The Localist with Carrie Rollwagen

The Localist is a conversation with local makers and independent entrepreneurs. Local business advocate Carrie Rollwagen invites mom-and-pops, freelancers, side hustlers and start up founders to talk staffing, funding, hiring, inspiring — and everything in between.

The Localist with Carrie Rollwagen is a business podcast hosted by Carrie Rollwagen, with 100 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Carrie Rollwagen hosts The Localist with Carrie Rollwagen, a business show with 100 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

• 

  Episode #82

  Battle Republic Is Built to Grow without Breaking

  Sep 15, 202652 min

  This week on The Localist, Carrie Rollwagen sits down with Leah Drury and Lindsey Miller Neal, the co-founders of Battle Republic. Battle Republic is a fitness boxing studio with locations in Homewood, Hoover, and now Tuscaloosa. Leah played basketball at Alabama and coached in the WNBA. Lindsey spent 14 years at Zoe's Kitchen, where she was acting CFO while the company scaled to 240 restaurants, and she now runs an accounting business for small business owners. They have been friends since they were kids growing up, and they are refreshingly honest about what it takes to run a company with a friend. The conversation gets into how they hire, which starts with character and gets to kettlebell technique later. They talk about building community in a dark room where nobody is talking, why they don't require members to own gloves, and what the red light and the blue light at the end of class are actually doing. They also get into growth: what COVID taught them a year into the business, why you cannot pay the bills at your first location with the money from your second one, and how they decide when to trust the data and when to trust their gut. Watch the Full Episode on YouTube. _______________________________________ Mentioned in This Episode Mpire Concepts Zoe's Kitchen The Stable in Greensboro Vuori at The Summit "Unreasonable Hospitality" by Will Guidara "Atomic Habits" by James Clear Church Street Coffee and Books Infomedia Connect with Leah Drury and Lindsey Miller Neal Leah Drury and Lindsey Miller Neal are the co-founders of Battle Republic, a fitness boxing studio with locations in Homewood, Hoover, and Tuscaloosa. Leah played basketball at the University of Alabama and coached in the WNBA. Lindsey spent 14 years at Zoe's Kitchen, where she was acting CFO, and she also runs an accounting business for small business owners. Battle Republic Battle Republic on Instagram Battle Republic on LinkedIn Battle Republic Tuscaloosa on Instagram Battle Republic intro offer: two weeks for $59 Lindsey Miller Neal on LinkedIn Thanks to Our Sponsor, Infomedia The Localist is sponsored by Infomedia. They are a Birmingham-based web and digital marketing company. They help small businesses grow online. Contact Infomedia Join Us at Localist Lab Localist Lab is a free event series for small business owners. It meets on the third Thursday of most months at Saturn in Avondale. Free tacos and coffee too. See upcoming events and register Subscribe to Carrie's Newsletter Want more small business tips from Carrie? Sign up for her newsletter. Sign up here

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #81

  If You Can Write Instructions, You Can Build an AI Skill (Here's How)

