Section 2

Team 8
Fall 2017
Business Plan
Business Name: The Bees’ Knees
Idea: Commercial Beekeeping Company

Team Members:

Minani Augustin

Kasey Conrad

Lori Gagnon

Andrew Latrash

Jenna Piromalli

Josh Van De Graaf

1
 Executive Summary
The Bees’ Knees
Kasey Conrad
Address: County Road L, Hasty, Colorado, 81044
Phone: (570)428-3296
E-mail: conradkm@dukes.jmu.edu
beesknees@gmail.com

We will be leasing 20,000 hives for almond

Management:
Farm Manager
Director of Sales
Marketing Manager
IT Manager
Sales Manager
Industry: The Beekeeping and Honey Industry
Number of Employees: 43
Amount of Financing Sought:
$750,000 from friends and family (4.92%)
$11,507,000 Mortgage (75.42%)
$3,000,000 from Venture Capitalists (19.66%)
Investment Sources: The initial startup of $750,000
comes from friends and family of the six founders. A
mortgage of $11,507,000 will be sought from Allied
Equity, a mortgage lender in California. We will seek
$3,000,000 from venture capitalists, $2,000,000 in
year one and $1,000,000 in year two.
Use of Funds: A significant portion of our funds
will go toward obtaining a piece of land large enough
to sustain our operations as they continue to grow.
Funds will also be allocated to purchase bees, hives,
and other equipment.
Product/service selling price: $4.99 retail price per
16 oz. bottle of honey, $195 per beehive for almond
pollination and $46 per beehive for cherry pollination
Business Description: We are a commercial
beekeeping company operating as an LLC. We
provide beehives used for almond and cherry
pollination services in California, as well as organic
honey.
Products/Services: The Bee’s Knees will transport
beehives to almond and cherry farmers in need of
pollination services. Customers will be able to place
an order through our online store or over the phone.
pollination and 8,000 hives for cherry pollination
priced at $195 and $46, respectively. The Bees’ Knees
offers organic honey in glass jars at an inexpensive
rate, in attempt to further emphasize the value of our
product. We will sell our honey to grocery stores for
$3.80 per 16-ounce jar. It costs $1.04 to purchase
each 16-ounce jar, yielding a profit margin $2.76 per
jar. We plan to sell 176,000 pounds of honey during
the second year.
Competitive Advantage: The Bees’ Knees separates
from the competition as we are able to provide a high
volume of bees for almond or cherry pollination. Our
beekeeping methods avoid using harmful pesticides
and make it a priority to spray the hives during the
evening hours to ensure proper growth. Our organic
honey will be priced lower than the competition and
our jar label will emphasize the fact that the bees
producing our company’s honey are additionally
participating in almond pollination in California.
Markets: The Bees’ Knees target market for
pollination services are almond farms in California,
more specifically the San Joaquin Valley. Considering
almond orchards are heavily concentrated in this area,
the Bees’ Knees will be focusing on connecting with
these specific farmers. The target market for honey
are organic product consumers that are relatively
price sensitive to this product. The potential market
size for the honey is 536,406 households at a 1.81%
growth rate based off the growing population in
Colorado. The potential market size for the beehives
is 6,800 almond farms growing at a 7% growth rate
based off of the growth of almond farm acreage per
year. There is approximately 44 cherry orchards in
California with acreage growing at a rate of 1.14%.
Our revenue in year two is $4,936,800.

Distribution Channels: We will be directly marketing our pollination services to consumers. We will use a website as an
electronic commerce channel to sell our services. The Bee’s Knees will sell our honey products through Whole Foods and
Trader Joe’s. Neither of these retailers require vendors to use wholesales for distribution. The pollination services will be sold
through our online store.
Competition: Our primary competitor for pollination is California Almond Pollination as they can provide and deliver a large
quantity of bee hives. To continue, California Almond Production provides similar pollination services at a comparable price.
One of our competitors for honey is Trader Joe’s Himalayan Organic Raw Honey as they are also producing organic honey at a
competing price. Trader Joe’s Himalayan Organic Raw Honey is also sold at Trader Joe’s. According to IBISWorld,
“competition in the industry is high and the trend is steady. Within the industry, establishments compete based on price and
quality.”
Financial Projections (Unaudited):
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Revenue: 2,341 4,936 7,520 10,519 11,116
(dollars in thousands)
EBIT: 135 1,421 2,564 3,944 4,407
! 2!
!

