# Yearly business plan - realistic or not? What else should I account for?



## Rader Sidetrack

Hmmm, its a start, but if its a _business _plan, there are some key items missing.

At a minimum, the plan doesn't mention any extracting operations, but you are selling honey. How are you getting the honey ready for market? Even if you plan on using your current employer's equipment, presumably some payments are involved.

If you are paying for purchasing the business over time, you need to determine if the cash flow is adequate to make those payments. So where is that in your plan? What is that gas going to be used in? If it is a vehicle, that is likely a depreciable _asset_.

And, FYI, the heading where you show "Profit" should be _Income_. Profit is whats left over after everything else is paid for. Terms like this may not be important to you, but they will be to the banker that reads your plan.


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## westernbeekeeper

Thanks Rader,
That's a help. Yes, I understand this is not a correctly termed plan, but it is supposed to be the gist of it. I am not very knowledgeable yet as far as business goes, so everything is a help. Yes, I plan to purchase just the working hives from him, and rent the extraction facilty. I don't know yet if I will buy or rent the Hummerbee forklift. Anyway, thanks for the help! I look forward to more.


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## Roland

Where is CCD covered?


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## Mbeck

This might be worth look


http://api.ning.com/files/4N20pw7eZ...JSG1IOmImTJaXQF/49759257beekeepingworbook.pdf


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## Roland

Where is CCD covered?

Crazy Roland


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## westernbeekeeper

Roland,
Thanks for the reminder! I forgot to factor in losses. What is wrong with me? Thanks! I will factor that in too.

Mbeck,
Thanks for the link! I really appreciate all the replies so far.


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## odfrank

Labor?
Four tons of honey is a lot to lift. 
The empties into the truck, off the truck, onto the hives, fulls off the hive, onto the truck, off the truck into the extracting room, into the uncapper, into the extractor, out of the extractor, back onto the truck empty, out of the truck, onto the hive, off the hive, onto the truck, off the truck, into the storage room. Now ad all the motions of medicating, pollen trapping, propolis production, feeding, making nucs........all by your lonesome?


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## Haraga

Treatment free? Migratory? Nothing like spreading your diseases around.


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## westernbeekeeper

odfrank said:


> Labor?
> Four tons of honey is a lot to lift.
> The empties into the truck, off the truck, onto the hives, fulls off the hive, onto the truck, off the truck into the extracting room, into the uncapper, into the extractor, out of the extractor, back onto the truck empty, out of the truck, onto the hive, off the hive, onto the truck, off the truck, into the storage room. Now ad all the motions of medicating, pollen trapping, propolis production, feeding, making nucs........all by your lonesome?


Yes, I plan to do it all by my "lonesome self." I do most of it by myself currently, and it's only a part time job now.


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## westernbeekeeper

Haraga said:


> Treatment free? Migratory? Nothing like spreading your diseases around.


When I become migratory, I don't think I'll be treatment free. I kinda counted on not being TF because of all that gets spread around. That's one of the reasons I counted treatment in.


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## The Honey Householder

$1500 for fuel. You better keep them in you back yard. If producing only 7500 lbs you better retail. You'll need every penny you can get. A forklift is last thing I would worry about with 150 hives.

Like looking at your number! Well you have to start somewhere and might even have to learn the hard way too.

Sold my first ton over 30 years ago for over $800, and that was from 18 hives. The game was changed a lot since then, and so has the price of honey at $4500 a ton.:thumbsup:

Best of luck.


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## RAK

You will need the forklift (at least rent) if you want to be migratory unless you have a few strong brothers then they take the place of a forklift. If you want to be treatment free and be migratory then you will most likely go bankrupt.


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## BMAC

Forklifts are cheap to rent to unload and load semis.


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## jim lyon

I simply can't put into a few paragraphs how difficult it will be to get from where you are to the point where you are a self sustaining profitable commercial endeavor. You have to follow a certain progression and for the foreseeable future it needs to be a sideline operation with a day job on the other side. Don't give up your dream just be realistic and don't even think about things such as forklift purchases until you have grown your business far beyond where it is now. Why even think about selling nucs when your first consideration should be keeping your own boxes filled with bees and then expanding your numbers? I wouldn't even consider selling a strong nuc in the spring for $125 when it might well make me $200 worth of honey in only a few short months.


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## BMAC

westernbeekeeper said:


> Thanks Rader,
> That's a help. Yes, I understand this is not a correctly termed plan, but it is supposed to be the gist of it. I am not very knowledgeable yet as far as business goes, so everything is a help. Yes, I plan to purchase just the working hives from him, and rent the extraction facilty. I don't know yet if I will buy or rent the Hummerbee forklift. Anyway, thanks for the help! I look forward to more.


So if you want to be successful (and we all think we are) you really need to know the business portion. You are going to have to carefully plan out all your expenses. If you rent the extraction facility will it be for 1 month or 12 months? Then powering, heating, etc... can get aweful expensive 12 months out of the year. 

If you are going to manage 150 colonies why cant you move the extraction to say your garage or basement, or put up a small outbuilding that you can heat for extracting? You dont need much room to extract 7K lbs of honey. You also will NOT be able to afford to sell all your crop wholesale. You will need to get as close to or over $5.00 a lbs so you can start to afford migratory beekeeping expenses.


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## westernbeekeeper

You have a good point, Jim; thanks for the response. Also, BMAC, thanks too, I am learning and everything y'all give me helps. My boss has a large steel building where he does his extracting. He owns two 60-frame extractors, a dakota gunness uncapper, and two conveyer belts. He uses the rest of the space in the building for storage. I would plan to rent it for 1-3 months out of the year.


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## dback

Ben,
After these folks are done adjusting/shredding your business plan....... take all their input and double your expected expenses & halve your anticipated income, now you'll be approaching a realistic number.


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## delber

I wish from my VERY LITTLE experience that I could say that dback is wrong. From being a hobby beekeeper / small sideliner I have done fairly well this year but I haven't broken even yet. It has costed a lot more than what I had thought. I thought I had a fairly clear plan and my expenses are higher than what I had thought. I underestimated sugar costs in the fall, all the time it takes when you have a small amt. of hives and you dont' want to lose one and have a failing queen, how a hive can go from your strongest (4 deeps and bearding all the time) to your weakest and finally abscond with a virgin queen, etc. etc. etc. Having a plan is a necessicary place to start, but unfortunately in my experience I underestimated. I'm not saying it can't be done because it is being done by others and God willing I'll be one of them someday. I have had a TON of fun learning / growing this year (from 3 to 7 and I sold one also). Just my 2c. for what it's worth.


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## mgolden

Is there any way to increase your expectation for lbs/hive and price per pound? Set a goal of 75lbs or 100lbs or 125 lbs, etc. And work towards getting a better price per pound, 4$, $5, $6 or better.

It's been a good year for me at 100lbs per hive wintered extracted and have another 100lbs of wet honey per hive still on the hives. Hoping they cap it soon with lower humidity and I can get on with sugar syrup feeding. Been selling at $4 per pound which is on the low side.

Be realistice but your gross income seems marginal to run and grow the business so it is a full time job. As others have pointed out you need vehicle cost, ?fork lift, extracting cost, taxes/rent, building, utilities, and extracting cost. However, you could easily double your gross income.

Follow your passion and good luck.


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## D Semple

Ben, 

Your doing great, wish my kids had your gumption at your age.

- Get your self a valuable mentor, there are a lot of great commercial guys on this site, pick yourself one good one to listen to.

- Draw up a plan together for this next year, and then you execute that plan, reporting back to your mentor at least a couple of times a month. 

As you learn you're planing will get better, and your execution of your planing will get better.

Good luck,

Don


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## dback

mgolden said:


> However, you could easily double your gross income.


On paper.........be very careful with this line of thinking.

I wish you the best but you asked for "realistic". These guys will point out the obvious.......I've got just a very few expenses off the top of my head that you've overlooked. Please don't ask how I know......let's just say it's 40yrs of experience.

*Ticket for "rolling stop" at stop sign
*Flat tire repair
*Time for walking back to highway to get a jack from passing motorist because little brother screwed with jack
*Tip for friendly passing motorist assistance
*New jack because little brother REALLY screwed up old jack
*Baseball cards to attempt to mend relationship with little brother
*Water
*Ice for water in ice chest
*New ice chest because old ice chest blew out of back of truck
*New smoker because you ran over old one in the dark
*22 hive tools
*Replace stolen hives
*Replace lost tops
*Replace rotted out wooden ware
*Replace vandalized/driven over hives
*Replace hives that you backed over
*Stamps
*Envelopes
*Insurance
*$7.00 gal. fuel purchase in BF Egypt because you forgot to fuel up in town
*Ham/cheese/mayo sandwich purchase from Middle Eastern owned mini-mart
*Pepto
*T-shirt replacement due to failure to bring toilet paper 
*Shovel to bury t-shirt
*Spare toilet paper
*Dr bill for gastroenterology exam

INHALE

*Replace lost spare tire when cable failed
*Front wheel bearing on truck
*Burned out extractor motor
*Mouse poison
*Dinner for wife due to forgetting Anniversary

*and did I mention little brother misplacing tire iron............

You get the picture......it can and has been done, you can do it.......just educate yourself as best as possible.

Very best of luck to you young man.


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## westernbeekeeper

Dback, thanks for the comedy! It gives me a smile. 
Wow, thanks everyone for your responses so far.


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## mgolden

I wonder if 50 lbs per hive at $2 per lb is a viable business. One deep super per hive of honey and selling at wholesale price????????

Follow your passion and get very good at and rewards will come.


