I absolutely dread bees. But for this episode, I'm casting my fear aside because our guest is someone who's made a thriving e-commerce business out of his personal hobby—beekeeping. Adam Hickman is an EAS Master Beekeeper and is the founder of Foxhound Bee Company, a full-service beekeeping company in Alabama. It offers everything from honey, to cypress hive parts, to educational content about beekeeping. In this Under the Hood episode, we talk about how he turned his personal hobby into an e-commerce business and why I think hobbies make the best niches. We then unpack some pain points which could also… sting your company, including his inefficiencies with Amazon, concerns about suppliers in China, and hiring his first employee. Timestamps: Introduction to our guest, Adam Hickman – 2:41 How Adam got started in ecommerce – 4:08 The focus of his business: Beekeeping – 6:12 Mike's kryptonite – 7:33 Recapping the Foxhound Bee Company timeline – 8:14 Making ecommerce your full-time job – 10:23 The best model for ecommerce - 11:48 Scaling from the solopreneur stage to getting a retail space – 19:58 Why a retail space is a great idea for Adam – 21:56 The importance of your first employee – 24:11 Ecomcrew's first public webinar of 2021 – 39:21 Tackling