!
Elevator Pitch: The Bees’ Knees will help to populate the limited bee population, while also

providing organic honey. We will be leasing bees to almond and cherry farmers and distributing

organic honey as the organic food industry is subject to grow (The Organic Food Industry: An

Analysis of Supply and Demand, 2015). Our target customers will be almond and cherry farmers in

California and health conscious consumers in Colorado. The forecasted sales revenue for the first

five years of operations is $36,434,428, with an ROI of 43%. Our company will go cash flow

positive in year 1 and become profitable in year 2. We are seeking $2,000,000 in year one an

additional $1,000,000 in year two in exchange for a 15% stake of the company.

Product Description: According to an article by Public Radio International, “there are about 6,500

almond farms in the Central Valley and they produce 50-80% of the world’s almonds. There aren’t

nearly enough local bees… so when the almond trees start to bloom, beekeepers from all over the

country descend on the Central Valley (Public Radio International, 2016).” The Bees’ Knees is an

LLC commercial beekeeping company operating in Hasty, Colorado that leases bees for pollination.

We will be selling organic honey through retailers such as Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods, in glass jars

at an affordable price. By year five, our bee farm will house 42,000 hives and employ 56 beekeepers.

Competitive Advantage: According to a 2016 article in the Los Angeles Times, almond farmers only

have one fourth of the needed hives. We are able to provide a large quantity of bee hives to

California almond farmers, who would otherwise fall victim to the bee shortage. Contrary to

traditional beekeeping practices, we spray a natural concentrate, Organocide, on during evening

hours to maintain optimal bee health and prevent pest infestation. According to the College of

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, “Honey Bees forage during daylight hours…Thus,

spraying pesticides in the evening hours can greatly reduce honey bee mortality because the bees are

not in the fields.” Being that we have an abundant supply of honey, the Bees’ Knees is able to
! 3!
!

!
provide local, inexpensive, organic honey in a glass jar. The jar label will explain to customers that

our bees also pollinate almond and cherry orchards in California, highlighting our company’s

contribution in sustaining almond production.

Value Proposition: IBISWorld (2017) states that, “the USDA estimates that honey bee pollination is

responsible for about 15 billion in added value in the US agricultural sector…A particularly large

market for this service is the California almond crop, which entirely demands the honey bee

pollination.” There is going to be a rising need for our pollination services in an effort to maintain

the growth of the almond industry. We have the opportunity to increase our price due to the

inelastic demand of almond pollination. Our sales will be driven by the low price of our organic

honey as our customers are relatively price sensitive to this convenience good.

Business Strategy: The Bees’ Knees will be implementing a differentiation based strategy for our

almond pollination services as we are able to provide a large amount of bee hives to customers. We

will be using a cost based strategy for our honey and cherry pollination, as we have minimal variable

costs to produce honey and minimal transportation costs to supply bees for cherry pollination.

Business Location: The Bees’ Knees is located in Hasty, Colorado being that it provides the capacity

of land our bee population requires as the company grows over the next five years. Why Honey Bees

Need Water (2015) states that, “bees need water to dilute stored honey that has been crystallized.”

The pond on our land will provide moisture to reverse the effects of crystallization. Bees located at a

higher elevation are more equipped to handle the colder months because they consume less, thus

providing beekeepers with a greater yield of honey (Beekeeping and Mountain Life- Support

Systems). Also, we chose to locate our company in Colorado rather than California due to the recent

drought (According to Report: California Drought A Severe Blow to State Agriculture; Impact Felt

Nationally).
! 4!
!

!
 ! 5!
!

!
 ! 6!
!

!
 ! 7!
!

!
 ! 8!
!

!
 ! 9!
!

!
 !
! 10!
!

!
 ! 11!
!