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## RAK

Ben, it is very possible for you to run the business successfully. Just make sure your parents are backing you up$$ or become close friends with your rich aunt. 

Their money will come in handy.


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## dback

Mr Semple makes a very good point and mgolden makes two of them (one subtle). 50 lbs per at wholesale is probably not viable (short of you running 1500 by yourself), secondly, if you sale retail (as he is suggesting) it would help bottom line. My whole point is, don't increase your anticipated average yield on paper because you "believe" you can....do so only AFTER you have proven to yourself you can do it on a consistent basis. Also, an increase in numbers will result in lower average yield per hive & higher % of shrinkage...there are benefits in other areas however.

Mr Brenner.....I'm headed off elk hunting  Ya'll have fun


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## Brian Suchan

How much too buy into the existing business???? Any other coommercial beeks in that area that would be willing to help u out. What type of honey crops do u normally see in se wyo is that where u come up with 50lbs.


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## westernbeekeeper

mgolden said:


> I wonder if 50 lbs per hive at $2 per lb is a viable business. One deep super per hive of honey and selling at wholesale price????????
> 
> Follow your passion and get very good at and rewards will come.


I planned for the worst at a minimum of 50 labs per hive. Quite a few hives at good locations currently yield over 100 lbs per hive annually. We get $2.50 per lb right now but I'm sure I could work the price up higher.


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## westernbeekeeper

Brian Suchan said:


> How much too buy into the existing business???? Any other coommercial beeks in that area that would be willing to help u out. What type of honey crops do u normally see in se wyo is that where u come up with 50lbs.


We have all of our hives on irrigated alfalfa. The closest commercial beekeeper is 2 1/2 hours away.


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## Mbeck

Here is an older example with actual numbers.

http://agmarketing.extension.psu.edu/Business/PDFs/beekeeperplan.pdf

Other than the 1999 #'s does this look reasonable? Could you plug in today's #'s and make it work?

I love the work the children line!


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## ryan

Hi. You're 19. Wow, I wish I could say I was that age again. The plan is fine. More important is setting up a growth plan. Get yourself up to a semi load or two of bees as fast as you reasonably can. Borrow a little money, even if you don't really need it. Having a relationship at a bank may prove very helpful in the coming years. 

If your dream is to retail your honey then do it. If not, don't do it. 

You want to be migratory. So start NOW. Go get a job with a beekeeper where you're planning to migrate. Do it for a couple years then your off on your own. 

ryan

P.S. Don't read beesource more than 15 minutes per year.


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## BMAC

westernbeekeeper said:


> I planned for the worst at a minimum of 50 labs per hive. Quite a few hives at good locations currently yield over 100 lbs per hive annually.


Yes but dont forget the extremely wet years when you only yield 20 lbs or less per hive. Been thru that and its uncomfortable.


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## Skinner Apiaries

Gap insurance for honey is only 250 bucks. Go to FSA/USDA and inquire. It is 100% worth your time. Also, fumigillin is OK, but just feed honey bee healthy in your syrup. Haven't had an outbreak in years, and they actually like to eat it unlike the fumigillin I was forcing on them. And.. lesse. Someone else mentioned labor.. The numbers are conservative enough, but you need to consider that a crapload of them die every winter.


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## Daniel Y

Just a couple of things that stick out to me.

you did not include the cost of buying your bosses operation in your expenses.
Are any of the nucs or other equipment going to be included in the buy out?

No additional expenses included in the production of honey. Including bottle or other means to package the honey.

No losses are included but that has already been covered in a previous post.

Even if you only rent the extraction equipment you need that expense included.

Loading by hand is not free. Using a forklift with little or no experience may cost even more. Not just in accidents. but simply in the process being slower due to inexperience. It is a major expense to train new employees. Even when the new guy is you.

Otherwise I would just hope your estimates are accurate and wish you the best of luck.


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## Daniel Y

Dback probably has it better than anyone. Maybe not the details but the reality really is going to look something like that.

Best way I know to do that is look at last year. better yet look at the last 4 or 5 years and make a list of every unexpected thing that you can recall. Add those things to your list and you will be closer to the real ball park. Keep in mind you may be much busier than you are typically. this will increase the incidence of oh crud factors.

Nothing will give you a better picture than accurate records for a year though. I have had some operations run smooth as silk. and some you could not predict if your life depended on it. I have run out to do some 15 minute job that I was charging $50 for and have a $4000 compressor blow out on me. Next job that payed $7000 and took a month and not one piece of equipment get lost or damaged.

A rule: You never drive over that really old hive you where considering retiring. It is always that brand new one with the extra expensive feeder you where trying out and that new breeder queen you have popped for.


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## rtoney

Skinner Apiaries


> Gap insurance for honey is only 250 bucks. Go to FSA/USDA


Were you speaking of Disaster Assistance from the USDA?


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## Rader Sidetrack

rtoney said:


> Skinner Apiaries
> Were you speaking of Disaster Assistance from the USDA?


I believe he was referring to regular (non-disaster) crop insurance. The _apiculture _version is a pilot program and not available in all counties in 2012. You can see if your county is covered and how at this link:
http://www.rma.usda.gov/policies/ri-vi/12rivitable.pdf

Here is more info on the "vegetation index":
http://www.rma.usda.gov/policies/ri-vi/13viapi.pdfhttp://www.rma.usda.gov/policies/ri-vi/13viapi.pdf
Note there are two other indexes as well.

When _searching _for more info, keep in mind that the term the government uses is "apiculture" (not honey, and not bees) and the agency involved is the "Risk Management Agency" or "rma" as in the links above.


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## lakebilly

Best advice that I ever got was from a successful bizz man that wrote;

keep track of all your expenses ALL your expenses. put 6 months worth of operating expenses away & don't touch them.
Farming (is what you are) has many heartwrenching pitfalls. It also is very rewarding to the diligent. 
"In the multitude of counselors safety dwells" (& confusion)

Takes a long time to get a grip on good bizz practises, don't get careless. hiring has a whole host of concerns. wait till you get stiffed & stuck between a rock & a hard place. Do as much as is possible with you alone. 

Ryan, I respectfully couldn't disagree more (about borrowing). borrower is a slave to the lender. Speaking from experience. nothing worse than having less production than the amount you owe, w/ unexpected costs. Grow @ a rate that is built on experience. one bad season & you are not enjoying your craft. re-invest a pre determined percentage. 

Lots of good advice here, chew slowly.


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## Skinner Apiaries

Im staring at the Gap Uninsurable crop leaflet. I use it for watermelons, but it has honey on the list. I will be trying it out next year. As for the production tag to rainfall they use for hay production, I haven't used that but I am aware of it. That only getting to insure certain months is nice and all, but it's too much of a guessing game compared to a single date policy. Check it out. I think feb 28 is the deadline to apply. And with Gap, you can get it for any crop anytime. It's basically the backup to what RMA and RCIS dosen't cover directly. aka, everything from mushrooms to strawberries. Call your local FSA, they may scratch their heads for a second, but they'll pony up. Also, if you're not listed as a honey producer at FSA, do so asap, I've missed CCD money before, because I wasn't listed. No point missing out on subsidies when they're there!



Rader Sidetrack said:


> I believe he was referring to regular (non-disaster) crop insurance. The _apiculture _version is a pilot program and not available in all counties in 2012. You can see if your county is covered and how at this link:
> http://www.rma.usda.gov/policies/ri-vi/12rivitable.pdf
> 
> Here is more info on the "vegetation index":
> http://www.rma.usda.gov/policies/ri-vi/13viapi.pdfhttp://www.rma.usda.gov/policies/ri-vi/13viapi.pdf
> Note there are two other indexes as well.
> 
> When _searching _for more info, keep in mind that the term the government uses is "apiculture" (not honey, and not bees) and the agency involved is the "Risk Management Agency" or "rma" as in the links above.


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## Nick Noyes

Benjamin take 15 minutes to read post #31 and pay good attention to the 2 loads part. You will be fine it has been done before. If you want it to work and are willing to put the effort out I see no reason for failure.


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## delber

In looking over some of this I have a question. . . Your boss. . . Is he a commercial beekeeper or sideline? What do you do w/ him? Is he your bekeeping boss or somethingelse? You may have already answered this question, but how long and how many hives do you / have you had? I am only 2 years in beekeeping but I know what it is to have a full time job, wife and three children, and squashed for time this past spring so that I needed to sell one hive because I couldn't make enough woodenware to keep up. Growing your hives was recommended by many I don't remember if that was here or not, but the reason is you then understand what setbacks come at each stage. You can go from 20 and up fairly quickly from what I understand. This year I went from 3 to 8 (If I had equipment ready I would have gone higher) and sold one because it was CRAZY busy on the flow in the spring. Being 19 you have a great opportunity to do what you love with your life. I was told by a guy I went to church with that "a lot can happen in a short ammt. of time" and he was right. 

I agree w/ lakebilly about borrowing. Been there done that and don't want the tee shirt again!!! 

Ultimately it's your decision. There's so much good advice and so much that I haven't gone through even on this thread. (62 pages or so I haven't gone through yet) Chose wisely. One more thing. . . If you get downwind and problems / setbacks come up you can always adjust your course. That's easier to do by far w/o debt. With debt and other responsibilities it's much harder to change directions. If this is your passion / desire then it can be done as has been said already. ("It's been done already") 

Just some food for thought. The answers to the questions that I asked may / hopefully will direct your thoughts also. (If you work as a beekeeper with your boss then you may not "need" to work with another guy, but I'd love to get the experience closer to the field you're interested in.)


