We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Alex Blair. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Alex below.

Alright, Alex thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Almost all entrepreneurs have had to decide whether to start now or later? There are always pros and cons for waiting and so we’d love to hear what you think about your decision in retrospect. If you could go back in time, would you have started your business sooner, later or at the exact time you started?

I have always wanted to do something other than being a mother and wife. When my kids, Alice and James, were young, I worked briefly at Petrobras America, though I eventually decided to quit my job to fulfill my motherly duties. I balanced taking care of my kids full time with quite a busy social schedule, but now that they have grown up, I thought to myself, “I’ve built a good life for myself and my children, but now is my time to build something just for me.”
I was already a member of Heels and Horsepower when the opportunity to purchase the business arose in 2022. I was able to take over the business thanks to the help of my husband, Mark Grace, who was my leading supporter throughout the process. He selflessly became our sponsor, assisting with my new direction for the business without asking anything of me. He did everything he could to help build the company, including guiding me through the process for Heels and Horsepower to become an LLC. Since then, I implemented a membership fee to help fund our events and handle business expenses without relying on external parties. With the amazing support of our fabulous members, the business is now self-sustaining and prosperous.

If I had started the business earlier, I wouldn’t have the life experience and time I have today to invest in it. And of course, I wouldn’t have had the same support of my husband, family, and friends to make this a reality. The opportunity came at the right time for me, and I wouldn’t change a thing!

Alex, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am the owner and CEO of Heels and Horsepower. I was born and raised in Fortaleza, Brazil, with three brothers and sisters. There, I attended a Catholic girls’ school and then pursued a degree in Geology at the University Federal of Ceará. Brazil is a fascinating country where people love football, samba, the beach, and Formula 1. We love all things that make us happy. In 1996, I moved to England with my newborn daughter, Alice, and husband, lived a quiet life, and studied English at West Sussex University. Three years later, I moved to Houston, where my son, James, was born, and I did some work for Petrobras America, a Brazilian oil company. Helping people in need was crucial; I am a former Recipe for Success Foundation board member and a 2015 Fashion Gene Award recipient. I have also been involved in Let the Fashion Begin (a Texas Children’s Hospital benefit), chaired the Opening Night for HGO, Fund for Teachers, and IWrite. In the past decade, I have also served on the board of Unicef in the southwest region and am a supporter of the Houston Grand Opera and the Houston Symphony League.
As a fashion lover, I have been featured on many occasions as one of the bells of the ball for the HGO Ball and Culture Map style files and other Houston-based magazines.

My passion for fast cars started at a young age, watching the Formula 1 season. I love to drive high-end cars and have been doing so for over fifteen years. In 2018, I joined the Heels & Horsepower car club, which is dedicated to ladies who own supercars or ultra-luxury vehicles.

In 2022, I took over ownership of Heels and Horsepower to unite like-minded women through friendship and enable them to showcase their love, appreciation, and knowledge of all things automotive. We are a members-only car club. Our club hosts two to four official events and a few pop-ups across Houston’s Uptown and River Oaks neighborhoods yearly. We have two membership levels, Personal and Concierge, although all members are guided by our rules and regulations handbook. Prospect members are accepted following an existing member’s referral and an application submitted through our website. I want to expand the business nationwide through a franchise and merchandise line.

At all our events, we combine fashion, fun, and a passion for cars. Our members are entrepreneurs, lawyers, housewives, artists, socialites, and car enthusiasts who share a common goal: to cultivate lasting relationships among others and unite like-minded women through friendship and empowerment.

What I’m most proud of about H&H is that it creates instant communities among our members. We have a strong friendship bond and often support each other.

My discipline, perseverance, and positivity define me from others. I wake up daily with a new perspective and always move forward.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

1996, I moved to England from Brazil with my newborn daughter Alice and husband to follow his career and live in a safer country. I had studied English in high school and had been going to English classes, too, but you don’t speak a language fluently until you experience the culture and can speak the language every day. I remember holding my tiny child in the flight and wondering how my life would be in a new country, culture, and language. I was granted a spouse visa to enter the UK and was unaware of the immigration procedure upon arrival.
As we landed at Heathrow Airport in London and went through the immigration process, they informed me that I had to submit to X-rays, blood work, and a bunch of other tests to ensure I was in good health to live in the country. I was separated from my family and escorted alone to the hospital unit inside the airport to undergo the tests. Even though I was in perfect health and knew I was going to pass the tests, it was a scary experience. After hours of waiting for the test results, I was allowed to enter the country. I was relieved. We drove two hours by car to the city I called home for the longest three years of my life.

We lived in a beautiful house by the beach in West Sussex, but the seaside was extremely cold and wet (even though I typically love the rain). Culture shock hit me from every direction: the food I ate, the language and how people spoke to each other, and even how I got around town running errands and so on. Life was easier for me in Brazil than in England, as I had help from my family and a maid to care for my daughter. I attended English classes at the University of West Sussex, made a few friends, started driving lessons, and spent time with my amazing parents-in-law. As the driving lessons progressed, I concluded that I wouldn’t be able to drive on the other side of the road and quit the lessons. My father-in-law, Ron, was integral to my life there. He helped me with everything I needed, showed me around the country, and he and his wife, Linda, truly embraced me as a daughter.
In 1999, just as I was beginning to adapt to the English culture, we moved to Houston. This time, the transition was easier, and I fell in love with the city and this country that I now consider my own.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Many people will give you a lot of advice, most of it bad, good, and sound, but you’ll have to figure out how it doesn’t apply to you because it’s coming from an unexpected angle. You are the one who should decide on what is suitable for your life. Skepticism is healthy. It’s needed for critical thinking, for you to reason things out logically.
If it’s too good to be true, it probably is, and if it doesn’t make sense, ask yourself why not.

I will not be able to share the backstory here, but the life lesson I had to unlearn was following advice from a friend about a life-changing decision I had to make. That advice definitely changed my life in many ways, in some aspects good and others bad, but I wish I hadn’t followed it.
Keep in mind that good or bad advice can be your life lesson.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://heelsandhorsepower.org/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heelshorsepower/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heelshorsepower/
• Youtube: Heels and Horsepower @heelsandhorsepower7851

Image Credits

Daniel Ortiz
Alejandro Olivares