Bee-Liners

I read in Kim Flottum's last commentary that one of our well known members
has gone the 'direct sales route' for his limited crop.  Me too!  I began
selling at a farmer's mkt 5 years ago as a means of leveraging a potential
scholarship (offered by a free enterprise foundation) for my son's college
education.  My wife now sells honey at a good farmer's mkt for her summer
'job' one day a week and I accompany her maybe once a month.  The cash flow
is great, but interestingly, I have learned a LOT by listening to our
customers.  I have been wholesaling for 30 years and never really got to
know my customers.  You meet them face-to-face at a farmer's market and
they give plenty of feedback:

I make no claims about my raw honey but hear some pretty amazing stories
from people who use it.  I estimate over half of my sales go to people
seeking allergy relief, many referred by physicians.  I hear about
psoriasis relief from beeswax-based hand cream, and diabetic foot sore
treatments with honey.  Again, I just listen and make no claims.  Again the
cash flow is great, but the motivation is better.  I am motivated to use
soft treatments as I know how many people are using my honey because they
expect it to be a pure, natural product.  It helps to get some positive
feedback from some aspect of the bee business as the mite issues, SHB
sliming, and the odd disaster like the brand-new-tire-blow-out-from side
swiping a stump last week with a full load of syrup on the truck - frozen
lug nuts, spare-tire-from Hell undermounted on the muddy, rusty truck bed
episode I-won't-bore-you-with.

You know they say that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.  The
blow-out didn't kill me but the customer feedback makes me stronger.

go Bee-Line!
Bill Lord
Louisburg, NC

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