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## jim lyon

Ryan hardly needs me to speak up for him but lets be fair about what his suggestion was. He was only encouraging him to establish a relationship with a lender. Its pretty difficult to become a viable commercial operation without some sort of relationship with a lender. No you dont want to own your soul to them but a line of credit at your disposal can on occasion be quite helpful and far, far better than carrying a balance on a credit card. I have had many times when a short term advance of a few thousand dollars with the resulting few hundred dollars in deductable interest helped me make many times over that on the other end. Credit in itself isnt a bad thing if it is used responsibly.


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## westernbeekeeper

Wow, thanks everyone for the help so far. It is a big help to hear all that you have to say. That being said, please feel free to post more thoughts!

Delber, let me answer some of your questions. They may enlighten some of us.  My boss retired from his full-time non-beekeeping job 2 years ago, and now does one job: beekeeping. He owns 150 hives, and sells 4-6 tons of honey annually, and also a good bit of beeswax. I have 8 hives of my own, and I have been beekeeping for 3 years, pretty successfully. I had known Terry Booth (now my boss) for a couple of years, and in April 2012, he asked me to work for them at the Cheyenne Honey Company. I started working for him on April 19, 2012. I raised 150 Russian queens, and also have done most of the general hive managment this summer. I also provide alot of needed youthful manpower during harvesting season  which is just ending here in WY. He would like to sell me the business, and I would like to buy it. I would much rather buy it when it's small, and expand the business on my own nickel and budget, than to buy it in several years after he has expanded it, and having it cost lot's of $$$$ more. My ultimate goal is to make commercial beekeeping my life career and full-time income. I have very little capital to work with, as I have quite a bit invested in my own hives. It also doesn't help to only have a part time job (1-2 days a week). My only recourse is borrowing, and I'd rather borrow small than big. My only area that lacks general know-how is the migratory aspect of beekeeping. (I'm not saying at all that I know everything about bees; I found out that I didn't 2 years ago!) Anyway, thanks again for everything so far!


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## ryan

Go get em Ben. Migratory beekeeping is all about moving "far and fast". Start NOW. Enjoy where the ride takes you. Find a place to work bees full time starting Jan 2 if not sooner. I'm guessing CA is your final destination. But any southern state or even HI will do the trick this winter. 

Credit is a powerful tool. Learn how to use it and get it BEFORE you need it.


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## ryan

Your 15 minutes for the year are almost gone. ;-)


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## Bill Russell

Just a couple of thoughts based on my own experience.... when I was in my early 20's and just casually thinking about commmercial beekeeping an older, by the way, Wyoming beekeeper urged me to first off work for three different beekeepers over three years. Interestingly enough he said don't worry about whether or not they're good beekeepers, you can learn as much from a sloppy beekeeper as a profitable one. Although in this day and age there are few "sloppy" beekeepers. I ended up working for only 2 beekeepers and inspecting commercial outfits. Anyway, after a few years working for others and not really sure if beekeeping for a living was a viable option doors just started opening for me and before I knew it I was self-employed. Being single was a huge help. Have only taken out one small loan to buy a 1 ton and a building besides the gentleman's ageement with a sideliner who entrusted me with his 250 hive operation ( I paid him back in honey over 2-3 years). I've said in the past one of the few management decisions I've erred on was not expanding faster. I started out with maybe 300-400 hives and only expanded 100 hives per year. As Ryan suggested getting to 2 loads is a good idea. Take away Ben; work for somebody else; pay attention; and as Ryan says "enjoy the ride." You'll find a commercial guy or two who will be invaluable in taking it to the next level. There's lots of different ways you can make a living with bees; you'll find the path that works for you. I'm a good example of somebody who has done nothing unique or outstanding; just kind of hung in there; worked hard; didn't make any big mistakes ( I made up for that with lots of small ones) and things have worked out better than I ever could have imagined. Just do it and things will fall in place.


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## jim lyon

Bill: Nice post from someone who has truly "walked the walk". My experience was considerably different as I ended up taking over management and full ownership of an old family operation in the 1990's that had considerable debt due to low commodity prices, varroa stressed bees and the resulting poor honey crops. It wasn't a fun time, we were in survival mode. 3,000 hives, none of which were on pallets and lots and lots of dead hives and empty equipment left us few options but we did have a willing banker who I couldn't have survived without. I borrowed enough for a used forklift and one good truck capable of pulling it with. We loaded countless truckloads of hives by hand and began the long process of palletizing the operation. Eventually pollination income paid off the notes. A credit line was what I could borrow not what I necessarily chose to borrow. Within a few years our entire outfit was palletized and we were able to eliminate any bee purchases. Since you mentioned being treatment free let me just say it is a laudable goal and one we have made a lot of progress towards but take your cues from the posters here on the commercial forum and not the treatment free forum if you want real life experiences in actually making a living in this business.


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## Keith Jarrett

Bill Russell said:


> Just a couple of thoughts based on my own experience.... I'm a good example of somebody who has done nothing unique or outstanding;. .


Very Well said Bill.
My story goes something like this, My older brother whent off to college and asked me (14) to take care of his two hives, four years later I gave him back his two hives and kepted my 100. Things were a bit rough in the beginning, I could remember when I took bees to Nevada alfalfa, packed and ice chest full of food, piched a tent and took shower's in the ditch. It can be done, good luck


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## delber

Keith that's pretty crazy!!! How did you go to 100 in 2 years? Were they exceptional years flow wise and were you able to split hives so many times??? Did you catch 60 swarms or buy 60 hives?


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## kilocharlie

Western - 

4 things off the top of my head: 1) Treatment-free beekeeping is local beekeeping, not migratory beekeeping - they are opposites, dump the treatment-free idea all together, especially if you come to California's almond pollination pest / disease / poison warfare factory; 2) add another column to the fuel cost - talk to several truckers who go to the places you are thinking about and ask them about actual road trip costs; 3) I understand you already have 150 hives and are buying 150 more - that is less than half the number most commercial beekeepers keep per employee (count yourself as 1.75 employees - you're the boss), which is more like 700 to 1,000 hives per employee; 4) plan for future cost increases.

A few other reflections - a business plan is a document intended to solicit a loan or investment, nothing more. Writing a business plan and NOT applying for a loan is a good exercise for a business person because it teaches him/her a lot about the business, especially if he/she takes it out of the drawer every 6 months, reads it, connects the dots from projections to performance, and updates it accordingly. The gaps are often quite wide at first. This exercise helps refine his/her forecasting skills - a skill viewed as useful by many people who invest money in businesses.

Business planning is not an essential tool of business - many businesses are built in good conditions, at low cost, with good return on investment, with little regulation, with little competition, and some people have good instincts and can "fly by the seat of their pants" so to speak. Business owners whose interests are not subject to such cushy conditions and who write, review, and revise their biz plans regularly tend to rather emphatically insist that a business plan is indeed essential.

Business management has more to do with buying a business for a ridiculous discount, cutting costs where you can _and NOT where you shouldn't_, managing time, staying ahead of issues, building and maintaining an efficient and reliable team, paying bills on time, knowing your competition, identifying competitive advantages, working relative strengths, running business ratios, etc., than it does with biz planning. 

I'd suggest you take Business 101, Accounting 101, 102, and Managerial Accounting at the local community college if you have not already done so. I'd also suggest you have a friend with an MBA or a S.C.O.R.E. counselor help you review your plan.

Best of all possible luck to you should you decide to buy the business.


Keith - that's not bad work for a guy going from age 14 to age 18! I'd really love to watch you work some day.


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## westernbeekeeper

Well, folks, I'm getting the real plan together, going off of a modernized version of the PDF plan afore mentioned. Interesting, but this being my first business transaction/dealing of any sort, I'm dead nervous! I keep telling myself that everything will be fine. I hope it's OK to do that. 

KiloCharlie, the 150 described in my outdated signature line is the 8 I own and the 142 (now 150) that I managed for the boss. If I buy him out, I will then own 158 hives. I am treatment-free in my own 8 hives, but that would change as soon as I buy him out and go commercial. I have a good friend who is a trucker (self-owned trucking business), and he owns a big Peterbilt and flatbed; I'll bet he could give me some info on trucking costs. 

I have taken or am currently taking Business 101 college courses, and a really good entreprenuership college course that has been a big help to me.


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## Keith Jarrett

westernbeekeeper said:


> , I'm dead nervous! I keep telling myself that everything will be fine. I hope it's OK to do that.


Being nervous is good! It means your thinking! If your not living on the edge, then your taking up to much space. Ben , embrace the unknowns. good luck


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## jim lyon

Coolers? Tents? Showers in ditches? Those are great experiences but the turning 2 hives into 100 is the one I really like. I'm betting it had something to do with a Eureka moment in the pollen sub formulation.


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## Keith Jarrett

jim lyon said:


> but the turning 2 hives into 100 is the one I really like. I'm betting it had something to do with a Eureka moment in the pollen sub formulation.


Well, I got on the swarm list in Sacramento (pre-mites days), my Mom use to drive me around and catch swarms.

Pollen sub Formulation Jimmy, Hey how about 20+ protein, 8.5 percent fats, no need feed fumagilian. No need to advertize when the product sells itself.


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## kilocharlie

Western - 
It sounds like you are on the right path. More experience would help, as would more capital. I'd suggest completing the biz and marketing plans, and seeking other beekeepers with whom to merge and do it as a full "C" or "S" corporation. Talk to an attorney about drafting articles of incorporation. 