!
 ! 12!
!

!
 ! 13!
!

!
 ! 14!
Exhibit 10: Capacity
Demand Capacity Utilization Hours of Bottleneck name and How will you manage the bottleneck to ensure
(per hour) (per hour) (%) Operation description you can appropriately serve or supply your
customers?
At the end of Year 1 33 120 27.5 1,824 Packaging: Portioning honey The Bottleneck does not need to be increased
into bottles/jars. because capacity is large enough.
At the end of Year 2 92 300 30.66 1,824 Packaging: Portioning honey Capacity is still large enough to handle demand.
into bottles/jars. Bottleneck needs no increase yet.
At the end of Year 3 136 540 25.19 1,824 Packaging: Portioning honey Utilization is still very low. There is no need to fix or
into bottles/jars. improve the bottleneck.
At the end of Year 4 181 900 20.11 1,824 Packaging: Portioning honey Not till demand and/or utilization picks up, no action
into bottles/jars. is needed on the bottleneck.
At the end of Year 5 222 900 24.67 1,824 Packaging: Portioning honey Still no action is needed towards the bottleneck.
=(160x12- into bottles/jars. Design Capacity automatically soars as the number of
8x12 workers increases.
holidays)
Show your calculations for the following parameters at the end of Year 1.
Hours of Demand/month Demand/hour Capacity/month Capacity/hour Utilization
operation/month
8 hrs. x 5 x 4 = 160 61,875/12 = 5,157 pounds 61,875/12/4/5/8 120 x 8 x 5 x 4 = 1,920 oz./hr: 16 oz./lbs.= 120 33/120 = 27.5%
hours. (units, bottles) =33 lbs. 19,200 pounds lbs. or bottles
Describe adjustments you will make as resource requirements vary with time. Be specific regarding which key resources (beyond your bottleneck) will be adjusted,
when and how. If you will make multiple adjustments, explain each.
For the first five years we have the same bottleneck (The Packaging step) but it does not require action since utilization is quite low. The resource that may need to be adjusted
would be labor since an increase in the number of workers drives an increase in capacity while having no impact on demand.
Additional resources (beyond your bottleneck) must be allocated appropriately to support operations. Identify which resources have a significant impact on
capacity at start up and describe why these are appropriate amounts of resources at start up.
Labor plays a significant role in our operations as our bottleneck remains the same (the Packaging step) throughout the first five years due to the fact that it is the process with the
least number of workers, i.e. two workers portioning/bottling the honey, compared to fourteen workers for the uncapping step for instance.
How will you manage seasonality? If your organization does not have seasonal demand, please check this box: NA
----> Both components of our business (honey and pollination) are mostly seasonal. We prepare in time to ensure that our colonies easily make it through the winter (sufficient
food/honey for them), and have them ready and in good shape for honey production and pollination during the warmer months. Our personnel and equipment are also readied and fully
deployed during this time of the year (warm months) for business.
!

!
 ! 15!
!

