Podcasts Episodes

Will Mason of Mason Music joins Carrie on this week’s episode of The Localist. Will is a Birmingham native who is making big moves in the local music world. 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 Theater. 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 then gives us a brief history lesson on Haiti, defines a few cycling terms (fun fact: peloton is not just an expensive indoor bike), and breaks down the nitro cold brew process. 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.

Dr. Lori Jasper, optometrist and owner of NowVision Eye Care, joins Carrie on this week’s episode of The Localist. Dr. Lori and Carrie touch on the woes of healthcare coverage and Dr. Lori tells us how she handles tough conversations with patients. They then move into business operations: choosing a location and making it feel welcoming, hiring and training employees, and how Lori handles owning and operating a business while being an introvert (we’re big fans of her suggestions: self care and naps!). They wind up the conversation with how Dr. Lori competes with the Warby Parkers and other big-box retailers of frames.

Nancey Legg of Better Kombucha joins Carrie on this episode of The Localist! Nancey starts us off with the basics: What is kombucha?! (Think good ol’ southern sweet tea, but with a little bubbly goodness.) Nancey then gives us a brief history lesson, tells us about fermentation and ABV, and shares what inspired and motivated her to get started in the first place.

On this week’s episode, The Localist goes live! Well, we WENT live at the the Localist Launch Party hosted at Dreamers Supply Company. To celebrate the official launch of the podcast, Carrie’s dad, Mike Rollwagen, interviewed a few volunteers at the party about a whole host of localist topics! We hear from Stephanie first about the best ways to discover new music; Sara Margaret tells us about the magic of goat cheese and eating local; Andrew persuades us to try out Trattoria Zaza (as if we really needed convincing); Mary Katherine gives some local love to Zoe’s Vintage; and Clay serves up some sizzling local coffee recs.

Dreamers Supply Co's charming and magical shop owners, Kaitlin and Alan Slattery, talk with Carrie on today's episode. The husband and wife team share about leaving their comfort zones (Stable jobs! Health insurance! PTO!) to pursue an education at Savannah College of Art and Design. The pair also talk about working with your spouse and balancing the need to take time and space for yourself, learning how to communicate and ask for what you need, and starting a business from the ground up. You’ll learn how these entrepreneurs feel about social media (spoiler: Alan hates it), how to give and receive critiques on creative projects, and how to find a mentor. This episode packs a lot of practical information and delivers it with a sense of humor!

In this episode of The Localist, Carrie is joined Mateo Zarate (@mateozdigital) of CrowneWorks Creative Media. You’ll learn the best way to refresh your content, the right questions to ask to quote a client, and tips for how to get clients to feel more comfortable in front of the camera. These tips are coming straight from a pro, so you know they’re good! The duo also discuss how they hire freelancers, their positions on taking free work or working for trade, and how that can sometimes work out better in the long run (cough-no taxes-cough). They round out the episode discussing the importance of networking in person (yes, it makes a difference!), and Mateo gives us pointers on how to do a pitch.

Carrie Rollwagen (@crollwagen) is a writer and entrepreneur with a penchant for frequenting — and founding — small businesses. Carrie co-founded a successful coffee shop and bookstore, worked for years as a freelancer for publications like Southern Living, teaches classes on writing and marketing for small businesses, and is currently a VP at a mid-size web development company in Birmingham, Alabama. She spent a year buying only from locally owned stores and blogging about the experience; she turned that experience into a book, The Localist, published in 2014. The Localist podcast isn’t just the next chapter in her exploration of local business; it’s also a how-to manual for anyone who wants to work for themselves.