The risk takers can put down the initial outlay for the making / obtaining of equipment (if they don't already have stuff) and wait the 4 or 5 years while the bee population comes up knowing that there is no hope of a short term return, but a very strong return in the long run. Beekeeper/investors will understand the timetable and not frown too much as investors. You need the truck, the forklift, a honey room, queen rearing capacity to go to 1,000 hives per employee, and probably some nuc production capacity. 

Study any potential investor/beekeeper's *ethics* very carefully - you will getting to know them very, very well. You and these other guys or girls are the ones you will be traveling with, getting stung with, getting in arguments with, eating meals with, making money with, losing money with, and depending on. Get an appointment with a S.C.O.R.E. counselor and have him talk you through startup, even though this a buy-out. You've got a lot of growth to do to make it viable, so treat it as startup.

Meanwhile build the business on it's own merits. Purchase items only on money that the bees earn, and then in order of quickest profitability (R.O.I. rate, or ability to produce cashflow quickly). It is the slow, safe path to grow until you have the loans / investments, it will also give you more capital to bring to the table when you join with others, buying you more ownership percent of the pie.

Remember to keep your enthusiasm for it applied to waking up early and working hard, and to keep a healthy dose of doubt about all business activities. Defensive thinkers often make better businessmen. Again good luck!


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## westernbeekeeper

Wow, thanks so much everyone. This has been a big help, eye-opener, and encouragement to me. I am revising and updating my project income/expense statement, and I'll post a one year sample here for more critiqueing. Again, thanks so much guys!


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## westernbeekeeper

It it advisable to borrow to buy? I have almost no capital to work with, and the only way is to borrow. But I want to make it clear that I won't borrow if I don't have to, and definitely not more than I will need. My goal is, after the loan is paid off or paid up, to only spend money that the bees make. I don't want to be in debt, but I see no recourse here for awhile. Hopefully I'm making myself clear.


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## westernbeekeeper

Hey everybody,
Here is a sample project statement for 2013. Let me know what you think. Thanks!
View attachment Beekeeping Project Income Statement.pdf


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## kilocharlie

With no capital at all, you are unlikely to get financing through anyone but the Small Business Administration, www.sba.gov , unless you already have a credit rating. 

If you've never used credit, go to several banks in your area and ask about a SECURED CREDIT ACCOUNT. You have to put in $300 to $1,000 in the account, and then borrow against that money CONSERVATIVELY (ask each bank's recommended percentage *and stay BELOW it!*), buying a pair of pants or shirt or whatever small item each month on the secured credit card *AND PAY IT OFF IMMEDIATELY!!!* 

Stick with one card for 6 months, then add a second one, using it to demonstrate conservative credit use and a perfect record of paying on time. 6 months later, add a third card.

After using a card for 6 to 8 months, request that your bank increase your limit due to your good record. Most will oblige. Most cards will automatically become regular credit cards after one year, but you may need to go to talk to your New Accounts manager at each bank to fill out more paperwork - banks do vary. In this course of action you should have a strong credit rating in 3 years.

Remember - the *SOLE PURPOSE* of credit card use in the first three years *is to establish an excellent rating, not to buy stuff!* Paying on time is your new religion! I bring the stamped, addressed envelope with me to do my credit purchase on the same day each month and go straight to the Post Office after purchasing, which sounds fanatical, but it works.

Your other chance is to find a private investor who has a lot of confidence in you. So, you might try to set up that corporation soon in order to buy your boss's business. Try to find other investors with some collateral, capital, or other equity. Your goal is to find some capital of your own to bring to the table first, so you go into the corporation as a principal, not a worker. Do give yourself a job as manager that pays you a salary. You also want to be sure to issue actual certificates of stock-and be sure your's is preferred convertible stock. Talk to a marketing major or a grantwriter or other fundraising / financing wizard about where to hook up with investors. Search the net, using Craigslist, any other site you can think of to shoot a prospectus/biz plan off to potential investors. Finish and polish you Biz plan, you'll be needing it soon. It should more than prove that buying this business is a bargain too good to pass up.

I'd try to stay on with the boss for another year, and get some queen rearing under your belt if you have not been doing so yet. Also, make a point of getting to know all his contacts in his business network. Save every dollar you can, putting it in a separate savings account for buying the business.


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## Roland

No Capitol? Learn to be a "McIver". Our truck had 5 good cylinders when we bought it for one dollar. The V8 runs fine now, after I rewelded the head and sunk a new valve seat. Find a cheap saw, free wood, make bottom boards, roofs, and innercovers. Minimize expenses from other people doing service work for you. But keep in mind Dirty Harry and "A man has got to know his limitations".

Crazy Roland


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## MeliMan

Hello, Westernbeek!

One idea that you might consider is buying the operation over time, say 3 to 5 years. You agree with the owner to pay a certain amount in 3 or 5 yearly installments. You make the offer based on the expected price for the operation and the amount you conservatively think you will make from honey sales.

In other words, use the owner as a bank: You get started with the business, he defers payment for most of it based on his expectation that you will succeed and make good on your promise to pay $x each year. 

You may think that this is asking a lot of the owner, and it is, but you may not have much competition for buying the operation. So, in effect, you may be his only buyer, or, if other potential buyers are located at a distance, you may be the one that the owner finds easiest to sell to. And, if the price you agree on is fair to him, it might be the best price he can get--better than from nearby commercial beekeepers.

This idea turns your hard work over the 3 to 5 years into full business ownership without getting a loan (i.e., without taking on debt). 

Finally, I'm impressed with the insights provided above on this thread. They all add up to planning to set aside time and money to meet the unexpected. 

Best to you! You've got the gumption and confidence that are needed. And the wisdom to ask for help and insight as you did here!

Peter


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## grozzie2

The items posted so far, look to be an annual budget, which is somewhat different from a business plan, altho the budget will become integral to the plan. To be successful, in the longer term, you need at least a semi formal business plan wrapped around that budget, and, it will need to be a formal plan if you intend to borrow money against the business plan.

To develop a full plan around that budget, is not difficult. Altho my experience is not in commercial beekeeping, I've done a few business plans in my lifetime, and executed on them. I have operated my own business for the last 15 years, which has done well enough that we live comfortably from it. As well, I sit on the board of directors for another company. It's a larger company, with a management board, and I provide the top level management advice for my own particular area of expertise. For my own business, which operates debt free, we have an informal business plan, which I can modify on the fly as it suits. For the other company, which is operating in conjunction with bankers, the plan is formal, and all parties 'sign off' on the plan quarterly. The important detail to remember, the plan is made 'in advance' when you are thinking clearly, and, needs to be thought out well enough, that when ca-ca happens, you dont find yourself in a situation where rash decisions need to be made, but rather, refer back to the plan, and execute on the 'if this happens' action plan that was pre-determined. All areas of major risk, should have an 'if this goes bad' stanza in the business plan, and, a road to recovery for that event.

To write a plan for your beekeeping endeavor, you need to start by stepping back, and asking a bunch of high level questions, which will apply to whatever business you decide to head out on, be it beekeeping or basket weaving, you still need to answer a few personal questions that will become the fundamental driver of your plan.

1) Where am I today?
- Do you have a family to support ?
- Are you married ? Intending to become so in the forseeable future ?
- Where do you live? How much does this cost monthly / annully ?
- Why do you want to embark on this business ? Is this a field you have a passion for ? <<-- VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION

2) Where do I want to be in 1, 3 and 5 years ?
- Will you have a family to support in 5 years ?
- Will you have a spouse that is 'good' with the time / energy requirements of running this business ?
- If so, will she be able to cope with the financial stresses in a bad year ?
- How large will the business be at each of the points, 1, 3 and 5 years ?

Answer all of these questions, and, those answers become the framework for how you can build up a plan, with timelines, to get from your starting point, to your desired end result. Note, none of these questions involve actual dollar amounts, but, the answers will become the basis for the philosophy of how, and why, you operate the business the way you do. Contrary to popular belief, a business plan is NOT a boilerplate thing that comes from an academic source. A well thought out business plan is a very personal document, which becomes a roadmap for how you get from point A to point B. An informal plan will give you personal guidance when you have to make important decisions, whereas a formal plan used to gain financing, will become the basis of the 'report card' your funders use to judge progress, and release of future funding (both input and payment schedule) decisions. A formal plan involving external funding, often leaves folks with little choice at some decision points, you cannot just change direction without approval of the lenders.

When you have all the answers to the questions above, the next step is to make up a timeline for execution. For each of the first 5 years, specify a growth and revenue target, then develop a budget, for each year, as you have laid out in the budget built up so far. For this endeavor, if it was me writing the plan, I would not base decision points on calendar timelines, but, rather on the growth metrics. The current operation is 150 hives, with a goal to grow to some number, which would be large enough to support a migratory operation. As others have pointed out, you need a semi-load of bees to start down that route, and, two is better. So, in your timeline, you place 'start searching for migratory customers' at the point which says 'have 2 semi loads of bees'. That may be in year 2, or it may not happen till year 4, depends on the growth mechanism you choose.

Once you have the 5 years rough plan written up, on a year by year basis, with a budget for each year, it's time to go back and re-visit each year individually. You have a number in there for 'honey retail', which is the single largest source of revenue. That cannot be a single number, it's got to be a range, from worst to best case, with a normal case somewhere in between. Using our local area as an example, average harvest for commercial beekeepers last year was 10 pounds per hive, ie, honey crop was almost non-existant. How will a bad year like that affect your plan ? Do you have a way of surviving that possibility ? Since honey production is your primary revenue source, you really need to have a plan of action in place for a crop failure in each of the 5 years moving forward. For the honey production, the primary risk is weather, so note that down clearly now, and make it an integral part of your long term plan, how to survive the crop failure.