!
Exhibit!11b:!Income!Statement!Notes!
!
•! In!the!first!year,!2018,!we!will!generate!a!revenue!of!$2,341,563.!Pollination!services!will!
account!for!80!percent!of!this!year’s!revenue.!Our!revenue!is!expected!to!grow!by!over!150!
percent!in!the!second!year,!as!we!undergo!rapid!expansion!and!become!profitable.!
•! The!cost!of!goods!sold!account!amounted!to!$92,675!in!the!first!year.!This!includes!the!costs!
incurred!from!purchasing!bottles!for!packaging!honey!as!well!as!the!transportation!costs!from!
delivering!the!hives!to!California!and!bringing!them!back.!The!increase!in!this!cost!throughout!
the!five!years!is!due!to!the!increase!in!volume!of!honey!produced!and!increased!shipping!costs!
as!a!direct!correlation!to!the!increase!in!bees!and!hives.!Inflation!has!also!been!accounted!for!in!
this!expense.!
•! The!depreciation!expense!amounted!to!$228,926!which!accounts!for!the!diminishing!value!of!
bees,!hives,!vehicles,!and!farm!equipment.!This!expense!increases!substantially!as!operations!
expand!due!to!an!increased!number!of!hives!and!bees.!!
•! Our!salaries!and!wages!for!the!firstQyear!total!to!$1,102,800.!This!amount!is!split!among!our!
starting!employees.!This!expense!will!increase!throughout!the!following!years!as!we!increase!
our!number!of!employees!to!account!for!the!growth!of!operations.!Several!crucial!employees!
receive!raises!in!the!fourth!year!of!operations.!
•! Our!payroll!tax!and!employee!benefits!expenses!total!$300,870!in!the!first!year.!Payroll!taxes!
consist!of!FICA!rate!of!7.65%,!SUTA!of!2.11%,!FUTA!.6%,!and!worker’s!compensation!of!1%.!Our!
benefits!include!health!insurance!of!$600!a!month!at!50%,!coverage!of!80%,!deductibles!of!
$500,!coQpays!of!$40!for!specialist!treatment,!paid!!
10Qday!leave,!unpaid!5Qday!leave,!and!simple!IRA!equal!to!3%!of!salary.!
•! The!commissions!expense!incurred!in!year!one!is!$58,539.!The!sales!manager!receives!.5%!of!
sales!revenue,!while!the!sales!representatives!receive!1%!of!their!sales.!
•! Our!general!insurance!expense!is!$10,267!in!the!first!year.!This!consists!of!insuring!our!
commercial!vehicles!as!well!as!liability!insurance!for!the!bees.!
•! The!travel!and!entertainment!expense!is!$17,396!in!year!one.!This!includes!two!round!trip!flights!
and!a!week!of!lodging!for!our!sales!representatives!as!well!as!funds!for!business!costs!incurred!
during!their!travel.!
•! Year!one!advertising!expenses!total!$98,797.!These!include!costs!for!sending!brochures!to!
almond!farmers!in!California!as!well!as!promoting!our!honey!in!the!Denver!Post.!The!website!
expense!totaled!$18,000!for!maintenance.!
•! Our!taxes!and!licensing!costs!amounted!to!$160,693.!This!cost!consists!of!sales!tax!for!both!
California!and!Colorado,!as!well!as!licenses!for!our!beekeepers.!!!
•! Utilities!expense!for!the!manufacturing!warehouse!amounted!to!$5,640!for!year!one.!
•! Supplies!expense!for!year!one!totaled!$110,537!which!is!comprised!of!Organocide!to!protect!the!
hives!from!mites,!mouse!guards!to!keep!mice!out!of!the!hives,!as!well!as!insulation!for!the!hives!
to!maintain!a!warm!temperature!throughout!the!harsh!winter!months.!Additionally,!we!will!be!
seeding!a!quarter!of!our!land!with!clovers!throughout!the!five!years.!
•! The!$750!in!the!organic!certification!expense!is!the!cost!for!having!an!agent!from!the!USDA!
evaluate!our!honey!and!declare!it!organic.!

! 16!
!

!
 ! 17!
!

!
Exhibit!12b:!Balance!Sheet!Notes!

