We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Alexa Rose Carlin. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Alexa Rose below.
Alexa Rose , appreciate you joining us today. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.
I’ve been an entrepreneur since I was 17 years old but it wasn’t until I had the courage to take a big risk that my brand and business really took off. That was in 2015 when I had the idea for Women Empower X which was inspired by a number of events along my journey.
One – I hated going to networking events and I wanted to revolutionize the way networking events were done. Instead of leaving a networking event with a bunch of useless business cards and feeling awkward in the process, I wanted to create an experience that not only helps you connect with the right people for your business but connects you with a collaborative community of support.
Two- As I was traveling speaking and sharing my story I noticed the need for diverse women to connect, from different backgrounds, ages and industries. I thought about how much change can happen when we step out of our circles and start supporting one another on a deeper level, professionally and personally.
Three – I wanted to share my story on a bigger stage and when no one would give me that stage, I decided to create my own.
That’s when I had the idea for Women Empower X and I took $2,000 from my savings and put a down payment on a 30,000 square ft ballroom at the Fort Lauderdale Convention Center. That was a huge risk for me at the time because I had no clue how to run events, let alone how I’d make the money to cover the rest of the fee to host an event at the convention center. But that risk paid off and skyrocketed my career and business. The first event brought in over 2,000 people and my personal brand has been growing since.
Alexa Rose , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I’m a professional speaker, best-selling author, content creator, and entrepreneur. I started my first business designing jewelry for an L.A. based fashion company under my own label when I was 17 years old. At 21 years old while growing my first blog, Hello Perfect, I had a near-death experience. My body went into septic shock and I was induced into a medical coma given a one-percent change to live. This changed my life forever and while I spent my twenties struggling, this experience also led me to finding the courage to share my story vulnerably and that’s how I got into public speaking and writing. When I decided I wanted to share my story I began pitching myself to small local events, offering to speak for free. I received 60 letters of rejection which made me feel so much doubt about what I was trying to do. But that passion was still in me and months later I decided to create my own stage. I started doing small events, which led to me getting booked on others stages and gave me the confidence to take it to the next level. In 2015 I founded Women Empower X with our 1st event being held in South Florida in 2016. Since then we’ve hosted 10 events gathering over 20,000 people in person. In 2021 I became a published author and got my book, “Adaptable” published. This led to my next business venture partnering with my publishing firm to create an imprint, WEX Press, to help other women achieve their dream of becoming a published author. Today, I am a mom of twin boys and I focus on creating content and tools to help empower people to live their best life and turn their obstacles into opportunities.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
When COVID hit, my event business was hit hard. At the time we were set to host multiple large scale events that year and in a blink of an eye it was all gone. I had to pivot away from in-person events and try and figure out what to do that would sustain the business in the meantime. To do this, I focused on my mission with the events, which was to empower women to take their career to the next level and support one another. I realized this could be done a number of ways, not just through in-person events. That’s when I launched Speak to Elevate, an online course to help women grow their personal brand by sharing their story and getting paid to speak. This is also the time I pivoted to virtual events and cultivating that community more through my personal brand and online content on social media.
Pivoting is never easy, but sometimes you’re just one pivot away from elevating your dreams to the next level.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
In 2011 my life changed forever. I was 21 years old getting ready to graduate from the University of Florida when a deadly bacteria entered my bloodstream and sent my body into septic shock. I was induced into a medical-coma given a one-percent chance to live. I was in a coma for 6 days and in the ICU for a total of 10. While I was still able to graduate college on time after this and move to New York City to pursue my dream job working at InStyle magazine, six months later I fell ill again. I was then diagnosed with a chronic autoimmune disease that I learned I’d have to live with forever. At 22 years old I had to move back in with my parents in South Florida and I felt like all my dreams were stolen from me. There were so many days, months and even years I felt like giving up but instead I found purpose in the pain and decided to turn this obstacle into an opportunity to inspire others.
Contact Info:
- Website: alexacarlin.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/alexarosecarlin
- Facebook: facebook.com/alexarosecarlin
- Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/alexarosecarlin
- Twitter: twitter.com/AlexaRoseCarlin
- Youtube: youtube.com/@AlexaRoseCarlin
- Other: Tiktok: tiktok.com/@alexarosecarlin
Image Credits
Debra Gloria Photography Viviimage Photography