Making a "living" off inverts?

[Scythemantis]

So I've been thinking more and more about turning my hobbies into a small buisiness, and have determined that I absolutely must give it a try within the next two years. I currently survive more than adequately on only $100 a week, so if I could find a way to clear that on inverts one day, I'd be set.

But how should I start out? What are the major options? Do you need a permit just to sell feeder roaches or isopods? What about local insects? I have antlions everywhere in my driveway (oddly, I've never seen them anywhere else in this entire state), the ocassional Fiery searcher and a lot of fascinating assassin bugs.

My stable of course is situated on a massive out-of-use farm, so I have access to a lot of land as well as two lakes (fed by a natural spring) if I want to do something agricultural like beekeeping or even leech farming (both interest me greatly. Beekeeping, in particular, was my great grandfather's entire life)


What are some of your experiences?

 

[kraken]

Well,I have been selling and trading alot lately,but I dont make any living at it,and would not make NEAR enough to survive on,and I have yet to sell or trade 1 local species(predacious ground beetles,large spiders,etc.).I have sold many that my friend imports,but still not enough to survive.And my buddy still does it as a hobby.I still dont make $100 a week off it,and I have some decent scorps to sale.

 

[Stylopidae]

So I've been thinking more and more about turning my hobbies into a small buisiness, and have determined that I absolutely must give it a try within the next two years. I currently survive more than adequately on only $100 a week, so if I could find a way to clear that on inverts one day, I'd be set.

But how should I start out? What are the major options? Do you need a permit just to sell feeder roaches or isopods? What about local insects? I have antlions everywhere in my driveway (oddly, I've never seen them anywhere else in this entire state), the ocassional Fiery searcher and a lot of fascinating assassin bugs.

My stable of course is situated on a massive out-of-use farm, so I have access to a lot of land as well as two lakes (fed by a natural spring) if I want to do something agricultural like beekeeping or even leech farming (both interest me greatly. Beekeeping, in particular, was my great grandfather's entire life)


What are some of your experiences?

You'd have to breed staple species...tarantulas, scorpions, etc.

You most likely wouldn't have a stable source of income. You might make $300 one week, and then $25 for the next couple of weeks.

 

[cacoseraph]

i care for about 200-300 babies and 100 subadult to adult of scorp, tara, and centipede

i still don't think i've broken even just considering cost of animals, not figuring in time spent maintaining (10-15h a week, usually)

if you picked exceptionally clever species you could probably make ~$100/wk average over a year at my level of involvement.

 

[CustomNature]

I'm in the same boat, just a little farther along right now. And not EXACTLY the same boat either, but I would be willing to share my advice. My true passion is inverts, but I know that there's no way I could make enough money to live off of with them. The reason being is because there's not enough people interested locally in the invertebrate hobby. To take care of that issue, I'm going to be carrying reptiles as my main stock, but I will still have a large (LARGE) selection of inverts availble as well. The hope is, the reptiles bring in the bulk of the people, the inverts will spark some interest with certain customers. Chances are, if the people are looking to buy snakes, they're also into all sorts of "creepy crawlys." I already got a loan, a building, and a dealers permit. Now I'm just waiting on getting a tax number and finish building the shelving. My ultimate goal is to have the business make enough money that one day I can open a Insect Zoo. I went to one in Philly a few months ago and it was TERRIBLE... yet it still brought in a good amount of people (alot of elementary school field trips, along with boy scouts and stuff... and of course.... me! :} ). Then I realized that if I was the one running the place, how great my museum would be. Either way, I say try it because you dont want to wake up one day when you're 50 and say "Man, I should have done a invert store." Just my opinion, and good luck!

 

[Randolph XX()]

and some off-shore labours, off-shore business partners to bring u food sources selling as pets for the massive profits, not to mention good connections and interactions with ur potential customers

 

[Scythemantis]

Yeah, I would't quit my night job or have any kind of expectations really. The agricultural side seems harder and riskier to start out in but with a greater chance of becoming a solid buisiness. Maybe I should try a bit of everything...

