My Arundel Biz AAEDC

We couldn't think of a better day than Valentine's Day to publish a My ArundelBiz Podcast episode featuring an ArundelBiz that's all about self-love: ⁠Levonye Professionals.

We sat down with Yalmikia Edmonds, the coincidentally red- and pink-clad owner of the hair restoration center based in Glen Burnie, to discuss:
- How wanting to continue servicing her cosmetology clients and pursuing new knowledge resulted in building her own business.
- What inspired the "Levonye" name and what makes her business unique.
- The many different hair loss conditions that exist, and why the many ways she treats them is really about restoring self-confidence.
- The most valuable things that she learned from the Inclusive Ventures Program (IVP), AAEDC's business accelerator program.
- Why she decided to pursue (and become the very first recipient of) a loan from AAEDC's VOLT Microloan Fund to grow her business, and how she plans to keep growing it in big ways in the future.
- How Claire Huxtable was crucial to her early entrepreneurial mindset.
- Some of the many things that she loves about owning a business in and living in Anne Arundel County.

So tune in for an inspirational episode that's full of love and yes, plenty of before and after images that you have to see to believe!

Looking for some business tips for 2024?!


We're excited to publish a video featuring some of the top business tips and pieces of advice from the 17 business owners who appeared on the My ArundelBiz Podcast in 2023.

They cover it all, from what questions to ask yourself when you're just starting (or thinking about starting) a business to what to focus on as your business grows. But all of the advice has one thing in common: it comes from an Anne Arundel County business owner who's learned it from experience and is sharing it so that others can succeed.

So, whether you want to start a business in the future or grow the one you've already got - or hear how your employer might improve your workplace - tune in for a mashup of valuable business views you can use!

Thanks to the owners of the following businesses - and one nonprofit! - for providing such GREAT advice:
Annapolis Latino Market & Sin Fronteras
Anne Arundel County Food Bank
Chesapeake Dog Training
City Clean
Forward Brewing
Greenstreet Gardens
KG Truck & Auto
Kratos
Moore Crunch
Morris Hill Farm
Peake Social
Skinlogic
The Braiding Palace
Wild Kid Acres

🚨The 2023 My ArundelBiz HOLIDAY POD is HERE!🚨

Our FIFTH holiday episode - and perhaps most footage-filled episode ever - features Greenstreet Gardens, a family-owned nursery and garden center based in Lothian.

We sat down with Ray Greenstreet, the sometimes Santa hat-wearing owner of the 23-year-old ag-based business, to discuss:


Why, after spending many years as a Long Island-based sales rep for Ball Seed Company, he decided to return to Maryland and buy Windermere Gardens in 2000.
How much the company has grown since - including opening a second garden center, in Alexandria, and providing residential AND commercial landscaping services throughout the entire Delmarva region.
Some of the 70,000 SKUs of items that Greenstreet stocks, from the diverse plants grown in its six acres of greenhouses to its many products for pooches, and some of the many agricultural experiences that it offers.
What makes the holiday season an especially great time to visit Lothian AND Greenstreet's Annapolis Pop Up Shop, at Annapolis Town Center, for some fun and in-person shopping.
And why he is such a huge proponent of shopping small and local, supporting his community, and providing jobs - and of course plants! - to all sorts of people throughout the year.

So tune in to hear a great conversation AND see plenty of footage that's guaranteed to give you all the holiday feels!

Just in time for a holiday focused on food, we're proud to publish a special episode featuring a nonprofit that seeks to ensure that all members of our community have enough: the Anne Arundel County Food Bank (AACFB).



We sat down with Leah Paley, CEO of the 37-year-old organization, to discuss:


The many ways that AACFB works to alleviate food insecurity in Anne Arundel County, where 8.1% of residents (47,000+ people) don't know where their next meal is coming from - and over half of these individuals don't qualify for federal assistance.
The many similarities between running the non-profit and running a business, from managing funds to maintaining a facility, and the many ways that its work benefits our local economy - including partnering with and purchasing from local farmers.
Some of AACFB's newest initiatives - including a diaper program that supports 1,000 babies per month, a Backpack Buddies program that provides 14,000 AACPS students with out-of-school meals, and a brand new Maryland Department of Agriculture-funded mobile food pantry that distributes food all over Anne Arundel County, from Lothian to Brooklyn Park.
The many ways that individuals and businesses can support AACFB, from donating food and time and money to hosting and attending food drives and charitable events, and why it's important to do so during the holiday season AND throughout the year.


PLUS the episode includes the very special presentation of a $1,000 “golf check” from our Arundel Grown event, in honor of longtime Arundel Ag Director Lisa Barge, AND a very sincere promise that AAEDC looks forward to keeping on December 8.

So tune in for an episode that's sure to make you thankful for what you have - and just might also inspire you to give!

With the holiday season approaching, our next well-timed episode features a business that's all about helping make it - and every other time of year - as stress-free and comfortable as possible for canines (as well as their humans): Chesapeake Dog Training.



We sat down with Linda Stallings, founder and owner of the 14-year-old company that "connects people and dogs through training" (and our 80TH VOLT Fund loan recipient!) to discuss:


What made her decide to leave her super-exciting job at the Baltimore Zoo, where she enjoyed solving everyday problems like how to weigh a rhinoceros for the first time, and emBARK upon opening a dog walking (and soonafter dog training) business in Annapolis in 2009.
Her training philosophy - including why she believes that all dogs (and all other animals) are trainable, whatever their age and however RUFF their behavior, and that they (and their owners) all need a personalized training plan that's part science, part art.
How she used a VOLT Fund loan to take her business, which had grown to the point of consistently turning away potential clients, from home-based to brick-and-mortar - plus why she loved the process.
AND her top tips on dog training, running a business, and places to, surprise, surprise, take your dog for a walk in Anne Arundel County.



So tune in to this purely PAWSitive story of small business success TODAY!

With the fall harvest season in full swing we're excited to feature one of the hundreds of farms in Anne Arundel County: Wild Kid Acres.



We sat down with Gerardo Martinez, owner of the five-acre agricultural enrichment and education center, to discuss:


How a trip to Cameroon inspired a United States Naval Academy graduate and corporate leadership business founder who, notably, happened to grow up on a flower farm but hate farming, decide to start a farm in Edgewater.
The wide variety of animals, many of them "donated without consent," that call Wild Kid home - and what purposes they serve, from food to therapy.
The importance of the farm's multiple revenue streams, including production and agritourism, and of running it as a business.
Why he's so excited about Wild Kid's brand new 100% volunteer-built barn, which not only provides a home for horses but will also help underrepresented farmers access the market.
Why he believes that “Farming is the only truly fully redemptive profession in the entire world" - and how he plans to help create more farmers in the future.
Plus MUCH more!



So tune in for an episode that's not only inspirational but, YES, filled with footage of PLENTY of cute farm animals!