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Cause She's a Mastermind: Building a Business That Runs Toward the Fire · Serious Lady Business

• LESLIE YOUNGBLOOD (00:03) Hey there, I'm Leslie Youngblood and this is Serious Lady Business, the podcast where we get real about what it takes to build a business as a woman today. From late night Google searches and client curveballs to the wins that make it all worth it, I'm talking about the stuff no one puts in the highlight reel. Each week, I'm bringing you honest conversations, lessons learned and stories from women who are out here doing the work. Messy, meaningful and unapologetically bold. Whether you're just dreaming about starting a business or deep in the grind, this podcast is your space to feel seen, supported, and fired up. Because let's be honest, this journey is hard, hilarious, and absolutely worth it. So let's dive in. Leslie Youngblood (00:51) Welcome to Serious Lady Business. I'm Leslie Youngblood, your host, feminist and founder of Youngblood MMC, a marketing media and content agency. And with us today is Alyssa Carrier. Alyssa is the founder and chief executive officer of AC Disaster Consulting. She's a nationally recognized leader in emergency management with over 20 years of disaster response and recovery experience. Her company, AC Disaster Consulting, is ranked number 402 on the Inc. 5000 list. She was named Harvard's NPLI Meta Leader of the Year in 2022, and she has been recognized as an outstanding woman in business and made the 40 under 40 list by the Denver Business Journal. She advises state and federal agencies, leading high stakes recovery efforts and helping communities rebuild stronger after disaster strikes. And in addition to these incredible entrepreneurial endeavors, Alyssa is a passionate philanthropist in all aspects of her life, including personal, professional, and business pursuits. Alyssa, welcome to Serious Lady Business. Alyssa Carrier (01:55) Thank you. Thank you for that introduction. And yeah, I'm honored to be here. Thanks for having me. Leslie Youngblood (01:59) Of course. Well, I'm so excited to talk to you because I think what you do is so unique and we're going to be talking about literally running towards fire, you know, metaphorically as an entrepreneur, but truly literally as you do in your business. And so I've just loved to start at the beginning with you. What inspired you to start a company that runs towards the fire, Alyssa? Alyssa Carrier (02:08) you Yeah, so I was kind of exposed to emergency management early in college. So my freshman year of college, I played soccer in college and they kind of control your schedule. And I was put into the intro to emergency management as a freshman. And that was the year that 9-11 happened. So about two weeks after I started college, 9-11 happened. And then didn't even know the industry existed and immediately fell in love with it. While I was in college, we had multiple disasters, the space shuttle crash, the multiple hurricanes in Florida, the tsunamis in Indonesia, et cetera. And so fell in love with it, got my degree, graduated. Two weeks later, Hurricane Katrina hit. ⁓ And so my first job out of college at 21 was working for a few months in New Orleans. Leslie Youngblood (02:58) and goodness. my gosh. I just got goosebumps. That's wild. Alyssa Carrier (03:16) So that really, yeah, it was really crazy. You the anniversary was last week, the 20 year anniversary of Katrina and looking back at that and just the impact that that experience had on my life and career, what is crazy to look back on. But, and then throughout my career, worked for FEMA, federal government, worked in consulting. And then around the 2017, we had had multiple disasters. Leslie Youngblood (03:22) and right. Mm-hmm. Alyssa Carrier (03:43) we had hurricanes, we had Hurricane Harvey and Irma and Maria, which really impacted. And it's funny to look back on now since we've had COVID and some other massive events, but I really felt like our industry was getting tired. And when I wasn't happy at the job I was, and I started looking around and I didn't really find a company I wanted to go to. And I felt like we as a industry were kind of getting a little complacent and Leslie Youngblood (03:52) Mmm. Mmm! Alyssa Carrier (04:11) You know, we're often with people on the worst day of their lives and it's really important to have that compassion and empathy. And so kind of my vision of starting ACDC was one, to make sure that we are bringing that compassion and empathy, but that we're also representative of the communities we serve. know, emergency management had started from that. really back military and then police and fire. And so it's typically been an old white guy industry, right? And so, ⁓ you know, my vision was really to create this diverse company in all aspects and as well as to give women a chance in emergency management ⁓ who we typically not had us to get the table. So that was ⁓ really my inspiration in starting ACDC. And it's been amazing to see how much it's grown and taken off. Leslie Youngblood (04:38) that. and here and here Yeah, I really truly think that is such a calling for those in emergency disaster assistance, for those in the medical profession, because nine out of 10 people, that would be the last thing that they would want to do. And you're so right when you say you're with people on their worst day. And what a true like in your soul, you know, you have to be there for those people in that moment. And like, that is such a gift. And I think it's such a blessing that you found it. I mean, not necessarily that you found it, obviously, was September 11th, right? But like that you were placed into it and as a freshman and discovered this love for it and this interest in it. Alyssa Carrier (05:30) Great. Leslie Youngblood (05:38) Were you always, so you were an athlete. So I know that like you thrive under high pressure like situations. Was it something that you always like were good at or did it develop over time, Alyssa? Alyssa Carrier (05:40) Yeah. Yeah. You know, I think that it has somewhat been natural to me. I've always been that person that ran into crazy stuff or wanted to