Crowning Glory: Black Business, Bald Confidence & Baltimore Moves

In this episode of What’s Next? With The Chief Librarian, we’re getting real about beauty, identity, and business. I’m joined by a powerful guest who is changing the narrative around alopecia and making major business moves right here in Baltimore.

We talk about the emotional and entrepreneurial journey of hair loss, what it means to redefine beauty on your own terms, and how turning pain into purpose can build empires. This is about more than hair, it’s about healing, hustling, and holding space for our whole selves.

If you’ve ever questioned your crown, literal or figurative, this episode is for you. Tap in and get inspired to walk boldly in your brilliance, no matter what the world says.

🖤 Baltimore love.
👑 Bald beauty.
💼 Black excellence.

Before you go if this episode gave you value, I need you to do three things:

🎯 Subscribe to the podcast
📨 Leave a review and tell me what resonated
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That’s how we grow this community and keep these conversations going.
You already know the vibe: strategy, growth, and excellence.

I’ll see you in the next episode. 💚✨️

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:07

Welcome to What's Next, the podcast where we explore life's pivotal moments and the decisions that shape our next chapters. I'm your host, the Chief Librarian, and each week I sit down with inspiring individuals who've dared to shift gears, whether it's in their careers, relationships, or personal growth. Together, we'll uncover their stories, challenges, and lessons to inspire your own journey. So are you ready to find out what's next? Come on now, let's go dive in. Hey, hey, y'all, and welcome back to What's Next with the Chief Librarian. I'm your host, the Chief Librarian, your personal hype woman for all things purpose, pivot, and powerful. Now listen, today's guest is the definition of empowerment in action. I'm joined by the Powerhouse of LeVagne Professionals, a brand and business that's showing us how to lead with heart, integrity, and soul. We're talking about real work behind building a legacy, breaking holes, and staying grounded while making impact. So whether you're tuning in from the office, your couch, or somewhere in between, trust me, this episode is gonna feed your spirit and your ambition. So let's get into it. Welcome to the mic. Yamikia Edmonds of Levany Professionals. Hey, how are you?

SPEAKER_00 1:40

I am so grateful to be here. I feel good to be here. I'm excited to share any type of resources or tools to your platform to help your audience. And I just want to say thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_01 1:55

Of course. I wouldn't have it any other way. Tell the people who you are and what you do.

SPEAKER_00 2:03

So, my name is Yaumikia Edmonds. That's my name. I am someone who loves to inspire, to uplift, to love, to motivate, to be your best self, your authentic self, to reach your highest potential. And one of the ways I do that is through hair restoration and inspirational speaking. And I collaborate what I do for a living in my service-based business with what I also do, I like to say my spiritual self, like inspiration, just using my voice. And bringing those two together, it becomes like a powerhouse because individuals who have alopecia and these groups of people already dealing with like limitations, lack, not knowing who they are, identity crisis, all due to alopecia. And so my next thought was I could take what I already do, which is using my voice to inspire women, young women, and women in general, and even men to reach their highest potential. And so I do that through inspiration and for an example, just encouraging you to move forward, encouraging you to trust yourself, encouraging you not to just look at your hair like it's a deficit, but to also take that as an opportunity to dive deep within yourself and figure out what God created you to do. Some people have to go through some things, such as experiencing alopecia, to get that, to figure that part out, you know. And sometimes the mind can't comprehend life experiences, right? And so when we experience deficits in our life, contrast, a lot of times that those experiences is what push us to that next level in our life to have that aha moment for us to take a pivot so that we can begin to tap into who God created us to be and what God created us to do. So I like to say that's what I do within my service-based business, and just in general, across all my platforms, being a mother, an entrepreneur, a daughter, a friend. I love to inspire individuals across all platforms. I can't not do it because that is really who I am. So, like, hair is what I do, hair loss is what I do, but that's not who I am. Who I am is someone who loves to inspire, who loves to uplift, and who love to spread love, joy, harmony, peace, those things. Like that is who I am.

SPEAKER_01 4:51

Listen, I can feel it even through the camera. Your passion, your compassion. I know you because I sit in a seat and I receive this, you know, in person, but to be able to feel it through the screen is a different level. So please continue doing what you do. And you touched on this a little bit, but talk to us about what inspired you to create LeVonne Professionals.