On some of the other items, you need to assign a risk factor to each revenue source. The original plan showed some revenue from selling queens, so, you need to ask some hard / honest questions about selling queens and nucs. From my reading here on beesource, queen sales are drivin by price, and reputation of the producer. Do you have a reputation that will allow for a premium pricing model? Will you be able to sell enough to achieve the revenue goal ? Or, will have have to produce twice as many and price them lower? If you do that, can you find buyers for that many ? Producing nucs, can you afford to sell them, or, will they be required for your growth model ? Can you afford to NOT sell them ? Do you have a market lined up for the propolis sales ? If so, leave them in the 'Expected Revenue' column. If not, move them to the 'Planned new revenue sources' column. Keep in mind when you do those numbers, planned new sources dont always pan out, assign it a higher risk category, and, write a stanza about how to overcome the problem if that revenue source doesn't pan out.

Something I would suggest you do, and again, this will help you make a very personal decision on how to move forward. The goal is growth, and there are two methods of achieving that growth. Behind door number one, you can grow organically, splitting hives and expanding. This route may be possible without borrowing a lot of money, altho the 2013 financial projection you have, doesn't include woodenware for expanding the hive count. The other route, borrow a bunch of money, buy everything, and start out with a much higher hive count. On your timeline, that will trigger the 'go migratory' decision point much earlier in the plan, but it'll shift the financial model considerably, because it adds significant debt servicing obligations. So, to figure this out in a way that suits YOU, personally, write your overall plan twice, once via the organic growth model, and once via the 'borrow and buy' growth model. Compare the risk, and reward value for both models, compare the timelines, and ask yourself a very personal question. Am I comfortable with the risk/reward model in each case. When you do that, the answer to a question that's been bantered back and forth here about borrowing, will become obvious to you. Not everybody will see it the same, and input from others is great, but, only YOU can make the final decision on what is right for your own move forward.

Again, I will draw on my own experience. My business is sound, and has allowed us to reach a point of living in a house, where the mortgage got burned last summer. We have two vehicles, nothing owing on either. We have a comfortable lifestyle that we enjoy. Conversly, the other business where I sit on the board, is running on the borrow and buy business model. The financials look good today, and I believe we can make that business a success, but, the risks are much higher.

And on that note, one final bit about your financial projection, there are a couple glaring items missing. Pay yourself. There is no allowance in that statement for putting food on your table. Where is the money going to come from when you stop at the grocery store, and buy a loaf of bread ? Can you go the whole year without eating ? I doubt it, so, factor into that plan, you need to take some of that revenue, and use it to cover the necessities of life, food and lodging. If you dont have that covered in the plan, no banker will take the plan seriously. You may well start the first few years with 'outside job' as the revenue source, and that's fine, but, if that's the plan, put it in your plan. Another item that is glaring in it's absence, administration. At a bare minimum, you will have to file tax returns, even if no tax is owing, and that's going to cost some money to have an accountant do things up properly. Unless you thoroughly understand bookeeping already, you are well advised to hire an expert in that area. A good accountant will save you far more than they charge. The exception to that, is only when you are unprofitable, but, nobody starts out intending to be unprofitable, so, hire a good accountant to help you keep that money come tax time.


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## westernbeekeeper

grozzie2 said:


> 1) Where am I today?
> - Do you have a family to support ?
> - Are you married ? Intending to become so in the forseeable future ?
> - Where do you live? How much does this cost monthly / annully ?
> - Why do you want to embark on this business ? Is this a field you have a passion for ? <<-- VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION
> 
> 2) Where do I want to be in 1, 3 and 5 years ?
> - Will you have a family to support in 5 years ?
> - Will you have a spouse that is 'good' with the time / energy requirements of running this business ?
> - If so, will she be able to cope with the financial stresses in a bad year ?
> - How large will the business be at each of the points, 1, 3 and 5 years ?


1) 
- Not yet
- Intend to become so in the forseeable future
- In rural Cheyenne WY
- This is a field I have a great passion for, and we need a second generation of commercial beekeepers

2)
- Planning to
- Yes
- Yes
- Still figuring


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## Specialkayme

Ben,

There is some good information in this thread. I'd re-read it a few times if I were you (actually, I might re-read it a few times myself, lol).

I think, and I could be wrong, that you are trying to create a budget (aka a Pro-forma) rather than a business plan. A business plan is a little more than a projection of income and expenses. A pro-forma will give you a better understanding of the viability of the business, and help you make the decision as to whether or not you want to go down that route.

That being said, I looked over your Project Statement. Keep in mind that I'm a business bankruptcy attorney. I do business turn-around for a living. That means that my view point is skewed, and I don't see things the way most people do. I look at a business and I try to find out why they are screwed, how they are screwed, and how we can fix it. When I see your statement, I know there are a ton of expenses that aren't covered in there, and alot of the expenses you have are good guesses at best (which at this stage in the game, is expected). You put down $600 for hive replacement/repair. How accurate is this? It accounts for less than 10% replacement each year. Some of your items will have a lifespan of less than 10 years, and should be planned for accordingly. You also put down $1,000 for equipment repairs. I'm not sure what you mean by that.

But as far as some of the expenses that you don't include there, think of it like this: add up every expense you would have to make in order to do this business, even if you normally would have used the item in your personal life. Cell phone, wear and tear on your vehicle, ect. If you are using it for your business, you need to count it in there. Also, you need to put "debt service" in there. If you are paying back on your loan, account for it. Also, another big one, taxes and insurance. Make sure you account for and plan for them. Also don't forget to pay yourself. You will want to re-invest that back into the business, but make sure you pay yourself something. It isn't a business if you are working for free, it's a charity. Also, you don't really account for how you plan to make up winter losses. I'm assuming you'll be splitting your hives to do that, and selling the extras as "nucs", right?

I think your income projections are on the low side, which is good for planning purposes. I think your expenses (at least some of them) are on the low side as well, which isn't too good.

As someone mentioned earlier, half your income and double your expenses. If you can still make it work, it's a sign that you've got a very viable business. Right now you could double your expenses OR half your income and still make it work, but not both. Not that you can't make it work, but I would be very cautious in your first few years.

Oh yeah, and I would think long and hard about incorporating. Individuals working as farmers are eligible for special governmental assistance/programs that some companies (LLC's, S corp, & C corps) aren't. One in particular is Chapter 12 reorganization. There are still ways to keep it under your name (d/b/a) and still protect yourself from liability.


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## btmurph

Specialkayme said:


> Individuals working as farmers are eligible for special governmental assistance/programs that some companies (LLC's, S corp, & C corps) aren't. One in particular is Chapter 12 reorganization.


Sorry if this is jacking the thread, but what are some of the other things individuals qualify for that corps. don't? (I was thinking of forming an LLC myself for my bee business)


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## kilocharlie

Congrats, Western, you've started a 5-star thread!

Do check out www.sba.gov 's business plan outline. Its a free download and is highly regarded by investors. I use Palo Alto Software's Busness Plan Pro, for initial write-up, first few revisions. I use all the math formulas from the S.B.A.'s biz plan outline, though, as it is very convincing. I will eventually write the finished document in SBA's format.

A bank loan officer told me he does not base his decision on projected return on investment (ROI), but he *does* look at it! It should be at least 125%, or 25 percent over his money going back to him. It would probably impress him if it showed a profit for you, too.

Remember, the biz plan is only if you decide a loan is an appropriate route to take. It is a good thinking process regardless if you do or don't. As mentioned by the others in these excellent posts, debt is good to avoid.

Bill, Jim, Keith, Peter, SpecialKayme, and Grozzie2 - Nice posts!


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## kilocharlie

Brian - Technically, an individual is a *sole proprietor*, although your attorney can get around that. Two people that do not incorporate can be a *partnership*. Both of these formats offer no asset protection should you get sued. The plaintiff can go after your personal assets - your house, your car, your bank accounts, to name a few. Generally speaking, partnerships have the lowest life expectancy.

Asset protection (known as "corporate veil") is strongest with a *"C" corporation*, but there is double-taxing, plus $800 a year in California. An *"S" corporation* drops the $800 fee and the double tax, and the asset protection is almost as good as in a "C" corporation. LLP stands for *Limited Liability Partnership*, has slightly lower asset protection, may be a very good tax situation, and has the advantage that principal owners make the daily decisions and the financial owners do not. A *Limited Liability Corporation*, or LLC is another option. You should ask your attorney and your S.C.O.R.E. counselor which is right for you.

Nolo Press has several books that explain this in detail.


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## Specialkayme

I'm less convinced the corporate protection helps small beekeeping operations as much as it does other businesses. The three main reasons an individual would look at incorporating are: 1) asset protection [and to some degree tax preferences], 2) increased transferability, and 3) ease of closing when things get hairy. Most people aren't too concerned with two and three. A corporation (C, S, LLC, or even an LLP or LLLP) does protect an individual from lawsuits, to a degree. If you are incorporated and someone sues you, they can only collect on the assets of the company and can't collect on you individually (i.e. come get a lien against your home). But there is a way around that, called "piercing the corporate veil" that can be done with small businesses that don't follow many of the formalities that large businesses do (i.e. what most people on here would be doing). Essentially, if they pierce the veil, they can collect against the company AND THEN collect against you. There is also a degree of liability that the owners/managers have, so someone may be able to sue you individually anyway. But for many on here, I think it's a moot cause. If you are incorporating your $15,000 business, and all you own is the $15,000 worth of items you put into the business, it doesn't really matter if they collect against the "you" that is the company or the "you" that is holding the assets. It's all the same thing, at least until you acquire non-company collectable assets (which one should look into their state's exempt assets to see what really is collectable. Just because you own it doesn't mean anyone can take it from you).

