Im going to be selling different ball python morphs.

[wolfy-hound]

You also should take into account that in 2-5 years prices on the animals you're talking to will drop CONSIDERABLY. An albino spider won't go for $4K necasarily. It might be super cheap by then, but you can always change WHAT you want to breed, since it's so far in the future.
And like others have mentioned, the way you present yourself is SUPER important. You do not want folks equating you with someone who couldn't express themselves well. Start out making the effort now. It won't do much good if you act like a little kid up until you are ready to sell, so start now.
Local classes on business things, checking into animal places to talk to the owners, being will to learn new things about your animals, all these are very important to success.
Don't count on making money off ball python morphs. If you want to keep morphs and maybe get a little of your money back, that's fine. But Making a Profit... that's very very hard to do.
It sounds like you're thinking ahead, and that's great!

[fishmommy]

I am not a breeder, but I am a buyer and a businesswoman...so I'll stick to advice I know about.

1) you will find that many (most?) buyers won't want to deal with someone who is under 18 years old. no offense but there it is.

2) the advice about checking local laws is crucial! you don't want to get in trouble with your local laws, the IRS, or your insurance companies (homeowner's insurance or business insurance).

3) if you are dealing with high-end morphs especially....find a vet who is a fully qualified reptile specialist. This is true for any pet snake as well, but if this is an investment you don't want to mess around or you could see your money fly away if you have egg-binding, illness, or other health troubles. Also read some books and get well-versed in methods of getting babies to eat.

4) you must be willing to commit your time first to your customers, second to your snakes, and third to everything else. One bad transaction, if you fail to immediately make it right to the customer's satisfaction, can end your career as a breeder. Assume that as a fact and you'll be a good seller! Be prepared to lose money on a sale to preserve your reputation - even if you think the buyer is mistaken. Never let a dispute get personal. This takes a great deal of self control and takes practice.

Good luck! Being your own boss is great...if you are willing to go the extra mile.

[Freakie_frog]

1) you will find that many (most?) buyers won't want to deal with someone who is under 18 years old. no offense but there it is.

110% CORRECT! Most people like to deal with people that can be held responsible for their actions. No offense but there is no way I would send money to someone that if things went really really bad I couldn't take to court and deal with.

2) the advice about checking local laws is crucial! you don't want to get in trouble with your local laws, the IRS, or your insurance companies (homeowner's insurance or business insurance).

Agreed. Being in compliance with local laws and ordinances is key to keeping our hobby in a good light

3) if you are dealing with high-end morphs especially....find a vet who is a fully qualified reptile specialist. This is true for any pet snake as well, but if this is an investment you don't want to mess around or you could see your money fly away if you have egg-binding, illness, or other health troubles. Also read some books and get well-versed in methods of getting babies to eat.

Bingo. You'll need to learn at least in theory how do deal with the majority of issues that you WILL have. You will have mites, you will have RI's, you will have clutches go bad, there are things you will have happen and you need to be prepared to deal with them

4) you must be willing to commit your time first to your customers, second to your snakes, and third to everything else. One bad transaction, if you fail to immediately make it right to the customer's satisfaction, can end your career as a breeder. Assume that as a fact and you'll be a good seller! Be prepared to lose money on a sale to preserve your reputation - even if you think the buyer is mistaken. Never let a dispute get personal. This takes a great deal of self control and takes practice.

Good luck! Being your own boss is great...if you are willing to go the extra mile.

One thing I do want to add. You mentioned that your parents will only let you have 2 snakes right now. Cool some things you'll need to think about.

1: Where will I house the babies for a month or more before they sale.

2: What will happen to the morphs that don't sale. Because they don't all sale

3: How will I feed every week 10-100 snakes

4: am I prepared to to keep and feed every snake I produce for its entire life if I can sale a single animal.

Best of luck there.

[lovepig78]

the only advice i can give you is get rid of that normal male and get a male spider or an albino... or at least a het albino.

dont waste your time making normal hets when you can start making hets that will help you out towards you "dream" projects

my 2 cents

[NightLad]

Another piece of advice;

Never start treating your animals like soulless commodities that can be tossed away on a whim. People will quickly pick up on the lack of compassion you feel for your animals and will avoid you like the plague.

My 2.022 Canadian cents.

[Patrick Long]

everyone here has pretty much hit the nail on the head. prolly not what you expected to hear, but its the truth. not to be rude but even if you were 16 i dont think i would trust something like that. without having your parents sign the permission slip hahahha.

but keep the dream. dont let everyone here smash it (i know that is NOT wat they are trying to do)

[pythontricker]

the only advice i can give you is get rid of that normal male and get a male spider or an albino... or at least a het albino.

dont waste your time making normal hets when you can start making hets that will help you out towards you "dream" projects

my 2 cents

im definatly not gonna get rid of my normal male. i love him. i have an albino and im going to get a spider and a pastel.

[pythontricker]

thank you all. its so nice to have all of you guys helping me out. its tough love you know. thats life. i understand where all of you are coming from ans i do have a ling way to go! but nothing is impossible and i am 100% prepaired. i have a grat pet store that will most likly be willing to buy from me. im going to check. but ive seen them with spiders, albinos, burms, retics, etc. they have somewhere around 100 different snakes.(not including the ball python) so im hoping they will buy.

[Bruce Whitehead]

Not sure if it was addressed, but you`ll need a pretty strong contingency plan.

Purely, anecdotal, but classifieds are full of people selling off one to twenty snakes, as a person`s life style changes (residence, college, income, etc.). And they either lose the time, commitment, or space to pursue the hobby... and for the first five years... it will be purely hobby.

Best of luck,
Bruce

[bcampos]

All I can say is slow down man. No one is 100% prepared for anything in life, it's impossible. Someone already made the recomendation on professionalism, including punctuation and spelling. If you want to potray professionalism in your future business:

dotn tipe lik this... hahaha lol lmfa

Seriously, just slow down with everything (including your typing) and pay attention. There is a ton of knowledgable people at BP.net just waiting to help you out.

-Ben