do crazy things. And so I do think it's part of my personality. And like you said, I think a lot of people who are in this industry, right? It's like first responders and people in healthcare, like you are drawn to a certain, there's a personality trait there, right? You know, I will say, I think I had a really bad four-hour accident. Leslie Youngblood (06:08) Mm-hmm. Alyssa Carrier (06:16) when I was about 15 and which slowed me down a bit, which I'm kind of thankful for because since moving to Colorado and since I think I would have probably killed myself either on a ski slope or on a mountain somewhere had it not slowed me down. ⁓ But yeah, I think it's always been part of my personality is just, you know, I've always kind of thrived in those chaotic moments. So. Leslie Youngblood (06:28) goodness. Sure. Did you ever, even for you or your family, disaster consulting in going into these traumatic situations, not really a safe choice, what gave you the courage to pursue it anyway? And how has it been for those around you to understand that this is what you're being called to do? Alyssa Carrier (06:59) Yeah, you know, think, you know, starting with before I started my company and really, you know, the Katrina was my first, not just my first, but my family's first for right. Right. And to what I'm doing and, or my friends and really the first time in while our nation had experienced disaster about science. so, you know, there's a lot of things I think I still like, I still don't watch the news. from because of my Katrina experience where everybody's an expert because based on what they're watching on the news or they see, know, there's things I still carry with me from that beginning and my family has seen that progression in me and what I do as well. And, you know, I don't think anything we do is safe, any job we do is safe. And I think it's been a really... Leslie Youngblood (07:24) really? Wow. Alyssa Carrier (07:46) When you can say that we honestly have an impact on people's lives day to day and what we're doing can impact people in a positive way, I don't think there's anything better. And I do know like as far as starting the business and stuff, like, and as I've gotten older, I did have a good family. I did have a supportive family. And if I failed, I knew I had somewhere to go back to. So I think all of that combined along with my personality, it was just something I had to go for that was just me. Leslie Youngblood (08:14) Yeah, I love what you said too, like about having the courage. And I think something that we forget is or don't realize when you're being courageous, like courage cries and like, courage is like, you know, something is going to be hard and you're going to do it anyways. Right. And that is true courage and that is true bravery. and doing all these important things doesn't just because you're called to do it doesn't mean it's easy, right? If anything, it's incredibly difficult and not safe. Like you said, like really no matter what you're doing, like the world can change in a minute, right? No matter if you're a teacher, well, let's not go there. know, whether you are a homemaker or you are out as a business owner, right? So yeah. ⁓ Alyssa Carrier (08:41) Yeah. Yeah, no. You choose your heart, you know, and I decided I wanted to at have, be able to control what I can control and to go for it and hope that I could have the impact to make things better. Leslie Youngblood (09:10) Yeah, I love that. Now you said that disaster consulting was more of a white guy, old white guys, like realm. Tell me about your time before you started, you know, ACDC and did you have mentors? Did you know, were they encouraging? they, did you, how did you navigate that really like male dominated traditional space? Alyssa Carrier (09:17) Brown. You know, it's really changed throughout my career, but when I was 21 years old, right, and first career, and kind of getting thrown in this full disaster environment where the first few weeks I was sleeping in an office floor, a female office floor, because there were no hotels, right, and just first ran into like, like, you you're working 24-7 with these people. And my very, one of the very first trainings I took for the federal government was a sexual harassment training. and there was a retired judge sitting next to me and he looked at me and he goes, I'm sorry, but I know we're in this training, but you're way too pretty to be in this job. Yeah, yeah. And so, I mean, and I got it through my whole career, whether it was a dress I was wearing or, you know, even once I started my company, there came the, she's getting those contracts because she's sleeping with somebody, right? Everyone has to explain your success or why you're there or whatever. And I know a lot of women deal with this and it's just, you know, I think Leslie Youngblood (10:09) Ha! Mmm! Alyssa Carrier (10:32) When I was younger, just would do the ha ha, you know, brush it off as I got older and more confident. You know, I definitely could stand up for myself more and, kind of have a line drawn there. But, you know, I know my experience is not unique and it was even more of a, of a drive to why we needed to make a space for women in this field and that a safe space and that women could thrive and not have to worry about being hit on her. Leslie Youngblood (10:43) and Mm-hmm. Alyssa Carrier (10:59) commenting on what we wear or being in the room in first place. Leslie Youngblood (11:03) Especially in times of tragedy and disaster when the stakes are super high like, ugh, yeah, I mean, crazy, crazy, but not surprising. I'm not surprised, right? Like that's the frustrating thing. It's like, ugh, but it's not surprising, but it's... Alyssa Carrier (11:09) Yeah, it's, yeah. No. Well, and also I think people think, you know, now that I've been a successful business owner, you don't get any more. And I can tell stories, I mean, probably on a weekly basis. you know, my bank has, when I went to deposit a check, the bank, the teller goes, oh, are you going to go shopping with this? Like a large check from a, I'm like, do you say this to your male business owners? Like, you know, the things you get from people are just, it's