Be ready. If you spend any time on campus, or reading Wider Horizons, you know the idea of readying students for the next challenge is paramount at Lethbridge Polytechnic. For Bidzina Mosiashvili (Criminal Justice – Policing 2019), “be ready” has become a personal mantra as he navigates through the trials and errors of entrepreneurship.
Mosiashvili immigrated to Canada from Georgia in 2005 when he was only seven years old and, despite not speaking any English, he took on the challenge of learning a new language. When Mosiashvili came to Lethbridge Polytechnic, he prioritized his English classes to further improve his skills.
“I knew I could do the other things, but I knew this was an area where I was really going to struggle,” he admits. “My No. 1 priority was my English classes and any class that involved writing whether with a pen or writing on the computer, even though it was very tedious.”
Mosiashvili credits his time at Lethbridge Polytechnic with providing him with a skillset that has benefited him in his career after graduation.
“The skills they teach are good for anyone, [whether] you’re trying to become a police officer or not.” he says, adding that his confidence in himself, one-on-one interactions with people and writing capabilities all significantly improved during his time as a student.
While he was attending the polytechnic, Mosiashvili also worked in campus security, volunteering for the unpopular midnight shift on the weekends. It was after those long shifts that he would find himself walking past the same campus van with the words “be ready” splashed across the side, and he often wondered to himself what it meant to be ready.
It wouldn’t take him long to find out. After graduating from Lethbridge Polytechnic, and while pursuing a bachelor of business administration from Mount Royal University, Mosiashvili was approached by one of his former polytechnic classmates to start a beekeeping business. The initial idea was to run a pollination service for farmers by placing and maintaining beehives on their property. However, they quickly learned that they would need at least 100 to 200 beehives – compared to their 24 – to even be considered by farmers. A harsh first winter led to the loss of most of Mosiashvili’s bees, forcing him to adapt.
Now working on his own, Mosiashvili pivoted to beekeeping as a service model. By connecting with experts through the Calgary District Beekeepers Association, he applied his knowledge to his new venture, B’zee Bees, which focuses on smaller, more manageable projects. Soon Mosiashvili was expanding his business by selling honey, beeswax and bees.
“We’re facing a decline in wild bee species, and traditional beekeeping can be labour intensive and intimidating for most people,” Mosiashvili explains. “Our service provides comprehensive support – hive installation, maintenance and education – so anyone can help protect bees, even without prior experience. It’s not just about keeping bees; it’s about building a community of pollinator advocates.”
With a vision to create more beekeepers in Alberta and Canada, Mosiashvili is also set to launch the Build-a-BeeHome project to empower eco-conscious individuals to create thriving pollinator habitats through accessible and sustainable beekeeping services.
His goal? To create 1,000 bee homes in Alberta by 2030. Plans for the project include the creation of a user-friendly app to allow participants to monitor their beehives and stay connected with the community. By educating and empowering his clients, Mosiashvili hopes that over time they will have gained enough experience to keep and advocate for pollinators on their own.
“I always like to take signs from the universe and so when I saw the ‘be ready’ sign on the polytechnic’s van I thought, what does that mean?” reflects Mosiashvili. “Who knew it was actually about bees?”
Mosiashvili also co-hosts the About Bees, Culture and Curiosity podcast to discuss bee culture, honey production, the vital role of pollinators and the curious ways bees influence the world. Watch the podcast on his YouTube channel or listen on various streaming services like Apple Podcasts, Spotify and iHeartRadio.
