>For my commercial beekeeping friends...what information is available to
>someone who wants to know more about becoming a commercial beekeeper? I have
>turned the idea over in my head from time to time...but I don't have any
>info to help me take the next step.
>
>Thanks to all in advance.
>Tim Peters, Kirby VT
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>I rather be flying!
 
Tim,
        You do have all the information needed to take the step into
commercial beekeeping.  You just have to manipulate it and manage it.  In
addition, you have the best tool for manipulating and managing this
information, your computer.  Spend 200 hours or so putting all the start-up
costs (new equipment or used equipment etc.), costs of production for each
month of the year, and all the possible sources of income from beekeeping
into one of your spreadsheet programs.  Then manipulate those numbers--run
dozens of production and marketing scenarios,e.g., size of operation,
pollination and/or honey production, pollen collection and sale, packaging
and mail order sales and bulk sales,  queen rearing, nuc selling, and put
in a year every once in awhile where you lose most of your colonies and
only get 40lbs. of honey per colony etc., etc.  Then let the numbers tell
you which scenario will get you what you want. Do you want to make
US$15,000/yr. or US$50,000, $15/hr. or $50/hr.?  Do you want to establish a
strain of bees? Are you concerned about net worth or asset turnover?  Your
computer will crunch the numbers and tell you what is financially possible.
The alternative to this is to hire someone else to do a full blown
business plan for you.  Will cost you about US$5,000 but could well be the
best money you ever spent. (You can probably do just as good a business
plan yourself but there is such a thing as a learning curve.)
        Next, keep detailed records on your present operation, as involved
as you would have to on a larger operation to keep from going broke.
        Then use your business plan and records to sell an equity investor
or two on the potential profit of your operation (Generally, it is very bad
business to sell someone on investing money in a business on other than
rates of return. If your projected rate of return is lousy, you will have
to devise a different scenario for beekeeping so that your projected rate
of return will attract capital.  Otherwise you won't survive financially.)
As for loans, there's no shortage of capital in the developed countries of
the world.  So you are in a good bargaining position.  What you are doing
is renting this capital and you don't wnat to pay anymore rent than you
have to so don't think the banker is doing you a favor by lending you
money.  He's got money to lease and the more interest he gets the less
profit you will have. Of course, good comb honey or mead has been known to
lower the interest rate a point so be as ingenious in setting-up and
running your business as your bees are in running their business.  You've
got to survive financially to have fun with the bees and for their
survival.
Dick Strohl
2648 Inglewood Ave. S.
St. Louis Park, MN USA 55416-3928
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Businss like beekeeping has its own jargon.  You just have to learn it.