> I would hate to start down the road of commercial beekeeping by myself with only the beekeeping books sold today to guide me.

This field is no different than any other. You can't learn to drive from a book, you can't learn to make love from a book, you can't really even learn to cook from a book. 

I worked for a least a dozen *different* commercial beekeepers before taking the plunge. Even then, I went gradually, from 50 hives in the 1970s to 500 in the 1980s. And I never wanted to go to the next step: thousands. 

But beyond that, there as many ways as there are beekeepers. Some have fewer hives and focus more on marketing. Some diversify and pollinate, produce honey, pollen, bees AND queens. 

By the way, succeeding at beekeeping requires beekeeping skill, business savvy, and luck.

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