How to Make Money Selling Honey, While Balancing Family Life and Beekeeping

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in a world brimming with complexity few creatures

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embody harmony like the honeybee with tireless

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precision she dances from bloom to bloom each

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motion guided by millennia upon millennia of

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instinct each act in service to the whole and

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then There are the beekeepers, watchful stewards

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of this ancient symbiosis. Part agriscientist,

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part poet, they move along their hives with the

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efficiency of mow, levy and curly, tending to

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the bees' needs as best they can comprehend,

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and with the infrequency of a waterfall in the

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Sahara, sometimes running off flapping and flailing

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like a penguin on a hot sidewalk. This is their

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journey. Welcome, welcome to Be Love Beekeeping

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presented by our great friends over at Man Lake.

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Are you trying to make money selling honey? Or

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are you maybe thinking about it in the future?

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Last week we had a great discussion with Danielle

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Brooks all about how to make money with honey.

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Today we're wrapping up that discussion with

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even more great advice for anyone who wants to

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make beekeeping more than just a hobby. If you

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missed part one it's episode 312 but as long

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as you're here go ahead and listen to today's

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episode then go back to last week's for even

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more excellent info. But first let's take a minute

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to go inside the hive, this feature presented

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by Primal Bee. Here's one that keeps a lot of

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beekeepers up at night. You've got two colonies

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sitting right next to each other, same mite load,

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same treatment, same management. One pulls through

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just fine, the other falls apart. What is the

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difference? Think about it the way you'd think

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about your own health. When you're rested, eating

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well, not stressed out, you can fight off a cold

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no problem. When you're running on three hours

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of sleep and skipping meals, that same cold puts

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you in bed for a week. Bees work very much the

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same way. A colony with energy despair can actually

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fight back against mites. They groom them off

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each other. They detect and remove infected brood.

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These are real behaviors that healthy colonies

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do every day. But those behaviors are expensive.

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They take energy. A colony that's already spent

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everything it has just keeping the hive warm

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in winter or cool in summer doesn't have much

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left in the tank for mite defense. And the mites

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aren't always what killed the colony. It's the

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diseases they spread. Sometimes they're just

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the last thing that happened before it collapsed.

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That's why overall colony health matters. You

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can't just treat the mites and call it a day.

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You have to look at what else is draining the

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tank and what else you can do to strengthen your

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colonies. Next time on Inside the Hive, we'll

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talk about why brood temperature has to be exact

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and what happens when it's not. Now back to our

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conversation with Danielle. We're going to pick

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it up where we were talking about packaging,

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bottles, and farmers markets. I've made my bed

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with the French square jar. I'm now married to

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it. And I do think, you know, going back to brand

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identity, I do think that it is important to

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the ethos of honey truck. You know, like I've

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watched, I've spent countless years watching

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people sitting in a farmer's market, watching

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people interact with my honey. As soon as they

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pick up a jar, it fits nicely in their hands.

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They like that it's glass. As soon as they pick

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it up, they don't put it down. So when I'm working

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a farmer's market, my goal is to get a jar of

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honey into that consumer's hands because I know

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they're not going to put it down. They're going

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to want to buy it. And that's going to generate

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a sale. And so for me, I hang my hat, so to speak,

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on the French square jar. It's part of our identity

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as the honey truck. I love it. We're learning

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a lot here. Do you, when you're at these farmers

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markets and people buy a jar of honey, what do

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you do to keep them as a long -term customer?

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Great question. I think a lot of that has to

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do with their first experience coming to the

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honey truck Whether that's stopping by our brick

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-and -mortar or meeting us at the farmers market

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It's all in how you make your client feel, you

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know, somebody comes up to the honey truck Typically

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they see the vehicle and they're like, oh my

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gosh, this is so cool My my dad had one of these

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or my granddad drove one around and you know

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Like it's a great way to connect with people

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you talk about the truck but then you start talking

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about bees and how they make honey and Oh yeah,

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and they're like, oh yeah, I don't really drink

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tea. I'm like, hey, great, I use honey in a myriad

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of different ways. Do you eat granola in the

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morning? Oh yeah, yeah, I eat granola and yogurts,

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great. Our lavender infused honey is amazing

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on those things. You could throw it into a smoothie.

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Do you work out? Honey is a great natural source

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of energy. Instead of getting a sugary drink,

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you could just drizzle some honey into your drink

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the next time. So a lot of what we do is we're

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selling a lifestyle. People realize, oh, I can

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totally do that with honey. I eat ice cream.

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I could drizzle some honey on top of it. That

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sounds really delicious. And so a lot of what

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we do is... talk about how people can use honey.

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I think that that helps them to establish a feeling

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or a sense of trust that they're talking directly

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with the business owner. Now I obviously have

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somebody who's working the farmers market for

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me, but we are open and honest and transparent

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about where our honey comes from. I think building

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that trust is also another avenue that keeps

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people coming back because I know businesses

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that rapidly growing scale get so far away from

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their original business motto that you get kind

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of lost in the noise. And one of the things that

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I've loved about honey truck, even though I do

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struggle with that, is the slow growth over time

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mentality. You know, like I follow a lot of food

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brands and I watched them just explode on social

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media. And I'm like, why is my business not growing

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that quickly? Like, oh man, I get so jealous

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of people sometimes, but The slow growth has

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allowed me to scale my business in a way that's

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sustainable. I still work with local beekeepers.

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who produce honey. I'm still able to establish

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those relationships and that translates with

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my clients because they know that I'm not lying

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to them. I have nothing to hide. If you want

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to come to Honey Truck and see how we put honey

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in a bottle, come visit. We have a huge, you

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can't really see it, but just off to my left

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is a big window through the wall so you can see

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our production space. It's like a big glass window

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because I think it's important that people understand

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that process. Honestly, I think it's just building

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trust that keeps your clients coming back. Have

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you ever thought about giving people something

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so that they are reminded, hey, wow, the next

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time I run out of honey, there's no farmers market

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going on. I can go to honeydruck .com and buy

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what I need there. Have you done any of that,

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whether it's a flyer or a little sticker or whatever

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it is? We have done stickers. My kids have business

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cards. They, uh, that have a little discount

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code on it. My son, who is six, it makes him

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feel extremely professional that he can walk

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up to somebody and say, my mom sells honey, but

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here's my card because it will get you $5 off

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your first order. And so, I mean, it's small

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and cheesy, but I know it does work and it's

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got that code on it so that when somebody uses

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that code on my website, I'm able to track that.