mind blowing. Leslie Youngblood (11:39) Right? yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I tell you. Well, I think that's so important, like you said, to start something founded by a woman that's creating a safe place for women, team leaders. we go you go into those situations with a different perspective, right? Because we're just different from men in general. And I think it's so important and so needed. And so when you started out, how did you start building your team, Alyssa? And like, what traits did you look for in people to do this type of work? specifically to create something different. Alyssa Carrier (12:14) Yeah, so when I first started, I really was the only hired people I knew and who I'd worked with or knew before. Obviously as that grew, it was okay, people who I knew knew other people who would refer to and, know, obviously as we got larger, we're 170 people now, I did not know everybody before we hired and nor could I, but you know, there were things I did. Leslie Youngblood (12:21) Mmm. Alyssa Carrier (12:39) throughout once we got to, once we started getting bigger, I implemented these 25 fundamentals that we use on a weekly basis to kind of keep those values there. We make sure that when we're hiring people, it goes even to our hiring process. We make sure the questions we are asking were very purposeful on saying who we are, what we do, what we're called to do, what the job is. what our values and our mission are and making sure that we are aligned in what who we're hiring. Because that's just so important that has been such a difference maker and how we separate ourselves from other companies out there. Leslie Youngblood (13:16) Mm-hmm. Yeah, so that was something you didn't experience when you were being hired as a young, you know, professional in the industry. No. Yeah. Alyssa Carrier (13:23) No, no. you know, we like the fundamentals like are some of them are do the right thing always deliver legendary service, find a way and also keep it fun. Because what we do is very hard. And so we want to make sure that when you know, when we can, we're having those fun moments at like our Taylor Swift listening parties and things like that. You know, that we're we're those fundamentals are there we're fully remote company. And so it's really hard to keep a culture and keep that alignment. But we have those fundamentals that are at the forefront of what we do every day, really make sure that we stay aligned as a company and to those values. Leslie Youngblood (13:55) Mm. Yeah, and I'm sure that's something that sets, obviously sets your business apart, but then makes individuals going into that industry seek you out, right? Like you become that reputation outside of the proverbial walls of like the business and somebody is going to want to go to work for a business like that over another one. And I think that businesses that truly thrive and are successful, connect on a deeper level, whether it's with their employees, with their customers, like through their products, through their branding, all those things like work together, but like truly at the core, there's a meaning that people can connect to. And so I think that's so special and it makes perfect sense why you've seen the success that you have because of those pieces that you implemented from the get-go. Now, another thing about like early days, what do you, can you think of a key decision Alyssa Carrier (14:46) Yeah, for sure. Leslie Youngblood (14:53) that you made early on that helped you scale with integrity and in the right way outside of that hiring. Alyssa Carrier (15:00) Um, you know, I think it was just always. You know, it was never obviously as a as a company we have to be profitable and we have to make money and things like that, but that was never the focus, right? The mission was are focused. How do we give this our clients the best customer service to make sure they're able to support their communities the best that we have the right people on the ground that we are, you know that. Leslie Youngblood (15:13) Mm. Alyssa Carrier (15:28) we aren't just throwing people. And I think that we've just driven that into everybody that we've hired or hiring managers or HR teams. And like, you know, I talked about the fundamentals, even our employee of the month, when we have employee of the month, it's how do they represent those fundamentals? Like it's just driven into all of our processes and all of our interactions with our clients. You know, we talk about our fundamentals with our clients. We, so I can't say that it was a conscious decision. Like it's not like, Leslie Youngblood (15:45) Mm-hmm. Alyssa Carrier (15:57) It wasn't a conscious decision, but I knew for me personally that in order for this to be successful, like I needed people to align with our mission and values. And if we were going to continue to separate ourselves, I couldn't let that part go. Leslie Youngblood (15:57) Hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah, I love that. I think that makes perfect sense. And you've gone from yourself starting out to, like you said, a team of over 100 people. Like, that's amazing. Has it been difficult to keep that mission aligned as well as the margin as you've grown? Like, tell us a little bit about that. Alyssa Carrier (16:30) Yeah, you know, it is. Obviously, as you grow and scale, I become less, you know, I remember late when we first started hiring and when I got to a point where like, oh, I've never met this person or I've heard this person, I'm like, what do they do? You know, like, who's this? You know, that transition was really hard. And I think that, you know, again, we have to stick to what we do. And I've never put profit over mission. I've never put profit over people. And I think if you, in my experience, if you're aligned and you're doing the right thing and you are focused on the right thing, the margin is going to follow, right? And it's when people start not trusting you, you start making shady decisions or you're not transparent in what's going on. You're not owning mistakes. Nobody's perfect. We are literally responding to disasters. We've COVID, first time anybody's gone through something like