Beekeeping as a business
For people who know how to handle insects, one of the most promising types of business is beekeeping. And indeed, if you are not allergic to bee stings and honey, then why not consider this type of activity.
The essence of beekeeping is very simple. The newly minted entrepreneur is breeding bees for the purpose of further selling honey and beekeeping products, which include propolis, wax, bee venom, royal jelly and so on. The main point at the opening of this type of business is the organization of an apiary where bee families will live.
The relevance of honey is not reduced even against the background of the emergence of a large number of substitutes. Yes, and bee products, which were discussed earlier, are always in demand. It should be noted that when organizing a business, large financial investments are not necessary, but the experience of breeding bees must be. So why not try? Moreover, the path of the beekeeper is not as thorny as it may seem. Let us examine several steps of organizing your own business.
Choosing a strategy
If we talk about business profitability, experts estimate it at 10-15%. It is believed that with proper organization, the cost of an apiary pays off in just one or two seasons. At first glance it may seem that beekeeping is a profitable business. This, of course, is true, but only partially.
It is important to consider that income in such a business can be obtained on the basis of the summer season. The money received must be distributed over the whole year. For many people, this task is far from the easiest. It is believed that in order to get real profit it is necessary to have at least 50-100 children. Otherwise, beekeeping can be called simply amateur.
Apiary place
The advantage of bees is that they are completely independent creatures. The owner does not need to control when and where they fly away. Honey plants can safely go to the “hunt”, flying a few kilometers from the hives, and find their way home.
The only thing you need to do closely – finding a suitable site. It should be light, within a radius of several kilometers there must be honey plants (the closer, the better). It is important that the flowering period falls at different times – in this case, the bees, which have weakened after the winter, will be able to quickly replenish their energy reserves.
It is desirable that the apiary is located in close proximity to maple and alder groves, as well as near the fields of dandelions. This neighborhood is the best option. By the way, placing an apiary near the garden is also a big plus, because you can count on higher yields.
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If the apiary is located at the dacha, then it is desirable to protect it with a high fence. In this case, the hives themselves, it is desirable to raise at least a small height. You can buy a platform and equip evidence already on it.
As for the results, one family of bees in one season can produce up to ten kilograms of honey (when stationary living) and up to 50 kilograms (when roaming). It should be noted right away that there should be no cattle farms near the apiary. Otherwise, there will be no business.
Where to sell honey?
It’s one thing to get honey, and another is to sell it. It is advisable to think over the ways of implementation in advance, because there may not be enough time for it. The entrepreneur receives the main income from honey (about 70-80%). The remaining products will bring about 20-30% of income.
Sales strategy must be developed on the basis of existing business volumes. If only 20-30 families work, then you can sell yourself. In the case when the beekeeping farm is very large (more than a hundred families), honey can be sold to dealers in bulk and at a lower price. If desired, part of the crop comes true on their own.
Where to find money?
As already mentioned, the beekeeping business is expensive. In most cases, the beekeeper can do their own means. For a start, you can put a few hives and practice on them, and eventually go to the professional level and expand the “production”. Most often, after the first season, you can pay off all your debts and go to the net profit.
Business plan of beekeeping (apiary)
If you do not have economic knowledge about how business plans are drawn up, then you will need the help of professionals. We in the special catalog already have a ready-made business plan that will allow you to calculate all the expenses and income for your apicultural business. This ready plan can be found here.