For most small businesses that are starting out, the only real issue they will have is with loans. If you incorporate and the business takes a loan out, if the company fails or the loan comes due and they can't pay it, the business shuts down but the individual continues on. Not so when the individual is borrowing the money. If the business can't pay it, the individual becomes responsible for paying the debt regardless of whether or not the business side is functioning. However, most banks require personal guarantees for business loans (especially those starting up). So the individual would STILL be on the hook.

And if you are really that concerned about lawsuits, get insurance.

As far as the question about other protections afforded to individuals that is not afforded to companies, in addition to Chapter 12, individuals get exempt assets while companies do not. All told, that could equal hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of protected assets. USDA and government subsidies are often more interested in assisting individuals as opposed to companies, or at least I've been told. You also can't have a trustee or a receiver appointed to run you as an individual. That's not counting the tax savings you receive, or saving on the yearly incorporation costs.


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## delber

Just a quick note in reply to the post from special. . . I have some hives at a local farm and he needed to have them insured / liability insurance in case someone sues him. The insurance for I believe 1 million was $320 annually.


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## westernbeekeeper

Hello folks,
Wow, I am immensely impressed at the amount of advice and insight y'all have given so far on this thread. I really appreciate it!  I will have a meeting with the boss in early-mid October, and I will discuss quite a few things with him then. I really like the idea of paying in installments. I really would rather not have to borrow; and I may not need to. I also could work for equity, but I really like the installments idea. Someone mentioned learning to be a "McIver"; I pretty much am one. I will not throw any equipment away until it is TOTALLY unfixable. I patch knotholes with tin can lids, and I build all my own equipment except for frames. If I find old equipment for cheaper than I can build, I buy and fix up. Anyway, I will be rereading this thread many times!  Thanks, KiloCharlie, for the congrats; is there any benefits to that (starting a five-star thread)? Thanks all, for everything so far!


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## kilocharlie

Benjamin - the benefits are that you stand a much better chance of long-term success in business, and have probably done a lot of good for those who read and take heed of the info presented here. Way to go!

Specialkayme - another nice post!

I am going to print and laminate this thread!


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## westernbeekeeper

kilocharlie said:


> I am going to print and laminate this thread!


That's a great idea. Seriously!


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## kilocharlie

grozzie2 said:


> .... The goal is growth, and there are two methods of achieving that growth. Behind door number one, you can grow organically, splitting hives and expanding. This route may be possible without borrowing a lot of money, altho the 2013 financial projection you have, doesn't include woodenware for expanding the hive count. The other route, borrow a bunch of money, buy everything, and start out with a much higher hive count. On your timeline, that will trigger the 'go migratory' decision point much earlier in the plan, but it'll shift the financial model considerably, because it adds significant debt servicing obligations. ...


In reference to Grozzie2's post #62, you may note that the almond crop in California had almost enough bees this year, much to everybody's BIG surprise. Randy Oliver posted an article about 2012 almond pollination in his website, www.scientificbeekeeping.com He states that he foresees the $140 to $160 per hive ballpark price for almond pollination as stablizing for the next few years.

It is simple math to figure out how many hives at the low end of that price range makes a net profit of $100,000 for you (and that is only almonds !) after you figure your costs of palletizing the operation, the big rig, the forklift, fuel/ maintenance/ other trip costs, annual fixed and variable cost-per-hive, etc. It's not so simple to actually grow 25% more than that many bee colonies and get 75% of them increasing in February, though. I'd guess 1,050 hives could be reached in about 6 years (growing by 200 hives per year and losing 50 per year - adjust both numbers to your average total colony losses). Almond pollination alone could bring in a gross of $140,000 per year (there is time to get in about 6 crops per year, but the prices are considerably lower), leaving about $100 grand after a scientific, wild-assed guess at expenses. This is somewhat optimistic that that many good years will happen consecutively. It's just a linear representation - yeilds, colony counts, prices will change.

If I were the financier reading your plan, and I saw reasonable "organic" growth to that number in a few years, with a plan to "go migratory", I would still have questions, but I would have a bit more confidence that you are sharp enough to know when to make such a transformation and when not to do so. This fundamental change in the way things are done represents a major event in your company's history, its risk, its profitability. It is almost as if you should write "before" and "after" going migratory plans.


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## Roland

Western wrote:

If I find old equipment for cheaper than I can build, I buy and fix up.

For non woodenware, YES. For wooden ware, not worth the CCD risk, and I would know how???(Worse mistake we made, only cost us 2 seasons of crop)

Crazy Roland(the McIver)


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## westernbeekeeper

I torch/fire (NOT charr) all exposed wood. I trash all comb/foundation, and dip the frames in boiling water for 30 seconds each. Never had an issue.


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## odfrank

Roland said:


> not worth the CCD risk, and I would know how???


What is your definition of CCD?

What happened your bees?


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## btmurph

Specialkayme said:


> As far as the question about other protections afforded to individuals that is not afforded to companies, in addition to Chapter 12, individuals get exempt assets while companies do not. All told, that could equal hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of protected assets. USDA and government subsidies are often more interested in assisting individuals as opposed to companies, or at least I've been told. You also can't have a trustee or a receiver appointed to run you as an individual. That's not counting the tax savings you receive, or saving on the yearly incorporation costs.


THAT was what I was wondering! Thanks!


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## westernbeekeeper

Thanks everyone for all the help!


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## jean-marc

If the owner is the financier this is a very good idea. He may want interest to carry you seeing as how he is carrying the risk., Payment in honey is best. Try to get a slight premium for your honey. You should be able to seeing as how it is local honey. The old boy just might like the idea of keeping on selling the honey, without the worry/hassle of hive ownership. If he is selling your honey it affords you more time to work the bees if that is what you like.

To Jim 

Why sell a nuc at $125 if several months later you could get $200 worth of honey? 

Well if you have limited funds it allows you to cash flow. You do not need to own 3 or 4 honey supers. You do not need to store the said honey supers in the building you do not own/rent. You don't have to super up or pull and extract the honey. I'd say $125 nuc in the spring is about $200 worth of honey later on.I agree that if you want to get your numbers up best to hang on to them but they are very costly in terms of all the other added costs to carry them till you actually get the $200 for the honey. Bankers are good for this. Once you sell it you no longer own it making it harder to increase. If you can use someone else's money to grow under reasonable terms go for it. If the opportunity is there grab it. 

Jean-Marc


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## westernbeekeeper

Thanks, Jean-Marc. Your thoughts are mine about the nucs.


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## Moon

This may or may not have been mentioned already. Has anyone said health insurance? It's one of those things you don't think of until you need it and given the new healthcare mandate it's going to become a requirement. I don't know what premiums run for individuals in small businesses or what plans are offered, however, I know that the company I work for shells out about 450$ a MONTH on my premiums.


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## westernbeekeeper

Thanks, Moon; I did not consider that. I will look into healthcare insurance.


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## JRG13

Yes, health insurance is a must for this business, I would think you have some coverage already Western through your parents. I would think you could find some for a reasonable price, between $100 and $200 a month or cheaper. Once you have a wife and kids and need to cover them, it becomes expensive, but single person coverage typically isn't too bad. I think you're off to a good start, if you need anything let me know. I live in the middle of the almond stuff here, if you make it this far let me know, I will come out and give you a hand.


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## ryan

On the insurance theme....Once you're up and going, look into getting disability insurance for your self. Get your self covered if you get hurt or sick. Totally worth the expense. Price is not all that high for the long term stuff. Meaning, it doesn't pay out until you've been out of work for 12 months. Not fun, but if you have a major accident or illness you'll have steady income for the rest of your life. People don't go bankrupt because of medical bills...They go bankrupt because they get sick and can't work.


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## EastSideBuzz

Oh you think I should keep track of how much money I loose each year. Wow that is scary.


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## Moon

Only if you're trying to be profitable and make money. If you're just throwing good money after bad and enjoying yourself while you do it whose to say that's bad?


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## kilocharlie

Hold on a minute! A start-up / takeover with no capital? Buying health insurance on the company dollar at age 19? Let the kid get some cash flow going first! He has to build up the business to about 1000 hives in short order. For the beginning of the ordeal, his health insurance is an Epi-pen and driving very carefully. The only insurance he can afford until there is cash flow will be comprehensive automobile. Next priority is business liability, AFTER there is positive cashflow. Health insurance is a luxury to be afforded after there is excess cash.


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## delber

I agree with you Kilocharlie. When I started working after college I was without insurance for a good while. a few years in fact before I got another job that carried it. Being young there's typically not much that comes up. I would seriously consider liability insurance before he would go to transporting them, but until then as long as there are yards for them to be kept then it's fine as far as I can see. Honeybees don't cause much problems. Just my 2c.


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## ryan

Major med will cost less per week than the average guy spends on beer. Buy it, no matter what your career path is.


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## StevenG

If you establish a business, and wait until you have positive cash flow before getting liability insurance, one accident might guarantee you'll NEVER have positive cash flow. Some things you just have to do, to protect yourself in today's litigious society. It's one of those things you'll never need, but when you need it, well..... you sell honey, someone can sue. You put bees on someone else's property, some one can sue... you have trespassers, someone can sue...
Regards,
Steven


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## Moon

kilocharlie said:


> Hold on a minute! A start-up / takeover with no capital? Buying health insurance on the company dollar at age 19? Let the kid get some cash flow going first! He has to build up the business to about 1000 hives in short order. For the beginning of the ordeal, his health insurance is an Epi-pen and driving very carefully. The only insurance he can afford until there is cash flow will be comprehensive automobile. Next priority is business liability, AFTER there is positive cashflow. Health insurance is a luxury to be afforded after there is excess cash.


