Emily Merrell  00:00

Hey, my name is Emily Merrell. I’m a taco loving people connector, and I’m obsessed with playing the name game and all things networking. I’m the founder of second degree society, a female focused networking community, as well as a business coach for female business owners, passionate about bringing their business to the next level with the help of events, community and connections. I crave deep conversations and am continuously curious to see what makes people tick, and I’m invested in uncovering their stories with some life lessons along the way. This podcast is aimed to inspire and educate as you tackle your busy day. So join the conversation and tune in for the second degree podcast. I’m your host, Emily, and today I’m so excited y’all to have Allison Carter. She’s a business coach and founder of Allison Carter celebrates and is today’s guest. So Allison, welcome to the show. Okay.

 

Allison Carter  00:57

Em, thanks for having me.

 

Emily Merrell  00:58

I always find it really hard to have only an hour with a person, which technically, like, we should be done with this in 30 minutes. But yet, the pre conversation always like, shoot, why didn’t I record the pre conversation always,

 

Allison Carter  01:11

always, yep, I know. I mean, I also am, like a talker. So that goes, no,

 

Emily Merrell  01:18

should we start off then, like, what is your astrological sign that makes you a talker.

 

Allison Carter  01:22

I am a Libra. I am an Enneagram seven. I am a generator. I have ADHD. So I’m gonna have the biggest extrovert you’ll ever meet. It’s just, you know, it comes with package.

 

Emily Merrell  01:36

Do you find like, do you surround yourself with other extroverts? Or do you or a lot of your friends kind of like you are, they’re barnacles to you, like they they can’t understand extroversion. Good question.

 

Allison Carter  01:51

Um, a little both. I would think, like there are certain friends that I’ll let I know, like we are gonna have a good time tonight. And then there are other and, like, obviously, I have good times with all my friends, but there are some that you just like play off that energy really well. And I’m such a Yes friend. I’m like, a yes parent, I’m a yes partner, I’m a Yes friend, um, I just him up for really, anything always. And I like the spontaneity. I like the unknown. But I definitely have a lot of people in my life that kind of are like, Oh my God, you are. Make me do so many things that make me feel so uncomfortable, but I’m so glad I did it. Or like, I was a little bit more like that. I own another business called ultimate product party, that’s an in person event for product based businesses, and my business partner Kat, and that side is we are polar opposites. So it’s always fun, because I know what’s going to like, rile her up, and I know what’s gonna, like, really freak her out. And I just, like, throw her to the wolves when she’s like, and I’m like, You did great, see, not so bad.

 

Emily Merrell  03:08

She’s like, shaking like a chihuahua afterwards. Like, I

 

Allison Carter  03:11

don’t want to do this.

 

Emily Merrell  03:12

I don’t want to do this. Yeah, I so resonate with that. I feel like I’m the emotional support friend to like, where they’re like, how did you just get that person’s number? And I was like, I don’t know, we just made a connection, because I ran into a trash can and they laughed. And then I was like, Hey, what’s your name?

 

Allison Carter  03:27

You know, just you are that person I’ve never met anyone like, as strong as you are with those like, the most natural connector, get to know you like you. There is a never a lull in the conversation. Always have a question, like coming out like you. Just are such a good like communicator, and that is such a huge strength of yours. And I could see that you would be that person. You’re a very warm, safe person to talk to.

 

Emily Merrell  04:02

Well, thank you. That means a lot. While I was a kid, I was definitely a little. How would you say it precocious? I guess is the word. And I remember going out to dinner with a friend’s mom, and she was like, wow, you’re quite the conversationalist, aren’t you? I was like, okay, that’s my cue to stop asking them, are they where they thought they’d be at this age.

 

Allison Carter  04:28

I love my kids. Friends that are like that, though, that just chat like adults, and you have these conversations. And as my kids get older, it’s so fun to see them turn into that and really have actual relationships with them, and that turn into friendships. It is really cool, like I like you as a kid.

 

Emily Merrell  04:46

Well, thank you. What did you find? Do you find you have an eight and 11 year old? Do you find like the Curiosity is getting that much more appropriate or that much more significant with 11? Or is it. Like, there’s, they’re getting closer to teenage years, and they’re regressing, and they’re keeping things a bit more to themselves.

