. "No benefits" - he may just be starting out at a factory as many don't offer medical/etc. until you've been there 6 months. Unskilled factory labor in the Chicago area here can start out LESS than $9.50 an hour! And maybe double that if you're lucky after 20 years or so. Many of the factories around here that were union, have gone belly up as they can't compete with the non-union factories. Even deer heads can vary around here all the way down below $300. It may be his economy where he's at, but not necessarily. He should be peeling off more numbers than what he is. There's something else going on here...
Just continue to focus on the quality of your work, and be able to readily point out the difference between yours and others around you. Nobody ever questions why a painter or sculptor charges what they do for their work. Art is art. As far as advertising, I would focus on cheaper, yet more effective ways. Try business cards and homemade flyers at all local deer processing/ check stations, sporting goods stores, local fish and game affiliates. I don't believe many hunters would actually scan the yellow pages these days but leave something on a counter top at a check out and they're sure to read it. Try offering a discount on mounts for repeated business.
Would you believe it was a non union place, and I was at the bottom of the totem pole at that time? I left there while making $11 something plus OT if I wanted it. I know what you are saying though. I think for this guy, he has a solid job, so I wouldnt tell him how to spend money to get customers, especially in an area that doesnt sound like its supporting the higher price. If he needs a second income, Id try the NEEDED SERVICE I spoke of, rather than a luxury biz. Like Ive said in past posts, boat shops just dont do well in the desert, no matter what the price and overhead.
...on your Rolling Stones/Pirates of the Carribean comment. I squirted coffee out my nose when I read it! Very funny. (I loved the first one btw and the second one is coming in July. Depp was quite interesting in the first one, I hope the second one can compare...)
this taxidermy thing for about two years, and have never advertised. I started out with family members (forgiving people LOL), and co-workers, telling them I was just starting out and could guarantee NOTHING about my work. The first year,I took in four turkey for breast mounts, three for fan and beard displays, one squirrel, a mink, and ten deer. One guy had a deer mount that was ruined in a fire, and asked what I could do. After talking to a few guys here, I told him I could buy him a new hide, clean the antlers, and give him a new mount. Since then, he's given me two more racks he had in his barn, and had them mounted by me. Last year I took in 4 turkeys, 2 for breast mounts, and 2 for full mounts, 12 deer to mount, four for europeons, 5 pheasants, and just finished a russian boar for my boss. When he asked me how much was owed, I told him the remainder of his balance from $325. He told me it wasn't enough, and gave me a hefty tip. He then told me to start charging more (this guys has a trophy room loaded with African game), and would come to me again as well as highly recommending me. Made me feel pretty darn good. I charge $325 for a deer mount, which is about $50 less than the competition here. The next county over averages $425 a deer. I've got pre-orders for turkeys this year if the guys are successful. I guess word of mouth works best for me..., JMO
Bill
george, if I charged $400 I wouldnt take any in. :^)
In my county , at my rate, I am the most expensive.
Quality doesnt mean crap around here. Even the few people who do complain about the competition's work take them back there because of the price. If it wasnt for the out of state customers' work I do for local game preserves I would quit taxidermy altogether.
deer in the door every year, $200 -$250, per head. Keep it it up guys, the supply companies love ya!
INTEGRITY, HONESTY, REPUTATION and SERVICE. You will get more business from word of mouth than any other type of advertising. I never advertised other than word of mouth and my reputation got me 21 deer and six bear my first year in business. A lot of work doesn't mean you're good, it could mean you will be behind the eight ball come six months down the road. Never make promises you can't keep and never tell someone you can do something that you can't. As one other individual stated "sell yourself". don't talk the talk iy you can't walk the walk they say. It is so true because one you disapoint one customer its like the domino theory. they may tell ten people who will tell ten people, get the picture. Your work will sell itself. You may have to spend more time on your mounts and be very critical of yourself but it will pay off down the road, or maybe it isn't the right profession for you either. Look at your compititions work and then rate your work against his. You need to be as good or better than he/she. I charge 390.00 per head and don't have problem getting it. I also think it depends on your venue. P.S Keep your prices the same as your compitition, and let your work sell.
One way I started advertising last year was what we call the mile long yard sale that runs from a small town to a larger town. It's a one day thing twice a year. It draws thousands of local people and even out of towners. I set up a booth with my work where everyone can see. The space costs around 25.00 for the day but it has been well worth it. If you have any such thing in your local area give it a try. Once you are established and do good work you should do O.K.