Hi, my name is Austin Lee, now live in ontario Canada. I think most of us here have had thinking about this, how to turn my reptile hobby into a full time job and make good money? Someone told me you need to focus on one animal, someone said you need to be the guy having everything. I know we have a lot of successful breeders here, I’d like to hear some of your story!
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Hey Austin, welcome to the community! 
A lot of people dream of becoming successful full-time breeders, but the truth is, maybe 1 out of a couple hundred, are able to actually make that dream into a reality. It’s not about just having money to purchase animals to lead to building up your projects, but also the time, dedication, and drive to become full-time take up a lot more than most people realize. Now, I’m not saying it’s impossible, but most don’t ever make it.
Depending on what you’re interested in, one animal species is probably the best bet to go on. You don’t need to have one of everything to be successful. You just need to have a plan, and stick to it. If you want to focus one one project - focus on that one project. Don’t go off the beaten path because of a deal.
A lot of the big time reptile breeders will tell you they didn’t turn a real profit until year 5. Profit being more than $100. You won’t reap the benefits until years 8 - 10 honestly, but if you can make it past year 5 then you’re pretty much expected to make some return; from selling snakes or selling your collection.
If this is something you want to try and do my first piece of advice is find a good mentor. Someone who you can talk to or visit in real life, and get an understanding of what to expect. Talk ideas. Build up (mentally) what you’d like to achieve, and when you’re finally ready to jump in don’t skimp out on housing equipment and actually nice quality animals.
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That sounds like a long long way to go, hope I can make it one day. Thanks for your reply, that really helps a lot!
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