 

[Mendi]

Truthfully. to make a living from breeding and selling any animals and living completely from the profits, well, you likely will be hit by lightning first. I hate to burst your bubble, but get a job that you can live and have some left for pets, and do your breeding and selling animals as a hobby. You won't loose nearly the money, and you can still pay your rent

And, if somewhere down the line, you get all the needs of your animal perfect and 50-90% of any breeding is successful, and offspring healthy and robust, you will start to get a good reputation, and don't ever leave complaints unresolved, sell resonable for the creature, expect wholesale deals of 1000slings of many Ts to maybe net you $50, and considering the 24/7 amount of time you have to spend carrying and raising creatures, the expense of time and cash. It is better to be a hobby breeder

And even then, you will find that making money on sales, etc, is just a happy passing cloud that will be reinvested into your hobby

But, if you are independantly wealthy, and can afford to buy a wide and varied selection of animals from wholesellers and us hobby breeders, you won't actually find the breeding hobby always more work and in the red most of the time

Dealing and breeding animals is truly a labor of love and if you aren't rewarded by the feelings of your accomplishments, you will never feel like the investment is paying off

Just my $0.02 on this subject

 

[Scythemantis]

I know some immensely successful local beekeepers, but that just means I'd have to work for them if I wanted to stand a chance at all. It's a honeybee monopoly. I'd still like to keep a hive or two as outdoor "pets" one of these days, though.

What I know even better than inverts though is artwork, especially my ability to effortlessly design gruesome and original monsters. My real dream has always been to run a halloween horror attraction using only my own ideas...there are many such attractions here but they're all virtually identical and built from store-bought halloween props. A horror house with an insect theme would be too much fun, and something I'd be satisfied to build with or without the potential for customers (which would come only during fall, anyway). The only thing standing in the way of that idea is time/energy really.

 

[luna]

When I was in my early 20's and trying to decide on a career I was thinking the same thing. I really wanted to major in entomology until I realized that everyone else who was doing so was planning on killing off the very organisms I loved so much!

Before, your last post I was going to suggest you think about doing what I do... I'm a science (biology/environmental) teacher. It's not all inverts; actually, not very much, but I do get to have class pets. Plus, now that I'm a little older I do have those 2 months where I no longer need to take classes or work...it takes a while but if you plan right you do get there! I've spent all of July and August so far watching butterflies, and caterpillars, and spiders, and just about anything that catches my interest...

But what about a slight shift to art teacher!

 

[Scythemantis]

Yeah, I used to want to be an entomologist but then I'd have few options other than extermination, which I would never do. Speaking of which, when I was extremely young I had daydreams about being a supervillainous "re-sterminator" who goes from house to house with a machine that pumps cockroaches into the walls. Someday I might actually try to build such a machine for fun, even if I never get to use it.

 

[kahoy]

you cant make living on inverts, maybe you may earn a lot on a single deal but afterwards you might not get anymore buyers...

also not all people will buy inverts, or maybe sometime all of them might already have inverts...

 

[HuonHengChai]

i think it depends on how you use inverts to make your living, if you are gonna sell them as pets only you'll be eating mealworms. almost every pet shop earn from selling dry stock, life stock just provide them with additional income.

 

[Spider-Man v2.0]

y not be an arcahologist? sp
im thinking of it and that may open up jobs at schools.

 

[Snakefox]

It really all depends on your location ... You can make anything into a living and if you make it into and educational display you can get a goverment grant.. I have a nak with rattle snake .. I am looking to open up and educational exibit to teach people about them .. If you locate near a place with a high tourist attaction. That would help you summer sales.. For you winter sales you would want to go simi pet store "Xmas T's" Also if you located next to a school or collage with Invertebrate Realated courses you could offer a discount for large groups and the like. LOL I love all thoose little tourist trap deals also Cokeacola is a wonderful company and will spounser anything to add there name you your exibits.. LOL hope this helps I will be opening my place next year let me know if you have any questions I would love to see more places where animals are porperly displayed ,treated well, and seen by people that want to learn more about them ... LOL I will get off my soap box LOL