I love this business. It's been my dream - and still is. And I have lofty plans on expansion, more hiring, faster fulfillment, a larger physical retail presence and more. Seeing beekeepers succeed and actually appreciate the work I do for them gives me a very good feeling not only about myself, but the connections that are being made and the mutual trust my loyal customers and I share. I tend to wear my emotions on my sleeve and I have to be honest, there are times that I nearly burst with barely restrained pride when I see the joy on new beekeeper faces when they "get it," or someone emails me to tell me that my advice helped them overwinter a hive ... that sort of thing.
That almost changed this past week.
My big dream has always been to provide an IMMEDIATE go-to service for beekeepers who need something and need it NOW! I could have set up a dropship store, like most of them are - you order and someone else takes care of the order, boxes it, ships it, etc. But no, I wanted to purchase my inventory outright so it's right here. Right now. Right when you need it.
I remember when I first had that idea. I was out in the heat of August, getting ready to harvest honey. It was my second year as a beekeeper and it was a miserable day. I was baking in my crappy Amazon suit, sweat was running down my forehead into my eyes and the bees just weren't having any of it. I'll never forget the moment when I bent down to pick up to replace a HEAVY deep full of honey when my wife called out and said, "Honey, your suit just ripped!"
To make a long story short, my cheap Amazon suit had suddenly split right in the crotch, leaving an 8-inch gaping hole between my legs that, as you might imagine, left me in a very vulnerable state. I remember verifying that and then looking to the left and the right at the hundreds of angry bees flying all about. I just dropped everything and ran away, disregarding all the advice I had received about remaining calm, backing away slowly and not flailing about. To be honest, I'm sure my wife got a kick out of it - seeing a grown man running up the slope from the bottoms while trying to hold his pants shut with one hand and the other waving about with a mind of its own.
Fortunately, not one single bee found its way up into the nether-regions and I was able to escape uninjured. But that said, I couldn't finish the job because that was my only bee suit. Shortly after I was able to regain a normal heartbeat, I ordered a new suit from Mann Lake and waited three or four days for it to show up so I could resume the job. It was during that long wait that I first thought of how nice it would be if there were a local place to buy a bee suit in an emergency situation.
Fast forward many years to the present, and I find myself living the dream. No, I'm not making a killing and barely making a profit in this three-year startup phase, but I'm now in a position to provide that very service I needed back on that hot, August day. And I love almost every single minute of it. Seriously.
Until this week.
When I first got the idea to get into providing nucs for my customers, I was excited. I thought of all the lines I had stood in to buy packages or nucs and how valuable it was to me to talk to other beekeepers and actually see a place where someone who actually knew what they were doing did whatever it was they were doing. "I could be that guy," I remember thinking, while moving forward at a snail's pace. "But I would do it better," I vowed. "I would move the line faster and spend more time with each customer to answer their questions and make them feel valued." Looking back, it amazes me how I was so enthralled by the idea that I never stopped to consider the dichotomy there...
So ... back to the present.
This week, I fulfilled that dream by hosting two long days of nuc pickups here at our apiary - and things suddenly started going sideways. Problems with the overloaded trailer. Problems with time (we were late getting the bees ready for distribution). Problems with thunderstorms and hail. Problems with organization and flow. On the following day, problems with the heat and robber bees. Problems, problems, problems.
It happens. But what I hadn't planned on was the physical and mental toll of it all. For two days straight, I didn't eat, drank no water, rarely had time to sit down, took bee stings and felt like an absolute failure. A customer notified me that bees got loose in her car, requiring me to completely change how we were loading and securing the bees. The robbers got so bad that we all got stung and had to suit up. I tried to be my normal happy, bouyant self but the wear and tear of the two days caught up to me. I dreaded seeing another vehicle pull into the property. I just wanted it to end.
And end it did. Finally. With nineteen nucs still not picked up. At that point, I knew it wasn't REALLY over, but I made it through the two long long days with some of my sanity still intact, so I took that as a win.
Today is day three. It was a lot easier. I had customers still coming by to pick up nucs, but I had plenty of time to paint beehives, work on some customer orders, ship a half dozen packages, work the store and do some organizing in the shop. Every muscle still hurt and my body isn't functioning quite the way I would like as a result of the heat and stress, but I see the promise of normality coming soon.
I live the dream. MY DREAM. I made many new friends and was overjoyed to put faces to the names. I answered a ton of questions, and if advice were dollars, I gave away the store. I am so appreciative of the Belfair & Beyond Beekeeper club members (Mike Johnson, Dennis Watts and Debra Langley-Boyer) who worked tirelessly to help make it happen and, of course, the help my wife, David Morgan and Kelly S. gave.
After the sun set on the final day and the bees all returned to their hives, it got quiet and gave me time to think. Was it worth it? Was it all that I had imagined back when I got the foolish idea in my head to do such a thing? Would I really ever want to do it again?
Well, the answer to that last question is this: You're damn right it was worth it and I can't wait to do it again. Just not for another year, please.
Thank you to all my wonderful customers who were all the bright spot throughout all this. We had no problems with people or parking or traffic flow. I thank you all for that. And I hope to see you all again next year, if not before. Think of me when your crotch splits open or your smoker falls apart or you want to expand your operation.
I am here for you.
