To break even or maybe make a little profit, you should make some financial plans. First you need to know how much money you can spend at the beginning of the venture. If you have enough money on hand that you do not need to borrow from the household, then you are well on your way. If you have to borrow from your household finances, then you need to take a loan from your spouse (household) and make plans to pay it back as soon as possible, just like a bank.

Now, when you buy your equipment, bees, and all the other stuff you think you need, be sure to keep records of all transactions. Record keeping is a must if you want to know how much you spend, for what, when, and from whom. If you decide to use chemicals, you need to purchase them and that is part of your finances. If you decide to use you vehicle to go to bee meeting or to go pick up you’re supplies, that takes gasoline and that is more finances. You get the picture.

Now another consideration is the money you receive either from loans or sales. You need to keep it separate from your household  money. This is a good time to start thinking about a cashbox and/or a separate bank account. I have a separate bank account just for my business, with my wife as co-signer, just in case I am incapacitated for some reason or other, or she goes to the suppliers for me.

After you have gotten big enough to have surplus honey for sale and you have bottled enough to go to fairs, flea markets, or festivals, then you can sell your wares, bank you money, and start paying your loans off (Mama included). The excess money can be utilized for trips to State, Regional, or National meetings. You can even drag your spouse along with you and pay for his or her meals and room. But remember, you need to keep receipts and records because eventually you will need to declare the income on your federal taxes.

Also records are good for proof of lost equipment or bees in case of devastating weather, fire, or even theft. I hope not the latter. Records are good to be able to see how you have improved (or not) so you can do something different if need be. Oh! One other reason. If you decide to go commercial, the bank would like to see good books and by those, the loan officer can decide how much money he could loan you for expansion.

I went to the American Bee Federation (ABF) in Orlando, FL. last January, and I met some people there from all over the world. I asked some of the different beekeepers that I got to know quite well and felt comfortable enough with to ask a personal question, “Are you rich or how did you finance your flight from your country to this meeting?” (You can tell I am shy, hehe.) The answer was the same in all cases. “My bees paid for my trip.”

It is true that most of these beekeeper has thousands of colonies, but did you know that over half of the attendees from the US alone and some from Mexico and Canada, have between 25 to 100 hives of bees? They all say the same. If you keep strong colonies and have plenty of supers to put on the hives, one strong colony will outproduce 3-5 medium strength colonies every time. I say that you can make more than enough honey from a few colonies to sell to you customers and make enough money to support your hobby and give you spouse a payday too.

I sell all my honey retail to my customers. There have been times that I had more honey than I could sell retail. That was when I bought some barrels and put my excess honey in them and sold wholesale to the packer. I didn’t get as much for the honey per pound as I was getting retail, but I did free up some needed space so I could get ready for the next year. Commercial beekeepers ship lots of barrels of honey, because they get most of their money from pollination contracts and from sales of bees. That doesn’t leave much time to go to fairs and festivals.

If you have any questions, then leave a comment and I will contact you and probably write another post. Now would be a good time to prepare for the coming spring. Read your bee books and magazines, then think about what you want to accomplish this next year, write it down and place on your cork-board or refrigerator so you can review it during the year. Clean your smoker. There will be a buildup of creasote in the barrel. Replace the bellows if needed as you will have to take a timeout if you discover a hole in the bellows after you have opened up the hive and thousands of angry bees are trying to find a chink in your armor.  Check you veil and repair or replace it. Nothing is worse than bees in your bonnet because of that hole you didn’t sew up. And don’t forget to sharpen your hive tool. A dull hive tool will slow down your cleaning process.

Stay warm and get ready!! Spring will be here before you know it and it will be too late to clean boxes then. Until next time—