Bowyer, quite frankly, if the local guys are "overworked" and "backlogs" are almost one year, well, theres no peice of a market to get! Thats not a backlog, thats a normal workload. Im sure theres room for another taxidermist in your area, but the descriptive you used doesnt sound like its calling for one.

Just start out by learning how its done, and enjoy it as an art, or a new hobby and allow it to grow into whatever its meant to be for you. Daily tasks are obvious...take apart, preserve, put together specimens, deal with customers, learn as new methods and materials become available, balance your work schedule with taxidermy, family and free time. Thats just for starters. It gets a bit more complicated soon enough. Try to enjoy it first.