•! On January 1st, 2018 the six owners raised a total of $750,000 through friends and family to
issue founders’ stock to start up The Bees’ Knees.
•! We will request and receive a $2,000,000 investment from venture capitalists in our first year
in exchange for a certain quantity of equity from our company’s shares.
•! Before the inception of the company, we took out a 30-year mortgage for $11,507,000 in
order to purchase the land and building necessary for business operations. We have a
$659,232 payment each year to account for the long-term debt.
•! Our Accounts Receivable balance reflects the last three months of honey sales which we will
receive payment for in the following fiscal year.
•! Our inventory consists of the honey that has been packaged but not sold. This number
accumulates year by year. Honey never expires; given that there may be a month of
unproductivity, our sales will not fall because we will have enough honey to meet the
demand.
•! The accounts payable balance is made up of the last three months of supplies that will be
purchased on credit.
•! Our machinery and equipment consist of our bees, hives, extracting equipment, a forklift for
loading and unloading the hives from the trucks, and two commercial trucks which will
deliver honey to the grocery stores. We are purchasing more hives and bees each year until
year four which correlates to the consistent increase in the machinery and equipment
account.
•! The Accumulated Depreciation impacts our beehives, bees, trucks, and harvesting
equipment. The building renovation will contribute to depreciation starting in year four.
Rather than a cost of goods sold, the bees and beehives are considered Accumulated
Depreciation because they are capitalized assets. We do not sell our bees or hives, so their
purchase price does not contribute to cost of goods sold.
•! In year two, we will seek an investment for $1,000,000 in common stock from venture
capitalists in order to fund the expansion of our operations in order to achieve and maintain
positive cash flow from year two on.
•! Aside from our mortgage, we will not seek any other debt financing. We generate positive
cash flows as early as year one. By the end of year five, our cash balance is $3,643,658. Thus,
we will not need to seek out a loan.
•! The $250,000 balance on the building account in year four is an expenditure toward
renovating our building on the land. The building account does not have a balance for the
first three years because it was on the land at the time of purchase. This balance will be
depreciated over a span of 25 years using a straight-line method.
!

! 18!
!

!
 ! 19!
!

!
Exhibit!13b:!Cash!Flow!Notes!
!
•! The!cash!balance!at!the!end!of!year!one!is!equal!to!$864,471.!Ending!with!a!positive!
cash!balance!is!made!possible!through!the!investments!of!venture!capitalists.!
•! The!fixed!asset!purchases!during!the!firstQyear!total!$13,475,926.!These!expenditures!
include!a!purchase!of!land!for!$11,507,000!with!the!remainder!spent!on!equipment!such!
as!bees,!hives,!and!other!necessary!equipment.!Additional!bees!and!hives!are!purchased!
in!the!following!years,!enabling!us!to!offer!more!service!to!almond!farmers!in!California.!
•! The!annual!longQterm!debt!payments!of!$659,232!go!toward!paying!off!our!mortgage!
for!the!land.!
•! !The!year!one!depreciation!expense!of!$228,926!grows!substantially!through!the!years!
as!more!farm!equipment!is!added!each!year!on!top!of!continuing!to!depreciate!the!older!
equipment.!This!write!off!contributes!significantly!to!our!cash!from!operating!activities!
through!the!five!years.!
•! The!change!in!accounts!receivable!is!caused!by!an!increased!volume!in!sales!of!honey.!
We!will!not!receive!payment!for!them!from!the!retailers!until!the!start!of!the!next!
calendar!year.!
•! The!net!change!in!cash!decreases!in!the!third!year!due!to!the!payment!of!dividends.!
•! With!a!large!cash!increase!during!years!three!through!five,!we!are!able!offer!our!
investors!total!dividend!payments!of!$3,500,000.!These!returns!will!become!more!
consistent!as!the!growth!of!our!operation!slows.!
•! The!accrued!salaries!and!wages,!as!well!as!the!taxes!and!benefits!account!for!the!last!
pay!period!of!the!year!that!is!expense,!but!not!paid!until!the!following!year.!The!accrual!
does!not!change!in!year!five!because!we!do!not!need!to!hire!additional!employees.!
•! In!the!fourth!year,!we!will!invest!$250,000!towards!renovating!the!building!on!our!land.!!

! 20!
!

!
 ! 21!
!

!
 Bibliography

!
2016 California Almond Acreage Report. (2017, April 26). California Department of Food and Agriculture.

Retrieved from

https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/California/Publications/Fruits_and_Nuts/2017/20

1704almac.pdf

2017 California Almond Forecast. (2017, May 10). USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service. Retrieved from

https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/California/Publications/Fruits_and_Nuts/2017/20

1705almpd.pdf

2017 Payroll Taxes by State. (2017, July 1). Automatic Data Processing, Inc. Retrieved from

https://www.adp.com/tools-and-resources/compliance-connection/state-taxes/2017-fast-wage-and-

tax-facts.aspx

5 benefits of working in Colorado. (2017, March 7). Colorado. Retrieved from https://choosecolorado.com/5-

benefits-of-working-in-colorado/

5 Signs of a Healthy Hive. (2013, November 12). Perform Regular Hive Checks to Ensure Your Bees are

Healthy and Working Hard. Hobby Farms. Retrieved from http://www.hobbyfarms.com/5-signs-of-

a-healthy-hive-2/

Abcarian, R. (2016. February 26). How the honey bee crisis is affecting California’s almond growers. Los

