First-generation beekeepers Lloyd and Ashley Hardrick live in Atlanta, Georgia with their children, a son and two daughters.
Their backyard is filled with countless zooming and buzzing honeybees.
The name of their beekeeping business is Honey Bee Goode Apiaries. They launched their start-up from their home in 2015. Since then, they have expanded from a single hive to 20 hives.
Before the Hardricks became beekeepers, Ashley earned a degree in political science and Lloyd was a US Army veteran who had served in Iraq.
The tragic loss of their son, Landon, in 2014 led them to change their lives and careers. Surrounded by friends who were farmers, they gravitated towards a more earthy lifestyle. They did their research and didn’t let inexperience slow them down.
Nowadays, they teach people to know all about these industrious little insects and how they help earth’s environment.
For instance, a honeybee will visit 100 flowers or more before carrying the nectar back to the hive and mixing it with bee saliva to make it into honey. Bees work non-stop, but even then, a single bee only produces 1 tablespoon of honey in its short life.
Meet the Hardricks in this 5:39-minute video as they are interviewed by Ashley Williams from Atlanta Black Star Entertainment:
The Hardricks have noticed that there aren’t a lot of Black beekeepers in the city of Atlanta, and they think people probably still believe the myth that beekeeping is a rural business, not urban. Also, many people in the Black community don’t always understand what beekeepers do, and this has made the Hardricks aware that it is important to expose the community more to the farmers and beekeepers who feed them. Lloyd Hardrick may be one of the first Black beekeepers in the area, but he is certain there will be many yet to come and he sees himself as a steppingstone for future Black apiarists.
The Hardricks connect with the youth and children of their community and spread as much knowledge as they can about why bees are so important. Their goal is to explain pollination and how bees keep us all alive. They want to help change the perspective about bees. Part of that is eliminating fear, because they encounter kids who have been stung by a bee and continue to hold a negative impression. They aim to help that child transform, to not be afraid of bees and change their focus.
Ashley is also keen to share what she and Lloyd consider the wellness benefits of honey. It is soothing for skin, hair and scalp, is anti-inflammatory and so much more. You can view their bee-based natural product line on their website (link below).
The Hardricks are true bee entrepreneurs, as they create generational wealth. They are expanding their bee farm business and building a solid future for their three beautiful surviving children, Lennox, Logan and Lloyd II, with the goal that it is all for them.
By spring 2021, the Hardricks intend to expand Honey Bee Goode Apiaries to a new 7-15 acre location away from their home. They expect to have expanded to about 40 additional beehives by that time.
We wish the Hardricks family much success with their business expansion and with the bee-utiful work they are doing to educate their community about bees.