When Anthony was in third grade, he saw a video about honey bees at school. He thought
it was one of the coolest things he had ever seen, so he came home and announced
to his parents that he wanted to get some bees to add to the family farm. Today,
Anthony has over over 180 hives throughout Douglas County. His father has recently quit
his job to join the family business. What makes Anthony and his business special
is that Anthony was born with developmental disabilities. If it weren’t for Anthony’s
bees, his future career options would be severely limited. However, due to his passion
and determination and parental support, Anthony is now 20 and owner of a growing
business.
Anthony’s mom, Carrie, joined Anthony for the interview.
Q: What is your business?
Anthony: I have 180 hives and I sell honey, lip balm, honey sticks and lotion.
Carrie: We've incorporated products that are made from the beehives.
Q: Why did you choose to have beehives, was it something you were passionate about?
Anthony: I was in third grade when I first started doing the bee thing. I saw a
video in the second grade at school, I came home, told my parents that I wanted
bees. At first they kind of ignored me then I just kept asked them again. I would
say bees are fascinating little creatures; they’re really fun to watch.
Q: What was the hardest thing you encountered while starting your business?
Anthony: Convincing my parents to get my first beehive!
Carrie: To be honest with you, when he first came home and said, ‘I watched this
video and I want bees,” we told him no. But he was persistent throughout that whole
year and we realized this wasn’t a fly by night thing; he was genuinely interested
in bees.
Q: What kept you going when there were challenges?
Anthony: Just stick with it. I just kept asking ‘I want bees’ because I thought
it’d be cool to have a beehive around.
Q: Did you get help or advice from other people?
Carrie: There’s a beekeeper who sold Anthony our first beehive. He was very patient
and he answered all of our questions and gave us our first education in terms of
the anatomy and physiology of the bees. He was very kind to Anthony.
Q: Do you work alone or with a team or staff?
Anthony: My whole family. I have two brothers and one sister. My dad just quit his
job this year to help the business full time because right now it’s going out of
control.
Carrie: Anthony needs help building the business but it was his thoughts, his desire
and passion to have bees and a beehive. So he definitely was the creator for this
business.
Q: What do you like most about running a business?
Anthony: I can choose my own hours and days I work.
Carrie: It has allowed him to live an independent life, with dignity, with respect.
There are limited opportunities out there for people with disabilities. This provides
a meaningful activity. And he has become quite famous in Lawrence. It is so cool
that he’s developed his name, people respect him and they care about him and it’s
just – it’s a nice feeling.
Q: Does your business give back to the community in any way?
Carrie: Anthony actually has had the opportunity to help other people that are less
fortunate than him. We had an official from Africa get ten honey stick machines.
I told Anthony even though you have a disability there’s people out there that are
sicker and worse off economically than you are and your business is actually helping
them.
Q: What is the most important thing you've learned through your experience as an
entrepreneur?
Anthony: We learned what not to do again. When me and my dad first pulled off the
honey from our first hive we put it in the shop. And the bees took it all. We went
out to go get it and I went inside and told my mom that the bees stole our honey!
Carrie: I think when you start your own business you might as well just plan on
setbacks. I’m thrilled with how things are going, but there’s some years we’ve lost
hives after the end of the winter. We don’t look at them as setbacks, we consider
them opportunities for growth.
Q: What would your advice be to other kids thinking of starting businesses?
Anthony: I would say keep on asking until it happens and find people giving you
support.
Carrie: I would say keep people that are positive in your inner circle.
