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Be Your Own Boss - Be a Beekeeper

A Beekeeper is a person who keeps honeybees in order to obtain honey, beeswax, pollen, or royal jelly or for the purpose of raising queens and bees for sale, or in order to pollinate fruits and vegetables. Beekeeping is a hobby for some people; for others, however, it's done for commercial purposes and is considered a full-time job.

Beekeeping can be very profitable. Beekeepingsuccess.com (a website devoted to beekeeping) estimates that honey production worldwide exceeds a million metric tons a year. Another plus to beekeeping is that almost anyone can do it. It doesn't require a college degree, or even a high school degree for that matter. If you have the resources to get started and the patience to master the art of beekeeping, you can do it. Many people began their full-time beekeeping businesses as part-time ventures, starting out with only one hive and building their commercial businesses over time until they became full-time beekeepers. The only people who should NOT become beekeepers are those who happen to be severely allergic to bee stings. For the remainder of the population, it's a worthwhile career, plus over time most beekeepers develop immunity to bee stings, having little or no reactions when stung.

How much money can be made by keeping bees? Naturally that depends on the size of the operation. According to beginnerbeekeeping.com, 90 hives can bring in a profit of around $20,000 a year. Because beekeeping is seasonal, there are busy times and slow times. During busy times of the year, beekeepers are apt to have to work long hours, seven days a week. However, during the off-season, there's much less work to be done, enabling the beekeeper to have much-needed time off. Also, some beekeepers choose to market only honey, whereas others also market beeswax or royal jelly, as well as raising bees to sell or for pollination. Marketing other products in addition to honey, naturally brings in more revenue but also causes the need for additional work.

In order to become a beekeeper, you'll need to have some basic equipment before purchasing bees. In addition, you'll need to do some research in order to know how to care for the bees. Spending some time on your computer looking up websites devoted to beekeeping, reading library books on beekeeping, and talking to other beekeepers should give you enough knowledge to get started. Most beekeepers learn as they go, but all successful beekeepers had some knowledge that was acquired beforehand. The basic equipment needed for beekeeping includes hives (some people build their own), a smoker, and perhaps some protective clothing. You'll also need to be aware of various diseases and pests that can harm your bee colonies. Talking with other local beekeepers can give you an idea of what to do in order to prevent losing bees to disease or infestations.

Most people find beekeeping to be a relatively easy venture. Once the beekeeper is familiar with the needs of the hives, it's mostly routine. It's a job that allows an individual to be his or her own boss and once the basic equipment and bees are purchased, there's relatively little overhead to interfere with profits. If you like working outside (obviously beekeeping is 90% outside work - the only inside part of the job is the paperwork associated with the accounting needs of the business), then perhaps you should consider beekeeping as a career.

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