The follow up episode of my story of starting my business. Here I talk about the challenges an entrepreneur will face when starting a business (anytime) but I also with the added twist of some things it was like with COVID-19.   I reflect on the death of George Floyd and how I tried to use that time to reflect on the state of the country and grow as a person to help bring change. I explain why I chose to pause the show briefly. It was a call as a reminder to the core values of this show and how we need leaders EVERYWHERE. If we have a world where leaders leave places that need their leadership most we as society can not move forward as a whole. This episode does highlight the path less traveled in regards to leadership & business. It isn't the easy way, but it is a path more of us need to take.  Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/Startsouth)

Start South

I Started my Business During COVID-19 (Part 2)

Just as the title suggests I turned my years long side hustle into a real business. (finally)This business started as me buying and reselling items as a teenager to make some extra side flow which grew into a college job and an overall passion that I just enjoyed doing. In this episode I break down that journey that lead me to finally start a business, and how the struggles of COVID-19 effected that as well as the ripples it had on this Podcast show! A bit more of a personal turn for the show, but a big update all the same!Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/Startsouth)

I Started a Business During COVID-19 (Part 1)

Continuing on with the "Local Entrepreneurs" series I connected with Emma Freeze, a young local entrepreneur who started her Birmingham, AL based business "The Chic Next Door" in fall of 2019. The services that Emma provides include: personal shopping, event styling, 'closet closure', online consignment sales, consulting, and much more (you can check out her blog at www.thechicnextdoor.com to get all the details). What is unique about her story is she is one of the few people in the Greater Birmingham Area who is offering these services in entirety. She learned the industry from working retail for many years and also took that to the next level with her degree from Alabama; Emma knew the services could be combined into a very strong business model and did just that. She took concepts that worked other places and put them into a market she could pave the way into. Her story is the essence of what 'Start South' is all about and was very excited to hear all about it! Check out her awesome story in this episode! Support the show

Local Entrepreneurs: Emma Freeze, Founder of "The Chic Next Door"

This episode dives into the history of both "shopping Holidays". It covers how they were started and how they evolved into what we know them as today. These holidays have also impacted other industries and sparked the creation of other "Shopping Holidays".Support the show

Black Friday & Cyber Monday History

In this episode I got to interview Darcy Walker, the artist behind Darcy Walker Art. This is a special episode because she is the first guest that is a family member. This goes right into the message of inspiration being all around us...even on our own family trees.Darcy not only paints the art herself but for a number of years she has been teaching as well as participating in community art shows. The folks she teaches range from all age groups; she does group classes and also private lessons too. Her home is her studio and I got to see all the behind the scenes action that goes into her art work, and the business behind it as well.It was exciting to learn everything that she was doing and how she is growing her business; she takes us back to how it all started coming out of college and evolved with raising a family.  Support the show

Local Entrepreneurs: Darcy Walker Art

This series of Episodes will be highlighting local entrepreneurs in my community and featuring their stories on the show. This was something that I wanted to do to show that inspiration is all around us. Friends, family, and folks in our local communities are out there doing some awesome things....we don't need to look far to find inspiration. This Mini Series kicks off with Birmingham Pedal Tours!I sat down and spoke with a long friend Derek Nuwer. His cousin's founded the company and he moved from Buffalo, New York shortly after the company opened in Birmingham to help get it started. This episode goes over his story of moving to a new city and also the journey of Birmingham Pedal Tours has taken to becoming a premier activity in the city. Support the show

Local Entrepreneurs: Birmingham Pedal Tours

On this Episode we have our guest Eloise Pascal join us all way the from Australia! She is a mindset coach and blogger and helps coach people all around the world battling with mental unwellness ( depression, anxiety, eating disorders, self image, etc). She herself had struggled with her own battles throughout her life. Despite hitting the lowest of lows Eloise was able to overcome her battles and shares just how that journey looked for her. Through her experiences one way she was able to turn that around was to start helping coach other who shared similar situations she did and help coach them to a life of wellness once again. Through this she realized her passion was to help others and shares shares and advice for those who are out there struggling with mental wellness. Support the show

Guest Interview: Eloise Pascal- Mindset Coach & Blogger

Co-host Eric Michael Savage joins to help break down the infamous phrase "Keeping Up With The Joneses"This was mentioned by out previous guest Karen Ford in regards to finance, but this episode looks deeper into the meaning and how it effects us on more levels than just money.Support the show

STOP "Keeping Up With the Joneses"

