Hello friends,
I am new to the forum but not new to trapping, I am 43 and I have been trapping since I was 14. Eventually selling fur to buy my first truck when I was 16.
I have always dreamed of working with animals in some way but never saw opportunities that I could do that could generate 80 to 100k per year. ADC is something I have always done my entire life for family. Friend, as well as friends of friends!!! And never charged more than a good lunch or dinner,
Well my mind has returned to the spot it was as a teen and a 20 something.
Since August of 2011 I have been laid off 3 times in the same field, (in the mortgage bankng industry)
During this very trouble time trying take care of my wife, 2 kids, 4 cars and a house payment and wonder how to keep the electric on....the only thing that gives me temporary peace is trapping or doing a favor for someone and removing the coon out from under the deck. (for payment I asked the lady to take my wife out to a nice lunch because I am not able to do that at this time in my life.
After saying all of that, my heart tells me to follow my dream and start an adc business. In my current career I am straight commission so I am used to making money one day then nothing for the next few days. I have done construction work to make ends meet in the past so I have the animal knowledge, the equipment and the construction background to make it work. What I am having trouble with is finding ANY information concerning how much money a top ADC person can make annually. I read from a web sight that was explaining the ADC carreer and it is very discouraging. It's almost like this person is trying to scare others off. Saying most people don't make over 50 k per year and that if you loved wildlife, you would quickly change your mind and that so many people drop out. So I am at a very serious time in life. I have 2 kids getting ready to go to colleage I have a current job that I can make 80+ per year but could be laid off again at any time. Then I read a article in the wct that says how a guy made an extra 147k one year in his adc business. What's the truth??? I have read so many discussions on this forum and I can't find any conversations in detail about what to charge or what is a realistic achievable goal to strive for as an annual income.
Is 50k what expect if you at the top of your profession? Or is 100k achievable and not a pipe dream?
I am sincerely looking for advice from the veterans on this site and I would be great full for anything that can be shared,
Sincerely,
Richard Waite

P.s. this is my first post so please accept my apology if I didn't write it correctly or if I am in the wrong spot....it was not intensional.

The demographics of your area need to be considered. But, yes, you can do very well in this profession.

Richard,

I think you wrote your question and thoughts much better than many who ask the same thing, so kudos!
As folks have stated demographics and the ability of your population of people to pay for service are two
big things that play in. Some folks make a decent living in smaller areas, but most that make what you
are referring to in terms of $ live and operate in larger markets.

I know in OK, you have plenty of the species that you'd need to get up and running, so the bigger thing will
be getting known and spreading the word (advertising). There are tons of threads on this forum about how
to do that and if you aren't familiar with the "archive search" look into that and if you have trouble PM me and
I'll help you out.

You obviously have the motivation with the constant lay offs and need to feed your family. While some in this
industry make way above what you mention, many aren't anywhere close, it really depends on tons of factors.

- salesmanship
- advertising
- population willing to pay
- skill in solving wildlife problems

and tons and tons of other things that are both tangible and intangible.

My best advice is if you are going to do it, don't buy more than you need to (I've got a garage full of gear that doesn't fit my business model
that would be current cash in the bank) in order to get started. You can always buy more as you get the jobs. Second tip, "do you," in other
words don't try to immediately jump outside your comfort zone, in my opinion do what you know how to do best get the satisfied clients
recommending you and then move up from there to other more complicated things.

Another good piece of advice is to look at the two business models most follow.

1) Trap and removal (with little exclusion)

2) Exclusion mainly (with little trapping)

Many folks are somewhere in between, but many will tell you exclusion is where you spend more time, it is more detailed but can yield
more per job and satisfy the customers long term needs. Really the two go hand in hand, though I do less trapping and still do lots of
exclusion. Depends on the species and the client needs of course as well as other things, budget, etc...

The question to ask yourself is what suits your skill set, can you sell enough of that in your area and what are your limiting factors?

Folks are always happy to help people out on this forum as well as if you join or are part of nwcoa there is nwcoa.info for similar discussions.

I would also say, attend conferences and trainings where you can make friends, network and learn more add ons and other things that
folks with years of experience will pass on.

I just turned 40 so we aren't that far apart, I have no kids, so just my wife and I rely on what we make and I don't have a ton of stress thanks
to that. However it can be a big undertaking so if you have other options, this may not actually be the best one available to you. While some
days I think "did I just get paid to do that?" the bulk of them I know why I'm there and my body tells me at the end of the day that I darn sure
needed to be paid well for that.

So hope that helps, or shines light on a few other things, as I say, if you do it, start small, get insurance to cover you and your clients, get the word
out and continue learning so you can add to your menu!

Best of luck either way,

Justin

I think that grossing 80 to 100 K per year is realistic for a one man operation. In a really good market area, maybe up to 150k. Beyond that would require insane hours. And there are some expenses for equipment, but really costs are very moderate compared to a lot of businesses, so a lot of that gross can be held onto as profit.