SPEAKER_00 5:18

So there are a few things I'm gonna say, too, that inspired me to create LeVonne Professionals. The first experience that inspired me was my grandmother. She had breast cancer, and she had to go through that whole process, chemo and radiation. She did lose some of her hair through the process. She ended up losing most of her hair. So that experience of her losing her hair, witnessing her having to look herself in the mirror and not liking to see herself go through that process, watching her cry. Like that done it for me. Seeing her cry. Like, just think about your grandmother that's 70-something years old, crying like a baby, looking at herself, not liking what she sees in the mirror, which is herself. So that is the first experience that pushed me into wanting to do something about it. Instantly, my thought was I can only imagine how many other women who go through this, you know, and what can I do in this space to be an advocate, to provide a space for this group of women, right? And that was my first experience, and that is what got me going. And what I mean by got me going, going, started looking, doing my research to figure out what I can do to assist. So I started by volunteering at the Look Good Feel Better program. I started offering services based around hair restoration, like creating wigs specifically for those groups of women. And then the second experience I had was my divorce. Now, that situation, I know a lot of times people be wondering, like, what does that have to do with hair loss, right? But it has a lot to do with it because when you are on a journey and you are really trying to discover what God created you to do, that experience that I went through helped me to really identify what God created me for. Now, my first experience, which was with my grandmother, that was like just scratching the surface. I just felt good about it and knew like, mm, I know God is this is God. Like, this is God showing me like this is where He's taking me. So my second experience was like a piece of the puzzle to show me that, okay, that experience going through that toxic divorce, it really took me through that next level that I spoke on earlier about being able to recognize and identify what your life purpose is. And so going through that experience is what helped me to realize that this is it. This is it, and when I realized that this is it, I just went all in, and I got real about it, I got serious about it, and I knew I was getting real and serious about it because this was like conversations that I was having with God, and it was starting to show up like in my experience, and my personal experience, the divorce, although that situation had nothing to do with where I'm at. Well, it do have a lot to do with where I'm at now, but a lot of people can't comprehend the mind, can't comprehend what this has to do with that, but when you understand you're existing for a purpose, you realize that this has everything to do with that, right? And so, as I mentioned before, sometimes you have to experience like some contrast or some deficits to get to that next aha moment. That's what minds was. So going through that divorce, it hurted me to my core, it really had me in the chokehold, and it didn't feel good, it didn't feel good, however, in that not feeling good phase, going through that whole transition, it was also helping me to discover who I am, it was helping me to discover myself, and it was also like pruning me for what God was getting ready to do, exactly what God was getting ready to do, and those two experiences is what really inspired me to take action because even though my pain point is not the same as you guys with alopecia, my pain point was dealing with a toxic divorce and suicidal thoughts. Now, some of these experiences we do share because some women deal with suicidal thoughts who have alopecia, and some women are lost and they are hurting, and I've been through that. It's just that my pain point was different from you guys, and so then I had put myself inserted myself in you guys' shoes like this don't feel good. Now I felt my grandmother's pain, but from the lens of a woman with alopecia. Now I can feel my own pain from a woman who's dealing with a toxic divorce and infidelity, and that same hurt and pain may not have been to the same degree as women with hair loss. It just did not feel good to me. So now I have two experiences that did not feel good to me. And I thought to myself, like, okay, I'm already in this space. I took this pivot. Now it's time to go all in. And that issue, that situation that I went through, it just like put me in speed mode or it put me in go. Like, I just got real serious about my life. And I said, if I'm gonna go through this, I'm gonna go through it with a purpose and I'm gonna do it. Like, I'm gonna really go through and do this. And once I finish doing this part, I am going to do the next part. Like, I'm gonna go from A, B, C, D, all of those transitions to get to where we are right now with Levagny Professionals. And so, even the emotional piece, you know, being able to provide settings like the events that I host for women like you, Tiffany, and other women to be able to share your experience and share your story. So it's bigger than just providing a service for me. Like anything that I do, it has to be meaningful, it's not just transactional, it has to be transformational, and that's what it does for me. And that's what inspired me to take action on Levagner Professionals.