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Every single year I can say, okay, these business

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cards that we've handed out made X dollars. And

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these clients over time have been returning clients

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to Honey Truck. And like I said, with our wholesale

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partners, I think it's great when I make a sale

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because I make 100 % of that margin. But... I'm

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all about supporting the businesses that support

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Honey Truck. So if I'm not open, I'm very quick

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to tell clients, hey, you could go to Chop Shop

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here in St. Augustine. You can go to Hagen Ace.

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Go support those businesses because then you're

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supporting too. You're supporting me and you're

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supporting them. It's a win -win situation. I

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think that that's kind of how we've chosen to

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handle that. Those wholesale customers. They

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get that from a lot of other things they sell

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so they kind of expect you to be doing something

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to help them out Yeah, absolutely. You know that's

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something else to consider in the cost of your

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jar Have you thought about where are your marketing

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materials going to come from? We have pronounced

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for postcards for crystallization, you know,

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how to reverse the process. What is crystallization?

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Why does it happen? We have shelf talkers that

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are little folding cards that sit on the shelf

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that say our honey has been featured on the Today

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Show. We're a best of the South by Southern Living

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brand. Those sorts of things. are signals from

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other businesses, not me just sitting there saying,

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I sell really delicious honey. These are huge

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companies that are saying, this brand is credible.

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She is who she says she is and we stand behind

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her. But again, have you considered what those

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things cost and have you rolled it into what

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you are selling it to your wholesale client for?

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And I assume on your website, you've got a list

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of all those retailers. We do. So if somebody

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goes to your website, wants a brick and mortar

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purchase that day, they can do that. That's one

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way you're supporting them. And we we do feature

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them on our social media as well Sometimes I'll

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walk into a shop and be like, hey, I'm doing

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a drop -off today I'm a declaration and co and

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oh my goodness Look at this cute dress that I

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just found and that's also another way that I'm

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able to help our wholesale clients Okay, let's

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talk about some of the things that people might

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not think of for example You're talking about

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a wholesale distribution channel here and you

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also have to think about inventory because if

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that one retail store calls up and says, Danielle,

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I need 50 more jars of this. And you say, well,

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we're kind of out of honey for the next three

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months, but we'll be happy to get you some come

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July. What's that going to do? Yeah. So that's

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that goes back to the sustainable scale that

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I was talking about. I've had opportunities.

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I had QVC call me and say, hey, we have an opportunity

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for Honey Truck. I'm very flattered that QVC

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would call me. However, when you run the numbers

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or when I ran the numbers based on what it was

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that they wanted, the price points and all of

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the things, I was like, the numbers don't add

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up. And so I also don't want to be on QVC or

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get into Publix or whatever and not be able to

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support that account. That goes all back to,

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you know, one of our brand identity words is

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trust. So when a wholesale client calls me and

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they say, hey, I would love to stock honey truck,

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I know confidently that I can either supply that

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business with honey or I can't. And I think that

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people are afraid to say no to an opportunity.

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But people are far more reasonable if you say,

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hey, I absolutely would love to supply you guys

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with honey. But here's what I can do. I'm not

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saying yes to all of your doors. What I'm saying

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is I would love to sustainably grow my business

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alongside yours. So would it be possible to only

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be in 10 of your 30 shops? Because that is what

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I can sustainably produce right now. with the

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intent that I am going to scale and would be

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able to produce honey that you guys could have

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in your other shops. And nine times out of 10,

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that business is like, yeah, oh, yeah, absolutely.

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I totally get it. How many times as you as a

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consumer are told no on something and you're

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like, oh, OK, yeah, yeah, I'll come back or whatever,

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you know. It's great that you're willing to say

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that, because not every opportunity is a good

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opportunity. if a qvc and i'm not saying they

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did this but if someone like that said hey we

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are going to sell 10 000 jars of honey for you

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and you're only going to lose 50 cents on each

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jar is that really a good deal for you does that

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make sense well no although maybe Because if

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you could turn those 10 ,000 jars into 10 ,000

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long -term customers that were paying full retail,

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then it may make sense. You have to look at all

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those angles. Right. And we did look at that

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specifically with QVC because at the end of the

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day, you could say, even if I'm losing money,

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is that a marketing expense? You know, like how

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much exposure does QVC give Honey Truck? A lot.

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It gives us a lot of exposure. And honestly,

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that particular decision boiled down to, is this

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my exact target audience? And for me at Honey

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Truck, my answer was no. And that's why I chose

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to not take that opportunity then. However, I

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would say that that door is still open. You know,

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the contact that I had at QVC, I said, hey, here's

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where I'm at financially and why I'm making this

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choice. But I would love to leave the door open

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when we grow in scale and we're able to buy in

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even more volume than I'm purchasing now. And

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my costs come down. Is this still a situation

00:14:27.860 --> 00:14:30.019
where I could email you back and say, hey, I'm

00:14:30.019 --> 00:14:32.559
ready for another bite at QVC? And she was like,

00:14:32.580 --> 00:14:36.019
yeah, sure. So that could shift things in the

00:14:36.019 --> 00:14:37.960
future, especially as my target audience is getting

