The Reptile Family
Over the last twenty years it’s been a joint venture between myself and my wife Lori to try to run a successful reptile breeding business. There have been many ups and many downs during that time, but the one thing that stayed constant was both of our commitment to trying to be the best we could be. You might think to yourself that breeding reptiles for a living is all about fun, but the truth is it’s more work then most people could ever imagine. That’s why it has been so important to have a good partnership between Lori and I. She’s my ying to my yang and certainly the person that keeps the wheels turning when I’m off pursuing all the crazy dreams that I have.
My daughter Jade has worked on and off with us since she as a kid, it’s hard to believe that she’s 20 years old and going into her 3rd year of college. I won’t say that Jade has ever really enjoyed working for us when she’s out of school, but I do think she’s always taken pride in the “family” business. Whether she was feeding snakes or cleaning cages she always was a huge help in our quest to keep the business growing.
This summer has been really special for our family and our business. I think we finally figured out how to work together as a unit. Sure there are still issues, just like any family working together, but Lori is great at organizing and keeping the shop running. I have always been the “front man” and a constant promoter with my love of the animals as well as dealing with people. Jade finally found her niche this summer, keeping our web sales going with our “BHB auctions” as well as the tons of web based request. Even my son Noah has pitched in at times by doing the jobs that Jade used to be forced to do when she was younger.
Life is far from perfect, but this summer I really realized how lucky I am to not only do what I love for a living, but how incredibly lucky I have been to be able to share it with my family. Jade and Noah will be back to school soon and it’ll seen a bit lonely at the shop this fall. But hey, it is a summer I’ll always treasure!