SPEAKER_01 11:46

Passion, obedience, and purpose. I love it. That's really, you know, that's what you said. I mean, with that, you know, understanding that you were on this journey and you had deficits that got you here. Although this journey is where you're supposed to be, we know there are challenges that comes with building a brand and building a business. Do you want to touch on maybe one or two challenges you might have had and how you're overcoming it or overcame?

SPEAKER_00 12:16

Mm-hmm. Yeah, I have several challenges that I experienced being an entrepreneur on this journey. From a personal perspective, I would say just being a single mother and having to balance work, life, mom, you know, that whole thing. That it can be challenging, and sometimes it feels like roll by blocks. It's like blocks, these experiences are like blocks that's slowing me down. And so a lot of like my personal space has contributed to those types of challenges and becoming an entrepreneur because being an entrepreneur and a single mother, if I'm not well over here as a single mother in my personal space, then I'm not well over here in the business. So for me, it's just always important that I make sure that I am making sure that I am being balanced in this work life mom setting, if that makes sense. Like I need to make sure that I am doing okay. Because if not, then what am I doing? I'm just doing. Like, I can't just and I won't just do. Like, I have to know why. What is this gonna do for you? What is this gonna do for me? So when my personal setting is just not right, and if it's not right, I'm gonna remove myself. And I've done it. So when I went through the toxic divorce, I shut down the business, I went in hiding, I went home, I stopped working inside of that location and started servicing my clients from home. But I only went down to work in two days a week because I knew that a shift was going on in my life, and it was hard for me to balance and be able to work, knowing that I was going through this transformation in my own personal life, and I'm big on and I'm very self-aware. So I don't like touching, I don't like servicing people when I know that I'm going through something, and that was one of the reasons why I shut down my business. And so, again, if my personal life is, you know, disheveled, then now I have to take a pivot and I gotta make a decision over here before I even try to do anything else. That's just how conscious I am. Though that is a challenge that I have experienced while embarking on this entrepreneurship journey, becoming a business owner and servicing women with hair loss, the personal space. And then when I do get this part of my life together, now you got the business. So now I'm good over here in my personal space. So over in the business space now, I'm facing some challenges. And what does some of them challenges look like? It could look like you know, taking on other individuals' experiences when they sharing how they got aloecia. Now I'm playing back the moment my grandmother was going through that process, so it's kind of like I'm now feeling what they're going through. So what I discovered is like I am like an empath. And I know we hear this word a lot, and if it was another word I could use, I would, but I don't know another word. But I can like absorb other people's stuff easily, so I have to be careful with that, and that is a challenge for me because then I have to then I can become a little emotional, and I cannot get emotional. I can, but I have to know how to manage it. I have to have boundaries around my own emotion in my business space when I'm servicing people like you, and so I have to be very careful because if I don't have any balance, then I can easily make a wrong decision by saying something as like, oh, you ain't gotta pay today. Don't worry about it. Don't worry, because I care that much that I'm willing to take a loss, and that can become, you know, a bad thing. That can be like a thing. Like I have to know when to do that and when not to do it, not be emotional. So that kind of can be a challenge for me, but it's getting better because now I know how to decipher and know when to do that and when not to do it, because I know that God will tell me, don't charge this person today. Like I have moments like that, and I won't. Then there are moments when I do it out of emotion, and I can't do that, right? I still have to pay my bills and take care of it. So, like, that is kind of like a little um challenge for me. And another challenge in that space is having hard conversations with my clients when we having consultations, and the challenge piece when we having consultations is the money piece, which is what inspired me to begin to have conversations about finances and your money when it comes to paying for something when you find the help. So when you found me, you did the research, you know it costs. A lot of my clients, I noticed they have a hard time, you know, being okay with paying what I'm telling them it costs. And so because they don't understand, maybe some of them do, but my thought would be if they did, they wouldn't be taking me through this sometimes. But is when you're running a business, you have overhead. So that money you pay me, that $1,213 or $15, whatever, don't go directly all to me. It goes to Lavagna Professionals, it goes into my bank account. So I pay myself literally only, and I know you're probably like, how is she doing that? I pay myself $750 a week. I had money deposited from my business account into my personal account so that I don't want to be tapping into my business money because I can get audited at the end of the year when I got to do my taxes, all of that stuff. I had to report this to my account and my CPA so that they can do what they need to do. And so I'm very honest in how I even operate my business. So when clients say things like, Oh, I mean, that's too much. Do you offer specials or what else do you do? That whole thing can be challenging for me because now it's like I feel like that's a little disrespectful because this is my business, this is how I maintain my lifestyle, and this is how I'm maintaining showing up for you, right? Because if I can't, I'm not able to show up for you if I can't take care of me, right? And so, you know, that whole thing can be a challenging. So then I'm willing to go the extra mile and then say, Hey, that money don't go to me, it goes to the business. I am not LeVagne professionals, I'm Yao Mikia. I'm just I'm the vehicle moving this business, right? So that money y'all pay it gotta go to my rent that I have to pay, right? Overhead, I had two people that I have to pay now, so it's other stuff that this money is paying for, and I think when I'm sharing that, it just put everything in perspective for the consumer now. Like, oh, I didn't think of it that way. It's like I'm just passing you this card and it's going to you. That's not how it goes it's a whole system that this money goes through before I even get paid myself, right? So that whole thing is a challenge for me. So that's why, even hosting my events, I like to bring this up and have conversations about money because on the spiritual side of it, we can't talk about we believe in God and God blesses me, but at the same time, you're talking about lack and limitations about your money, they don't go together, either you are or you not. And don't say what you can't afford, just say at this moment, right now, I don't have it. Like people just have to be more consciously aware of the deficits that they are planting in their own mind when it comes to money. Because my bank account might not say a million dollars, but guess what? Yes, exactly. But that million dollars, I already have it, it's just not physically there yet. And the reason why I know I already have it is because God done put it in me. And so I can't not talk about my business and what I do without even including the spiritual side. Because to me, my perspective is entrepreneurship is spiritual. You gotta have a strong spiritual foundation to be able to walk this walk. You got to, and if you don't, it is not gonna work because the gift was given from God in the first place. So the foundation is rooted on that for me. So it's like I cannot talk about Lavagner professionals and not mention the spiritual side, the spiritual aspect, because again, this was a vision that God gave me. So I can't not talk about any of that, the spiritual part, because that is what's keeping me, that is what's moving Levagner professionals. If we had a conversation about supernatural things that happened to me with my business, people would probably think I'm crazy, Tiffany.