00:14:37.960 --> 00:14:41.379
older. But it's still an open door, even though

00:14:41.379 --> 00:14:43.820
I said no in the moment. Because you handled

00:14:43.820 --> 00:14:46.490
it right. Have you ever thought about some kind

00:14:46.490 --> 00:14:49.350
of a subscription deal, honey of the month kind

00:14:49.350 --> 00:14:53.549
of thing? I have. I just haven't thought of the

00:14:53.549 --> 00:14:56.629
right thing yet. If we do it, I want it to be

00:14:56.629 --> 00:15:01.090
done well. So I typically would, I use the term

00:15:01.090 --> 00:15:04.529
crock potter. When I'm in a big meeting or having

00:15:04.529 --> 00:15:06.870
a discussion with a friend, I like to just kind

00:15:06.870 --> 00:15:10.250
of sit quietly for a while. And I'm like, Hey,

00:15:10.269 --> 00:15:12.779
I'm just absorbing information. and I like to

00:15:12.779 --> 00:15:15.940
let it stew or crock pot. And in about three

00:15:15.940 --> 00:15:18.740
or four hours, that's when I start having questions

00:15:18.740 --> 00:15:20.360
like, oh, well, what about this? And what about

00:15:20.360 --> 00:15:22.820
that? And it's just kind of how my brain processes

00:15:22.820 --> 00:15:25.360
things. So whenever we release a new product,

00:15:25.779 --> 00:15:29.039
I like to consider all avenues before I just

00:15:29.039 --> 00:15:31.879
release it because I want it to be in line with

00:15:31.879 --> 00:15:33.919
our brand identity. I want to make sure that

00:15:33.919 --> 00:15:35.600
it's something that our clients are really going

00:15:35.600 --> 00:15:38.440
to enjoy and be excited about versus, oh, I'm

00:15:38.440 --> 00:15:42.289
just adding another skew. to just do it. I admit

00:15:42.289 --> 00:15:44.990
a pet peeve of mine is that it seems all bee

00:15:44.990 --> 00:15:49.149
hives are white, yet boring old white. And just

00:15:49.149 --> 00:15:52.149
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00:15:52.149 --> 00:15:55.730
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00:16:23.179 --> 00:16:26.440
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00:16:26.440 --> 00:16:31.159
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00:16:31.159 --> 00:16:34.519
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00:17:00.259 --> 00:17:03.299
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00:17:31.319 --> 00:17:35.779
.com slash bee love and use code bee love at

00:17:35.779 --> 00:17:38.519
checkout. Think what we're gonna do in a few

00:17:38.519 --> 00:17:41.019
minutes is we're gonna talk about a lot of common

00:17:41.019 --> 00:17:44.759
mistakes that people made So or make so that

00:17:44.759 --> 00:17:47.380
we can head those off and people can avoid those

00:17:47.380 --> 00:17:51.539
But first I want to talk about some of the beautiful

00:17:51.539 --> 00:17:55.660
joys and blessings That your family is getting

00:17:55.660 --> 00:17:59.000
because of how you do this. You're a mom. You

00:17:59.000 --> 00:18:02.640
have what two kids? Two kids a four and a six

00:18:02.640 --> 00:18:05.880
year old a son Lincoln who is six and my daughter

00:18:05.880 --> 00:18:09.359
Imogen is four and Because of the way you run

00:18:09.359 --> 00:18:12.519
your business How does that afford you more time

00:18:12.519 --> 00:18:15.940
with them? Because it's easy to get into a business

00:18:15.940 --> 00:18:18.140
and have it take over our whole life and we're

00:18:18.140 --> 00:18:22.180
working 80 hours a week absolutely So starting

00:18:22.180 --> 00:18:24.779
the business the way that I did, it kind of started

00:18:24.779 --> 00:18:27.359
off as my side gig. I was a full -time family

00:18:27.359 --> 00:18:29.880
photographer, and I was just beekeeping on the

00:18:29.880 --> 00:18:31.700
side, doing farmers markets on the weekend. And

00:18:31.700 --> 00:18:33.460
it was pretty great. And then there was a moment

00:18:33.460 --> 00:18:36.319
where I pivoted and said, I'm done with photography.

00:18:36.519 --> 00:18:40.880
I'm pursuing Honey Truck full -time. And it was

00:18:40.880 --> 00:18:43.220
when we first started Honey Truck that my husband

00:18:43.220 --> 00:18:45.960
and I decided that was when we wanted to start

00:18:45.960 --> 00:18:49.609
having kids. We couldn't. It took three years

00:18:49.609 --> 00:18:53.289
to get pregnant. And even then, we thought that

00:18:53.289 --> 00:18:55.710
our first child, Lincoln, was a miracle baby.

00:18:55.890 --> 00:18:58.269
You know, like, great. We were going to go down

00:18:58.269 --> 00:19:00.069
the road of adoption, which I think is beautiful

00:19:00.069 --> 00:19:02.109
and lovely, but we weren't quite ready for it

00:19:02.109 --> 00:19:05.150
yet. And so him coming along was definitely a

00:19:05.150 --> 00:19:09.740
surprise. And then... COVID happened and the

00:19:09.740 --> 00:19:12.480
world shut down which honestly I wasn't terribly

00:19:12.480 --> 00:19:14.660
sad about because I was at home with my newborn

00:19:14.660 --> 00:19:16.299
baby and I was like great I don't have to see

00:19:16.299 --> 00:19:18.799
anybody I'm gonna stay home and my jammies and

00:19:18.799 --> 00:19:22.539
be a mom and do my mom thing and I was doing

00:19:22.539 --> 00:19:24.539
online marketing with honey truck and making

00:19:24.539 --> 00:19:26.559
online sales and able to ship from my house which

00:19:26.559 --> 00:19:30.660
was great and then I very quickly got pregnant

00:19:30.660 --> 00:19:33.500
with my daughter because we didn't think we could

00:19:33.500 --> 00:19:36.660
get pregnant, and we did. And she has been amazing.