that to that scale. Leslie Youngblood (17:20) Amen. Alyssa Carrier (17:26) I had to tell my team, we're going to make mistakes. We're going to. This is literally a worldwide pandemic. Nobody's gone through this. so we have to go out there and do the right thing. We make mistakes, we fix it, we own up to it or whatever it is. But just not putting that profit in front of anything else, I think has been a difference maker. it is, again, if you're doing the right thing, always end having that. Leslie Youngblood (17:29) and Alyssa Carrier (17:51) client mindset and the community mindset, the profits and the margins are going to follow. Leslie Youngblood (17:56) Mm-hmm. Yeah, I think that's so true. And that in those times, what people need the most as a leader, somebody to tell them that it's get you fired up, like we're going to tackle this challenge. But also, I understand what a challenge this is going to be and to give them that grace of, you know, to be able to walk in and make an error or, know, whatever it is, because it's so unprecedented. Alyssa Carrier (18:05) This is it. Yeah. Leslie Youngblood (18:20) times we are in over and over again. It's Jason. Was there ever a moment where you felt like you wanted to walk away from it all? And like you decided to stay like tell us a little bit about that. Alyssa Carrier (18:24) Again and again. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, I think for any entrepreneur in business, you have those middle the night moments or times of, how did I get here? What am I doing? Little imposter syndrome. Just even as we're growing, all of sudden, oh my gosh, I have 50 people who are counting on me. Oh my gosh, I have 100 people's livelihoods at my fingers and who I'm responsible for. Those are the people that keep me going. You know, we do great work and we're able to help communities and the communities we serve, you know, that keeps me too. But the people who work for this company and who believed in me and believed in the mission are just amazing giving people. And when I get notes from them that say, hey, you know, with this bonus, I was able to... Leslie Youngblood (19:03) and Alyssa Carrier (19:27) buy a treadmill and now I'm healthy, can play with my grandchild or I was able to buy my first house or I was able to get out of a bad relationship or you know, I think for me, I was thinking of the work externally, but as we grew and I started getting this feedback, like I didn't take into account the impact I could have on our employees' lives and I don't take any of that lightly. I think about that every day, all day. How can we help them? Because if Leslie Youngblood (19:49) Yeah. Alyssa Carrier (19:55) they're not taking care of, they're not going to be able to take care of the communities. you know, again, what we do is so hard. And so they keep me going. It's, you know, there's been lots of really hard days. There's been lots of what is going on. Like, can I do this? But, you know, it's keeping going and remembering why we, why I'm doing what I'm doing and why we are, or we exist as a company. Leslie Youngblood (20:09) Mm-hmm. Mm. Yeah. Yeah, that's really special. don't think that there's, you know, many. Well, I don't say there's not many, but I think that's really special that you think about your team like that in such a way. And of course, you think of that external impact, but to recognize that it's the team that is working around you, too. And I, again, think that's such a testament to your success. And again, why I think it's so important for us to get more female business owners, because you recognize that and you think about that constantly. And so I think that's just. So incredible. So I just want to put an extra pin in that. Of course, of course. And, you know, we've talked as I kind of, it's kind of a segue to my next question, specifically about female business owners, but you know, women in disaster response and emergency leadership roles, like I would love to hear your thoughts on why women are so especially powerful in these situations. ⁓ Alyssa Carrier (20:49) Thank you. ⁓ Yeah, I mean, yeah. Yeah, I mean, I always like to preface it. You know, when I say our, our, our, our industry was born and bred of, you know, old white men and I always joke, you know, but we need them too, right? We, we need, we need a diverse, especially in emergency management, we have got to have a diverse workforce. Otherwise we are not going to understand what communities are going through and this needs. And women, especially, I mean, I'm sure you have Leslie Youngblood (21:15) And men are too, but think women have a special. Alyssa Carrier (21:42) seen and talked about the studies of women are more empathetic leaders. They're more in what industry needs more empathetic maybe aside from like ER doctors and nurses need and you know, first, you know, need to be empathetic. businesses thrive when more women are on boards. And I just think, you know, women are really good at multitasking and juggling. And, I joke about, I used to joke with my former boss. you know, we'd be in the middle of disaster and you'd stop to eat lunch. I'm like, what are you doing? We don't have time to eat lunch, right? Like I would go, which is not healthy at all. I know what I'm not pushing that, but you know, like our mindset, we're like, go, go. thinking, we're thinking of others. We're more external. You know, we have that, I think that is inbred from us, right? From being mothers or, back to our genes or whatever. But we do have, have more of an empathetic mindset and that is so important to what we do and as leaders. Leslie Youngblood (22:16) Right, no, right. Yeah, I see. Mm-hmm. Alyssa Carrier (22:33) ⁓ I was just talking to one of my team members. don't know. They're one of our fundamentals is treat each other like family. And there's been a lot of studies of like, no, workplace shouldn't be like a family. And I just really disagree with that in our industry because I've never seen a team take care of each other more than my team. And I've seen it with other companies. They're like, well, you guys really like each other. And it's not everybody's best friends and like what to hang out outside