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

[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

[dback]

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.

[westernbeekeeper]

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

[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.

[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.

[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

[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.

[westernbeekeeper]

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.

[westernbeekeeper]

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.

[Mbeck]

Here is an older example with actual numbers.

http://agmarketing.extension.psu.edu...keeperplan.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!

[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.

[BMAC]

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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[rtoney]

Skinner Apiaries

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

Were you speaking of Disaster Assistance from the USDA?

[Rader Sidetrack]

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.

[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.

[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!

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.

[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.