Episode Category: The Localist

Zebbie Carney, CEO and founder of Eugene’s Hot Chicken, joins Carrie this week to discuss how Zebbie is adapting both his restaurant and food truck to deal with the pandemic. Zebbie and Carrie start off discussing how he and his crew have pivoted their food truck strategy, how their sales have been affected after losing foot traffic, and how Zebbie has prepared his staff to follow the ever-changing safety guidelines. Zebbie has worked with several nonprofits to donate meals to hospital staff and talks about the impressive creativity he’s seen from other local businesses.

Neillie Butler, founder and owner of wedding planning company Mariée Ami, tells us how she and her team jumped in to handle quarantine for their clients. Neillie gives us a glimpse into the experiences that have shaped her drive, her leadership style with her team, and her perspective in both her personal and professional life. Neillie and Carrie then chat about Ami à Vie, the new lifestyle brand recently launched under Mariée Ami, and wrap up with what they’re learning during this crisis and what they hope to continue post-pandemic.

Jonathan Robinson, new owner of Little Professor bookstore in Homewood, AL, joins Carrie this week. Jonathan has an extensive history in the online book industry through Free Textbooks, and he tells us how he is translating that experience to a brick and mortar location. Jonathan took ownership of Little Professor only a few weeks before quarantine started and chats about how it has impacted the business.

Brian Teasley, founder and owner of Saturn in Birmingham, AL, joins Carrie this week on The Localist. Saturn is celebrating its fifth year as a music venue, bar, and coffee shop, and Brian tells us how he pulled from his years of experience as both a touring musician and venue co-owner (of Birmingham’s Bottletree) to make Saturn such a success. They talk about the fire that sidelined Saturn years ago and the pandemic that has the venue shuttered today, then wrap up by discussing how to support not only Saturn, but the broader arts and business community as well.

David O’Gwynn, chair of the computer science department at Belhaven University and freelance security professional, joins Carrie. They dive in with how much harder it is to teach remotely, and how none of the video conferencing apps are really cutting it. David points out that now is the time for tech companies to build something better for humanity than what’s currently out there and discusses the long term impacts this pandemic could have on both students and universities.

Susan Rollwagen, owner and founder of Pepperbox Solutions, helps businesses with performance management and achieving common goals, so we thought she would be the perfect guest to talk about working remotely. Susan and Carrie discuss running meetings remotely, how to reprimand employees, how to work with parents who are juggling raising kids and working full time, and how to encourage people. Susan and Carrie wrap up by discussing how to communicate layoffs and furloughs.

Carrie’s guest this week is Russell Marbut, who is both Carrie’s coworker and her husband. Carrie and Russell already work together, and are also working together remotely during quarantine. Russell and Carrie start off with a typical WFH day, and discuss the differences between working together before quarantine and during quarantine. They then move on to the challenges of communication while working remotely, the emotional roller coaster some of us might be on, and how exercise is a big part of maintaining some semblance of normalcy.

This week, Carrie is joined by Derek Brown, former co-owner of WideNet Consulting, on what it’s like to leave the business you’ve built. Derek tells us what made him decide to leave the business he co-founded and gives us some insight on how to make a business split a little less traumatic. He then touches on the possibility of forcibly losing a business during this global health crisis, how Derek’s business survived the recession of 2008, and what he thinks it will take for a business to survive this new kind of crisis.

Carrie is back with another short bonus episode about how to take care of yourself during a global health crisis, even if that seems impossible. Carrie breaks down some of the basic human needs (sleep, food, movement, and yes, even showering!) and gives shortcuts for when changing out of your pjs sounds too daunting. She wraps up with the critical importance of community, especially during this time, and introduces us to the idea of health bingo.

In this short bonus episode, Carrie shares unfiltered thoughts on the COVID-19 pandemic. She looks to history and to literature for perspective on our current state of events and shines light on the realities of a shut down of most shops and services (especially for small business owners!). She wraps up with some of the opportunities that we still have that hold hope for the future for artists and entrepreneurs.