00:19:36.779 --> 00:19:39.619
But again, I'm at home with two kids under two

00:19:39.619 --> 00:19:42.380
years old. It really just kind of set, again,

00:19:42.519 --> 00:19:44.859
the trajectory of Honey Truck. Anybody who has

00:19:44.859 --> 00:19:47.119
a child in childcare can tell you right now,

00:19:47.259 --> 00:19:50.259
it is incredibly expensive to put your kid in

00:19:50.259 --> 00:19:52.880
childcare. And we could not afford it at the

00:19:52.880 --> 00:19:55.980
time. And so... I made the choice to say, I'm

00:19:55.980 --> 00:19:57.759
going to be a part -time stay -at -home mom.

00:19:58.200 --> 00:20:00.619
We're going to pay for childcare on Tuesdays

00:20:00.619 --> 00:20:02.700
and Thursdays. We found a great school that was

00:20:02.700 --> 00:20:06.900
willing to work with us on that. And then slowly

00:20:06.900 --> 00:20:09.160
over time, it became, all right, well, we're

00:20:09.160 --> 00:20:11.160
going to switch at the school year to do Monday,

00:20:11.160 --> 00:20:13.460
Wednesday, Friday. And then suddenly, my son

00:20:13.460 --> 00:20:16.039
is in VPK, so he's in school five days a week,

00:20:16.039 --> 00:20:19.099
and my daughter is there three days a week. And

00:20:19.099 --> 00:20:22.039
it just kind of worked with the schedule, so.

00:20:22.440 --> 00:20:25.920
As of March 12th, when we're filming this, I

00:20:25.920 --> 00:20:28.799
have only been full, really full time at Honey

00:20:28.799 --> 00:20:33.279
Truck for about six or eight months since my

00:20:33.279 --> 00:20:35.799
daughter has started VPK and my son is in kindergarten.

00:20:36.220 --> 00:20:39.759
And that flexibility has been everything to me.

00:20:39.839 --> 00:20:43.119
But that means that I say no to things, which

00:20:43.119 --> 00:20:46.579
is really hard because I want to say yes. I want

00:20:46.579 --> 00:20:51.160
to do all of the things, but My first job is

00:20:51.160 --> 00:20:55.440
being a mom to my kids. And so that has been

00:20:55.440 --> 00:20:57.900
the choice that I've made. And that kind of helps

00:20:57.900 --> 00:21:01.819
me determine what else I need to do that is a

00:21:01.819 --> 00:21:05.119
priority. And so I use the term primary parent,

00:21:05.220 --> 00:21:07.279
which is not a knock on my husband at all. He

00:21:07.279 --> 00:21:09.960
is a very involved parent, but... kid gets sick,

00:21:10.160 --> 00:21:11.980
hey, your daughter has a fever, you need to come

00:21:11.980 --> 00:21:13.740
and get her from school. I'm the one that goes

00:21:13.740 --> 00:21:17.240
and does that. And so at the end of the day,

00:21:17.400 --> 00:21:19.819
like we have hours at Honey Truck and I try and

00:21:19.819 --> 00:21:23.700
be as informative as possible. Like, hey, emergency,

00:21:24.000 --> 00:21:27.039
I had to leave the shop. It's open when I'm here

00:21:27.039 --> 00:21:29.079
and it's closed when I'm gone because my family

00:21:29.079 --> 00:21:33.150
is my priority and I don't want to... worry about

00:21:33.150 --> 00:21:36.650
the stress of other things. And now I do have

00:21:36.650 --> 00:21:39.029
a part -time employee that knows the business

00:21:39.029 --> 00:21:42.289
well enough that if I need to not be here, she's

00:21:42.289 --> 00:21:45.589
able to keep things running. So just as people

00:21:45.589 --> 00:21:48.849
think about growing and scaling, this year I've

00:21:48.849 --> 00:21:52.829
been able to say, have I created myself a stressful

00:21:52.829 --> 00:21:56.670
job or have I created a business that I can sell?

00:21:57.009 --> 00:21:59.650
Because for me, my end game is I want to sell

00:21:59.650 --> 00:22:02.869
honey truck. I'm not today, you know, like I'm

00:22:02.869 --> 00:22:05.029
in my thirties. So maybe in 20 years from now,

00:22:05.029 --> 00:22:06.930
I would love to sell honey truck. And so I've

00:22:06.930 --> 00:22:09.650
got a long ways hopefully to work myself towards

00:22:09.650 --> 00:22:12.410
that goal. But in order to be able to do that,

00:22:12.410 --> 00:22:14.970
I have to have systems and operations in place

00:22:14.970 --> 00:22:17.190
that aren't just up here. They're on paper so

00:22:17.190 --> 00:22:19.950
that somebody knows this is what Danielle does.

00:22:20.029 --> 00:22:22.890
This is how it gets done. And this is my job.

00:22:22.930 --> 00:22:24.930
Should she not be here? So when you're thinking

00:22:24.930 --> 00:22:27.549
about those things and bringing along somebody.

00:22:28.079 --> 00:22:31.039
make sure that you start writing that stuff down

00:22:31.039 --> 00:22:33.619
so that you're not just creating yourself a stressful

00:22:33.619 --> 00:22:36.759
job, you're creating something that is a sellable

00:22:36.759 --> 00:22:41.420
entity. Such valuable advice. The thing that

00:22:41.420 --> 00:22:43.680
you were just talking about with your priorities.

00:22:44.500 --> 00:22:46.720
It reminds me of what you said a little while

00:22:46.720 --> 00:22:50.579
ago about the priorities in the business itself,

00:22:50.680 --> 00:22:54.789
which is You defined your target audience. Once

00:22:54.789 --> 00:22:57.869
you did that, it helped you make all these other

00:22:57.869 --> 00:23:01.910
decisions. Should I be on QVC? Should I be in

00:23:01.910 --> 00:23:04.630
a hardware store? Should I be in an upper end

00:23:04.630 --> 00:23:06.990
store? It helps you make all those decisions.

00:23:07.309 --> 00:23:09.549
And when you do that with your personal life

00:23:09.549 --> 00:23:13.950
priorities as well, it helps you make all the

00:23:13.950 --> 00:23:17.069
decisions that you need to make regarding not

00:23:17.069 --> 00:23:20.569
only that, but how your business influences that.