No, this is just showing a blatant disregard for the current healthcare laws. The days of 'Consequences be ****ed! My insurance policy is an epi-pen and driving carefull!!!' Under the new healthcare mandate every American citizen is required to hold some form of health insurance or be subject to a fine of potentially several thousand dollars a year. Source: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS...sion-obamas-health-care-law/story?id=16663839 So whether you agree with it or not, it's a moot point. He needs to factor in the cost of healthcare costs. The loophole being that he can stay on his parents plan until he's Twenty-Six. Which is definitely what I would be doing if I were you westernbeekeeper.

Also looking at your *.pdf you posted earlier your yearly net income will be around $13,000 dollars. If you factor in the cost of rent, the cost of food and utilities, along with health insurance, cell phone cost (I know not an ABSOLUTE necessity but tough to run a business without one) unexpected maintenance and repairs (you're going to be in your vehicles every day pulling around lots of equipment, things are GOING to break down). As well as entertainment costs that 13,000 dollars is going to get chewed up rather quickly. That's just over a $1,000 dollars a month. Sure it's feasible, but not very. I couldn't do it and I admire you for aspiring to do it and wish you all the best. You said you don't have a family now but you plan on having one started within the next five years. Seriously consider pursuing a different line of work in the short term to acquire some sustainable income and some good benefits. Work your way up as a side liner and when you have the resources to go from being a side liner to going full time commercial do that.

I'm currently doing this exact same thing myself. This path offers you a little bit more mobility at the cost of time. I was able to spend about 15k on my beekeeping this year simply because I had a real job that allowed me the financial mobility to do that. I was also able to take care of 2 mortgages, go on a couple of vacations (Hawaii and Vegas) as well as support my wife and I. I'm still learning a great deal about beekeeping and so I continue to make several mistakes. I may have killed off the fifty or so hives I have this year because I didn't prepare them very well for winter but on the flip side I learned a whole slew of new skills and fill confident I could replenish my numbers easily if only a handful of hives make it through the winter. My point being that it's a moot point whether or not they make it through the winter. Yeah it will suck if 40 of my hives die but my livelihood is not tied directly to my beekeeping yet. Ninety-percent of my hives dying doesn't mean I'm going to starve or have the house foreclosed on. The trade off being I have to work about fourteen days a month so that's fourteen days each month in the summer I'm unable to focus on my beekeeping.

I really wish you the best and I hope this endeavor pans out for you. We're not far from one another so if you ever need a hand with something hit me up.


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## kilocharlie

Moon - By all means, buy as much insurance from a Blue-Ribbon insurer as you can afford, but DO NOT LET unnecessary costs (=insurance) make the start-up table in your biz plan mathematically unviable. You won't be able to buy beer, insurance, or a pot to (starts with "p" and rhymes with "kiss") in, guaranteed. This country needs to wake up from this *MEGA-STUPID* insurance-mentality nightmare and take intelligent risks while paying attention and not making mistakes. When they come to collect their thousands of dollars of non-insured penalties from this beekeeping bastard, there won't be any insurance people left to give it to, nor any judges who would award it to them. Besides, blood does not from a turnip weep - they will be wasting their time and thousands of dollars in fuel chasing a nomadic, multiply non-employed but well-remunerated jack of all trades across several borders for ZERO cash value. I do not make taxable income, but manipulate non-taxable assets in non-taxable ways. I only insure corporate assets, and you can bet that they create capital flow.


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## Moon

I wasn't trying to personalize this for you or to make it about you dodging taxes. I was simply trying to give advice to another beekeeper on unseen costs that should be taken into account; if you're going to be a legitimate small business you're going to need to insure yourself as well as any full time employees. It's a simple matter of fact that doesn't require much chest thumping and stomping around to prove or disprove. That's just the way it is. It's a brave new world.


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## kilocharlie

The post above was incomplete. Either Beesource or the wi-fi only gives us so much time to post, then it kicks us off the server right before we finish editing and amend the post. It happens almost every time I post. One sentence at a time and re-edit seems to be the trick.

I do not *dodge* taxes, I plan and avoid them legally. That is why we make corporations - to protect assets, to give us legal ways to avoid taxes, amongst other benefits (like going multi-national so we can enjoy captive transfer). That is also why we need to get our businesses started - by hook or by crook - and up to going concern and strongly cash flow positive, so we can afford to incorporate and grow big, pay a small amount of tax to keep Big Brother off our backs, and eventually afford such luxuries as health insurance.

_*Legitimate*_ and _*business start-up*_ are rarely compatible terms. That is a pipe dream for anyone but a well-financed MBA, a rich kid born into the culture of wealth, or an experienced, wealthy venture capitalist with an attorney and the Mafia's good graces. The rest of us have to MacGuyver it and play very careful with where that next buck goes until we have cash flow enough to afford to go legitimate. Most of us wouldn't take that risk with auto liability insurance (comprehensive on an old clunker, maybe but not liability on your biz truck) or business liability insurance, but health care insurance at age 19? If you are going to cut corners, that is a good risk for a short while.

I agree that sidelining while working for more money + benefits elsewhere is likely a better bet for Western, but he works where he wants to buy, not elsewhere. Given a job that pays enough and picks up the health care bill, it is a more efficient route. I'm impressed that you practice what you preach. I really respect that. 

I hope my business grows quickly to enough profitability that I can pay a small amount of tax that I appear to be the kind of good ol' boy taxpayer the Guvamint just loves. For the meantime, I don't have anything worth them going after, so I sit below their radar screen, a turnip with no blood to give. Heck, they are trying to give me money to become successful at business to pay tax and even to be able to afford such luxuries as health insurance and employees!

As far as a Brave New World is concerned, Aldous Huxley would jump out of his grave and puke on the guy who invented insurance while Thomas Paine would jump out of his grave help Aldous throw rocks at whoever is pushing mandatory insurance. Insurance is a farce, preying upon the fearful. It has been since they started charging twice as much as the risk rate and making a living off it, and probably always will be. Mandatory insurance is a symptom of an economy that is in it's death throes. Taking away options is always more dangerous than what your coverage actually pays for. Don't believe me? Try sending in a big claim. If they give you all that you claim, I'll take it back and go buy at your insurance company!

As far as chest pounding and stomping around is concerned, I apologize for not being able to twist and perversely contort my mind into believing the bravo-sierra that the "Brave, New" generation seems to accept so implicitly - that we are supposed to be wusses, that our government will take care of us, that Big Brother is really in charge, that We, the People could never, ever suddenly stop paying taxes, pick up our sticks, stones, pitchforks, bows, arrows, guns, bullets, grenades, RPGs, those weapons we don't talk about, and Malatov ****tails and go hunting for government employees until their arrogance more closely resembled absolute submission to US. Remember, their stupidity is only exceeded by their arrogance. When that changes, it is usually when their stupidity abruptly and greatly increases, not when their arrogance decreases. Remember 2008? Woopsi-daisy, they needed a bail-out. Arrogance higher than average, but stupidity way up!

If they suddenly get too far out of line and pass new intolerable acts and enough people say, "ENOUGH!" and we really do need to take down this monster, we need the guts to fight and die doing it. Pound you chest if it helps, I prefer a good scope, a ghillie suit, a steady hand, and lots of resolve. I'll take some of that momentum from all those brave people in north Africa, too. Until then, this 2012 version of Common Sense sits in the printer's office and we go on trying to help our bees.

I actually like the attitude of doing it legitimately, and would love to do so myself. Most of us would if we could. Start-up with not much capital does not allow for that too often, especially the more regulation and fees go up. Seems most wusses would rather work for the government and get paid to regulate someone else and charge them too much for it, instead of run a business and actually create wealth. They're a lot like varroa mites - too much blood sucking parasites and the hive collapses. It is just as real as in the bee yard. The window needs to be opened a bit wider to allow the underfinanced to start businesses legitimately. Deferred fees and taxes, looking the other way while a businessman intending to go legit makes by circumstepping a "you can't do that" code in his first year.

Western could include H.I. in his biz plan if he could find it cheap enough and still show enough profit. If I were the loan officer and I saw that in the first year, he wouldn't be getting a loan. I've been looking for 2 years and have not found cheap health insurance. That will just have to come later. It shows up at year 7 in my plan under the current health care insurance rates and that is probably somewhat optimistic. Rates could be much lower in Wyoming. The question and the debate are legit - the goal is the same. It seems a question of when to list it. Meanwhile my cash goes to food, transportation, bee hives and equipment, bee food, and not much else, until I get up to the almonds and get paid considerably more taxable cash.


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## ryan

$2.55 per day. $76.65 per month. $919.80 per year. $5,000 deductible.

Unlimited lifetime payout for medical expenses. 

Google it if you're interested.

I wish I was young again. Young guys get the low rates.


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## Riverratbees

Another thing to consider are you going to do pollination, you need to consider buying a trailor.


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## Daniel Y

When I was 14 I started a hog operation through the FFA guilt ring. This means I got a guilt at no cost. I was able to use my fathers land as well as his materials for fencing and shelter. So a large share of the start up costs where covered. My father financed it as far as feed. vet and other medications and treatments until I had some animals to sell at auction. The whole thing went fairly typically for anything agricultural. first to mating resulted in a guilt that was still not pregnant. third mating and 9 months in she finally came up pregnant but all but three piglets where lost of that first litter. 2nd and 3rd breeding where much more successful and after 2 years I had moved to Reno and started another business. When the third litter was weaned my dad sold out everything. 24 pigs total. 11 at slaughter weight. one sow and 12 wiener pigs. After expenses I had $300 in my pocket. By that time I was hanging sheet rock in Reno at the age of 16 making 150 dollars a day.

