Thursday, March 21, 2013

Outside My Comfort Zone

Perhaps the autumn die-off of nearly half of the United Nectar hives was a gift in disguise. How so, you ask?




WomenVenture is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting women-owned businesses by providing microloans, working capital, education and ongoing consultation through all stages of business.



In early March I began a WomenVenture small business class through the generosity of a grant from the Kingfield Neighborhood Association.  The 'Be Strategic' class is aimed at people who have been in business but want to take a more professional approach to growing that business.

I have spent the last seven years learning how to tend hives; every visit to the apiary teaches me something new.  That said, I have not succeeded as well at splitting my time and energy between my family, my apiary and my full-time job.  

I am reaching outside my comfort zone being so planful. United Nectar was born out of my love of beekeeping and I have been following my bliss, as they say.  With a job and two kids, pets and all that entails, I have not taken the time to sit down and look at the iniative long-term.  Also, subjecting my ideas to the scrutiny of others does not come naturally, so the class is certainly a stretch for me. 

Because of the class workload, I have decided not to replace any of the colonies that failed last fall.  I will split the remaining colonies and tend them throughout the summer and the lighter workload will allow me to finish the class and come up with a sustainable business and financing plan for United Nectar.  My goal is to tend hives seasonally and work part-time in the winter.

So far the class has been fruitful.  United Nectar now has a Mission Statement:

In support of honey bees and a balanced environment, United Nectar tends healthy, sustainable hives producing high-quality minimally-processed raw honey and beeswax for sale and resale.

My goal is to create a business where I can keep bees, mentor new beekeepers, teach beekeeping and honey education classes and sell honey, beeswax and value-added apiary products both wholesale and retail.

The trick will be to hammer out the numbers for a financially feasible business model and find some funding.  I have no doubt, given the current environment, that the business, planned-well, will be successful.

Onward & Upward!


4 comments:

  1. I hope my bees were ok. The dog yard is still messy, but I hope it dries enough to clean it this weekend. I hope my yard will once again be a host for a hive of bees. I loved watching them last year and talking with them.

    ReplyDelete
  2. garden chicken is theresa rooney in the longfellow neighborhood. I had the chickens in the back yard too.

    ReplyDelete

  3. Thankfulness to my father who informed me on the topic of this website, this weblog is really remarkable. aol.com email sign in

    ReplyDelete
  4. To make it easier, Which Mortgage Canada provides homebuyers using the necessary tools that could help find the proper home loan. mortgage payment calculator Here are the key regulations you need to remember of, and which are included inside the Ontario mortgage calculator above:. canada mortgage calculator

    ReplyDelete