00:23:21.319 --> 00:23:24.559
Thank you. Great advice. And this, it might not

00:23:24.559 --> 00:23:26.980
be the same story for somebody else. You know,

00:23:26.980 --> 00:23:28.960
like I could totally hear somebody listening

00:23:28.960 --> 00:23:32.339
to this and, you know, like they don't have kids

00:23:32.339 --> 00:23:35.819
or their kids are already out of the house. That

00:23:35.819 --> 00:23:38.119
looks different. Priorities shift and change

00:23:38.119 --> 00:23:41.240
over time. And so wherever you're at, the analogy

00:23:41.240 --> 00:23:44.539
that I like to use is you, you're a juggler and

00:23:44.539 --> 00:23:46.839
you juggle a lot of balls and some of them are

00:23:46.839 --> 00:23:48.940
glass balls and some of them are plastic balls

00:23:48.940 --> 00:23:53.309
and they're material can change. So sometimes,

00:23:53.730 --> 00:23:55.769
right now, my kids are plastic balls. They're

00:23:55.769 --> 00:23:58.430
both healthy. They're both in school. There's

00:23:58.430 --> 00:24:00.569
nothing, you know, right now that is emergent.

00:24:00.849 --> 00:24:03.450
But suddenly... I get a call from school, hey,

00:24:03.529 --> 00:24:05.130
Lincoln is throwing up. You have to come get

00:24:05.130 --> 00:24:08.009
him. That plastic ball just became glass. And

00:24:08.009 --> 00:24:10.349
I got to let another plastic ball go. Like, that's

00:24:10.349 --> 00:24:12.690
my priority that I need to keep juggling is my

00:24:12.690 --> 00:24:15.630
son. And so that looks different for every business

00:24:15.630 --> 00:24:18.710
owner that may not have kids. And you have different

00:24:18.710 --> 00:24:21.609
glass balls. Like, hey, this account that I have

00:24:21.609 --> 00:24:24.710
is my main priority. I love this so very much.

00:24:24.730 --> 00:24:28.049
And I'm going to do everything I can to keep

00:24:28.049 --> 00:24:31.210
that account going. And this account over here,

00:24:31.279 --> 00:24:33.720
does meh you know like it's a plastic ball for

00:24:33.720 --> 00:24:36.500
now like this is my priority and this one is

00:24:36.500 --> 00:24:40.579
not and though they can change and shift it also

00:24:40.579 --> 00:24:42.980
may be an account at some point that you have

00:24:42.980 --> 00:24:45.980
to be willing to just let it go right and just

00:24:45.980 --> 00:24:48.779
say absolutely right they're just not worth working

00:24:48.779 --> 00:24:52.420
at and then back to this these personal things

00:24:52.420 --> 00:24:54.599
like you're talking about where you are in life

00:24:55.279 --> 00:25:00.319
If you're maybe 25 years old and sit down and

00:25:00.319 --> 00:25:03.859
say, okay, I'm not married. I want to really

00:25:03.859 --> 00:25:07.759
build a beekeeping business and I want to work

00:25:07.759 --> 00:25:13.240
up to 2 ,000 hives and my source of income is

00:25:13.240 --> 00:25:16.879
going to mostly be pollination. Okay. Completely

00:25:16.879 --> 00:25:19.299
opposite of what you're doing, Danielle. And

00:25:19.299 --> 00:25:21.859
that's okay. So figure out where you want to

00:25:21.859 --> 00:25:24.299
be, what you want to do. There's so many things

00:25:24.299 --> 00:25:27.039
that you can do with beekeeping and bee products.

00:25:28.180 --> 00:25:30.420
Right. I'm chuckling because those are the people

00:25:30.420 --> 00:25:33.099
that I work directly with. Like, I'm able to

00:25:33.099 --> 00:25:36.640
do what I do because somebody else says... I'm

00:25:36.640 --> 00:25:38.960
going to be a full -time beekeeper. I'm going

00:25:38.960 --> 00:25:41.420
to have thousands of hives and I'm going to do

00:25:41.420 --> 00:25:44.799
these things. Like I'm not ignorant. This is

00:25:44.799 --> 00:25:47.160
me and my beekeepers. I can tell you right now

00:25:47.160 --> 00:25:50.220
that I live in Florida. We get hurricanes every

00:25:50.220 --> 00:25:53.059
year and I am consistently watching where is

00:25:53.059 --> 00:25:55.480
that storm going. I know where my beekeepers

00:25:55.480 --> 00:25:57.779
have their bees generally speaking and if it's

00:25:57.779 --> 00:25:59.720
going to an area where I know I have a beekeeper

00:25:59.720 --> 00:26:02.059
who has bees I'm very quick to pick up the phone

00:26:02.059 --> 00:26:05.039
and say hey. I know that I'm not a commercial

00:26:05.039 --> 00:26:07.099
beekeeper, but you know I know my way around

00:26:07.099 --> 00:26:09.880
the beehive. Do you need help relocating your

00:26:09.880 --> 00:26:13.579
bees? What do you need from me? Because in some

00:26:13.579 --> 00:26:16.779
ways, that is very selfish. Like, if they're

00:26:16.779 --> 00:26:18.960
gonna get hit by a storm, that directly affects

00:26:18.960 --> 00:26:22.259
me. I care very much about what's happening to

00:26:22.259 --> 00:26:24.579
those beekeepers, which is why I've spent a lot

00:26:24.579 --> 00:26:27.690
of time... speaking at UF. I speak at Bee College

00:26:27.690 --> 00:26:31.470
every year, and I love going to Beekeeper meetings

00:26:31.470 --> 00:26:35.289
and talking to people because those are my partnerships,

00:26:35.490 --> 00:26:38.369
those are my people, and what affects them is

00:26:38.369 --> 00:26:41.589
gonna have a trickle -down effect to me. And

00:26:41.589 --> 00:26:44.930
even in the big global world, we have the tropolalaps

00:26:44.930 --> 00:26:47.109
mite that is not here in the United States, but

00:26:47.109 --> 00:26:49.650
it... It probably will be at some point and we

00:26:49.650 --> 00:26:52.349
will have to deal with it because what is affecting

00:26:52.349 --> 00:26:54.970
a third world country right now is going to come

00:26:54.970 --> 00:26:57.630
directly into our land and affect us as well.

