Bees busily enter and exit a hive on a sunny afternoon – a familiar childhood sight for our founder Amanda. From a young age, Amanda’s story has been intertwined with honeybees. In the small town of Sibley, Missouri, Osage Honey Farm was more than just a business – it was the family’s way of life. The farm’s roots trace back to Amanda’s grandfather, George Vanarsdall, who began beekeeping with a single hive at the age of 9 in 1944 with the loving support of his father. Growing up amid wooden hives and wildflower fields, Amanda spent childhood days watching Grandpa George and the rest of her family tend to the bees and harvest golden honey. The air was always sweet with the scent of beeswax and summer clover, and the lessons about hard work and dedication began before grade school.
Lessons From the Honey Farm
Although allergic to bees and unable to work directly with the hives, Amanda was still deeply immersed in the rhythms of farm life and the spirit of entrepreneurship that Osage Honey Farms represented. Growing up around the hustle of the family business – from the steady hum of bees early in the morning to the clinking of honey jars being filled late into the night – offered a front-row seat to what it meant to run a company built on hard work, purpose, and love of community.
Even without stepping into a pair of coveralls, wearing a veil, or carrying a bee smoker, Amanda absorbed valuable lessons. Watching family members work with care and dedication instilled a sense of strong work ethic. The way customers returned year after year, drawn by the quality of the honey and the integrity of the people behind it, taught business intuition and the importance of trust. And most importantly, Amanda learned that success is built not just on what you do, but how and why you do it.
Lessons in bookkeeping from her Grandma Laura Vanarsdall and Mother Deborah came as naturally as lessons in beekeeping. By the time most kids were learning to ride a bike, Amanda was learning how to build a business from the ground up. The values instilled on that honey farm – perseverance, responsibility, service, and respect for nature – would set the stage for a lifetime of purpose.
Amanda also developed early public speaking and relationship-building skills by giving tours of the farm, glass beehive, extracting facility, and honey packing room to visiting school groups and customers. These interactions offered a chance to share the family's passion, explain how honey was produced, and build confidence in engaging with others—skills that would prove invaluable.
The honeybees themselves offered metaphorical wisdom. Observing from a safe distance, Amanda came to understand how each bee played a role in something greater than itself – a hive of collaboration, care, and community. That early insight into collective purpose became a guiding value in life and, later, in business.
Carrying the Legacy Forward
In January 2001, Osage Honey Farms closed its doors, marking the end of an era for Amanda's family. The echoes of that early hive still resonate in the work she does today through BeeReady Health Solutions. The name “BeeReady” is a tribute to those roots – a reminder of the strength and structure of the hive, the persistence of the beekeeper, and the importance of being prepared for every season.
While BeeReady Health Solutions focuses on healthcare consulting today, Amanda’s experiences on the farm continue to influence the company's spirit. The work ethic formed in that environment drives Amanda to tackle complex healthcare challenges with tenacity. The drive for success that transformed a small hive into a beloved regional brand fuels BeeReady’s mission to help clients thrive. And the business intuition sharpened through generations of entrepreneurial spirit informs the company's strategic approach to supporting health organizations.
At its core, BeeReady Health Solutions is Amanda’s family story carried forward. It’s the tale of a child who grew up surrounded by the legacy of a honey farm, who went on to start a company dedicated to improving lives. Every time we help a client navigate a tough compliance issue or design a better health program, we carry with us the legacy of Grandpa George’s single beehive and all it taught Amanda. We’re proud to say that BeeReady Health Solutions was built on a foundation of honey and heart. As we move forward, we remain committed to those early lessons: work hard, aim for success, take care of your community, and never forget to nurture the little things (and little beings) that make a big difference.
Thank you for reading our story – we’re buzzing with excitement for the future, and we’re grateful to carry the honey farm’s legacy into everything we do. Welcome to BeeReady Health Solutions, where a legacy from the hive keeps guiding our journey every step of the way.
In loving memory of George Vanarsdall
January 22, 1935 - December 19, 1993
