The initial cost for bee hives is pricey, but after that the upkeep is minimal, to do it over I would put a very good sealer on the hives, it will pay, by far the most economical way to get started is to buy hives from someone who is getting out of bees, you really have to watch for those but they do happen. One thing I found out also is it pays to feed the bees in early spring and any winter thaw, a quart jar of sugar water and honey in a hive opening feeder(bee supplies catalog) is money in the bank to get the bees off to a good strong start. I also planted a lot of flowering plants for all the season especially late summer for when the big honey runs were between blooms, typically there is a big flow when fruit trees bloom and then another when alfalfa and trefoil and others bloom then a dip in late summer, thats when feeding and yard plants can make a big difference.
Also, one thing that also helps is to put a different color top super on each hive, and mix them checkerboard pattern if you use the same color more then once, I used red, orange, yellow, green and blue, if used it more then once put them apart where the hives are, it saves the bees time and energy when they are returning to the hives loaded.
There are some good bee mags, google them, great ads on supplies and new bees and articles on keeping them.