00:26:57.690 --> 00:27:00.630
And so the more research that we can do, I know

00:27:00.630 --> 00:27:02.549
that Sammy Ramsey has done a ton of research

00:27:02.549 --> 00:27:04.569
on the tropal elapsed mite and he's gone all

00:27:04.569 --> 00:27:07.289
over the world to research it, like support those

00:27:07.289 --> 00:27:09.630
people because they're on the front lines of

00:27:09.630 --> 00:27:13.329
it and understand what's happening. And I don't

00:27:13.329 --> 00:27:15.720
know, I just see it as a very simple symbiotic

00:27:15.720 --> 00:27:18.559
relationship, you know? Well, absolutely. I mean,

00:27:18.680 --> 00:27:21.460
your suppliers are just as important as the people

00:27:21.460 --> 00:27:23.559
you're selling to. Otherwise, you have nothing

00:27:23.559 --> 00:27:26.779
to sell. Right. You don't have a thousand hives

00:27:26.779 --> 00:27:31.380
yourself. Nor do I want to. Nor do you want to.

00:27:31.460 --> 00:27:34.200
Doesn't mean you don't love bees, right? It's

00:27:34.200 --> 00:27:37.759
correct. I like to stay less than 10. That's

00:27:37.759 --> 00:27:41.079
my safe space. Yeah. Everybody has where they

00:27:41.079 --> 00:27:44.000
want to be and I think that's great to find it

00:27:44.000 --> 00:27:46.319
for yourself. One last thing that we're going

00:27:46.319 --> 00:27:49.779
to get into before we find out about Danielle's

00:27:49.779 --> 00:27:52.880
wild and crazy story and that is let's just talk

00:27:52.880 --> 00:27:56.480
about some common mistakes that people use. I'm

00:27:56.480 --> 00:27:58.960
going to be an entrepreneur for the first time.

00:27:59.180 --> 00:28:02.019
I happen to be a hobby beekeeper so that's where

00:28:02.019 --> 00:28:04.819
my entrepreneurial spirit is going to come out.

00:28:05.339 --> 00:28:08.319
What are some mistakes you've seen people make?

00:28:10.189 --> 00:28:13.089
not pricing their honey high enough would be

00:28:13.089 --> 00:28:16.049
a big one. Again, like we talked about, make

00:28:16.049 --> 00:28:18.430
sure that you understand how much that jar costs

00:28:18.430 --> 00:28:20.990
you, how much that label, that lid, that safety

00:28:20.990 --> 00:28:23.549
seal if you want it, all of it costs you. And

00:28:23.549 --> 00:28:25.630
if you're like me, you also have to factor in

00:28:25.630 --> 00:28:28.069
the cost of how much the honey costs and how

00:28:28.069 --> 00:28:30.490
much time it costs you to put it into that bottle.

00:28:30.799 --> 00:28:34.819
That would be one of the big ones. And I would

00:28:34.819 --> 00:28:38.440
also say probably should take a business class.

00:28:38.579 --> 00:28:41.940
Again, I have taken zero marketing classes, and

00:28:41.940 --> 00:28:45.859
I've also taken zero business classes. So while

00:28:45.859 --> 00:28:49.220
it looks really great, I guarantee you that there's

00:28:49.220 --> 00:28:52.440
a lot of mistakes that I've made over time just

00:28:52.440 --> 00:28:55.460
because I didn't have that knowledge. But I would

00:28:55.460 --> 00:28:58.650
also say that on the flip side, that's a benefit

00:28:58.650 --> 00:29:01.509
because no one taught me. I had to figure it

00:29:01.509 --> 00:29:03.369
out on my own. I had to figure out QuickBooks

00:29:03.369 --> 00:29:08.490
on my own. I had to figure out how to decrystallize

00:29:08.490 --> 00:29:10.529
an entire drum of honey. You know, like those

00:29:10.529 --> 00:29:13.059
aren't things that you can just... people aren't

00:29:13.059 --> 00:29:15.900
forthcoming with that information. And so figuring

00:29:15.900 --> 00:29:17.940
it out on your own, sometimes you figure out

00:29:17.940 --> 00:29:23.359
a new way that is a lot better or more efficient

00:29:23.359 --> 00:29:26.680
than your competition is. And so sometimes that

00:29:26.680 --> 00:29:30.019
can be a benefit that you didn't have that background

00:29:30.019 --> 00:29:33.380
in engineering or whatever. Okay, I like it.

00:29:33.680 --> 00:29:36.839
I would also say like if specifically when you're

00:29:36.839 --> 00:29:39.240
selling honey, because that is what we're talking

00:29:39.240 --> 00:29:41.859
about, not necessarily like beekeeping mistakes.

00:29:42.079 --> 00:29:44.279
But when it comes to selling your honey, I would

00:29:44.279 --> 00:29:47.359
also say like, not establishing your target audience

00:29:47.359 --> 00:29:51.200
from the get go, know who your audience is, how

00:29:51.200 --> 00:29:55.339
you can sell to them, and be in front of them

00:29:55.339 --> 00:29:58.259
consistently. Not everybody is your client. And

00:29:58.259 --> 00:30:02.809
that's okay. You know, my My husband is not my

00:30:02.809 --> 00:30:04.970
target demographic. He supports my business,

00:30:05.029 --> 00:30:08.509
but I'm not marketing to men who are 40, you

00:30:08.509 --> 00:30:10.650
know, like, well, he's not 40 yet. He's going

00:30:10.650 --> 00:30:13.210
to be upset with me, but that's not my target

00:30:13.210 --> 00:30:16.930
audience. And so know who they are because that

00:30:16.930 --> 00:30:20.990
will set the tone for the rest of your accounts

00:30:20.990 --> 00:30:22.670
that you're going to want to go after in terms

00:30:22.670 --> 00:30:24.970
of wholesale. Or even if you don't want to wholesale