of work. But when we're here to do the work, we're taking care of each other when. Leslie Youngblood (22:44) and Mm. Alyssa Carrier (23:02) somebody has a family event and needs to be out. They step in for each other when, know, and I just think that that is much more of a female trait to have those connections, those deeper connections that go beyond just a workplace, ⁓ Leslie Youngblood (23:14) Mm hmm. Yeah, for sure. I think that's so interesting what you said about your former boss sitting and eating lunch in the middle of like a project. But I and so I think it's not just because because I feel like I had an experience once where there was like a young direct report and they just like started eating something without Alyssa Carrier (23:24) It's not Leslie Youngblood (23:34) Everybody's saying that you could eat something and I was horrified. I'm like, my god What are you doing? Like but because men Grow up or like have this like mentality of like I'm just taking it like what I want. I'm just gonna take it like yep I'm hungry. I'm gonna sit and eat and you have this foods here. I'm gonna eat this and it's like what are you doing? Because for women we're taught you have to ask you have to be polite you have to do this and Alyssa Carrier (23:38) You Let's go. Leslie Youngblood (23:55) It's not bad, but I think that's why we end up with so many more male leaders because they're taught to take because they're taught to just boop, take the initiative. And we are like this, like cultural, whatever BS around us doesn't teach us those things, but we need to see those things so we can say, yeah, I should eat lunch. I should take care of myself. We should all be eating. Yes, eating lunch is okay, but work is a good job. Alyssa Carrier (24:12) Actually, I can eat lunch, it's okay. I can take care of myself before others, yeah. Yes. Leslie Youngblood (24:17) Yes, exactly. Yes, put your own face mask on before you help others, right? And so I think that's why we need both. Like you said, Alyssa Carrier (24:19) Yep. Leslie Youngblood (24:24) like we need the old white men, like we need men and women to all be able to succeed because we, you know, we lean on each other for those types of things and to learn from each other. And so I think that's really, it's funny, but it's kind of goes deeper, even just something as long. Alyssa Carrier (24:26) Good. Yeah. It does. Well, it does. It's like I get mad and like, would never stop to eat right now, but actually I probably should so I don't get sick so I can keep working. And, you know, and yeah, and you know, there's also, I'm sure you've the study where like men, women in order to apply for a job, me in their head think they need to 99 % and then it's like 42%. So they're naturally applying for more jobs than women. And you know, so the way that that escalates and stuff. And so I'm always telling myself like, go for it. Leslie Youngblood (24:44) Great! Great! Okay. Okay. Yep. Alyssa Carrier (25:05) A lot of people are making this up as you go. I think as long as more advice to the tables with other business owners and other like you, you don't know what you're doing anything more than I do. we're all at a level playing field here. And I think going into what your intuition and women's intuition has gotten me so far. I'm so much farther, which I feel like we're tied. Some of the emotions are a bad thing, right? Those things are negative. Don't show your. Leslie Youngblood (25:18) Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Okay. Alyssa Carrier (25:31) Don't say show the sensitive side for you and to me that's a way of connected with people and just being who I am and people relate to to being authentic whatever that is because other people are gonna have traits like you and I think when you're Not an authentic authentic leader that that's when people are kind of like a little more not less trust, right? You're putting up that's not yeah, it's just less trustworthy. So Leslie Youngblood (25:42) Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Right. Right. Right. Right. And people are smart people and like that's like them trusting their gut too about somebody. We're like, hmm, something I don't, you know, the vibes aren't there or something. Right. And so, yeah, tell us more or if there's something like about you following your gut or trusting your gut, Alyssa, can you think of an example in your journey where you ignored it or you did listen to it and what happened thereafter? Because I do believe Alyssa Carrier (26:01) Yeah. This is fake, yeah. Leslie Youngblood (26:20) I agree like we are taught not to trust our gut or we're taught that it's woo woo or it's whatever. But I'm telling you every single podcast that I listen to with these with Emma Greed's podcast where she talks to Jessica Alba or Bazoma St. John, it's they're all talk about trusting their gut. And like when they didn't do it, that's when they got in trouble. And it's how so integral it is to being a successful business owner and founder, male or female. It's like you see something, you trust your gut, you got to act on it. So I'd love to hear your experience with that. Alyssa Carrier (26:38) Yeah. Yeah, I mean it's same. Anytime I haven't trusted my gut, whether you know, it's been a hire, where I was like, no, but everything was right on paper. Everything seemed in my gut was like, mm, like we shouldn't do this. Did it, didn't work out or you know, anytime that I, you know, I'm questioning my gut now, or like I... Leslie Youngblood (26:58) Okay. Alyssa Carrier (27:12) other people are telling me that that's not right. It's a fine balance of listening to your team too, right? Because you have all these amazing people around you and leadership team and there's times where I've had to go against them and be like, and maybe I don't even have a great answer as to why, but I can just say my gut's telling me no on this, right? And so I feel like in the last couple years I've gotten a lot better of being like... Even if I can't explain to you why this is what we're doing and it's worked out and I'm sure there's gonna be times it hasn't it doesn't work out but I do know anytime I've gone against my gut it didn't