SPEAKER_01 22:02

No problem, and I don't even talk about it because it's for me, and it strengthens up my spiritual journey with God because I know that God is real from some of the things that I have experienced in my own privacy, so but it's also your relationship with God, so so the things that you've experienced, we shouldn't know or say, Yeah, I understand, because it's your experience, and I think people don't realize that your relationship with God is just that your relationship with God, and so others won't ever understand, and that's the purpose of it.

SPEAKER_00 22:36

Absolutely. I think though, even though it's sacred and private, there are people who still need to know, even though they are not there yet or may not be fully aware of the presence of God and things like that. I also know that God put me in this space for LeVagne professionals to share and spread the goodness of God because a lot of my conversations with my clients is always about God. I don't have a client that sit in my chair never that I never had a conversation about God with. That's how I know God is all up and through my business because He sends me clients who need what I have to offer them the solution, and at the same time, we get to have conversations about this collaboration with God and me, God and you, and we just be having a conversation. It gets really, really good, right? So that experience with each and every one of my clients is confirmation and clarity that we all are right where we're supposed to be. Like I'm right where I'm supposed to be, I'm not in the wrong place. God placed me here at this right time with this specific client for a divine purpose, and that is how I've approached my clients. You guys don't know it, but in my mind, well, now you do, but in my mind, my thought is yeah, they came here for a service, but what really God sent them here, and that's why I'm always sharing and speaking the way I do because it's more than just a transaction, it's about transformation, and and it's the transformation and the community that you build that is so important.