But as others have said, it all depends on the demographics of your service area. How far you have to drive, and the pricing that the market will bear.

And a lot of single operators in smaller markets would make a lot less than that, but they also tend to have more moderate living expenses, so they still come out pretty good.

Now that you've heard the up side, let me give you the fair warnings.

This job is a double edged sword. While it may take your full attention and require you to treat it as a full time job, you NEED to keep your day job until you've gotten your feet wet in it.

I do plumbing repair and light construction as well as Wildlife Damage Control. I have to. Simply because I may get four or five snake calls in the spring along with a couple of squirrel jobs and then NOTHING for the next three months. Then I may get a coon job along with a possum gig in the fall and nothing else till spring again. Plumbing is what pays my bills.

I'm just in one of those areas where there is little demand for what I do. People don't know the laws and normally take care of critter problems themselves.

I get hundreds of critter calls each year but scant few turn in to paying work. People here seem to get mad when they find out that you charge for the service.

Speaking of charging, you must treat it like any other business. Example; I get 85 bucks for a plumbing service call. If I get a call to remove a snake from the basement, I charge 85 dollars just for showing up and that is if I find the snake or NOT. Of course that 85 covers the first hour but each additional hour I spend has to be compensated as well. While plumbing, I charge 40 dollars for every hour after the first. That means I value my time at 40 dollars an hour. While on a wildlife call, my time is STILL worth 40 dollars an hour.

That's not to say that I may not make a deal with the customer to suit them. I can gamble with them some if need be. "Okay. 100 dollars for the initial visit and trap setting plus 30 dollars per critter that I catch." A lot of folks like to deal that way because it puts all the pressure back on me. But this can often work in my favor on heavily populated jobs. I took 18 squirrels out of three pecan trees this past week. I was there no more than 15 minutes at the time and barely had an hour in the initial set up. Had she been paying me per critter, I'd have made out like a fat rat.

But I've rambled on long enough.

I'll close by saying, "Don't give up your day job. I didn't gross enough in my damage control business to even calculate an income last year and have done little better this year!"

I wish you luck, my friend.

I agree with Steve and Mud dawg.

I have always had other sources of income. Up until the last three years I did nothing but trap beaver (the peak period)for 100 days straight. 80 or more hours a week with only slow downs. No time off. The rest of the year I still trapped a few beaver, poured concrete, was a qualifying contractor for a metal buildings company, bought heifers for dairymen, milked cows, and trapped turtles year after year.

I make only a fraction of what I did 5-6 years ago. I am just now recovering from severe losses 3 years ago.

Due to the last 4 years in our country, much has ground to a halt. Work is trapping beaver and making traps. Some of the slow down is just age. When I got to 55, things just got more difficult.

Hang on to what you can in this economy.

A lot of collage football players are going to get rich. Small % make it to the pros. If in the right area and with the right work ethets (s) you can do all right. No garantees.

You might want to look around. You're in the back yard of one of the best in the business. Look him up he's a straight shooter.

I can't believe how you guys took the tine to put so much into ur answers. This has been the most Inlightning info I have read and I can't tell you how greatfull i am!!!
I do believe Oklahoma has the demographics to make a good busines

Warrior: I think I might know who you are talking about although I have never met him. I did not want to bother him if I could potentially be a competitor in the future... I just didn't think it would be right to ask for advice. I personally would help someone. But we all have our reasons.
we'll because of all the great feedback, it is time to start puttin together a business plan, marketing strategies ,and priceing, licence fees and additional equip.
I will keep u all up to date when m able launch. I will take the advice of starting part time and see how it goes!
Thanks again to everyone
sincerely. RICHARD Waite




ve

Richard

Your market is good infact one of the better economies in the nation right now because of the oil industry in your back yard..Real good, but so is your competition !!

I can think of three guys in your area right off the top of my head Reginald Murray, Leon Melton, Steve Arbuckle.

You should be able to get some local assistance from members of the OFBA Oklahoma Fur Bearers Association.

Good Luck !

Richard, I was speaking of Reginald Murray, he's a member here, though both Lean and Steve are fine gentlemen as well. I'd go ahead and give Reggie a call if it were me. I'm the kind that flies my flag out in the open and kind of expect it out of others. I've got the direct numbers of every operator in my immediate area and they have mine. Reggie's a good guy, whether he can be of help to you is up to him but I can guarantee he will never pull a punch with you good or bad. Like I said he is a straight shooter.

Keep your mind open to things that can leveraged. It is not just catching critters. With your backroud and mind, you are in a good position to discover opportunity that has not yet been exploited.

average,,,, compared to who? us guys on T-man....? dude, put adds out, advertise some more, then put out more ads... in 3 years, youll know the rough number of what to make.......

Advertising has allot to do with it. You cant sell it if they dont call. But when they do call you gotta find what the market in your area will handle. No use chasing jobs all day for $250.00 a piece when you can do one big one for $1000.00 Within 3 years you can pick and choose your jobs if you want.