Habe Honey, Co. Business Plan
HABE HONEY, CO. · BUSINESS PLAN
A working plan for Habe Honey, Co., a family honey business in Hickman, Nebraska: what it sells, what it costs to start, how the prices cover the work, and what to do in the first season.
How to use this plan. Dollar amounts are planning allowances, not supplier quotes, published prices or earnings predictions. This draft assumes the family already keeps bees, sells its own honey, works from home with no employees, and has $5,000 to put into growing it. Hive count and current sales are still to be confirmed.
1. The business
Keep honey bees, harvest the surplus honey, and sell it in jars to people nearby, alongside the family’s handcrafted herbal products. Grow the hives first; add new products only after the current ones sell steadily.
Who buys
Neighbors, friends of the family, farmers market shoppers, people who want honey from close to home, and buyers looking for gifts in the fall and at the holidays.
What they get
Honey from this family’s own hives, an honest label, a clear price, and a person to ask about it.
Positioning: local and family-made. Prove people will pay by selling the first harvest before buying more equipment.
2. What it takes, and where the $5,000 goes
Use the equipment you already have if it is sound. The family has said the $5,000 will go to more bee boxes for spring, materials, and protective gear for everyone. The table below is one way to lay that out. Replace every line with real quotes.
| Illustrative allowance | Budget |
|---|---|
| Hive boxes, frames and foundation to add colonies | $1,200 |
| Bees for new colonies (packages or nucs) | $800 |
| Extractor, uncapping tools, strainer and a bucket with a gate | $600 |
| Protective gear sized for everyone who works the hives | $250 |
| Jars, lids and labels for the first harvest | $600 |
| Mite checks, treatment and feed | $250 |
| Food safety course, registration and certificates — replace with actual fees | $200 |
| Insurance allowance — replace with quotes | $400 |
| Signs, cards and market booth fees | $300 |
| Working cash for slow weeks and surprises | $400 |
| Total | $5,000 |
Not included: land, a vehicle, a dedicated honey house, and the family’s own time. The $400 reserve is part of the startup cash, not a monthly cost.
3. Prices that pay for the work
Test price, to be checked against local prices: $12.95 for a one-pound jar.
| Example one-pound jar | Amount |
|---|---|
| Price | $12.95 |
| Jar and lid | −$1.25 |
| Label | −$0.30 |
| Payment processing allowance | −$0.45 |
| Share of market fees and travel | −$0.75 |
| Left over before yearly costs and the family’s time | $10.20 |
Break-even: assume $700 a year in fixed costs: $400 insurance, $150 market fees and $150 for treatment and feed. Covering that takes about 69 one-pound jars a year. Covering the family’s time as well takes more, so time the work at the first harvest and add it in.
Pricing rule: the price covers the jar, the label, a share of the yearly costs, the family’s time and a cushion for a poor harvest. If buyers will not pay it, sell where they will, change the jar size, or hold off growing.
Your numbers
Hives going into winter:
Pounds harvested this year:
Price per jar and size:
Yearly costs (actual):
4. From hive to jar
- Inspect: work each colony on a regular schedule through the season. Look for a laying queen, brood, stores, disease and room to grow.
- Manage: add supers before the flow, watch for swarming, and check mite levels.
- Harvest: take only capped surplus honey, and leave enough for the bees to winter on.
- Extract and strain: uncap, spin, strain and let it settle in clean, food-safe equipment.
- Jar and label: the common name, the net weight, and your name and address.
- Record: pounds per hive, jars sold, price, and every expense.
Before selling. Nebraska’s cottage food law requires free registration with the Nebraska Department of Agriculture, a food safety course (generally $20–$25), a label with the food’s name and the producer’s name and address, and a notice that the food was made in a kitchen that is not inspected. Infused honey is excluded from the law, and the guidance does not say how plain honey is treated, so ask the Department which rules apply before the first sale. Moving or selling bees or an apiary needs a certificate from the Department; its regulations list a $150 fee for 1–250 colonies, so confirm the current amount. Ask an insurer about product liability and about the hives on your land.
5. Plan for the season
Build up
First inspections, new colonies installed, swarm watch, order jars.
The flow
Supers on, regular inspections, mite checks, first sales.
Harvest and sell
Pull the honey, treat for mites, sell at markets and for gifts.
Winter: the hives stay closed. Keep selling through the holidays, do the books and taxes, and repair equipment for spring.
6. Find and keep the first buyers
- Offer the first harvest to neighbors and family friends, and ask what they pay for honey now.
- Ask local markets and fairs about booth space and their rules for honey.
- Put a simple sign at the end of the drive when honey is available, if your road allows it.
- Give buyers one page to find you: the Habe Honey, Co. page on this site, linked from the Facebook page.
- Ask happy buyers for an honest review and permission to share it.
- Track who buys again, where they heard about you, and what each sale cost to make.
7. A 90-day plan
Days 1–30: Get set up
Confirm registration, the food safety course and insurance. Count hives and record their condition. Get real quotes for the table above.
Days 31–60: Sell what you have
Jar and label the current honey. Sell to ten buyers and record the price, the place and what they said.
Days 61–90: Decide
Look at what sold, at what price, and what it cost. Spend the rest of the $5,000 on what the numbers support.
Growth rule: add colonies only when the ones you have are healthy and the honey you already make sells at a price that covers the work. This is a decision rule, not a prediction.
8. Build the plan with us
The family keeps the bees, owns the hives and sells the honey. We Help People Everywhere helps with the plan and the family’s page on this site, and Annie’s Action AI helps with the website and marketing.
Fill these in
Business name: Habe Honey, Co.
Town: Hickman, Nebraska · Where the hives are:
Hives now, and the goal for next year:
How the $5,000 will be spent (from real quotes):
Price per jar and where it sells:
Registration, food safety course and insurance confirmed:
First-season results and next decision: