How beekeeping can be more than just a hobby. It can be a very profitable enterprise also.
Whilst it is true that most beekeepers around the world are amateurs, and keep bees as a hobby rather than a business. It is also true that beekeeping can be very profitable using modern methods. In a normal season it is quite possible to achieve a profit over costs of 100% or even more.
Also in beekeeping's favour is the fact that you do not need acres of land, or any great physical strength to do it. Making it a great hobby for almost anyone with an interest in the subject, and a love of the outdoors.
Four square feet of land is quite enough for a hive, and a small plot of twenty-five square feet could hold from 25 to 50 hives. No heavy labour is required. In fact for five or six months of the year there is very little to do at all. And for the rest of the year probably a quarter of an hour a week would be all you'd need to spend on one stock (hive). So even if you had twelve hives that's only three hours "work" a week.
It's only light work as well, out in the fresh air. There are even schoolchildren keeping bees and contributing to the family income. There are many so called "sideline" beekeepers making a profit of $20,000 from around 90 hives. O.K. I know what you're thinking. "That sounds like a lot of hives and work doesn't it".
Hey, most things require work of some sort, and if you are enjoying what you do it's not really like work anyway. 90 hives would require you to spend less than 24 hours a week on them at the busiest time. Now just think how many hours a week you watch TV. Probably being thoroughly bored most of the time!
So just imagine how much money you could make if you wanted to be a full-time beekeeper, beekeeping for a living. Of course you'd need to build up slowly and steadily over a period of time, but even a few hives could make you a useful addition to your finances.
Let's work from the figures above as an example. 90 hives bringing in around $20,000. Let's say you have just 12 hives. So we can say that should make you around $3,000. Of course you are only actually "working" with your hives for about three hours a week, and that's only for six months in the year. Making a total of 72 hours actual beekeeping ("work"). Now by my reckoning that works out at over $40 per hour.
Now I don't know about you, but I think that makes beekeeping well worth considering.
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