Part 1 of an interview with Bob Binnie (@bobbinnie9872 ). Support the channel - purchase honey, a t-shirt, or donate through our website: duckriverhoney.com/
As a mom and pop business with about forty hives right now, we love these conversations! We've grown with our bees, too, and invest the money we make into our growth. We'd love to hear Nathan's thoughts about growth beyond the shipping container, and some of the other long term growth prompts Bob threw out there at the end. Maybe in part two?
Not about me specifically in part 2 or part 3, but my plan is to build revenue until a building is justified (and affordable) and then use the shipping container as a warming room.
I went full time into beekeeping with only 80 production colonies and 100 minis. Selling nucs, queens, honey, beeswax products wasn’t enough to pay all the bills at that level but the thing a lot of newer beekeepers miss is the service side. I did cutouts, offered hive inspections/management consulting and ag valuation contracts. The products of the hives combined with the services I offered pushed me over the edge into being able to pay all the bills and still have extra to reinvest into the operation. It’s absolutely doable with less than 100 colonies if you’re smart and have a bit of tenacity.
Good insight! How did you determine your fees for these services? I've wondered about these income streams, but not really sure what I would charge nor where I might find info on the going rate for such a service. How did you determine your price for hive inspections or consultations?
@@ericfrance3241 My time plus cost. Putting a number on how much your time is worth really helps but you also have to be realistic. I charge $60 for the first colony and $10 for every additional colony for inspections. There’s also a feedback loop associated with this service because if you actually do a good job with helping another beekeeper be successful then they are sure to give you business in other ways like buying queens when they need to split. Providing quality service for others can go viral in a way.
10 day rule, generally the work needed to be done during the crunch season needs to be done within a short timeline. Gotta get through those points of time otherwise losers will occur. I can get through 1500 in 10 days. I know guys who can get through 15000 in 10 days. Same applies to the rest of the farm, seeding, spraying, harvest timing on mature crops
High praise! Hey Ian, I’ll finally be getting fiber internet in the next month or so. Would you be willing to do a Zoom call when I do? Topic TBD, I’m sure we can figure out something interesting.
That was really good. Thank you. He’s definitely right about woodwork. I do my lids and bottom boards. I like how you can customize to fit your style and saves a ton. I’m thinking of doing boxes too.
Thanks so much for sharing!! I am almost in the same position. Currently 35 going for 50-60 this year. Built a 20 hive trailer for a apple pollination contract.
Good stuff. I'm a hobbyist and have picked up much of my equipment I'll need before retirement. Who knows if I'll get to Bob's number of 25 to start getting into the 'true' money making. But, the equipment I've picked up does allow for expansion. Last year was my firsts year. I had three hives and lost a queen in late October and am at two now. This spring, I'm planning on 13...maybe more.
I have had bees for 30 years and have been a sideliner almost the whole time, hopefully I can make the jump to commercial in the next year or 2, honey sales have also been growing. Trying to add queen sales to the business this year, keep it up great info, Bob is so full if knowledge can't wait to meet him someday
Slow growth helps you to grow with your bees. You won't be overwhelmed when you grow this way. I personally think that some entrepreneurs go bankrupt because they grow too fast... While you are small you can learn from your mistakes without losing a bulk of money.
Great discussion. One thing that seemed to be left out ( unless I missed it) is finding locations to keep the hives. Where I live any location is snatched up. Either people don’t want them or try to contract me into giving them the hives if I decide to leave. Yep I actually had someone try that. Be careful with your agreements with landowners. Bob, can you talk about the kinds of insurances we need?
Great video Nathan! Expanding from 20+ hives to 50+ this year and turning my passion for bees into a solid business is my focus at the moment, so I thoroughly enjoyed this. Thanks for sharing.
Fantastic video. I'm currently keeping nine colonies and you explained a reasonable growth goal. I'm now shooting for 30 this year. In retrospect I grew about three times each season. I've been debating between building or buying more equiptment. I have capital to pay for 20 preassembed boxes and frames which will give me more time to secure a secondary apiary to handle the extra hives. I love that you're explaining the business of bees so candidly. Thanks for posting.