  Sep 8, 202643 min

  This is a live recording from Localist Lab, the in-person version of The Localist, where specialists come in to talk to small business owners about the work everyone's trying to figure out. This month Carrie Rollwagen was the speaker, talking about the thing that finally made AI click for her: using AI well isn't a tech skill, it's a management skill. Anyone who has trained an intern, written an SOP, or told somebody how to cover their desk while they were out already has most of what they need. The session walks through how to build an AI skill start to finish, first using Infomedia's new hire Emery as the comparison and then using the podcast as the working example. It covers the 70-30 rule for deciding what to hand off, why a skill is really just a standard operating procedure written in plain English, why the context window works like a meeting whiteboard, and the eight things a good set of instructions has to include. Carrie also shows the skills she actually uses to make The Localist: a researcher, an interview writer, a title writer, a social media writer, and a strategic advisor skill that the others pull from. There's also a story about an espresso machine named Richard that will convince you to read your AI's research before you sit down at a microphone. Then the audience asks questions on whether skills are just fancy form letters, whether you need to pay for an AI account, and what actually happens to your data once you put it into a chatbot. If AI still feels overwhelming, or if you've built a skill and it keeps handing you mediocre work, this session gives you a real process for fixing it. Watch the Full Episode on YouTube _______________________________________ Mentioned in This Episode Infomedia Uptick Marketing Tempo Websites Caravan (AI training) Infomedia AI training and upcoming events 1Password LastPass Trattoria ZaZa "The AI Daily Brief" podcast "The Localist" book by Carrie Rollwagen Laine White on local influencer marketing (next Localist Lab speaker) Saturn in Avondale About the Speaker Carrie Rollwagen is Senior Vice President of Strategic Planning at Infomedia and the host of The Localist. She is a former bookstore owner, a career writer, and the author of "The Localist: Think Independent, Buy Local, and Reclaim the American Dream." carrierollwagen.com Carrie on Instagram Carrie on LinkedIn Thanks to Our Sponsor, Infomedia The Localist is sponsored by Infomedia. They are a Birmingham-based web and digital marketing company. They help small businesses grow online. Contact Infomedia Join Us at Localist Lab Localist Lab is a free event series for small business owners. It meets on the third Thursday of most months at Saturn in Avondale. Free tacos and coffee too. See upcoming events and register Subscribe to Carrie's Newsletter Want more small business tips from Carrie? Sign up for her newsletter. Sign up here

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #80

  How to Use AI Without the Internet Turning on You

  Aug 31, 202656 min

  Show Notes How to Use AI Without the Internet Turning on You | Laine White of Uptick Marketing AI can save your small business a lot of time. It can also get you dragged into your own comment section. This week Carrie Rollwagen sits down with Laine White, Head of Client Strategy at Uptick Marketing, to figure out where the line actually is. Laine uses AI every day, and she still has real ethical concerns about it, which is exactly why she is the right person to ask. Her rule is simple: use AI to plan, strategize, organize, and analyze. If you are using it to make the content people actually see, either make sure nobody can tell, or be ready for the fallout. We get into why people come for small businesses harder than they come for big corporations, how one angry comment thread turns into a Reddit thread and then into what your neighbor thinks about your business, and what 'burstiness' has to do with why AI captions read as bland. Laine breaks down what captions actually need on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok, why she does not want you generating images at all right now, how a brand kit makes AI design look less like AI, and why ChatGPT keeps quietly editing your photos and giving you away. She also answers the question every business owner is afraid to ask: you already posted the AI thing, people are mad, now what? Laine walks through what to say, what not to say, and why saying nothing is the worst option you have. _______________________________________ Mentioned in This Episode Uptick Marketing Infomedia Uncle G's Pizza Uncle G's Pizza on Instagram Saturn Birmingham Cala Coffee Cember Studio Hattie O'Hara on Instagram The Localist episode with Hattie O'Hara Laine's first Localist episode: A Practical Guide to Influencer Marketing DJI Osmo Pocket 3 Creator Combo The Birmingham subreddit Connect with Laine White Laine White is Head of Client Strategy at Uptick Marketing, the sister company of Infomedia. She works with small businesses on social media, websites, and strategy, and she has a psychology background that shows up in how she thinks about reputation and word of mouth. Uptick Marketing Laine on Instagram Thanks to Our Sponsor, Infomedia The Localist is sponsored by Infomedia. They are a Birmingham-based web and digital marketing company. They help small businesses grow online. Contact Infomedia Join Us at Localist Lab Localist Lab is a free event series for small business owners. It meets on the third Thursday of most months at Saturn in Avondale. Free tacos and coffee too. See upcoming events and register Subscribe to Carrie's Newsletter Want more small business tips from Carrie? Sign up for her newsletter. Sign up here

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #79

  How Personal Styling Builds Confidence (and a Brand) | Malissa Davis of Best You Ever