SPEAKER_01 24:19

So you touched on a little bit about the conferences that you host, and I have attended and participated in both, and I love your platform connected to everything that you do, it's beauty, but it's beauty inside and out, right? When you walk through your space, your physical space, you feel safe, you feel a comfort, you feel a welcome and a warmth, and that is what you feel. So I do not want you to think that you know, people will not understand that they hear about a business, but people don't always understand what it means to be a business owner. So I'm so glad that you came on today to talk to us a little bit about what you're dealing with, and just I'm sure this is just surface, right? Like, I'm I'm sure, you know, over the years that you've been a business owner, they have been ebbs and flows. So the audience is very excited to hear from you. Have you shared moments about your work? You shared moments about your spiritual life, about you touched on being a mom. Can you share a moment where you knew your work was making a difference?

SPEAKER_00 25:33

I knew my work was making a difference, Tiff. There are several experiences where I knew my work was making a difference. And I have to be honest. I knew my work was making a difference to when I have clients who pay me what I asked for with no problem. And I don't want to make this about the money because it's never about the money, right? However, limitations around money was something that I struggled with from my childhood up into my now moment because I was taught you gotta save money for a rainy day. But that's saying that God can really change your life in less than an hour or in 30 seconds, like I've experienced that. And so, to your question, when clients be telling me, Oh, that's it, and pay me a $200 tip, that is God to me. So I realize that my work really makes a difference when someone is paying me more than what I'm asking for. That's one way I knew it was making a difference because now this person can go out, you and start your podcast, and now you can do what God created you to do, feeling confident, knowing who you are, right? And then another experience is when I started hearing from my customers' family members, like reaching out to me, texting me, sending me messages saying you just don't know what you've done for my mother. She never came to a family function, or she never went to the store without a hat on. Some of the stuff I just would be like, really? I never would have thought that alopecia would cause a person to even think about suicide. You know, so another experience is that I knew that what we do at LeVagne Professionals was changing lives is it through myself. Like I felt a transformation in me. Like I felt and still do, I feel literally like a vehicle, and God is using me to mobilize this thing. So the transformation that I feel that I've experienced in my own self also shows me that the work that we do is changing and transforming our clients because it's like I'm a reflection. We are a reflection of each other. When I look at my clients' tip, I cry sometimes, like because the stuff you guys do for me, I'm getting emotional. The stuff you guys do for me, not knowing the stuff that I deal with in my own private space. I had one of my clients yesterday, Miss Angie. She I was a little late yesterday, like 10 minutes, 15 minutes late. She called me at 7:01 because she knows I'm usually there early in the morning. She likes you never late. And so I told her I'm on my way. I was waking my son up. He didn't want to come to work. So he was the reason I was late, you know. But I had to be that mom and aunt make a decision. Do I stick to me trying to be a mother and make him come to work? Or do I just leave him and get to my client? So my thought was, I'm going, he's coming. He's coming. And I'ma just let her know, like, this is what happened. And when I got there, she prayed for me with me. And I was so grateful for that because that was what I needed. God always sending me what I need in the moment of. So this isn't just about the business and the service. Like, this is really like what people to call ministry. It's really like my purpose. This is what I enjoy doing. It's like we both getting what we need. I got what I needed from my client, she got what she needed from me. It's both transformational on both ends. So to have a client pray for me, my son walking past, watching her pray for me, and she touched him. It is just it's an amazing thing to have a village. My own clients giving me that motherly love, you know, and praying for me and my children. It's a beautiful experience. So that's how I know that what we do is also transforming and that it's really changing lives. Because my life is being changed in the process too.

SPEAKER_01 30:03

Oh my gosh, I love this. As we are winding down, let's do a little quick fire, rapid fire. So one word to describe your purpose.

SPEAKER_00 30:13

Grateful gratitude.

SPEAKER_01 30:16

Coffee or tea while working.

SPEAKER_00 30:19

Tea. I love me cinnamon, hibiscus, tea. So yeah, tea.

SPEAKER_01 30:29

Okay, so your most underrated business skill.

SPEAKER_00 30:34

Underrated business skill. Hmm. That's a good question. I never even thought of having an underrated business skill. I guess I would have to say. I don't know, Tiff.