work out and it was and I was wrong on it. We even recently had a bid my CEO told me that everybody was telling us we should go on one team and I was like no I think we need to go on this team again couldn't explain it we ended up winning he was like Alyssa how did you know and I was like I don't know it was just my gut it would like you know it was just a new so it's it is and I think that I think that is more of a woman trait too and I think it has to go with that intuition and just having that deeper feeling, connection, whatever you want to call it. Not that men don't have great intuition, but I think you see that a lot in females, female business owners and entrepreneurs. Leslie Youngblood (28:15) Thank Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah, I love that. And I remind you of this, phrase like no is a full sentence. don't need to explain. Well, what Mike, you can say, it's my gut or you can say no, right? Like we don't have to explain like why either, but it is hard because I feel like we're also conditioned to or we want people to understand like why we're making a decision, but we really. Yeah, we don't have to. Yeah. Alyssa Carrier (28:30) No? Yeah, right. Yeah. Yeah. Right. Yes. We have to over explain ourselves versus men are saying no. And they're like, okay. And we're like, no, let me tell you the 800 reasons why and try to explain and justify it. And so it's like, nope, this is what we're doing. Go. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. For sure. For sure. Yeah. Leslie Youngblood (28:53) Right, let's move on. Move it out, move it out, people. I know, it's crazy, it's crazy. Well, let's talk about the day to day of your life and your business, Alyssa. What's something that people don't understand about what disaster consulting looks like day to day? Alyssa Carrier (29:10) Yeah, from a business standpoint, ⁓ know, everyone's like, my gosh, there's all these disasters. You must be so busy. And our business is very much up and down, right? ⁓ It's not, we're not an engineer in your accounting firm where we can project what our revenue is going to be like the next three years, right? We don't know what disaster is going to happen, where, when, all of those things. And so really, Leslie Youngblood (29:22) Thank Alyssa Carrier (29:34) From a business perspective, really, it's a constant, how do we keep our people working in non-disaster times? How do we, when we do have to scale, how do we have the corporate support there to be able to scale, but also carry that load and carry that overhead in non-disaster times? During Hurricane Helena Milton last year, we hired 90 people in 10 days. So, you know, being able to have that scalability and then also like cash flow and all of those things. So while, you know, yes, disasters are happening a lot, there's, it's, it's this, you know, up and down roller coaster that in order to maintain like a steady business and not have to hire and lay people off all the time to try to keep that, you know, that, constant stability there is, a real challenge. Leslie Youngblood (29:58) Whoa. Whoa. Alyssa Carrier (30:23) And then I would say the other thing is we're not first responders. think a lot of people think we're out there pulling people from floodwaters and stuff. We're not first responders. We come in during the response, after typically after like search and rescue and stuff to help the government side of things. Leslie Youngblood (30:23) Yeah, no doubt. Yeah. Gotcha, gotcha. No, that makes sense. What has building ACDC taught you about your own capacity in leadership? Alyssa Carrier (30:50) when I first started, and even before I started, I would read leadership book after leadership book and how, all the big leaders out there and I would try to kind of emulate that. And then I was kind of what we talked about being authentic. I really was like, that's not gonna work for me. you know, we have certain, there's lessons we can learn. There's different things we can do and see how people learn from others mistakes. But I think we're not being authentic to who we are. it's that vulnerability piece of it. like, again, the Taylor Swift listening parties, we, I, we bring Taylor into a lot of things we do. And yes, because I'm a massive super fan and she's amazing business woman and all of that, but it's also a connection piece, right? People who don't even, Leslie Youngblood (31:31) Mm-hmm. Alyssa Carrier (31:32) listen to Taylor, don't like her music, we'll join our listening parties or we'll send memes or it gives people, other people, it gives them, you know, that, I can think this is cool or I can do this. you know, we're constantly like, hey, what can we do to bring the team together? And so I think I, early on, I really tried to emulate other leaders instead of just being myself. And now I've just learned like, hey, just be yourself. Like that works better than anyone else you can try to be. Leslie Youngblood (31:56) Yeah, I love that. I think that's so true And I love that you brought up Taylor again, because when you talk about that, it's so true. When you're starting out as a business owner and even as a professional, whether you're a business owner, whether you're a singer songwriter, whether you're an actor or dancer, Alyssa Carrier (32:01) Thank you. Leslie Youngblood (32:12) human in general, you're looking to like, and there's a lot of people trying to sell you on. Join this mastermind. I'll give you my blueprint to successor. Join my course and you'll get 100 leads in 30 days and this and you go and you're like, what's the secret? And then they give you this blueprint and it doesn't work. And you're like, what? Like, why am I, why do I stink? Or what am I missing? And it's like, because you are unique and your path is not their path and you have to blaze your own trail. And so I always Alyssa Carrier (32:29) I'm sorry. Yeah. Leslie Youngblood (32:40) My husband vouched for me on this. I always talk about Taylor Swift in that regards and like that she started off this long haired, blonde girl from, you know, a country singer, and she has completely paid for her own path. And she's gone up against great, you know, experienced major shit. Alyssa