Susan Rollwagen of Pepperbox Solutions is a performance management consultant who works with small businesses. Susan also happens to be Carrie’s mom! They discuss than the pitfalls and benefits of working with family members (and friends). Susan shares how to go about entering into a professional relationship with someone you’re close to personally: how to tell if you’re making the right hire, have difficult conversations, and the importance of deciding on an exit strategy before you begin.

Javacia Harris Bowser is founder of See Jane Write, a community for writers that offers support, advice, guidance, and so much more to its members. Javacia tells us how she got started with events, how she went about getting those set up, and her goal of doing more events in 2020. Javacia and Carrie wrap up the conversation talking about the hustle of entrepreneurship, work/life balance (spoiler — it’s a myth!), and Javacia’s best tips for anyone who wants to start writing.

This week on The Localist, Mary Drennen of Nourish Foods, a meal delivery service based in Birmingham, AL that specializes in providing healthy meal and snack options throughout the southeast, joins Carrie. We talk about scaling a business, the woes of using new technologies, and the value of designing your products around meeting customers where they are. We wrap up the conversation with what Nourish has in store for expanding their offerings in 2020.

On this week’s episode of The Localist, Carrie is joined by Michelle Phillips. Michelle is usually behind the scenes as the showrunner for The Localist, but the tables are turned! Carrie and Michelle dive into entrepreneurship: Carrie tells us how she learned how to manage people, how she met her former business partner and how Church Street Coffee and Books came to be, what it was like managing a coffee shop versus a bookshop.

Paul Bryant, along with his wife Courtney, own and run Kinora Films, a premier videography and production company based in Birmingham, AL. Paul and Carrie start off with what a timelapse actually is, the technology he uses to create timelapse videos, and how long a timelapse shot usually takes. Paul then tells us how he got his start with weddings, how he carved out a niche combining film and digital, and just how terrifying it can be to shoot with film.

Morgan Mondy, owner of Mae Studio, joins Carrie this week. Morgan and Carrie dive in with what it’s like to almost simultaneously open a new business and sell a business (it’s not for the faint of heart!). Morgan tells us what she envisioned for Mae, the client experience she wanted to create, how college isn’t for everyone, and how a passion for learning is one of the keys to success. Morgan describes the early days of her first salon and the importance of company culture.

Mallory Webb, owner of Daughters Baking, joins Carrie on this week’s episode of The Localist. Mallory and Carrie discuss when Mallory knew it was time to take the leap and go full-time with Daughters Baking, and how Mallory prepped for that. Mallory then shares how she reacts to feedback and her process for developing flavors. We wrap up with a conversation about the value of making connections, assessing risks, staffing, and how it feels to be a boss.

On this special Thanksgiving Day episode of The Localist, Carrie goes solo and dishes out (see what we did there ;) ) some great Black Friday / Small Business Saturday / Cyber Monday / Opt Outside tips that any local business could put into practice. Carrie serves up easy and practical tips for how to handle everything in-store from figuring out what to put on sale, how to strategically decorate, and how to train your staff for the holiday season.

Will Mason of Mason Music joins Carrie on this week’s episode. Will and Carrie start off the conversation with Will and Mason Music’s biggest venture yet: opening up a music school AND music venue in the renovated Woodlawn Theatre. Will tells us about their process for opening each of the different locations, the weird things you find when you renovate, and how they went about getting investors to really see the vision behind Mason Music’s aspirations through.

Nathan Pocus of Domestique Coffee joins Carrie this week and jumps right in with how Domestique got started. Spending time in Haiti sparked Nathan’s interest in the rich and varied coffees from the region and inspired him to bring it back to Birmingham. Nathan and Carrie discuss forming business partnerships, especially when global trade is involved, what surprised him about buying globally, and how Domestique tells the stories of the farms and communities the coffee comes from.