We were lucky to catch up with Chris Cree recently and have shared our conversation below.

Chris , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

My parents have always fully supported me in whatever it was I wanted to do. When I was 12 years old and wanted to be a beekeeper they only brushed it off the first time or two I talked about bees. By the time it was clear I was hooked on bees they agreed to buy me my first beehive for my 13th birthday.

I kept bees at home until it was time to go to college. I wanted to go to a small quirky liberal arts college far away, and they supported my decision despite the distance and the cost. I received a large scholarship to Warren Wilson College, and became the beekeeper of the college’s bees. Through my time in school I made connections with other beekeepers who later employed me and helped me hone my craft. After school I worked for different commercial beekeepers. Bee work is not always steady and doesn’t always pay well. Both times I knew I had a safety net at home for when I ran out of money and needed a place to crash land. I didn’t need that safety net but navigating life knowing I’ll always have a place to go made it easier to take a chance, and opt for less steady work. Those beekeeping jobs taught me most of what I know now, and are the basis for alot of knowledge I use to run my operation. I could of done all these amazing things without the support of my folks, but it would’ve been a lot harder, and a lot riskier.

Chris , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Chris Cree and I am a beekeeper in Central Ohio. I got into bees as a teenager, and the bees kept finding me everytime I transitioned through life. Several times I thought I was done keeping bees and I ended up with bees again. The last time was when I left a migratory beekeeping job (6k hives!) , and came home to find some bees had moved into some empty/deadout hives in my parents backyard. I took that as some sort of sign, and started Cree’s Bees Apiaries.

I keep about 200 hives of bees across my area for honey production, and for raising queen bees and starter hives for sale. We always take the extra steps to produce the highest quality honey possible, and many of my customers tell me its the best honey they’ve ever had. That being said, I am even more proud of the queen bees I raise. I’ve been breeding my own line of honeybees for several seasons now, and all that work is really starting to pay off. I provide all the queens I need with in my own business, and also sell queens to other beekeepers. By breeding my own bees I am able to select bees that survive and thrive in our climate. When I sell these queens to other beekeepers they often yield better results than beekeepers who import queens from other parts of the country.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Making the best honey and queen bees available, and always fixing the problem immediately when we miss the mark. By starting with a better product it makes a reputation much easier to build and maintain. There are many extra steps that can be taken to make better quality honey and queen bees both. There are times I could produce more volume of a lower quality honey and I opt not to because it is simply not worth it. Good honey sells itself.

When I raise queen bees every detail matters. The better the queen produces for the customer the more likely they are to recommend me to their friends. When a customer has a complaint or a queen dies in transit, I almost always immediately replace that queen. The $40 queen bee is not worth my reputation. Cutting corners to reduce labor input isn’t worth my reputation either. After a few years of raising queens I’m happy to say I was sold out most of last season and did minimal advertising.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

Real world interactions and networking. I’ve gone to many beekeepers meetings and trade shows passing out business cards, and interacting with folks. When I am out and about I always try to interject bees into the conversation, and make a new customer or contact. Usually when people see my passion for my work, they’re at least interested. Finding new customers is a numbers game. If you talk to 100 people, ten might buy something. One or two of those 100 might be long lasting repeat customers. If I want to collaborate with another business I’ll often try to “bump” into those people where ever it is they might be operating or set up, and support their business to show I really believe in what it is they’re doing. (which I better believe in them if I am trying to work with them)

I am trying to grow my social media following to make that a powerful marketing tool but haven’t been successful yet. My skills that make me a good beekeeper don’t translate to digital marketing, but I try and have been slowly growing that online following.

Contact Info:

• Website: creesbees.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creesbeesapiaries/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/creesbeesapiaries
• Youtube: youtube.com/@creesbeesapiaries

Image Credits
All photos taken by me.