Tag Archives: small business success

What Started Out as a Hobby Becomes Growing Local Apiary Business in Northwest Georgia

Posted on by

Cohutta, GA |

In Cohutta, what started off as a hobby and an excuse to get up and moving, quickly turned into a passion for this beekeeper, Scott Bates, Owner of Northwest Georgia Busy Bees – a small, family apiary business that has grown from the ground up over the last few years.  

Bates explained, “We started out as a hobby farm, two years ago. This is our third year. I had weight loss surgery, so I needed something to take up my time. My wife had gardens that weren’t doing very well. So, we just started with two beehives, and what becomes a hobby quickly becomes a passion,” says Bates. “And so, we started with the two, we grew to six, and now we’re up to twelve hives, and our hopes and desires will be to eventually have fifty to a hundred hives.” 

For Bates, the entire process has been a learning experience to get his bee population to where it is today, as he says starting out as a hobbyist required him to do some self-education and get help from other beekeepers. 

“We started to do a lot of research and watch YouTube videos. There’s a huge bee community. So you start asking questions and growing with that bee community. Every year you split your bees. So that they don’t swarm. So, it’s just a multiplication game,” says Bates. “As they start multiplying in early spring, you start splitting and you either sell those off if you don’t want to grow or you continue to grow. Our two has grown into 6, that’s grown into twelve. So next year we hope to have at least twenty-five hives.” 

Over the last couple of years, Bates says his business has really taken off, as he now sells a variety of products that are made from the fresh honey produced by his bees. Things such as lip balm, butter, lotions, and of course, raw, unfiltered honey.  

“We have a great online presence. What we did find out, though, is just like with your garden where you have foods that you can make into multiple items, you can do that with the bees. Not only do you have the honey, but you have the beeswax that you can turn into natural products for people,” says Bates. “There’s a huge market for all natural products. So, we’re trying to give those to the people that need them.” 

Bates says that demand for his products has continued to grow, as more and more people continue to discover the benefits of raw, local honey for their health.  

“Local wildflower honey, if it’s strained and unfiltered, has vitamins and minerals and the local pollen. So just as you would get shots for asthma and allergies, if you take local honey with that local pollen in it, then you’re going to get that same dose in that local honey that is not chemically induced,” explained Bates. “So therefore, you get those health benefits, from that local honey.” 

By: John Holcomb

Empowering Young Entrepreneurs: How Georgia FLEX is Shaping Future Business Leaders!

Posted on by

Fitzgerald, GA |

It’s been said that if there is no struggle, there is no progress. It’s a motto best exemplified by those looking to start their own business as it takes plenty of patience, determination and support in order to succeed. And the latter is exactly what the Georgia FLEX program is looking to provide for high school students hoping to take that next step.

“As the students start their entrepreneurial journey, the community rallies around them by providing them mentors from the business community, which is really different than reading about how to run a business from a book, right? I think anybody who’s run a business can attest to that; that you just never know what each day is going to hold. So, we try to match the students with businesses that are similar or really any businessperson can give them great feedback about their business and kind of share their experience with them and encourage the students,” says Melissa Dark, Executive Director of Georgia FLEX.

Giving these young entrepreneurs a community to fall back on for advice and inspiration provides an invaluable tool during the difficult times.

“You definitely can’t do it alone. We say all the time, it takes a village, and it truly does take a village in entrepreneurship. I’m so grateful for the FLEX program and the community that it makes. So, not only do we have connections all across the state, but we also have these connections with other student entrepreneurs who are going through the same experience and it’s great to be able to build that network and be able to have supporters and know who you can get to when you have questions,” says Chloe Paulk, Owner of Cake It with Chloe.

With the focus of this program centered around rural areas of the state, it benefits not just the students and their businesses, but also the long-term health of their communities.

“It works especially well in rural communities who are trying to really create some stickiness with their students and to keep them in their community, to start and grow their own businesses. It’s also great because those communities typically only one have one or two school systems, so everybody can rally around those students,” says Dark.

That support, along with state and local competitions offering thousands of dollars’ worth of prize money, could be the push students need to chase their dreams.

“The FLEX program is great if you’re even thinking about entrepreneurship, and it’s great because it encourages you to take the leap as a student. So, you don’t have to wait until you’ve got it figured out or you’re out of high school or college. You can take the leap as a high school student, and we’re going to provide facilitated steps to help you make your dream turn into a business,” says Paulk.

“When you, as any entrepreneur I they waited until it was perfect or they had everything figured out, they probably would have never started their business. So, we encourage students to really just jump in and get started. We encourage them to fail fast, fail often and always fail forward. So, every time you have a failure, that’s just taught you one way that something doesn’t work. So, just find the next way,” says Dark.

And learning through experience is the most valuable way to gain those skills needed to thrive.

“The FLEX program was pivotal in me running my business. Not only did it teach me skills like learning how to keep track of my finances, learning how to market my business, learning how to network with people in the community, but it also made me fall in love with entrepreneurship and my business in general,” says Paulk.

By: Damon Jones