Advertising?

Ask for mom and pops advertising in your local paper. That helped me when I first started with no FB or any other internet service lol. I do it two weeks prior to the season and run it for 4 weeks bear and deer season.
Be there to take calls cause most of the time when your just starting getting new clients is if you answer and you talk the right way to them ( your selling yourself now) they’ll come then. If your not answering your phone I’ll say this most walk away as I’ve seen it with other taxidermists trying to get into the business but they rather be hunting instead of work.

 

I got a lot of business from a local paper ad and a google search ad. Word of mouth was the biggest one though.

Didn't they teach you advertising in business classes?

 

Part of your shop rate should include advertising.

 

My website pulls in business from a 100 mile radius. If someone googles "taxidermy and mississippi", my name usually pops up. Occasionally, I have someone from way far off. Facebook will probably get you more mileage, faster than any other media source.

 

I was the first in my area 30 years ago now to have radio commercials, at the time the early morning slots were wide open as most were sleeping and no one thought there was a market for anything , I would run a 1 min commercial every 1/2 hour from 2am till 6am at a cost of only $5 a spot . They are the hours that a hunter or fisherman was headed out . Because I made a market for them that same spot today cost $125 a spot now and sporting good stores fill those spots . Check with you local radio stations , you may be surprised.

 

go to wally world,meijers,dunham. pass out cards .i walk around the sportings dep. talk to people you see. thats how i started. it paid off.

 

My cards were at every gun shop, butcher shop, sporting goods store, hardware shop, lumberyard, tackle and bait shop, and feed store that would allow it. Running an ad in the hunting synopsis would get your name out there.

That should have been included in your business classes also.

 

Pricing was a BIG draw for me. I set my price then made it easy to pay. Credit card being excepted helped draw in customers, work the cost of taking the card into your price (NO FEE). I hated skinning freezer burnt WTD so I would take in work with "0" down payment, just to skin, flesh and salt the hide (now the hide is safe) and I have the antlers (2 hours of work). When they make the first payment you tan the hide, second payment you order the supplies for it, payment 3 you pay in full, then you mount it and no money to collect or the last payment is on pick up.
I did not mount based on when it came in, "money talks, suckers walk" if you payed in full you go to the "front of the line". The 3 payments kept the cash flowing.
If after some time (work slowing down) start calling. How things, ready to get on with your WTD mount ? I priced all my work this way and in 15 years, only 2 mounts and averaged 100 - 150 mounts a year.
You need to keep good records of payments, manage your money flow. Have a contract that is simple, easy to read and no fees. NO refunds, if you don't get it mounted I charged a FEE for my time caping and salting and they get everything back or I keep the cape and give back the antlers.( BE UP FRONT WITH THIS) I had this happen a few times and they payed for a antler mount and I sold the hide for $75.00 or more as replacement capes (really nice to have them capes as back up)
If you can have some one do all the $ stuff and you just Taxidermy is a BLESSING. You are only as good as the people you surround your self with. My wife managed the money, I keep my head down and worked my BUTT off. She set my production schedule for the week with a 2 month out look.
My dogs loved WTD season, the neck roasts left on the bucks kept my dogs fat and it was free (DOG FARTS WERE REALY BAD ).
If you have the hide and horns (antlers) your going to make money some way. When they get the COVID-19 stimulus check they can pay it off.