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Founded in 2016, Alexa grew the Women Empower Expo (WEX) to become the largest event for female entrepreneurs on the east coast hosting events in Fort Lauderdale, FL and Washington D.C.. Through WEX Alexa has created a platform for women entrepreneurs to gain support, find funding, and meet other like-minded women.Alexa’s mission is to make a difference in at least one person’s life every single day. Today, Alexa travels the world as a sought-after public speaker on the topics of entrepreneurship, authentic leadership, women’s empowerment and overcoming obstacles.
What are you working on? How did you come up with this idea?
I’m working on growing and expanding my company, the Women Empower Expo. The Women Empower Expo has grown to become the largest event for female entrepreneurs within the first year and currently i’m working on expanding to more cities and to reach more people with our events and message. I came up with this idea inspired by my own experiences as an entrepreneur and from a missing link I saw in the market while I was speaking to numerous women’s organizations as a public speaker.
How is your company different?
What’s your dream with your company?
My dream is to have the Women Empower Expo be the go-to event for all female entrepreneurs and female leaders creating a ripple effect of change by empowering each attendee to take action on the things they want most in life. My dream is to hear stories from the women who attend on how WEX was that pivotal moment for them and their business and today they are doing what they love full time and making a difference in the process. I want to help create the next “Sara Blakely’s” of the world.
How do you creatively advertise?
Good question! I’d say the creative way we advertise is through my public speaking gigs. We attract thousands of attendees and customers through my own speaking gigs without me ever saying “come to this event or buy this ticket”. Public speaking has been my #1 marketing and advertising tool to grow my business. That’s actually the inspiration to why I created BeAPublicSpeaker.com, to teach more entrepreneurs how to grow their business by authentically sharing their stories. It’s the BEST advertising and the most cost-effective!
What is your core competency?
We equip female entrepreneurs with the knowledge and community to create and grow successful companies.
What was your biggest failure and biggest success? What did you learn from them?
I really don’t believe I’ve failed at anything because every misstep led me to where I am today but I guess to answer this question i’d say the biggest thing I did wrong was not remain consistent in my business in the beginning. When I was first starting out as an entrepreneur I jumped around a lot, trying to find things that would produce the results I wanted. Now looking back I realize the importance of being consistent, with everything you do, especially when it comes to producing content. That’s definitely something i’ve learned the hard way (I started my first youtube show back when YouTube was still infant sized, if I remained consistent I’d have a much larger following than I do today!).
Biggest success has been the number of people in attendance at the Women Empower Expo. I started the company in 2016 and have produced 3 events so far which attracted over 7,000 people in attendance! From this success I really learned the value of putting yourself out there authentically and vulnerably. The more I share who I am, the more transparent I am in my business, the more relatable I become as a Founder and the more trustworthy my business becomes. It creates a really great environment for long-term success creating a real community we do business with.
Give the readers the best entrepreneurship advice you have.
Fear regret more than you fear failure.
Teach us something about networking:
Don’t go to a networking event with the mission to tell people what you do, but rather share who you are. The more authentic and real you can be, the greater result you’ll receive from networking.
What’s something new you’ve learned in the past month?
People have different communication expectations and that can cause a lot of perspective differences when it comes to working with a team. It’s easy for someone to think they are communicating well and the other party think the communication is lacking if it is not clearly laid out of what is expected. It’s best to be upfront as a leader and clearly outline what you expect from your team when it comes to communication and the vehicle of communication.
What do you think you do better than most people?
Improvise! I’m really great at thinking on my toes, especially when I’m in front of a crowd. I’ve heard so many people tell me that a crowd of people causes them to be shy or timid, but it actually does the opposite for me. When i’m speaking in front of people, I get so much energy and the words flow! Whether that be on a conference call to 50+ team members or in front of an audience on stage.
What should an entrepreneur focus on?
The bigger vision and the feeling that vision will bring them. When you focus on the feeling, then you can better understand the journey. Sometimes things don’t work out, but that thing may not be what will help you achieve the feeling you want. For example, you don’t want a million dollars, you want the feeling a million dollars will bring you or the feeling you’ll get when you spend that million or even when you make that million. When you can focus on the feeling, your vision becomes clearer of the life you are building for yourself and for others, and that will drive you closer to achieving it!
What are some of the best books you’ve ever read?
The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo, Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert, and Unbinding the Heart by Agapi Stassinopoulos are a few of my favorites.
Where do you see yourself and your product in a couple years?
In a few years I see the Women Empower Expo taking place in 4 cities across the country impacting 3,000+ people at each of our events. On a personal note, in a few years I see myself traveling the country on a book tour!
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