What Keeping Snakes Taught Me About Finance and Business
March 10th, 2007 by Remon
As you may have read in the About page, I’m a snake keeper and breeder. I’ve been keeping and breeding snakes as a hobby for the last 14 years and I find myself specialising more and more in the high end morphs (the expensive color or pattern mutations).
Keeping snakes and everything related to it taught me a lot of things I can apply to finance and business as well.
- Every price is negotiable
This is especially true if you buy in quantities, but also when a seller needs money. Always try to negotiate, you have nothing to loose. - Production is where the big profits are
You can buy a snake for a good discounted price and resell it to make a profit. However, when using that snake in a breeding program to make more of them, you definitely make a bigger profit. This is also true in business. - Do what you love and the money will follow
We’ve all heard it, all I can say is that it’s true. It’s not easy getting snakes to reproduce, you need a love for what you do so you can spend (lots of) time for research and optimal care. The same applies to business. - Be prepared to take a loss
I recently found a perfectly healthy gravid boa dead in her cage. It happens and there’s nothing you can do about it except calculating losses in your prices. There are some risks in business and finance as well, so be prepared to take a loss. - Always have inventory
This one should be clear. You can’t make money if you have nothing in stock. - Reinvest in your business
I could sell all the babies I produce and stick the money in my pockets. Instead, I buy new high end morphs so I can make more money later if I wanted to. If you can use your profits to grow your business, do it, it’s the best investment you’ll ever make. - Know the laws
Laws for keeping snakes are always changing and this may also be true for your business field. Stay up-to-date about rules and regulations - Your best customers are returning customers
I sell most of my babies to people who bought from me before and where happy with what I sold them. This is also true for some of my businesses.