G
Guest34764
Guest
I got into making my own business recently and I figured it was unique enough to share.
It's been a goal of mine to own a successful business and I don't consider this business to be a success yet but eventually It will be. The goal for right now is to whittle down the initial investment and start making an actual profit.
So what is this business? Well, as it says in the title. I have 500 (or more) crustaceans living in my room. Particularly, terrestrial ones. I am keeping, breeding and selling Isopods. I have various species and containers that line the wall of my room and that are stacked up. Now there is only so much that someone new to this hobby can understand since It can get complicated.
"Where's the market? What's even the point of these guys?"
The market is growing pretty steadily, new species are being introduced into the trade every month and prices are slowly changing. There are isopod markets in most countries that all have different prices. Why is this? Each country, of course, has laws that may or may not allow invertebrates to enter their land with or without permits. The prices in the US are higher than the prices in Germany for the fact that Germany lets species come in mostly unhindered. If I were to import species to the USA, there would be quite a chance of the species being caught at customs, eliminated, and then I'd be heavily fined. So species get imported to the USA illegally but it's much slower than other countries for importing.
What's the point of these guys? For the most part, the more expensive species are traded just for the novelty and for the hobbyist to collect rare species. However, there is almost another market for isopods, and that is the market for clean up crews.
Clean up crews provide a valuable service when they are put into a terrarium or vivarium...They eat waste which could be either feces or dead leaves/ rotting wood. Clean up crews will also help control mold and a few other things inside terrariums/vivariums.
How do clean up crews and isopods link together? There are a few species of Isopods that are commercially advertised as clean up crews. One such species is called Trichorhina tomentosa, or its common name, "Dwarf whites". They're a very small species that reproduces insanely fast, they're sold all the time in the hobby to reptile keepers and the like.
I have acquired various expensive species but I am just now breeding Trichorhina tomentosa in mass in an attempt to get small contracts with local exotic pet shops to carry the species, sell them, and give me a slice of the profit.
What's the limiting factor in all of this?
The limiting factor is how much each species can produce offspring and the time it takes for the offspring to mature enough in order to survive shipment. Each species produces mancae (babies) at different rates and they all have different growth times. As far as the rare/uncommon species are concerned they can just sit in my room and I can sell them off at any time, Some range in prices from 6$ each to 15$ each, and most broods of mancae are around 15-25. However, you can't expect 100% of the mancae to survive until sexual maturity.
How do I work around this limiting factor?
The (really) only way is to increase my inventory, supply and the number of containers I have. 4 tubs of Trichorhina tomentosa won't produce as many mancae as 8 tubs.
What's the plan?
I'm in the process of getting a logo done before I contact any stores I want to have a good supply of dwarf whites in case it goes well. I don't want to get a contract and say "oops, sorry I can't supply that amount". I'm working a job, I have income and I have time. I don't want to sit on my a$$ all day however rushing things and making a bad impression would not go well. In the case that I can't secure contracts, I can simply sell them online and create a website. I already have a facebook/ Instagram presence and I've been building that up every day.
The rare/uncommon species will be very easy to sell as the demand for them is crazy. However, most of the money in this hobby is with clean up crews. A culture of 20-30 Dwarf whites could sell for 15-20$.
Let's say I could start off supplying 10 cultures every week, that's a cool 200$ in my pocket as I seek to reinvest and expand.
How Fastlane of a business is this?
Honestly, I know the metrics and I know the market. There's not an insane chance of money unless you're one of the few big hitters in the market in the USA. At that point, I'd have permits and I would be importing new species, I'd also have a separate room or someplace I could rent out to get extra space.
My generation of money is tied to crustaceans and how fast they can breed and reproduce. It's tied to how many I keep and care for. Currently, I probably have around 200 mancae developing, but If I can't sell them I don't make money. However, there is a possibility of getting different products that aren't animals. Selling vivarium/terrarium supplies can be very lucrative. So I will seek into expanding into that later.
I'm currently not sitting on a bad spot. As soon as I can seed other containers with Trichorhina tomentosa I can start contacting local businesses and take it from there. My replies to this thread will be for questions and my updates to this business will be big updates, and for those curious as to what the hell these look like, I'll post a few pictures of mine.
