Bees for hire? Looking for some advise

[Moobee]

I used to refuse to get out of bed for less than £500/day....

when did you give up the modelling work?

 

[Moobee]

Well here’s an update
Prior to posting here looking for advice I had said (via email contact) options were
1) I place the hives and do the work then sell him whatever honey is harvested at a reasonable rate.
2) for my time I would look for £10/hour on a basis of 30minutes on each hive every 5-7 days. Plus travel, hive & colony hire, jars, electric & extractor use, time for extracting & jarring. He was to take out PLI and sign a contract for my indemnity.
He has never responded
I have since done some research
The site is an industrial site with various companies based there. It’s a concrete jungle surrounded by grass fields with hedgerows. I know bees are resourceful but the area does not look the best.
The person in question seems to have involvement with everything on the site and managing director of numerous companies. Still have no idea what he wants to achieve but if for no other reason other than lack of communication I’m going to leave this one

Greenwashing is my bet.

 

[ldwgs]

Well here’s an update
Prior to posting here looking for advice I had said (via email contact) options were
1) I place the hives and do the work then sell him whatever honey is harvested at a reasonable rate.
2) for my time I would look for £10/hour on a basis of 30minutes on each hive every 5-7 days. Plus travel, hive & colony hire, jars, electric & extractor use, time for extracting & jarring. He was to take out PLI and sign a contract for my indemnity.
He has never responded
I have since done some research
The site is an industrial site with various companies based there. It’s a concrete jungle surrounded by grass fields with hedgerows. I know bees are resourceful but the area does not look the best.
The person in question seems to have involvement with everything on the site and managing director of numerous companies. Still have no idea what he wants to achieve but if for no other reason other than lack of communication I’m going to leave this one

business looking for green creditionals, too many of them think having hives tick that box, too many in London with hives on the roofs for that reason

 

[Erichalfbee]

A novice might take twice as long to inspect a hive though....

Would a novice be taking on this sort of work ?

 

[ericbeaumont]

Would a novice be taking on this sort of work ?

Really hope that they wouldn't. It's one thing to manage 10 colonies of bees to avoid swarming and produce honey, but apiary access protocols + risk assessment docs + PR are a lot of work.

 

[Curly green finger's]

Really hope that they wouldn't. It's one thing to manage 10 colonies of bees to avoid swarming and produce honey, but apiary access protocols + risk assessment docs + PR are a lot of work.

Where do I stand then

 

[Anduril]

Where do I stand then

How long do you take inspecting a colony? 30 minutes or 5?

 

[ericbeaumont]

inspecting a colony? 30 minutes or 5?

Yes, Mark has the experience to enable him to decide whether 0, 5, or 35 minutes are needed.

 

[madasafish]

when did you give up the modelling work?

I'll have you know Michelangelo used my body as a guide for his statues..

 

[Erichalfbee]

How long do you take inspecting a colony? 30 minutes or 5?

Mark’s a bee farmer.

 

[Anduril]

Mark’s a bee farmer.

I know, but others may not know the time per hive.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I'll have you know Michelangelo used my body as a guide for his statues..

 

[Curly green finger's]

Yes, Mark has the experience to enable him to decide whether 0, 5, or 35 minutes are needed.

True the last 3-4 years have taught me this.

 

[Moobee]

View attachment 39014

I can’t unsee that!

 

[madasafish]

View attachment 39014

Wrong statue try David..

 

[Moobee]

Would a novice be taking on this sort of work ?

I was thinking twice the money, not the novice element!

 

[robinharman]

Look at it as a possible extra apiary.
Your bees, your hives, your risk but they have the opportunity to buy as much of the honey produced, white labelled if wanted, for an agreed price.
I do this very successfully at several apiaries and is the only way I will operate in these circumstances

 

[Thebeelady-UK]

Hi something new to me here so wondering if anyone is familiar with this system or can offer any advise costings, what to charge etc.
So a person near where I live and keep my bees has approached our BBKA branch and I’ve been asked to contact them.
Basically he said he was looking to hire up to 10 hives to place on his land, pay someone to look after them, extract, jar and give him the honey. He said he had a company (not named) lined up to provide this service but it has fallen through (didn’t say why it had fallen through).
This is something I could do but have no idea what to charge. It seems (and I may be doing a dis-justice) that he has no interest in doing anything with the bees himself but wants the honey as cheap as possible?
So my thought (for when I meet him)
Cost of hire per hive & colony ?
Cost of travel to and from location ?
Cost per hour for inspections etc ?
How long to do a thorough inspection ?
Cost of jars ?
Cost of electric and use of extractor ?
Cost per hour extracting, jarring etc ?
OR
Do the work and sell him the honey at a discount that covers my costs and some.
Any advice appreciated

Hi something new to me here so wondering if anyone is familiar with this system or can offer any advise costings, what to charge etc.
So a person near where I live and keep my bees has approached our BBKA branch and I’ve been asked to contact them.
Basically he said he was looking to hire up to 10 hives to place on his land, pay someone to look after them, extract, jar and give him the honey. He said he had a company (not named) lined up to provide this service but it has fallen through (didn’t say why it had fallen through).
This is something I could do but have no idea what to charge. It seems (and I may be doing a dis-justice) that he has no interest in doing anything with the bees himself but wants the honey as cheap as possible?
So my thought (for when I meet him)
Cost of hire per hive & colony ?
Cost of travel to and from location ?
Cost per hour for inspections etc ?
How long to do a thorough inspection ?
Cost of jars ?
Cost of electric and use of extractor ?
Cost per hour extracting, jarring etc ?
OR
Do the work and sell him the honey at a discount that covers my costs and some.
Any advice appreciated

I have heard that one of my local beekeepers charges £1000 per hive per year for the same arrangement, assuming with very good management you can make £800 per hive per year. (Which sofar I could not get any near myself!!) Now that’s I say is a good deal if you can get it. But you get all the hassle that comes with it of course…. And the land owner will not get a cheap honey from it! I understand that the beekeeper in question in my example deals with corporate clients. In any case, don't sell yourself cheap!