Angeles Times. Retrieved from http://www.latimes.com/local/abcarian/la-me-abcarian-bees-almonds-

20160226-column.html

Almond Almanac. (2016). Almond Board of California. Retrieved from

http://www.almonds.com/sites/default/files/misc/Almanac/2016_almond_almanac.pdf

! 22!
!

!
Bell, K. (2016, March 8). State taxes: Colorado. Bankrate. Retrieved from

http://www.bankrate.com/finance/taxes/state-taxes-colorado.aspx

BizMiner. (2017, June). Industry Financial Report: Honey Wholesale, State of Colorado. Retrieved from

http://reports.bizminer.com/temp/pdf/11095729200.pdf

Boggs, N. (1923, November). Altitude and Nectar Secretion. Beekeeping in Colorado, 4-5. Retrieved from

https://dspace.library.colostate.edu/bitstream/handle/10217/88292/Ceres_SB824C6A3no41.pdf;js

essionid=node01xsnzib6e8bn12ai2snu183kf374245.node0?sequence=1

Brochure Printing. (2017). Smart Press. Retrieved from https://smartpress.com/offering/brochure-printing

California Almond Pollination Service, Inc. (2017). Retrieved from http://almondbeepollination.com/

California City & County Sales & Use Tax Rates. California State Board of Equalization. Retrieved from

http://www.boe.ca.gov/sutax/pam71.htm

Cereal household penetration rate in the United States in 2015, by type of household. (2017). Statista.

Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/517051/us-cereal-household-penetration-rate-

by-type-of-household

Chaffey, D. (2017, March 9). Facebook Ad Clickthrough Rates by Industry 2017. Smart Insights. Retrieved

from https://www.smartinsights.com/social-media-marketing/facebook-marketing/facebook-ad-

clickthrough-rates-industry/

Cherry Facts. (2017). California Cherries. Retrieved from http://calcherry.com/facts/

Cherry Harvest Calendar for California. (2017, November). PickYourOwn. Retrieved from

https://www.pickyourown.org/CAcherryharvestcalendar.htm

Cherry Production. (2017, June 9). USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service. Retrieved from

http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/current/CherProd/CherProd-06-09-2017.pdf
! 23!
!

!
Conrad, R. (2016, July 25). Timing the Honey Harvest. The Magazine of American Beekeeping. Retrieved from

http://www.beeculture.com/timing-honey-harvet/

Cost of Pollination. (2016, December). USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service. Retrieved from

http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/current/CostPoll/CostPoll-12-22-2016.pdf

Crane, E. (1990). Beekeeping In Mountain Life-Support System, 20. Retrieved from

http://lib.icimod.org/record/25251/files/c_attachment_411_5172.pdf

Cronin, C. (2015, July 29). The Organic Food Industry: An Analysis of Supply and Demand via Aggregate

Prices. Penn Libraries. Retrieved from

http://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=spur

Deeley, A. A Beginner Beekeeper’s Guide to the Parts of a Beehive. Beverly Bees. Retrieved from

https://www.beverlybees.com/parts-beehive-beginner-beekeeper/

Extracting Honey. Instructabes. Retrieved from http://www.instructables.com/id/Extracting-Honey/

Factors That Influence Consumers’ Buying Behavior. M Libraries. Retrieved from

https://open.lib.umn.edu/principlesmarketing/chapter/3-1-factors-that-influence-consumers-

buying-behavior/

Fiona. (2014, October 24). Uncapping Honey Comb. Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dl3nnPskrRo

Fitchette, T. (2016, December 23). California Almond Industry Looks to Add Another 500m Pounds of Nuts

by 2020. Western FarmPress. Retrieved from http://www.westernfarmpress.com/tree-nuts/california-

almond-industry-looks-add-another-500m-pounds-nuts-2020

! 24!
!