Felicity Dales is the Founder of Body Torque, a biking/triathlon apparel & lifestyle brand based out of Ocean Grove Australia (not far outside of Melbourne). She founded the company in 1986 and today in 2019 the company is still growing!She shares her story of founding the company and the journey that has brought her on through the year. She also shares her advice and wisdom as a business founder who has seen the business world evolve and shares plans for the company to grow into a global brand in the future. This episode was a blast to do and Felicity is not only a great person to speak with her story is very inspirational as well. It shows that it doesn't matter where you are the entrepreneurial principles are the same. Taking the Podcast title literally she does (and likely will) hold the record for starting the FURTHEST South. Support the show

Guest Interview: Felicity Dales- Body Torque

Author, Speaker, and Financial Coach Karen Ford joins this episode so share her insight and wisdom on a subject matter that nearly everyone must deal with...DEBT!Karen & Alex break down how people get caught in the debt trap through various stages in life and some tricks to get out of the trap. Karen shares examples of clients she has worked with and how they used what she taught her to break the cycle of living under the shadow of debt.Debt is a huge obstacle holding anyone it has in its grasps back from taken any positive steps forward in life....This is such and important message for the overall message of Start South because this is a big contributing factor that keeps people from their own starting lines. Once debt is tackled the outlook is much brighter and we hope this message can aid in winning that battle for anyone who is struggling with it.  Karen has written 4 books on personal finance as well as coaches individuals on ways to get out of debt and start living life not chained down by financial problems. Her website, blog and store: www.Karenford.org  Support the show

Beating Debt with "Money Matters" Author Karen Ford

In celebration of International Podcast Day Alex did a solo bonus episode to highlight the history of Podcasts. The episode recaps how podcasting began (before the word even existed) and how it evolved into what it is today. Also Alex goes into the current state of the Podcasting industry with some statistics and market trends that have driven it up so fast in recent years. The episode closes with some projections on thoughts of what research is saying the future looks like for Podcasting. Happy International Podcast Day!Support the show

International Podcast Day - A Brief History of Podcasts- *BONUS EPISODE*

Work place culture is the subject matter of this episode.Jill Valdez, founder of LINK Consulting, joins and shares her expertise.Jill works with small/medium sized business and individuals alike to help them get the most out of every work day. Her coaching helps transform the companies from within to help give employees a renewed sense of purpose and desire to fulfill the common goof for the company. She has been a catalyst of positive change for company culture and she shares those stories and sheds some light on some other issues that are facing companies today. We also break down some of the struggles the growing age gaps of the modern work place and how different generations perceive those.Support the show

Work Place Culture with Jill Valdez

This is a short episode where I reflect over the day that was 9/11/2001. I was and recounting the moment I found out about the attacks and what followed. It was important to reflect back to this because I was finding myself being guilting of saying "Never Forget" but forgetting. Not just what happened and where I was, but what it meant. What it meant for me, and what it meant for America. So in this episode I took the time to reflect on the reverence of 9/11 and share my story of that day. We have so many freedoms we take for granted...and on this day especially..it is important to take a moment to reflect and #NeverForget those freedoms and those who have sacrificed so we can have them! Support the show

9/11 Tribute. My Story & Never Forgetting.

In this episode Hannah is spotlighted. A local stylist in Birmingham Alabama, but her career has stretched much further than that.  She has seen great success at a young age in the field of cosmetology. Just to name SOME of her decorated career highlights (hair joke): she is a sponsor for many international brands, over 50,000 social media follower, featured in Southern Living, worked at the CMAs, had celebrity clients, won lots of awards and so much more!BUT her path to this great career wasn't so easy. Listen to be taken back to when she was a young girl with dreams (none of which involved being a stylist) pressures and struggles ( which almost kept her from becoming a stylist). Hear how she over came these opticals through hard work and seizing opportunities that put her down a path she would have never expected to journey on! Connect on IG @BigHairedHannahSupport the show

Guest Interview: Hannah Holsomback Griffin- Hairstylist

For the first ever Co-host spotlight, Eric gives us an in-depth look into his story. From the start of some of the defining youthful moments to huge mile stones throughout his career. But not all of those were good ones....through this he tells about the ups and downs that got him to the point of being able to start his own ad agency, Nobody Loves Jet Lag.  Support the show

Co-host Spotlight: Eric Michael Savage

Why do you have to “go somewhere” to succeed? Why is everywhere else better than where you are? How come that grass is never greener? We get this notion that success is always where we are not; we can’t start something where we are. Dreams are coming true for everyone else..everywhere else. Start South is where that notion comes to an end. Guest host will share their stories of how they over came obstacles to achieve their dreams and goals. The idea is to help show that success has many different forms and many different roads.

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