Episode 107, Having A Beekeeping Business, Ben's Bees!

Episode 107 of the Bees with Ben podcast is likely to be the last for two or three months, as spring

has sprung and Ben is busy contending with his usual hectic workload at this time of year.

This episode is also a little different, as Ben gives us some insight into his journey thus far and offers

some advice for those possibly thinking of setting up a beekeeping business. First of all, it’s hard

work; Ben tells us that his next day off is likely to be Christmas Day, so you have to love the bees to

be in this business.

Back to beginnings. As a chef in the 90s, at one stage Ben used to work 90 hours per week, with two

full-time jobs. Perhaps that was partly responsible for reinforcing the work ethic that is required as a

beekeeper, but working nights with a young family certainly wasn’t ideal. Ben had always been

interested in strange critters, and in 2004 he was offered a job at Amazing Amazon, a shop in

Melbourne that deals in unusual pets like reptiles, fish, spiders and the like. Four days into cleaning

fish tanks, Ben was wondering why he had swapped cooking for celebrities for the bottom of the

barrel in a pet shop, but he persevered and eventually became the manager of the business. In his

downtime he ran a few bee hives, but by about 2008 he was getting right into bees, catching a few

swarms, selling bees, etc. The bees started to take over, and Ben went from five days a week at the

pet shop to four and then three. Then one day about six years ago, the owner of the shop wanted to

talk to Ben about the wages bill, and Ben told him that he simply couldn’t do it anymore. And with

that he became a full-time beekeeper.

Initially, things went well; the income from removing swarms was good, and Ben also started

eradicating European wasps (people were often calling him for bees mistakenly, when they had a

wasp infestation), and this necessitated accreditation with a pest control license. Incidentally, Ben

believes it is important to charge for removal of swarms; it is, after all, a service which requires

appropriate expertise and equipment, plus insurance, certifications, etc., all of which cost money.

Anyway, after about Easter, things started to go quiet. Ben had been pouring money back into his

business but was forced to max out a $40,000 credit card limit to make ends meet. Fortunately, soon

it was September again, and along came some lucrative pollination jobs. Ben points to the

importance of diversification, of finding your niche and of working with people and finding people

you can work with - even if they are from completely different industries.

He also learnt a valuable lesson from the only bad review he has received. One day, when it was hot

and the bees were stinging, a man rang Ben’s mobile for a chat. Ben made the mistake of answering

the phone but his manner was (perhaps understandably) a little short and sweet. Consequently, now

Ben doesn’t answer the phone unless he can give the caller his full and undivided attention.

Ben has some valuable tips about marketing and branding too; he says that every post he puts on

social media is evaluated by three criteria; it must entertain, educate and inspire. He cautions

against undervaluing both yourself and the bees (“If you’re too cheap, it’s a race to the bottom”) and

underscores the value of excellent service, and of staying positive (“Don’t think negative

thoughts….be excited, because the job we do as a beekeeper is a marvelous job”).

Ben says that he is still learning and evolving, and reveals that he once even went to comedy school

in an effort to make his interactions with customers more memorable!

www.bensbees.com.au