Bob,
In short response. I have 48 hives right now and looking for
funding to increase. Why funding? Because I can't quit my job to work on
the bees full time unless I can write myself a paycheck first. That's
the only reason for the funding. I need money to buy lumber and buy a
truck to for hauling, I already have enough bees to buildup to the
critical mass to ensure profitability using disaster case figures that
determine I can pay off a loan within 3 to 5 year if EVERYTHING goes
wrong. The only hard part is getting to that critical number of starting
hives that will provide enough income for me to quit my job and work
bees as a sole income. That number is 250 hives, BUT as the numbers work
its actually cheaper to start with 500 hives. The capitol burden is a
few thousand dollars less in the end. Up to 500 hives I don't need
laborers, 1 or 2 might be helpful but not a necessity.
What is disaster case figures? 60 lbs per previous year's hives in
honey, selling honey at $1 per lb. I already have retail commitments for
far more than that, but if I have to I can do it at open market value.
Doing queens and packages as well. Sure I live in Florida and that helps
a lot, but there is every year a shortage in available livestock for
sale. Every year I hear there aren't enough bees to go around and you
have to buy your bees 6 months in advance to buy bees. I haven't even
added in pollination into my figures yet. Why am I using disaster case
numbers in my business planning? Because I need to show that I can do
it, even when things get tough.
--
Scot Mc Pherson
The Mc Pherson Family Honey Farms
Bradenton, FL USA
http://beewiki.linuxfromscratch.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/OrganicBeekeepers/
mailto:[log in to unmask]
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