WOMAN ENTREPRENEUR KEEPS BEEHIVE ABUZZ
Linda Graham - Owner Beehive Botanicals
Propolis, royal jelly and pollen may not be household words in the United States. But Linda Graham has a vision of the day they might be.
Graham is president and CEO of Beehive Botanicals, a company that has built an international business on the substances produced by honeybees. Propolis, royal jelly, pollen and honey are used in the raw materials, private label items and branded products Beehive sells all over the world.
Although bee products have been in use in Europe and Asia f or centuries, they're just beginning to be discovered in this country, Graham said: "Natural products are becoming much more mainstream. We're finding a greater demand for our products all the time."
Strong evidence of that are sales figures for the last ten years. Beehive gross revenues have grown ten to 25 percent each year during the last decade.
Graham's father, Warren Ogren, started the company in 1972 after he answered a magazine ad for a Danish firm seeking to buy propolis — the "bee glue" that is scraped from the walls of the hive. Honeybees use propolis to seal and sterilize the interior of the hive.
"We really started as an exporter," said Graham, who purchased the company from her father in 1992. "International sales have always been part of the business." About 35 percent of Beehive sales come from outside the U.S., she said.
Graham has actively mined new sources of international trade — and been successful enough to be awarded commendations from Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson and the Wisconsin State Senate. Over the past ten years, Graham has traveled extensively to both domestic and international trade shows.
Not bad for a girl who grew up in the North Woods. "Who'd ever think you could run an international company in Hayward?" she asks. "You might think that living in the North Woods would be isolating, but it doesn't have to be that way — not as long as there are phones and faxes."
She also credits her "go out and get it" attitude to her father. "He's the classic entrepreneur," she said. "He likes to take chances, to get things moving. I'm pretty much the same way. My attitude is, 'What's the worst that could happen?' You sure don't get anywhere if you don't try."
Graham spreads the gospel of international opportunity at numerous seminars around the state. Her message is simple: "The business is out there. It may not be a piece of cake, but it's well worth the effort. And there are a lot of places to go for help."
She's also committed to being a good corporate environmental neighbor. "When you live in a pristine area like northern Wisconsin," she said, "you realize just how much we stand to lose." All Beehive products are packaged in recyclable materials and are safe for the environment. In addition, Graham said, "We've never done product testing on animals." |