Now I can't tell you the details of how your efforts will go. But I can say that is about what you can expect from a new business in the first two years.

You have an advantage in that you are buying an established business. But you also have to make the payment on that business plus still make what profit you can.

Your expenses are going to be higher than what I saw. My expenses where actually very low. No land rent. not cots of fencing or materials to build the shed for shelter. I did pay for things like lice powder and the vet bill for sonograms. Otherwise my father was a very good farmer and did almsot everything with nothing. I did buy feed.

I have probably spent a lot more money than I should have on bees this first year. and actually could have done it for next to nothing. But a large apiary is going to have at least some unavoidable costs. You can make your own wooden ware at almost no cost. I know it can be done I made 4 hives and 4 nucs this year for the cost of one 8 foot 1X12. The rest was found wood including nearly all the frames.

I did buy a nuc of bees but it turns out that woudl have been unnecessary because I also got a swarm just a couple of weeks later. My bees suit, actually two of them and my smoker where the most expensive items. their where lower cost options. I did end up buying something like 70 frames but that was a convenience thing and I could have avoided it. I also ordered some other things like a queen excluder, frame grip and sunk some money into playing with a OA vaporizer.

Treatments will be necessary and I have put well over 100 lbs of honey on two hives and two nucs. For for about $400 this year I have 4 hives total anything from a 5 frame nuc to a double deep 10 frame lang. So $100 per hive average and I was not being all that careful about costs. I also did not get one drop of honey. So year one is pretty much down and so far looks typical to me. If I show a profit or even recoup any of my costs I really don't expect to do that until next year. And that is if I have really learned anything , gained any skills and it is at least a decent year.

I actually blew it, Inexperience and left about 30 to 45 lbs of honey on the hive to long. so part of my no income at all this year was nothing but a mistake on my part. that and two much cost in expanding when I needed to be focused on the production of one hive. Such mistakes need to be expected in the beginning. In hind sight I should have saved expansion for next spring when it woudl not have eaten up all the honey I did have. Plus opportunities come when opportunities come. I didn't want to miss this one.

So the way I see it I took my profits and expended with them. I went fro 0 hives last spring to 4 One will be in reserve to produce what I will have next year for further expansion and the rest are going to be used for making something I can sell.

So that is a real story of what it cost to start up and my average so far is $100 per hive. But that was a lot of one time or at least periodic expenses. the suits will have to be replaced some day. but not next year. I won't make the vaporizer again. I may be replacing the smoker and that was a big expense. My smoker cost me $80, I splurged. And wooden ware will continue for now to be made with free wood. New colonies will for the most part come from my own colonies with the exception of the occasional queen. I see no need to buy a queen for every hive I have I can produce them fairly easily and I am not in this as a business.

If I where to expend I woudl immediately be looking at the cost of a truck. trailer, additional hives and possibly apiary rent. My bees stock woudl most likely still come from my own bees. That and I would increase my effort to capture other colonies and swarms.

You have either time or money. when you have no money you spend time on everything. when you have money you have to weigh if the item is cheaper to buy or spend time on. nothing is free.

Learn to count the cost in every way possible not just dollars. I traded 45 lbs of honey this year for two nucs and a trap out. No dollar ever traded hands but I bought those nucs just the same. I would have been far better off harvesting and selling that honey at $6 a lb and then buying the wooden ware. I was not prepared to sell honey this year as I didn't expect to get any.

Right now I am focused on seeing how much winter sets me back. I may loose all my bees. if so I already have a colony in a wall scoped out to get started up again in the spring.

For me it has been very difficult at times. Trying to start two nucs with no drawn frames at a tie of the year that bees don't want to draw comb. Now that is more how you can expect things to be. You have x,y and can't get z to save yourself. so you then have to put to together a.b. and c to make up for it. I had bees to trap out. I had the wooden ware. but bees don't live on foundation very well. So I had to rob my big hive of honey frames just to make a place for the two nucs to live. I then fed everything both nucs and the big hive. the big hive is making 10 med frames of honey just so I can put them over the nucs for the winter. in effect my entire apiary is now doing nothing but getting two nucs started. That is all it has been doing for the past couple of weeks. My hope is that it will be worth it next spring when I have three strong hives bringing in nectar. But who knows I may have a bunch of empty hives. I also have a top bar full of bees but am not expecting much from them.


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## Davidnewbeeboxbuilder

Queens would bee a expence if no[SUP][/SUP]
to save hive 4 gentic help


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## westernbeekeeper

Well everyone, thanks so much for all the input you gave me. It is well appreciated. Looks like this thread has run it's course, but I am going to print it out. Any further replys are still welcome. Thanks again!


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## Joel

Benjamin - a great deal of good information in this post. - take whatever you think it's going to cost to do business - double it and them you'll be pretty close to safe. You may want to investigate wintering somewhere South considering some of the brutal winters I recall from Wyoming when wind was 50MPH and ambient temps around 0F for days at a time. Consider the profit increase if you took those 150 hives south and split them to halves or thirds the next spring. Are you working migratory pollination? I doubt with the annual average honey harvest of 50lbs/hive and selling only 20 nucs you'll see any profit. How might you increase that? What are the average winter losses if you stay in wyoming, how much more honey might you harvest bringing strong hives and or nucs back from somewhere South - That alone will close to double your harvest/income. Trailers, trucks, business insurance, marketing, your wages, unexpected expenses. We market in NYC and lost a transmission on our diesel in the Holland Tunnel - It cost me $250 to get home and when I got my truck back 2 weeks later around 3K more for a one day issue. Always invest in the long term, a little more now makes a huge difference down the road. Just had a custom rebuild done on our 1 ton chevy. Could have purchased a factory rebuilt tranny for 2K but invested $1500 in upgrades at a custom shop because I can't break down on I-95 with a load of bees. Do you have the experiance to fully inspect the hives you are buying? If you can't find AFB in the 1st 10 cells of a problem you need an experianced inspector to look over the whole operation. Not your buddy at the bee club but a professional. I realize with the date of these you may have already purchased but always inspect b-4 purchase. An inspector does not need to be state - if you know a commercial operator ask him - offer to pay for the time. Had a friend bought from a "reliable" older beekeeper who had eye problems and thought his "queens were failing". It took about 5 mintures to find AFB in used equipment and then of course hives after the purchase and the 5K he spent went up in flames only after he infected all the beekeepers within a 5 or 10 mile range. One change to be prepared for will be the shift from fun hobby to job. It will still be more fun than working for someone else but many days it will be that "job". Keep a positive outlook, be prepared to work 80 hours a week and be progressive and you will likely do well. Subscribe to American Bee Journal but also develop that business mind with reads like "Fast Company" or "Inc" because good business is good business whatever the base. Good Luck and keep us posted!


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## sqkcrk

Learn how to run a business, beekeeping is easy. Supposedly you already know something about that and can learn the rest. But, if you intend to go into the business of beekeeping learn about business. There are plenty of schools around which teach basic bookkeeping and accounting and taxes and etc.

When oine moves from small scalle to sideline to commercial not only is it the number of colonies, it's how much one is willing to workand whether one knows what is best to do at any one time.

Commercial Beekeeping is a long game. There are few instantaneous returns. If you aren't in it for the long haul, willing to suffer through the lean years then you'd better find something else to do.

"Many are able, few are willing."


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## Keith Jarrett

sqkcrk said:


> Commercial Beekeeping is a long game. There are few instantaneous returns. If you aren't in it for the long haul, willing to suffer through the lean years then you'd better find something else to do.
> "Many are able, few are willing."


Very well said, Mark


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## grozzie2

sqkcrk said:


> Commercial Beekeeping is a long game. There are few instantaneous returns. If you aren't in it for the long haul, willing to suffer through the lean years then you'd better find something else to do.


Same as any other business. Lots of folks think there is such a thing as a 'get rich quick' business, but those inevitably turn into 'go broke quick' schemes. If your business plan only extends to next quarter or next year, it's not a sustainable business.


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## sqkcrk

I'm sure you are right grozzie2, though I don't do a yearly business plan. I have tried to do them in the past, both Projected and Actual, and have found them discouraging and useless to me. I hate it when I look at things which tell me I am broke and in debt and should have starved to death.

We live in an instant results give it to me quick age. Order at the MacDonalds drive thru and get it when you get to the window. This is what people unrealistically expect and expect to happen in life in general. That's why I said it's a long term game.

I don't know who I am talking to hear. Someone who wants to keep a handfull of hives in their backyard or someone who wants to live off of their bees. Who wants the advice this Thread asks for?


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## JRG13

future commercial migratory beek.


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## benstung

read the book "Beekeepers lament" i great book about John Miller and can open anyone's eyes into the world of commercial beekeeping.

Or come with me to east texas this spring, and after its over in May and you still want to bee a beekeeper, well you might have a future in it.

I would bet a lot of you have asked yourself " why do i do this job?" i know i have

You know why. Because of the places you've been, the things you've experienced, the people you've met, and the sunsets you've seen.

All because your a beekeeper, and you cant beat that. 

Business plan should say:
Keep bees healthy


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## sqkcrk

WEll writ benstung. 

I recall the sunrise over the apple orchard when I want to go to a peaceful place.

Many are capable, fewer are willing. Ya gotta be willing to do what it takes to reap the rewards.


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