I have a few questions. i am trying to learn taxidermy and there is taxidery shop in town slamming me something fierce! He told me right to my fface that i never will amount to anything-according to him "i do not have the ability to do work that anyone would want. has anyone else delt with anything like this before? there are two well known shops in town and he is one of them. I ahve been reading alot , watching videos and just trying to learn. not to be on his same level but i have seen his work (deer head) and from the viseos i am watching he does not seem to do somethings right. there is another guy who happens to friends with both of us and he tells me that he uses no hide paste on anything and on my brothers mount the hide around the base of the horns is pulled away about a 1/4 inch.
i am having a real hard time getting people to let me do any work for them. any ideas will be appreciated.
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Leave him alone like he does not exist; do not talk about him with anyone. The only pain anyone can really cause you is that which YOU allow to happen. Be the best you can be and turn it into a positive and keep smiling or he has won. Do not let that happen.
that is good advice- i have been losing sleep over this and i guees i need to not worry about it and keep plugging away. Thanks
Dont allow him the satisfaction of getting to you. Tell your customers from what you know he is good at taxidermy. Dont try to take in to much right now, but what you do take in, do the best job you can possibly do and time will take care of the rest. You know in your heart you can become a great taxidermist if you keep practicing and learning. It takes time and effort to become good at something, and if he can break you down now he will. Join a club in your area, meet people that have paid their dues, and when you become one of them you help someone with the same desire as you. Keep it fun. Believe me, there's enough work for everyone.
Adapt and overcome
Good advice above, You got a chance to learn things the right way, get some help from your States Taxidermy Association, go to the competitions, Get some weekend training, and learn the trade right. You will not get more business then him overnight. Make a plan that in 5 years you will have as many customers that he does. His quality will do him in, and your quality will do him in. He is scared and that is why he is in your face. Fear produces anger. Stay away from him, silently pass him by and maybe some day he will work for you, or at least, come around with his hat in his hand.
you guys are right! I guess i need to be the bigger man here and let it go. my wife told me that maybe he knows what kiind of work he does and is afraid of being embarrased!
I will pass him silently, stay away from him, but he will never ever work for me! lol Thanks guys
Have you thought that maybe he is worried that you ARE good enough to maybe start getting HIS clients? Maybe hes worried business will drop once people see your work? Id just politely ignore him and if anyone says Hey You hear what so in so has been telling people? Just smile and say yes, but that your work will speak for itself :) Hey the cream always rises to the top no matter how much you shake the conatiner :)
It will all come out in the wash Just be patient and dont let that little person make you doubt yourself.
I'm surprised Jim wasn't kicked out of someone's shop like the rest of us were. Years back, the attitude you see was rife throughout the industry. I stopped counting the number os shops I got tossed out of and the remarks you heard would have been considered nice to what I was told.
Some very good advise above ,Don't let him or any other get you down ,he's definitely scared i can tell by his action's.My advise to you *** is stay away and mind your own, get some training on your weaker points [deer, mammals,fish,ect] avoid morons like him ,don't slam or bad mouth other taxidermist and just rise above it and do your best.
Do not worry what he says but be concerned on making sure your customers see you for what you are about. Let it go and prove him an Idiot!
After reading all your encouragement, I will stay the course and not worry about him(at least try not to). Thank you all for advice.
Now George, Me! kicked out of a shop? well maybe once, Ok... more than once. But I hate it when people say one thing and mean another or act one way in front of the priest or pastor or banker etc. and another way with others. I refuse to be that way. I still remember Popeye's motto: "I ams what I ams and thats all that I ams"
When I opened my shop I did it in an area that only had one big shop. I competed at the States and at the Worlds and ribboned at both. I started drawing in business, from their old customers. I advertised, they bad mounted it. I sent letters to game ranches, outfitters, big time hunters to intorduce myself and invite them to look at my work...they sent a letter to the boss of my real job complaining I was competing with them unfairly. I got a great opportunity, about $30K, to be the exclusive taxidermist for a local game ranch. They went down there, told them I don't do my own work and I lost the account. They lost that account and two others recently due to poor work and 5th grade antics. I picked up one of them.
They still run me down whenever they can, and I still draw in more and more of their old customers. I tried fighting them and it only cost me heartache and wasted energy. I finally learned that I can only control my shop and I can only strive to get better. Take the high road, its hard, it sucks, but youll sleep better. Then one day something will happen that makes it all worthwhile.
For me, it was doing work this year for the brother of one of the owners of the big shop. Yep, they even lost family members to me.
When you look at that- My problems are not that bad! Kudos to you!
You know what? I AM going to stay the course and hopefully succeed the same way you are. All the advice here has been just GREAT. I am motivated to say the least- more like fired up! I have come to the conclusion that I will be a better taxidermist and a better and bigger person than he will ever be. Not just because of him, but for my own self. Thanks a million guys.
P.S.
Unfairly? I think how you rounded up business gets a gold star! I am going to rethink my whole marketing plan!
hahahaha...
But the best thing I can tell you, Irregardless of any field you take. Is that you should never slander another in the business. This only makes you look unprofessional. Let him talk and you do your work. As far as getting customers. You need to learn to do the work, and provide quality mounts. I am starting myself, and I know that there is no free lunch. You dont just open a shop and the customers start pouring in. You have to provide evidence that you are the one they want to use. If you are not ready to provide the quality they are looking for then you will crash and burn. But just let the other guy be. If he is talking crap about you then so be it. MOST Customers, I would assume, DO not want to come into a shop and here about that kinda crap. They passed that stage in the second grade.
Ya no I'd say 7 out of 10 customers that walk into my shop have something to say that was told to them about my work by a few slamming taxidermist talking crap, most are within 10 miles of my shop, So what your saying Edward is true, when they tell me that GARBAGE i just smile,[proof is in the pudding]there old customers are standing in my shop wanting something mounted.join your local association ,go to competitions/work shops/seminars/ect.Heck if your local i do some classes on deerheads/mammals.
You are right- I need to learn to do quality work, which I will. i was just afraid he would deter people away before I had a chance to get started. I am practing and striving to learn, and I will.I know it takes time- alot of time. A full blown shop is down the road a bit yet. I guess when I get more confident in my work, it will bother me less. Buck where are you located?
Around 2001, my father had a massive stroke and I was trying to work a full-time job, keep my studio going, and help take care of dad. I would stop at his house almost every day to help my mom with him. Anyway some new taxidermist runs into one of my clients and starts talking trash about me and my work and never even met me! He said he was going to put me out of business because you cant work a full-time job and run a successful taxidermy shop, and people will soon get tired of waiting a year for their mounts. I called every client, told them about dad and all's they said was dont worry about it, take care of your dad. Anyway, I never lost any customers and gained a bunch of his because of poor quality.
Located in PA
And the guy lost his shop that he was renting and is back in his basement.
Dont try to get his buisness by underbidding him. I dont know what you guys charge but keep your prices on the same page. Make money from your hard work, it will payoff in the long run.