Notes from Chris

Episode 1597

Frank Mortimer got his start in beekeeping the way a lot of folks do—with just one hive, a bit of research, and lifelong desire to keep bees. Fast-forward to today and he’s a busy little worker bee with speaking engagements, a forthcoming book, and naturally a sweet extra income of more than $1,000 a month.

Frank had been interested in bees since he was a child, and he set about learning as much as he could through books, attending meetings of local beekeeping clubs, and connecting with more experienced beekeepers.

After picking up hive #1 quickly realized he could enlist his bees to offset the costs of this new hobby by selling the honey they produced. He also enlisted his five year old son to sell the honey from the front yard, lemonade stand style, and in his second year of beekeeping they sold 32 pounds of honey.

Now, a number of years and fifteen additional hives later, Frank sells more than 1,800 pounds of honey a year. He decided early on not to compete with mass-produced supermarket honey and instead market his as a local, quasi-luxury product. Frank’s honey costs around $15 a jar and is sold at speciality stores and gift shops near his northern New Jersey home.

But honey isn’t the only product that has sweetened the pot for Frank. With the help of his wife, Frank branched out and began manufacturing lip balm and hand cream right in his own kitchen. They consulted online tutorials and found all the supplies they needed online, and after a few weeks of tweaking the recipes had two additional products to add to their revenue stream.

Before the pandemic he was able to attend bee club meetings and festivals where he could sometimes sell up to $1,000 of product in a single day! Now Frank relies heavily on Facebook and Instagram, posting in local groups about his honey and giving educational talks to bee groups to help get his name out there.

Wait, educational talks? That’s right. Those talks have led Frank to become known as “The Bee Man” and he eventually became the President of his local bee club. He also became a certified Master Beekeeper through a program at Cornell University, and with those credentials has taught classes at the New York Botanical Garden. Eventually Frank’s expertise and reputation even led to a book deal. That’s right, check out Bee People and the Bugs They Love wherever you shop for books.

This reputation helped him overcome the challenge of selling his honey at $15 a pound. As Frank the Bee Man becoming somewhat of a local legend in New Jersey, people are happy to pay a premium price for his quality product.

From a childhood fascination with bees to that front yard “Honey Stand” operated by his son and his first sale to a specialty store, to his cosmetic products and book deal becoming “The Bee Man,” Frank was able to harness the energy of his hives to turn a hobby into a reliable income— which as the old timers might say is just “the bee’s knees!”

 

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  MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Learn more about Frank and his sweet hustle at his website, FrankTheBeeman.com.

SEE ALSO:

• Six-Figure Beekeeping Biz Buzzes for Minnesota Couple: The buzzworthy journey of Minnesotan bees and their keepers. These hardy bees don’t mess around—last year they produced $150,000 in sweet sales.
• Beekeepers Build Buzzing Backyard Business: After learning to care for bees by watching YouTube, this European couple living in Australia turns it into a full-time income.
• Show Me the Honey: Houston Beekeeper Buzzes to $4,000/Month: In this buzzworthy episode, a Texas woman creates a $4,000/month side hustle as an advocate for sustainable honeybee habitats.

Inspiration is good; inspiration combined with action is better. Now get back to work! Yours in the revolution,

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