SPEAKER_01 30:55

I would say for you, hospitality. Like everything that you do, I think it's underrated. Not that it's not appreciated, but it's an experience when you come into your space.

SPEAKER_00 31:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:07

And I think it can be underrated because like you have uh coffee, tea, water, you have snacks, you have mints. You know, people, I pay attention to those things, right?

SPEAKER_00 31:19

Like Timmy, mints, I have it all. Yes, down to the mints.

SPEAKER_01 31:25

Listen, you do you water, yes, that's what I'm saying. And fruit. Sometimes you like, oh, I got fruit in here. You know, people may not appreciate it, but I would say the hospitality of it.

SPEAKER_00 31:35

Oh, thank you so much. Thank you, Tiff. I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_01 31:39

And lastly, your favorite quote on mantra right now.

SPEAKER_00 31:43

My favorite quote, I would have to say, everything is working out for my greater good, and everything that I need is already within me. Wow.

SPEAKER_01 31:56

So last, all I have is what's next for Levagne Professionals.

SPEAKER_00 32:01

Well, you probably got an idea what's next, but it's our conference that's going to be in December. I already have the date, December the 13th. So Alam and alopecia. Like I'm looking forward to growing that part of LeVagne Professionals, the platform where women can come and share their experiences and their stories, and even, you know, expound on other things because all women doing dealing with some sort of deficit, which is something else I'm currently working on of the webinar. It's my digital product that I'm currently pushing right now. And so it's a couple of moving parts going on, like the deficit to destiny webinar, alama and alopecia. I see them two coming together in person. Like on my webinar, speaking to women all over about hair loss and alopecia, how to cope with it, and possibly bringing them into our Alama and Alopecia conference setting that we have in person. My vision for myself, Tim, is to speak. I want to be this, I want to be an inspiration. I am an inspirational speaker. I love to speak, I love inspiring. And so I provided a platform for myself to do that. Like I provided that platform, and you guys are my target audience. So I not only provide a service, but I provide a product. I provide a digital product and a physical product. And I'm just maximizing every part of Lavagne professionals so that I can get everything out of me that God is trying to get out of me. Like I want to use everything that God has given me, I want to utilize it. Like it's fun, it's fun. So that's what's next for Lavany Professionals, alignment, alopecia, and our deficit to destiny. So you'll be getting notifications about that too.

SPEAKER_01 33:51

I love that. So how can folks connect with you and support your mission?

SPEAKER_00 33:57

So you can just Google Levany Professionals at this point. Just put an L-E-V-O-N-Y-E. When you Google Levanye Professionals, everything else will come up. Our website, news, they like all of our segments on the news station pop up, YouTube, because I post I do YouTube videos and Instagram, Facebook, TikTok. We want everything except Twitter. We even on LinkedIn. So that's right. If you need what we have to offer, or just follow us and listen for me inspirational. I'll be putting out inspirational messages daily. So you need to just be inspired and you need a picker upper, you need to be reminded of who you are. Go to my YouTube channel or my Instagram or my TikTok channel. And yeah, go soak up all of that information.

SPEAKER_01 34:57

Oh, thank you so much, Delmika, for coming on. What a powerful conversation. From navigating alopecia with confidence to building bold women-owned businesses right here in Baltimore. This episode was a reminder that our stories matter and that our healing is valid and that our impact is undeniable.

SPEAKER_00 35:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 35:20

To everyone listening, whether you're managing personal battles or building something from the ground up, keep going. Your journey is a part of your brilliance. Big love to our guests for keeping it real and for you riding the wave with me. Make sure you're subscribed to What's Next with the Chief Librarian on all podcast platforms and share this episode with someone who needs to know that they're not alone and that they are not finished. Until next time, keep leading with excellence, stay rooted, and stay ready because what's next is already on its way. Bye y'all. Thanks for tuning in to What's Next with the Chief Librarian. I hope today's conversation sparked new ideas and gave you a fresh perspective on life's transitions. If you enjoyed the episode, please subscribe, leave a review, or share it with someone who might need a little inspiration. For more stories and updates, follow me on Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn at The Chief Librarian. And until next time, keep exploring what's next for you. Bye.