Hey Everyone!
I apologize for another false start, but it was for a good reason!

*I know it’s been a while since I sent anything! If you no longer want to receive these, you should have an “unsubscribe” button. If it isn’t working, reply to let me know you want to be removed from the list, no hard feelings!

Earlier this year, I realized this project needed to be bigger than what I was originally picturing, but life wasn’t going to cooperate for a while.

Between work, the animals growing quickly (that’s what happens when you get a bunch of babies, apparently).

I put everything for the online portion of MHI on hold, spent some time catching up elsewhere, and gathered my thoughts. This partly paid off, but it also made it apparent I would never be “ready” for everything I want to do if I don’t just start…

And then right in the middle of it all, I got hurt.

For you, that doesn’t matter much. For MHI, however, it’s huge.

And not in the way you probably think.

This injury is going to affect my first career, and I’m not that old (33), so I need a plan.

The options were basically: A. Prepare to switch careers into another traditional path. Not too bad, I have very marketable skills…but holy cow does that sound soul-crushing to start over and work in another bureaucratic organization!

B. Do what I have always wanted to do and have never given enough time to: build my own business around something I believe in and am passionate about (which for the past few years is pretty much herps, herps, and more herps).

B is risky, going to take a lot of hard work. But it’s the route I am going!

The exact ways to turn MHI into a full-time business in 5ish years, and which areas I want to focus on, will probably change, but I am committing to figuring this out one way or another!

So that brings me to the coming year, and the plans I have settled on.

I had a good clutch of Spotted Pythons this year, and have 2-3 more pairings planned for 2026: Another Granite, Genetic Stripe, and some Normal het Granite.

I’ll also have 3-4 clutches of Ball Pythons, and my first clutch of Western Hognose! (Readers will always get first dibs if you are looking at one of these!)

In 2025 I have invested in several other projects:

For 2026, there is a shortlist of invertebrate projects, but new herp project expansions will be on hold…space is already at MAX capacity, and 2027 is a massive year for my breeding projects (talking about 8x possible growth).

But that goes along with a big part of the 2026 expansions covered later.

I was already debating a YouTube channel to be honest, but wasn’t sure I wanted to commit. A video from Adam over at WRR inspired me to stop being a fence sitter and just start!

So I bought a course, ordered the required gear, and have set a deadline for myself.

Starting 22 January, I’ll be uploading weekly videos to help new snake owners (or aspiring snake owners) choose the right species for them, set up a safe and thriving baby enclosure, and confidently care for their new family member.

Subscribe to MHI Exotics YouTube Channel and be a part of the launch (+ critique my videos😂).

I am going to go through the questions I get here, from friends and family I have already talked to, and social media, for the questions answered in the videos. If there are specific questions you would like a video on, let me know. I’ll put them into a video or reply with a video message to your question!

As for MHI News, I still plan to make it a weekly news source for what is going on in the community and hobby as a whole every Friday starting 2 January.

It will start off pretty close to what it has been, but I do have some more ideas to make it more than just another unread in your massive email backlog!

As I get my feet under me for all of this, I really want to get a community and resource library going.

This has been my primary idea since the start of the online portion of MHI, but I have gone back and forth on what it should look like and how I want to approach it.

I am still fleshing it out, but by the end of 2026, there will be some plan in place and at least a prototype launched on Discord.

To do all of this, especially prepare for the 2027 breeding season, I need space.

So by the end of 2026, all the animals will be moved from my repurposed garage to a facility!

I’ll have plenty of expansion space, a better space to keep my babies separate from my breeding animals, a dedicated quarantine room for new animals, dedicated warming/cooling space (it gets complicated with several species!), and a lot more workspace.

This also allows for a dedicated studio and office space for the rest of the business.

Not gonna lie, this is a significant investment and very scary, but I have access to a space and decided to go for it!

Part of the plan this year is to document either here or via video the next year and the growth into a business and facility in case it is helpful to others.

Thank you to everyone who has already supported me. It won’t be forgotten, and I give my word I’ll maintain the focus on the animals and the community as I attempt to grow into a full-time business.

Starting…well, I need to be NOW… I’ll give some updates on the channel launch (and facility prep around June) on Instagram.

I’m excited about this year!

Take care,

Will