00:30:24.970 --> 00:30:28.650
and you just want to have a roadside stand that

00:30:28.650 --> 00:30:31.069
matters. Do you want to be a part of Christmas

00:30:31.069 --> 00:30:35.049
markets? Do you want to do church bazaars? Do

00:30:35.049 --> 00:30:37.529
you just want to do flea markets? That's totally

00:30:37.529 --> 00:30:39.690
fine. And if you're going to do a flea market

00:30:39.690 --> 00:30:41.789
and you have a price in mind, please add at least

00:30:41.789 --> 00:30:44.549
$2 to what you think you should sell your honey

00:30:44.549 --> 00:30:46.849
for because let's raise the price of honey for

00:30:46.849 --> 00:30:50.150
every beekeeper. A rising tide lifts all boats.

00:30:51.029 --> 00:30:53.329
And speaking of your target market, how did you

00:30:53.329 --> 00:30:56.369
decide to sell tea? And how do you make tea?

00:30:57.329 --> 00:31:00.069
That's a great question. I do get my tea white

00:31:00.069 --> 00:31:03.750
labeled. I don't produce it myself. But tea is

00:31:03.750 --> 00:31:08.029
a natural product that pairs well with honey.

00:31:08.250 --> 00:31:12.130
And it is also very shelf stable. I don't have

00:31:12.130 --> 00:31:14.890
to worry about tea going bad within two or three

00:31:14.890 --> 00:31:17.910
weeks, like bread or something else. It makes

00:31:17.910 --> 00:31:21.730
a really great giftable item, a gift basket item.

00:31:21.829 --> 00:31:25.299
Somebody is coming to the farmer's market. November,

00:31:25.339 --> 00:31:27.640
and they're looking for a Christmas gift. Oh,

00:31:27.859 --> 00:31:30.759
my aunt Susie, she loves honey. Great. Does your

00:31:30.759 --> 00:31:32.779
aunt Susie drink tea? Because you could do like

00:31:32.779 --> 00:31:36.680
a small jar of honey. You could do our six sachet

00:31:36.680 --> 00:31:39.720
envelope. And if she doesn't have a honey pot,

00:31:39.819 --> 00:31:41.259
you could do a honey pot with a dipper. And that

00:31:41.259 --> 00:31:42.960
would make like a really great gift that you

00:31:42.960 --> 00:31:44.900
could give her versus just one jar of honey.

00:31:45.119 --> 00:31:48.470
So it It does kind of boil down to how much is

00:31:48.470 --> 00:31:50.589
somebody putting in their basket when they come

00:31:50.589 --> 00:31:52.490
and shop at Honey Truck. You're always trying

00:31:52.490 --> 00:31:56.630
to increase that revenue and those margins. I

00:31:56.630 --> 00:31:59.630
never want to be pushy when it comes to selling.

00:31:59.829 --> 00:32:02.549
So I tell anybody who works at Honey Truck, we're

00:32:02.549 --> 00:32:05.250
all about education. Let them try the honey.

00:32:05.369 --> 00:32:07.950
Talk about how bees make honey. Talk about why

00:32:07.950 --> 00:32:10.789
our honey has a higher standard than anybody

00:32:10.789 --> 00:32:14.069
else's honey. And people generally will make

00:32:14.069 --> 00:32:18.000
a choice on their own. But that that would be

00:32:18.000 --> 00:32:21.000
my two cents on mistakes that people make. All

00:32:21.000 --> 00:32:24.140
right. Before I let you go entertain us, tell

00:32:24.140 --> 00:32:26.559
us something funny or crazy that has happened

00:32:26.559 --> 00:32:30.539
to you while beekeeping. OK, so I did think about

00:32:30.539 --> 00:32:33.400
it. I kind of have two things. One is about beekeeping.

00:32:33.400 --> 00:32:36.259
And since my main vein is honey, putting honey

00:32:36.259 --> 00:32:38.940
in bottles, I have one there. So my first beekeeping

00:32:38.940 --> 00:32:42.819
story has to do with I was. out in my yard, not

00:32:42.819 --> 00:32:46.319
even doing a hive inspection and a bee out of

00:32:46.319 --> 00:32:49.140
nowhere just flies up and stings me right on

00:32:49.140 --> 00:32:53.380
the bridge of my nose. And I come inside the

00:32:53.380 --> 00:32:56.460
house and my husband, like I'm starting to turn

00:32:56.460 --> 00:32:57.900
red and he's like, are you okay? I was like,

00:32:57.920 --> 00:33:00.960
yeah, I just got stung. It was really weird and

00:33:00.960 --> 00:33:03.539
random. And then like my hands started itching,

00:33:03.599 --> 00:33:06.480
my feet started itching. And I was like, hey,

00:33:06.599 --> 00:33:08.819
I need you to go get me some Benadryl. So I took

00:33:08.819 --> 00:33:12.359
Benadryl. And in about 20 minutes, I had no eye

00:33:12.359 --> 00:33:14.799
sockets. I couldn't see anything. I had to sit

00:33:14.799 --> 00:33:17.759
on the couch, you know, like just completely

00:33:17.759 --> 00:33:22.240
helpless. And thankfully, I ended up getting

00:33:22.240 --> 00:33:25.220
a stronger antihistamine to help with that. But

00:33:25.220 --> 00:33:28.440
I had. I've actually just gotten back from B

00:33:28.440 --> 00:33:31.099
college and heard Dr. Jamie Ellis talk about

00:33:31.099 --> 00:33:33.740
bee stings and how as long as your throat's not

00:33:33.740 --> 00:33:36.099
closing up, you're pretty okay with a bee sting.

