Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Laryssa Kwoczak, beekeeper at Beekeeping Made Simple, located in Kailua-Kona, HI, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
My business is an apiary. We sell products from our beehives and teach people how to keep bees in their own backyards.
Tell us about yourself
I first got started keeping bees as a hobby while working in Philadelphia as a graphic designer. Spending time outside with the bees was my favorite part of the day. I took a vacation to Hawaii and found a bee farm offering an internship working with their head beekeeper, so I took the internship, moved across the country and did my design work at 4 am (remotely from Hawaii), and then went to work at the bee farm all day. I loved every minute of it.
What motivates me is that I'm helping people. I'm helping people who love bees just like I do. I'm teaching them how to care for them properly so that their bees are healthy and thrive. Beekeeping is quite special in that there's a calm within the hive that is almost meditative. All the thoughts are racing through my brain; quiet down when working the hives. On the days when my brain just won't quiet down, I am quickly reminded that I need to focus on the bees (I'm sure you can figure out what bees do when they're annoyed).
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
I started my farm with no land, no help from anyone, and very little money. I built my own equipment, I found farmers looking for bees for their property and put hives on their land, I rescued wild hives from people's homes, and I multiplied my hives. All of my apiaries came from those original hives I rescued years ago, and I continue to breed bees from these hives and sell starter beehives to local beekeepers. It's nice to see the bee population growing and thriving here because when I first came to Hawaii, the bees were in real danger.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
Knowing when you need to stop. There's always more work that can be done, but if you don't take days off, you will burn out and stop enjoying the work. Something that was once your passion can quickly turn into stress.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Give more - go above and beyond to help a customer.
- Talk less about yourself - talk less about you and more about your customer's problems.
- Sell before it's perfect - don't let perfection keep you from starting your business. You can continue to make your product better as you go (and your customers will tell you what to fix, and that's not a big deal).
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.beekeepingmadesimple.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beekeepingmadesimple
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beekeepingmadesimple/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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