New Website, New Blog

With the launch of my new website I'm determined to get to grips with a blog for the coming season.

Welcome to the first of my new blog posts.

In reality, the blog posts will be a mixture of my beekeeping season but also a range of other comments and thoughts about the whole, "running my own business" and the trend towards complete integration with social media, youtube and the internet.

It seems more and more that if you are to succeed in an ever completicated marketplace you need to carve out a niche for yourself and I find myself drawn towards helping other beekeepers get started in beekeeping and then progress on their journey with whatever goal they may have in mind.

Do you have a beekeeping goal in mind?

Mine, originally, was to just keep a couple of hives at the bottom of the garden, a somewhat conservative plan which initially just died out with career and family taking centre stage.

A lucky discussion with my brother saw me get back into beekeeping and from that point on I discovered just how much I had missed it.

Short Story Long!

I seem to have stumbled into my current role of YouTube creator, orginally, I intended to post a few videos showing a couple of techniques but it just grew into the 200+ videos that I now have and I'm encouraged by the support and kind comments that the vast majority of people leave me. We now have in excess of 7400 subscribers on YouTube and recently launched a podcast, more of which later!

My goal now is to help as many beekeepers as possible get the maximum enjoyment out of their hobby or business. It doesn't matter how long you have been beekeeping, there is always something else to learn and with a little luck I might just be able to find something for everyone.

I'm no expert, I have a biology degree but I'm no scientist, I'm not a fifth generation beekeeper from a long line of beekeepers who started out using skeps. I haven't passed all the British Beekeeping Association modules, I'm not really that academic. I am however passionate, passionate about beekeeping, passionate about sharing knowledge, passionate about getting as many people beekeeping as possible.

Social Media, Websites, Podcasts and more.....

First it was a website to sell my honey,Then YouTube videos, and of course you have to have a Twitter account and Instagram, don't forget a facebook group! I watched huge numbers of "How To" videos on setting up social media streams, what to do, what not to do, descriptions polished, hashtags checked, descriptions carefully written, it's surprising just how much time it can take to set everything up and that's even before you start editing video!

After a few months it starts to become a little easier and now I find myself dipping my toe into the pond of podcasts. Early days but it's been interesting and enjoyable, I just hope I can get to grips with it all before the beekeeping season really kicks in!

Anyway, that's enough ramblings for tonight, I have online course material to write and a podcast to record. Thanks for taking time out to reach the bottom of the page, there will be some beekeeping chat in the weeks to come, Spring will soon be here but not before the "Beast from the East" wags it's tail for one final hurrah!

Stewart