!
FitzGerald, E. (2016, March 20). California’s Almond Farmers Depend on Beekeepers—And Billions of

Bees. PRI, Science, Tech & Environment. Retrieved from https://www.pri.org/stories/2016-03-

20/californias-almond-farmers-depend-beekeepers-and-billions-bees

Frequently Asked Questions. How Much Honey Comes out of a Flow Hive or Super. Flow. Retrieved from

https://www.honeyflow.com/faqs/p/22?tag=23

Geisseler, D. & Horwath, W.R. (2016, June). Almond Production in California. UCDavis. Retrieved from

https://apps1.cdfa.ca.gov/FertilizerResearch/docs/Almond_Production_CA.pdf

Gottfried, J., Mitchell, A., & Matsa, E.K. (2015, June 1). Millennials and Political News, Social Media—the

Local TV for the Next Generation? Pew Research Center. Retrieved from

http://www.journalism.org/2015/06/01/millennials-political-news/

Grossman, E. (2013, April 30). Declining Bee Populations Pose a Threat to Global Agriculture. Yale

Environment 360. Retrieved from

https://e360.yale.edu/features/declining_bee_populations_pose_a_threat_to_global_agriculture

Hagopian, J. (2017, November). Death and Extinction of the Bees. Global Research. Retrieved from

https://www.globalresearch.ca/death-and-extinction-of-the-bees/5375684

Honey Bee Operating Steps. (2013, September). Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Retrieved from

http://www.inspection.gc.ca/animals/terrestrial-animals/biosecurity/standards-and-

principles/honey-bee-producer-guide/eng/1378390483360/1378390541968?chap=8

Honey Industry Facts. (2014). National Honey Board. Retrieved from

https://www.honey.com/newsroom/presskit/honey-industry-facts

Honey. (2016, March). USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service. Retrieved from

http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/nass/Hone//2010s/2016/Hone-03-22-2016.pdf

! 25!
!

!
How Much Honey per Hive? (2014, October 17). Brookfield Farm. Retrieved from

https://brookfieldfarmhoney.wordpress.com/2014/10/17/how-much-honey-per-hive/

How to Make a Honeybee Box. WikiHow. Retrieved from https://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Honey-Bee-

Box

Internet Usage and Population Statistics, United States (2017, September 17). Internet World Stats. Retrieved

from http://www.internetworldstats.com/unitedstates.htm#CO

Irvine, M. (2017, November 7). Facebook Ad Benchmarks for Your Industry [New Data]. WordStream.

Retrieved from http://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2017/02/28/facebook-advertising-

benchmarks

Jabr, F. (2013, September 1). The Mind-Boggling Math of Migratory Beekeeping. Scientific American. Retrieved

from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/migratory-beekeeping-mind-boggling-math/

Jordan, J. (2016, September 27). How Much Does an eCommerce Website Cost in 2017? Atlanticbt. Retrieved

from https://www.atlanticbt.com/blog/how-much-does-ecommerce-website-cost/

L. R. Rice. Raw & Unfiltered Honey. (2017). Retrieved from https://riceshoney.com/collections/frontpage

Lazich, S. R. and Burton, L. V. III (2016). Best-selling Honey Brands, 2016. 28th ed. Farmington Hills, Mich.:

Gale 2018. 840 pp. 2vols. Gale Directory Libraries. Gale. James Madison University. Retrieved from

http://find.galegroup.com/gdl/start.do?prodId=GDL

Lister, M. (2017, August 29). Generational Marketing: How to Target Millennials, Gen X, & Boomers.

WordStream. Retrieved from http://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2016/09/28/generational-

marketing-tactics

Mailing & Shipping Prices. (2017). USPS.COM. Retrieved from https://www.usps.com/business/prices.htm

! 26!
!