00:33:36.380 --> 00:33:38.220
And so the whole time, even though I'm freaking

00:33:38.220 --> 00:33:41.299
out that my vision is now going away with the

00:33:41.299 --> 00:33:43.619
swelling, I was like, but I can breathe. I can

00:33:43.619 --> 00:33:45.619
breathe just fine. So the Benadryl will work

00:33:45.619 --> 00:33:49.019
at some point and I'll be all right. So that's

00:33:49.019 --> 00:33:51.640
kind of my story with beekeeping. And then with

00:33:51.640 --> 00:33:54.759
honey, as you can imagine, moving honey in drums

00:33:54.759 --> 00:33:58.880
is no small feat, especially for a small set

00:33:58.880 --> 00:34:01.880
female. But we have our methods. And so I was

00:34:01.880 --> 00:34:05.210
making bourbon honey. and I had actually pumped

00:34:05.210 --> 00:34:08.170
honey into the barrel. There are these huge oak

00:34:08.170 --> 00:34:10.929
barrels that they put bourbon in and so it had

00:34:10.929 --> 00:34:15.750
a the hole on the front is called a bung and

00:34:15.750 --> 00:34:17.670
I was on the phone with my friend and I'm just

00:34:17.670 --> 00:34:19.750
kind of walking around our production space and

00:34:19.750 --> 00:34:21.630
I noticed that there's a little bit of honey

00:34:21.630 --> 00:34:24.250
dripping from the bung and I was like well that's

00:34:24.250 --> 00:34:27.730
not great so I go and I take mallet and I'm like

00:34:27.730 --> 00:34:30.610
I'm just gonna tap this in and I go tap tap tap

00:34:30.610 --> 00:34:32.869
and all of a sudden the bung shoots out and honey

00:34:32.869 --> 00:34:35.210
starts flying everywhere and I'm on the phone

00:34:35.210 --> 00:34:37.329
with my friend and I'm like oh my gosh oh my

00:34:37.329 --> 00:34:39.389
gosh oh my gosh and she's like what what what

00:34:39.389 --> 00:34:40.909
I'm like honey's everywhere honey's everywhere

00:34:40.909 --> 00:34:43.789
and so I like you know it's literally just gushing

00:34:43.789 --> 00:34:46.210
and I'm seeing dollar bills just flying out the

00:34:46.210 --> 00:34:47.949
window and I'm like okay I gotta find the bung

00:34:47.949 --> 00:34:50.570
so I find it and I shove it back in there and

00:34:50.570 --> 00:34:52.710
I'm covered in honey there's no one here with

00:34:52.710 --> 00:34:56.860
me and I'm like what am I gonna do? So I try

00:34:56.860 --> 00:35:00.039
as hard as I can to just get it stabilized and

00:35:00.039 --> 00:35:03.199
shove it in as hard as I can. And then I like

00:35:03.199 --> 00:35:04.800
slowly remove my hand and I'm like, all right,

00:35:04.800 --> 00:35:06.760
it's gonna stay. I know I have ratchet straps

00:35:06.760 --> 00:35:09.019
in my truck. So I run out to my truck, completely

00:35:09.019 --> 00:35:11.760
coated in honey, grab the ratchet strap and ratchet

00:35:11.760 --> 00:35:15.420
it all together and finally stabilize it. But

00:35:15.420 --> 00:35:17.980
that would probably be like my funniest story

00:35:17.980 --> 00:35:20.079
in terms of honey production that's happened

00:35:20.079 --> 00:35:22.980
here. That is awesome. Do you happen to have

00:35:22.980 --> 00:35:25.579
pictures of either of those things? Like when

00:35:25.579 --> 00:35:32.500
your eyes swelled shut? No, I do not. Darn. Okay,

00:35:33.000 --> 00:35:37.519
social media would love that one. Yeah. And I

00:35:37.519 --> 00:35:39.460
can see how you would not have been able to take

00:35:39.460 --> 00:35:42.519
a picture when you're covered with honey with

00:35:42.519 --> 00:35:47.099
the oak barrel. No, and yeah, you know, you think

00:35:47.099 --> 00:35:49.420
twice about posting things to social media. You

00:35:49.420 --> 00:35:52.739
know, you, I don't know. I have no problem posting

00:35:52.739 --> 00:35:55.139
something embarrassing of you to social media.

00:35:55.900 --> 00:35:59.179
I know, I know. That's why I don't have that

00:35:59.179 --> 00:36:02.699
photo of myself anymore. All right. So you did

00:36:02.699 --> 00:36:05.099
have one. Your husband has it somewhere. I'll

00:36:05.099 --> 00:36:08.599
call him. I'm sure he does. Danielle Brooks from

00:36:08.599 --> 00:36:11.320
Honey Truck. It's been really a lot of fun and

00:36:11.320 --> 00:36:13.139
we've learned a ton. Thank you for being with

00:36:13.139 --> 00:36:16.219
me today. Thank you so much for having me. I

00:36:16.219 --> 00:36:30.219
appreciate it. Vita's Varroa Control Ranger products

00:36:30.219 --> 00:36:34.639
includes Epistan, Epigard, and now Varroxan Extended

00:36:34.639 --> 00:36:37.940
Release Oxalic Acids Trips. Hey thanks a lot

00:36:37.940 --> 00:36:40.719
guys. And if you haven't yet, please subscribe

00:36:40.719 --> 00:36:43.000
to and follow the show, tell your friends about

00:36:43.000 --> 00:36:45.719
it, and click on over to BeLoveBeKeeping .com

00:36:45.719 --> 00:36:49.019
to sign up for our free newsletter. If you have

00:36:49.019 --> 00:36:52.079
a guest suggestion or topic you'd like discussed

00:36:52.079 --> 00:36:55.440
on the show, shoot me an email eric at BeLoveBeKeeping

00:36:55.440 --> 00:36:58.769
.com and remember if you're not just in it for

00:36:58.769 --> 00:37:01.530
the honey or the money, you're in it for the

00:37:01.530 --> 00:37:02.949
love. See you next week.