Salvation Army – Morning Coffee

Weather forecast from Friday, August 24, 2018 to Sunday, August 26, 2018

Today – Sunny. Becoming a mix of sun and cloud this afternoon. Wind becoming south 20 km/h gusting to 40 late this afternoon. High 26. Humidex 30. UV index 7 or high.

Tonight – Cloudy. 40 percent chance of showers late this evening and overnight with risk of thunderstorms. Wind south 20 km/h gusting to 40. Low 20.

Saturday, August 25 – Cloudy with 60 percent chance of showers. Risk of thunderstorms. Wind south 30 km/h gusting to 50. High 26. Humidex 33. UV index 5 or moderate.

Saturday night – Cloudy periods with 40 percent chance of showers. Low 21.

Sunday, August 26 – A mix of sun and cloud. High 31.

Sunday night – Cloudy periods with 30 percent chance of showers. Low 22.

Honey producer expands

Over the past two years local Charing Cross business owner, Josh Huebschwerlen of This Guy’s Hives, has expanded his business with the help of several hundred thousand workers thanks to employing the efforts of local honey bees. From early development of one hive in 2016, to now having 20 strong hives in full production, This Guy’s Hives has grown from part-time recreation to a full-time business.

“Everything started as a kind of a hobby,” says Josh, a Blenheim area native who served in the military and worked in Alberta for 11 years before returning to the family farm. “The honey that we produced out of our first three hives in our first year went really well. Everybody really liked it and enjoyed the flavour.”

In 2017 Josh decided to concentrate solely on his beekeeping operation and become a full-time producer and supplier. Following some professional advice, he realized to be successful he would need a formal business plan, so he reached out to the Chatham-Kent Small Business Centre for help.

“As a small business owner who doesn’t have a whole lot of information, you need to have mentors. The Small Business Centre team is pretty amazing. If I have any questions, I can call and get some quick answers. They’re always willing to help, sit down, and listen. If you have any real issues, questions, or concerns, they are always there to lend a hand.”

Following some initial consultations and the creation of his draft business plan, Josh was able to attend the Small Business Centre’s Starter Company Plus Program where he finished his plan and was selected to receive a $5,000 business grant.

“After working with Josh and having him graduate from the Starter Company Plus Program, we were very excited to be able to further help his business with the grant funding,” said Rosemarie Montgomery, Small Business Consultant with Chatham-Kent Economic Development. “Josh is very ambitious, hard working, and dedicated to his community, all of which are important qualities for successful business owners.”

When asked what he thought about working with the Small Business Centre to grow his business, Josh said “It’s great! The Centre will take somebody who’s not sure if their business is going to be a valuable business and will help find that information. You learn so much there. I would say that, even for someone who is in business but still has a fairly small company, it is a great opportunity. I learned more about making my business work including understanding profit margins, purchasing, networking, and marketing.”

Products from This Guy’s Hives have already been placed with a major local grocery store, a bread store, and a restaurant that features a signature condiment sauce: “We have our regular honey, which is a wildflower raw unprocessed honey available in 500-gram jars and one-kilogram jars. We are also expanding to include creamed honey in a 500-gram jar and there are plans for adding combed honey as well.”

Josh added that he is thankful for all of the partnerships he developed across the region and is happy to feel so connected to the community. “It’s great to be getting calls from people who have bee swarms asking me to professionally remove them as they know I’ll do it safely and in a way that will help the bees thrive in a new home. I’m looking forward to the future and continuing to expand the business in the community.”

You can find more information about This Guys Hives on their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/thisguyshives/