!
Maxant Industries. (2016, June 23). Maxant 3100 Series Explanation. Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkPuN0a2CnA

McFarlin, K. How to Measure Product Demand. Chron. Retrieved from

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/measure-product-demand-10549.html

Moreno, T. (2017, April 23). State Income Tax Rates. The Balance. Retrieved from

https://www.thebalance.com/state-income-tax-rates-3193320

Murphy, J. (2016. July 7). Chart: Colorado is the second fastest-growing state in the U.S. The Denver Post.

Retrieved from http://www.denverpost.com/2016/07/07/colorado-second-population-growth-

2015/

National Compensation Survey. (2017, July). Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved from

https://www.bls.gov/ncs/home.htm

Number of Facebook users by age in the U.S. as of January 2017. (2017). Statista. Retrieved from

https://www.statista.com/statistics/398136/us-facebook-user-age-groups/

Parsons, R. (2014, May 23). California Cherries—This Year, Enjoy Them While You Can Because They’ll be

Scarce. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from http://beta.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-california-

cherry-harvest-20140522-story.html

Philpott, T. (2015, May 25). Holy Shit! Almonds Require a Ton of Bees. Mother Jones. Retrieved from

http://www.motherjones.com/food/2015/05/almonds-now-require-85-percent-us-beehives/

Platten, R. (2013, September 5). Keeping Honey Bees- Honey Harvest 2- Removing the Supers and Using the Extractor.

Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTAgxtxP0MM

Pollination Recap. What is a Fair Rental Price for Pollinating Bees? (2012). Apis Hive Honey Farms. Retrieved

from http://www.apishive.com/pollenation-serives/pollination-services-fees

! 27!
!

!
Pollination. About Cherry Pollination. (2016, May 9). Michigan State University Extension. Retrieved from

http://msue.anr.msu.edu/topic/cherries/horticulture/pollination

Pollination: Protecting Pollinators from Pesticides. College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences,

University of Georgia. Retrieved from http://caes2.caes.uga.edu/bees/pollination/protecting-

pollinators-pesticides.html

Population Estimates. (2016). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved from

https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US,CO/PST045216

Projected Annual Inflation Rate in the United States from 2010 to 2022. (2017). Statista. Retrieved from

https://www.statista.com/statistics/244983/projected-inflation-rate-in-the-united-states/

Quality Standards for Honey. (2014, May 26). NatuReplica. Retrieved from

http://www.natureplica.com/tag/fda-standards-for-honey/

Riffkin, R. (2014. August 7). Forty-Five Percent of Americans Seek Out Organic Foods. Gallup News.

Retrieved from http://news.gallup.com/poll/174524/forty-five-percent-americans-seek-organic-

foods.aspx

Romero, E.D. (2015, September 29). Drought Is Driving Beekeepers And Their Hives Out Of California.

N.P.R. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/09/29/442670602/drought-is-

driving-beekeepers-and-their-hives-from-california

Social Security & Medicare Tax Rates. (2017). Social Security. Retrieved from

https://www.ssa.gov/oact/progdata/taxRates.html

Staton, S. (2016, January 18). How to Harvest Honey. Hobby Farms. Retrieved from

http://www.hobbyfarms.com/how-to-harvest-honey/

! 28!
!

!
Thompson, A. (2017, January 15). The California Drought Is on Its Way Out, But Deeper Droughts Lie

Ahead. Grist. Retrieved from http://grist.org/article/the-california-drought-is-on-its-way-out-but-

deeper-droughts-lie-ahead/

Top 10 Daily Newspapers in Colorado. (2012, October 24). Cision. Retrieved from

https://www.cision.com/us/2012/10/top-10-daily-newspapers-in-colorado/

U.S. Honey Industry Report -2016. (2017, April 24). Bee Culture. Retrieved from

http://www.beeculture.com/u-s-honey-industry-report-2016/

US Industry Reports (NAICS), Beekeeping. (2017). IBIS World. Retrieved from

http://clients1.ibisworld.com/reports/us/industry/productsandmarkets.aspx?entid=6

William, K.C. & Page, R.A. (2010). Marketing to The Generations. Journal of Behavioral Studies in Business, 1-12.

Retrieved from http://www.aabri.com/manuscripts/10575.pdf

! 29!
!