  Aug 24, 202650 min

  In this episode of The Localist, Carrie Rollwagen sits down with Malissa Davis, the founder of Best You Ever, a Birmingham-based personal styling and image consulting firm. Malissa spent nearly 10 years at Nordstrom before launching her own business, and now works with clients in Birmingham and virtually across the United States. Fun fact: Malissa is also the mom of Taylor Davis, the showrunner for The Localist. If you've ever seen Taylor on camera and thought she looked great, that is Malissa's work. Malissa opens with how she starts every client relationship: tell me your story. She talks about why building trust in a dressing room feels a little like being an unlicensed therapist, and what she learned in a decade at Nordstrom that shaped how she works today. She walks through her closet cleanout process (take out anything that does not fit, including the clothes you keep to shame yourself into losing weight), her style assessment quiz, and why her four-hour shopping cap is really about respecting your capacity. The second half is about the business side of things. Malissa gets into why she specializes in curves and tall women, why tailoring is worth the extra $15 every time, how she styles for speaking events and camera, and the SOS package for special occasions. She also shares one of her favorite client stories: styling a Biggest Loser finalist for the show finale. If you are trying to build a personal brand, style yourself for a speaking event, or just tired of your closet saying no to you every morning, this episode is a warm, practical guide. Watch on YouTube _______________________________________ Mentioned in This Episode Best You Ever Nordstrom Infomedia Thanks to Our Sponsor, Infomedia The Localist is sponsored by Infomedia. They are a Birmingham-based web and digital marketing company. They help small businesses grow online. • Contact Infomedia Join Us at Localist Lab Localist Lab is a free event series for small business owners. It meets on the third Thursday of most months at Saturn in Avondale. Free tacos and coffee too. • See upcoming events and register Subscribe to Carrie's Newsletter Want more small business tips from Carrie? Sign up for her newsletter. • Sign up here

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #82

  The People Behind Birmingham's AI Boom | Austin Senseman and Robert Hill of Caravan

  Aug 17, 202658 min

  In this episode of The Localist, Carrie Rollwagen sits down with Austin Senseman and Robert Hill, the co-founders of Caravan. Caravan is a Birmingham-based AI training company that teaches business owners and their teams how to actually use tools like Claude Code and Claude Cowork. Austin is also co-founder of Birmingham AI, the 501(c)(3) that puts on free monthly AI events at Innovation Depot, and is a Claude Ambassador for Birmingham. Infomedia hired Caravan for a full team training earlier this year, and Infomedia also sells the class to clients. Austin and Robert talk about how Caravan started with a listening tour of 20 Birmingham businesses at the end of last year, and how the answer they kept hearing was not build me a product, it was teach me how to use these tools. They get into why they think Claude Code was the moment agentic AI became real for non-technical professionals, why every AI class is also a little bit of therapy, and why they update the curriculum every single week to keep up with what the tools can do. The second half is where the conversation goes deeper. Carrie, Austin and Robert all get honest about the ethics of AI, the anxiety it creates, and the reality of being a writer or a small business owner trying to navigate this moment. They talk about why anger is a common emotional home for people right now, why disengaging from AI often means leaving the conversation to bad actors, and why Robert thinks 2027 is going to get weird. They also talk about James Clear's identity framework, why buying local-ish beats buying local perfectly, and why Austin's favorite AI story is a Birmingham pastor who uses AI to save four hours a week on sermons so he can visit more people in hospice. If you are grappling with AI in your own work, this is a rare honest conversation. Watch on YouTube _______________________________________ Mentioned in This Episode • Caravan • Birmingham AI • Infomedia • Claude • Claude Code • Anthropic • Innovation Depot • Hardware Park • Sloss Tech Thanks to Our Sponsor, Infomedia The Localist is sponsored by Infomedia. They are a Birmingham-based web and digital marketing company. They help small businesses grow online. • Contact Infomedia Join Us at Localist Lab Localist Lab is a free event series for small business owners. It meets on the third Thursday of most months at Saturn in Avondale. Free tacos and coffee too. • See upcoming events and register Subscribe to Carrie's Newsletter Want more small business tips from Carrie? Sign up for her newsletter. • Sign up here

  ListenShow Notes

Recent guests on The Localist with Carrie Rollwagen. Study who booked and why before you pitch.

Based on semantic analysis of episode topics and host coverage, this show is a strong guest fit for executives in:

Industry fit is computed by PitchCentric using vector embeddings of the show's episode catalog.