Inspiring. Your videos on the business of beekeeping have been very helpful to me and are unique in the video blog world. Makes me excited to expand my business in Denver. Thanks Nathan, looking forward to the Part 2!
I really do appreciate you sharing this video. It is my goal to one day have my bees paying my bills because this is my love. People say, do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life! I’d rather be getting stung up that be on a good smallmouth bite! I thank you for the information that you and Bob are sharing.
Thanks for another great interview. I really like how dive into the economics and business side of bee keeping. Bob’s a great resource and always has so much valuable information he’s willing to share.
Thanks Billy! I think it’s a shame how often kids get pushed into college and saddled with a lifetime of debt when there other legitimate ways to make a living that may be better long term for physical and mental health.
This series is invaluable and so down to earth. You are so well prepared and Bob gives the most humble and honest answers. Kudos to you both for this information. One wishes it won't end.
Great video, can’t wait for the other parts. There is so much knowledge in this video. This is the direction I want to work towards over the next several years as I grow more experience and capital. I’m not looking to be a completely full time beekeeper but to supplement the other areas of the farm so that one day I can leave my steady day job and pull off a living from the farm.
What a great video. As someone who wants to grow but doesn’t enjoy the sales aspect of the business, this is great information. I can’t wait for part 2.
Awesome video! My wife and I are 13 years into running an environmental consulting business we built from nothing. Your step-by-step approach to this is going to work out well in the long run. Super excited for you and what you are building! Live your dream!
great Information and great source for Information. Closing in on retirement age, I'm looking at growing up to full time , This year will be the start of this growth. time is ticking away and I want to be ready when I get there
You are doing great interviews. Just the stuff I need to hear. I'm at about 120 hives and plan to triple that this year. I have the woodenware ready and bought a 28 frame Cowen last year. Hopefully things will work out.
I really enjoy your videos. For me it would be very interesting to learn more about how to gain locations to put bees. I have bees at my personal residence and a 20 acre farm I bought for the purpose to put my bees and to sell from. I’ve been surprised at the demand for local honey and I may not be able to produce enough in the future.
I'd love to understand how the nuc business works over there, at scale. Who are the major operators making, selling, buying etc. It seems selling bees is way more profitable than honey, especially seeing how much equipment is needed for extraction. I'm loving these conversations with Bob, cheers mate.
Thanks Aidan! Mann Lake and Dadant are two major nuc suppliers, though there are others. There are commercial producers who contract with them. There are other commercial producers down south that make nucs and packages and then have drop offs with local bee clubs that facilitate pre orders.
I keep between 30-40 production colonies of bees. I consider myself as a sideliner. I concentrate on honey production.Its a lot of work . I also work a full time job working out of town in construction. So I have to work my bees on weekends. It's a lot to keep up with. Sometimes I have to work bees in light rain. I'm considering cutting back to around 20 production colonies and do some more mentoring.
Yikes…. I’m a sideliner! Thanks for the great video. I’m hoping to grow into 200ish colonies as I head towards leaving the corporate world in a few years. One of the questions/concerns that I have is about the bulk market. I do really well now by bottling and selling my honey directly and also to a few retail locations. Eventually I will need to be selling by the drum as well as by the case. How to get into that bulk market when the time is right is an unknown for me.
I enjoy watching and learning from your videos. In view of your plan to fill the income gap caused by your full time job change, I would like to suggest a book, "Who Moved My Cheese" by Spencer Johnson. The book describes the way one reacts to major change in one"s work and life. I wish you well.
Love the quote about. " I got my Bacholers and master in Ag... Now that your entering into the real world.... .. How's that working for you? Schooling is great but in the real world you will soon realize the word PIVOT can not be taught by a text book or someone with no real world encounters. Beekeeping is full of rules that need to be constantly shifting depending on the situation at hand. Experience matters.
@@DuckRiverHoney I agree Nathan. College teaches you how to learn. Using that ability to learn allows you to do anything you put your mind to. Most of the formulas and data from college is lost in a few years but the ability to learn stays with you. By the way I got a MS at UNL in Plant Science - Agronomy with a business minor.