Carrier (32:58) Yeah. Leslie Youngblood (32:59) and used it to fuel her instead of breaking her. And Beyonce is the same way, right? Like completely, you can say she's in a girl group and she's gonna go off and be a solo artist and this and that, but like her path is so completely unique and all the big people in this world or people in general that disrupt or change things are doing things different. They're not following a path that was like before them. They're. Alyssa Carrier (33:04) Yep. Leslie Youngblood (33:22) making their own path. Maybe it's to the side of the path that's been built, right? But like, it's all you're always going to be adding your own uniqueness. And I think that's such when I realized this, I'm like, well, yeah, all of this is inside of me. Why am I looking too external? Right? And that's so unique and like true. Yeah. Alyssa Carrier (33:25) Thank you. Right? Don't question it, right? Go with it and Taylor has like several speeches like I give. I've played her speeches to my like leadership and team because you know she has this speech. We talked about like if you're meeting resistance, if you're doing that means you're doing something different. It's not bad if you're not getting any resistance in what you're doing, then you're probably not doing the right thing because it's not different or unique or whatever. And is if you're. Leslie Youngblood (33:46) Thank Right. Alright. Mm-hmm. Alyssa Carrier (34:06) you know, keep doing what you're doing and keep focused on what you're focused on and keep that in front of you because that resistance is there because you are pushing a different path. yeah, and it's, yeah, she's just been such an inspiration to how she markets, she's not those changes. like now, you know, the whole world is, I was like, you know, heirs to her blew her up even more, but you know, I've been a fan for those reasons way before, you know, Leslie Youngblood (34:15) Right. Mm-hmm. Alyssa Carrier (34:32) They were torn, everything came up. And when you really look at her as a business and a marketing person, how she's marketed and changed the ways and fought her record labels, not even just to own her records, but to release a pop album, right? And to, you know, things like that. And so it's just really an amazing business case. Now we're seeing them in colleges and stuff using her as an example, right? And yes, you're right, Beyonce too. Like those people, like we have so much to learn from them in that. Leslie Youngblood (34:42) We have. We have. We have. Yes. Alyssa Carrier (35:01) even though they're already, they're successful, whatever, they did have to meet barriers. You can't be at the top and stay at the top long unless you continue, like, where do you go from here? And I can't wait to see what she does next because where do you go from there? Right? Where do you go from once you've like, you know, and it's just a really good lesson on like persevering and it's okay to be different and it's okay to push those boundaries. And you're right, listen to yourself and be true to who you are. Leslie Youngblood (35:06) Mm-hmm. Sure. Right? Mm-hmm. Right. Right. Yeah. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Mm-hmm, yeah, I love it. I feel like we could talk about like that, too. Alyssa Carrier (35:30) I should be just have like a Taylor podcast. Can we have a separate Taylor podcast? We should talk about that. Yeah. Leslie Youngblood (35:36) Yes. my gosh. mean, I really, I'm always like, I would love to just have a business conversation with her, like music aside, but I just like so smart and savvy and, she's good to her fans. Right. And it's like, and she gives back. And so she like has that altruistic like thing. Right. And so it's like, I just like same with like Beyonce and same with Bethany Frankel. I'm like, tell me all your secrets, like the business, like, right. Alyssa Carrier (35:49) Yeah. Well, do you know even like her surprise songs in the Airs tour, right? When she went in the US tour, she played two surprise songs. What did she do? She upped the ante when she went to European and did a mixture of songs. now she wasn't in right. Those songs would sell and go crazy out when she did them. So then she started mixing songs. So instead of having two surprise songs, she had four surprise songs. Leslie Youngblood (36:03) Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Mm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Alyssa Carrier (36:22) And then the sales, instead of having two songs go up, she had four songs, right? So like even the business mind behind that of how do we even step it up more, right? Like it's just mind blowing. Like she is constantly pushing. How do we, know, so yeah. No, I know. Gotta bring it back. Gotta bring it back. Yeah. Leslie Youngblood (36:26) That's Wait! Right. I know. I know. Pick that brain. Let us pick it. Yeah. Bring it back. Bring it back. Well, and I think that I love that too, how she's so inspiring to young women and pissing off men, which, you know, I'm always here for, right? ⁓ The breads. Johnson's or that's right. But Alyssa Carrier (36:49) The bride chimes and dance. Leslie Youngblood (36:55) So when it comes to younger women and younger generation, Alyssa, if a young woman came to you wanting to start a mission driven business in a high stakes industry, what would you tell her? Alyssa Carrier (37:05) Yeah, I would say it's might and probably is not going to look like what you think it is and that's okay. I would tell her to make sure that you keep the people who are your fans and who are cheering for you and want you to succeed close and to stay focused on your mission and vision, know, not kind of what we were just talking about that. Leslie Youngblood (37:11) Mm. Alyssa Carrier (37:26) If you are pushing that path, there's going to be negativity and there's going to be things around you people questioning and to ignore that, don't let it deter you in any way and just focus on your vision and your mission and what you're trying to accomplish. And then the other side of it, I think I would add that make sure you have a lot of cash reserves. Make sure you're able to, you know, float yourself. I would say