It's been a goal of mine to own a successful business and I don't consider this business to be a success yet but eventually It will be. The goal for right now is to whittle down the initial investment and start making an actual profit.
So what is this business? Well, as it says in the title. I have 500 (or more) crustaceans living in my room. Particularly, terrestrial ones. I am keeping, breeding and selling Isopods. I have various species and containers that line the wall of my room and that are stacked up. Now there is only so much that someone new to this hobby can understand since It can get complicated.
"Where's the market? What's even the point of these guys?"
The market is growing pretty steadily, new species are being introduced into the trade every month and prices are slowly changing. There are isopod markets in most countries that all have different prices. Why is this? Each country, of course, has laws that may or may not allow invertebrates to enter their land with or without permits. The prices in the US are higher than the prices in Germany for the fact that Germany lets species come in mostly unhindered. If I were to import species to the USA, there would be quite a chance of the species being caught at customs, eliminated, and then I'd be heavily fined. So species get imported to the USA illegally but it's much slower than other countries for importing.
What's the point of these guys? For the most part, the more expensive species are traded just for the novelty and for the hobbyist to collect rare species. However, there is almost another market for isopods, and that is the market for clean up crews.
Clean up crews provide a valuable service when they are put into a terrarium or vivarium...They eat waste which could be either feces or dead leaves/ rotting wood. Clean up crews will also help control mold and a few other things inside terrariums/vivariums.
How do clean up crews and isopods link together? There are a few species of Isopods that are commercially advertised as clean up crews. One such species is called Trichorhina tomentosa, or its common name, "Dwarf whites". They're a very small species that reproduces insanely fast, they're sold all the time in the hobby to reptile keepers and the like.
I have acquired various expensive species but I am just now breeding Trichorhina tomentosa in mass in an attempt to get small contracts with local exotic pet shops to carry the species, sell them, and give me a slice of the profit.
What's the limiting factor in all of this?
The limiting factor is how much each species can produce offspring and the time it takes for the offspring to mature enough in order to survive shipment. Each species produces mancae (babies) at different rates and they all have different growth times. As far as the rare/uncommon species are concerned they can just sit in my room and I can sell them off at any time, Some range in prices from 6$ each to 15$ each, and most broods of mancae are around 15-25. However, you can't expect 100% of the mancae to survive until sexual maturity.
How do I work around this limiting factor?
The (really) only way is to increase my inventory, supply and the number of containers I have. 4 tubs of Trichorhina tomentosa won't produce as many mancae as 8 tubs.
What's the plan?
I'm in the process of getting a logo done before I contact any stores I want to have a good supply of dwarf whites in case it goes well. I don't want to get a contract and say "oops, sorry I can't supply that amount". I'm working a job, I have income and I have time. I don't want to sit on my a$$ all day however rushing things and making a bad impression would not go well. In the case that I can't secure contracts, I can simply sell them online and create a website. I already have a facebook/ Instagram presence and I've been building that up every day.
The rare/uncommon species will be very easy to sell as the demand for them is crazy. However, most of the money in this hobby is with clean up crews. A culture of 20-30 Dwarf whites could sell for 15-20$.
Let's say I could start off supplying 10 cultures every week, that's a cool 200$ in my pocket as I seek to reinvest and expand.
How Fastlane of a business is this?
Honestly, I know the metrics and I know the market. There's not an insane chance of money unless you're one of the few big hitters in the market in the USA. At that point, I'd have permits and I would be importing new species, I'd also have a separate room or someplace I could rent out to get extra space.
My generation of money is tied to crustaceans and how fast they can breed and reproduce. It's tied to how many I keep and care for. Currently, I probably have around 200 mancae developing, but If I can't sell them I don't make money. However, there is a possibility of getting different products that aren't animals. Selling vivarium/terrarium supplies can be very lucrative. So I will seek into expanding into that later.
I'm currently not sitting on a bad spot. As soon as I can seed other containers with Trichorhina tomentosa I can start contacting local businesses and take it from there. My replies to this thread will be for questions and my updates to this business will be big updates, and for those curious as to what the hell these look like, I'll post a few pictures of mine.
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