Today we’d like to introduce you to Gui Ming Huang.
Gui Ming, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was born in China and immigrated to the United States when I was seven years old with my mother. My father came to the states shortly after I was born in pursuit of the “American Dream” for a better life for us. My father was not able to attend school due to their financial situation back in the 1970s. Instead, he grew up learning construction.
My father is my greatest inspiration. Despite his disadvantages growing up, he overcame all the obstacles and managed to start his own company in the seven years that it took my mother and me to get approved to come to America.
Fast forward to today, I am the oldest child of six. I graduated from UMASS Amherst with a Bachelor in Microbiology. I am currently working at Baystate Franklin Medical Center in western MA as a cardiac monitor tech/certified nursing assistant. I am building my experiences and resume in pursuit of applying for medical school in 2018.
I was always fascinated with the science and animal world. Growing up as a kid, I have kept aquatic fish, rabbits, frogs, turtles, and tortoises. When I started college and lived in dorm rooms, keeping aquatic and warm-blooded animals was not very feasible. This focused my attention more on reptiles, cold-blooded animals that are low maintenance compare to their counterpart. I got my first crested gecko from a local pet shop in my junior year of college which started my own entrepreneurship in breeding geckos.
Has it been a smooth road?
One of the biggest challenges is the cost. There are many morphs and combination of morphs in crested geckos, which can range from $20 to $2,000 for top quality individuals.
The second biggest challenge is learning how to ship these geckos across the country both legally and safely. This was a necessary step in starting my social media branding on Instagram and Facebook where I advertise available geckos.
Next was building my social media platforms and my presence in the reptile community. I start my Instagram and Facebook page back fall of 2016.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I had one pair of crested geckos in 2016 and produced ten offsprings from them. By the end of 2016, I obtained a couple higher end geckos in preparation for 2017.
Things really kicked off in 2017, I produced a total of 58 geckos. I gradually learned how to ship and accept online payment safely. Since then, I have shipped over 20 shipments to customers across the country. Currently, I have 1400 followers on Instagram and 700 likes on Facebook. I have a couple of hatching videos that got 80.000 views on both Instagram and Facebook. I have an established presence on social media and in the reptile community. This is the link to the hatching video. https://www.facebook.com/guisgecko/videos/1568555296540259
Shipping has to be overnight delivery by law (Monday shipments will arrive Tuesday morning usually by 10:30am), so shipping cost is a bit expensive. With the number of shipment that I shipped out in a short period of time, I was able to open an account with shipyourreptiles.com. I can now offer my customer a flat rate shipping of $50.
I have been very successful in my endeavors. I was able to break even by 2017. Using the extra profits, I purchased a couple very high-end individuals from veteran breeders in preparation for 2018 and 2019. I have refined my focus on my projects to producing full pinstripes, extreme cream/white marking, tricolors, and free of Dalmatian spots.
I would describe this more of a hobby, however, it has certainly become more than just a hobby. Ultimately, I’m just a guy with a passion for selective breeding to produce my dream gecko morphs. I plan to continue my projects to further improve the quality of my animals and to bring beautiful geckos into the reptile community.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
I have lived in the Boston area since coming to the states. We got the best hospitals in the New England area, so I love Boston!
Contact Info:
- Phone: 6175995354
- Email: guisgecko@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/guisgecko
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/guisgecko
Image Credit:
Gui’s Gecko (Gui Ming Huang)
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