minimum six months, probably at least a year, at least in what we do. It can take a while. I didn't. Leslie Youngblood (37:49) We love you. Alyssa Carrier (37:52) I didn't give myself a paycheck for two years, yeah, that's really important just to make sure you are going to go on your own, that you can support yourself for a bit so you don't have the stress of just trying to live while you're also trying to start something. Leslie Youngblood (37:56) Mm-hmm. Right, right. That's what you're because it gives you that. mean, you have to pay the bills, right? You have to eat. so, you know, to make sure you're in a smart financial place for that, right, like can just alleviate so much stress, whether you're young and starting out or you're in your mid 40s or 50s and wanting to start a business, kids in college, wherever you are. Right. It's so important. Alyssa, in a world that feels like it's constantly on fire, what keeps you hopeful? Alyssa Carrier (38:22) Great, wherever you are, yeah. Yeah. You know, I... Really, it's the work we do. When we're more on the ground, I was just in Texas for the floods after a devastating tragedy. And I can think back to a few different disasters. I don't want say politics don't exist in disasters, because they very much do. But when people are helping on the ground, nobody is looking at who you voted for or what you're doing. Everybody is on the ground helping each other and trying to to either save someone's life or help them get them back on their feet. And we are way more alike than we are different as people. And I don't think there is anything that can show that, like a disaster or a tragedy happening that brings people together. And what is it, that Mr. Rogers quote that his mom told him, like, look for the helpers? And it's... Leslie Youngblood (39:10) I'm Mm-hmm. Alyssa Carrier (39:25) I have a three year old and that can be a thrill daughter and that can be scary at times as well with everything going on. It's just really when I'm on the ground and I'm working and seeing the people are impacting and seeing what everybody's doing. Again, it's where everyone wants to help each other and everyone, no one cares where you came from or again, the political side or whatever and everyone wants to help each other. Luckily, I do again, I get to be reminded of that pretty frequently enough. ⁓ it's very heartwarming to see when things really matter, to see people stepping up and helping each other. that's also one of the reasons I started my foundation was to be able to feel some of those needs and be able to give back in some of the communities that we're working in who have just been devastated and be able to give back and Leslie Youngblood (39:56) you Mm-hmm. Alyssa Carrier (40:19) different ways. Leslie Youngblood (40:19) Mm-hmm, yeah, that's amazing. You know, we talked about Haley challenging herself consistently, like tell us about the legacy you're looking to build with ACDC and how you are challenging yourselves to continue to grow and innovate in the future. Alyssa Carrier (40:34) Yeah, I'm constantly challenging myself internally in my head. I've got to filter what goes out to my team, right? Not to set everything in a frenzy. But last year, we were kind of having a slower mid-year. And I told my team, I set a revenue goal that doubled our revenue the previous year. And they looked at me like I was crazy. We're hitting it, we're gonna hit it this year. I think that there's a saying, those things get measured, get done. And I think a lot of times we limit ourselves, right? And what we think we can do or we don't wanna overshoot, right? We don't wanna set a goal too high, because what if we don't meet it? And so my goal is to continue to grow the company because I see the impact that we have. Leslie Youngblood (41:14) No. Alyssa Carrier (41:24) As long as we are keeping those mission and values aligned and that we can continue to grow, I want to grow the company and be able to be that difference maker. Everyone's like, how big do you want to get? And that's not thought in my mind. It's really what impact can we have and how can we continue to grow and make a difference? And if we get to a point where we're just too big to be able to... Leslie Youngblood (41:38) Mm. Amen. Mm-hmm. Alyssa Carrier (41:50) keep those mission and values aligned, then we're not going to do that. So my legacy is I want to be able to, you know, for helping people and giving back and lifting up others as they're growing and other women, especially, and making sure that they're being heard and they have the opportunities that they have, that they want and need to succeed. Yeah, I love that. Thank you much. Leslie Youngblood (42:10) Yeah, I love that. Amazing. Thank you so much. And before we wrap up, Alyssa, please share with everybody where they can connect with you and stay in touch with you in ACDC. Alyssa Carrier (42:19) ACDC. Yep, you can find me on LinkedIn and then me. I'm doing a social media break for now, so I'm not really on any other social media, but yeah, need a break. But ACDC is on everything. We're on Instagram, Twitter, threads, LinkedIn, all of that. So Facebook, follow us there. But yeah, you can find me on LinkedIn as well. My email's there. If you want to reach out, I'm happy to chat. Leslie Youngblood (42:28) Good for you. And we'll also drop those links in the show notes as well. Well, Alyssa, thank you so much for the incredible conversation. You are a true inspiration and I just am such a fan and I look forward to watching you and your important business continue to grow. And thank you so much for joining us today. Alyssa Carrier (43:00) Yes, thank you so much and thank you for having me and all the work you're doing as well. Very inspiring. Leslie Youngblood (43:06) Thank you. Thank you. Leslie Youngblood (43:07) Thanks for tuning in to Serious Lady Business. If you loved this episode, be sure to follow or subscribe so you never miss a moment of the real, raw, and really wonderful sides of female entrepreneurship. And hey, please leave a review if you're feeling generous. It helps more amazing women find us and join the conversation. 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