>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 >[log in to unmask] >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 [log in to unmask] Businss like beekeeping has its own jargon. You just have to learn it.