 

Allison Carter  05:06

I have two big talkers, so, like, I am, I have really made it a point to be that, like, safe place for them, and to be that judgment free zone and that, like, relator and, oh my gosh, I have so been there before. This is what happened to me. This is what I did afterwards. That maybe wasn’t the best choice. I mean, so my kids really are pretty honest and open with a lot of things that they’re going through. I think as the kids get older, it definitely is a curiosity thing, but it also is just the world that they have access to as they get older is so big, and it’s so much bigger than our world was, and it is really hard to navigate as a parent, and the problems and the relationships And the topics, they just seem so much bigger. And then, you know, I want the blue plate, and you gave me the green plate, like the the problems are just, I mean, it’s, it’s intense, like, there’s, there’s some things that I did not envision myself talking about or having to explain and, and I think when we were younger, unless we were sitting and watching the news, like with our parents at dinner time. But I don’t really have any memories of that, like, and maybe someone was talking about it at school or something like, even just current events wise, I was not like with it, with so many things, like our kids are especially like my kids and like at the level, like, your little guy’s still pretty little, but my kids, like, they hear things, they see things. They see things on Alexa first thing in the morning when we come to the kitchen, like, I mean, because we have, like, the screen ones that has our big, like, calendar and stuff on it. So it’s just different as they get older. And I do feel like a strength of mine is that really openness, and it’s all policy in our house, like if you ask us a question, you will always get the truth no matter how uncomfortable it is. I answer what they ask, and I don’t really expand more than

 

07:21

the dictionary Yes,

 

Allison Carter  07:22

and so yeah, like we Yeah. It’s a lot of moving parts as they get older with these lives and before they’re just kind of part of your life, now they’re have their own little lives that also have to integrate into each other’s lives and then integrate into our family’s lives. It’s like I said, there’s just a lot of moving parts at all time, and they’re still little

 

Emily Merrell  07:48

totally and I also think, like when, when you think about our childhood, I think about like AOL, Instant Messenger and fighting to get on internet, which was very, very slow, and now they have access to the whole entire world and every political opinion and every horrific thing that has happened in the world. They can just, if they have a question, they could pop it into Google, unless that’s locked and that’s terrifying. I’m terrified when I go down that rabbit hole and I think I’m a fully formed adult sometimes.

 

Allison Carter  08:20

Well, yeah. I mean, we I’m super strict with screens. And I think it’s probably because social media is a huge part of my job, that I have a different understanding and I have a different access. I feel like when it comes to social media, the kids are like, Absolutely not. We are very strict with a lot of screen access, things like that. The hardest part is when they’re going to others houses that, you know, we used to, you know, not something I want to say on a podcast, but we used to say, like, Do you have a weapon in the house or something when they’re, you know, that was what we were told to ask for play dates and different things. Now I’m like, What is your Internet rules? Like, I have to know, like, what their access like, do you have full access to the internet? Like, do you allow your kids to have full access to the internet? Are they just allowed to have, like, unlimited YouTube access? Do they are they on Tiktok? Do they have an Instagram like, I have to ask evie’s friends parents that now, and that is weird.

 

Emily Merrell  09:22

That is such a interesting thing that I had not even thought about navigating. But also, really, if anyone’s listening and they’re like, they have littles just thinking to the future, like, what that does mean and how to make those decisions. And also, what does trust look like? And also, how do you then say, hey, well, I feel more comfortable having him at our house. Sorry, we’re, yeah,

 

Allison Carter  09:42

there’s very few people, they’re allowed to spend the night at houses and stuff like that. And then, like, on Hudson’s side, he’s my eight year old. He it’s all video games, so there’s this different like i He my kids are allowed to play like Mario and any of the sports stuff. So he plays like. Mel B on the Xbox, and Evie is a huge soccer player, so she plays like, soccer on on the Xbox and things like that. And all of that is fine. They’re obviously not allowed to talk to anyone on headsets or anything like that. But all of his friends are, like, Fortnite obsessed, and he like, we won’t let him play that. And so then it turns into, do you have unlimited Yeah, video games. Like, are you just allowed to talk to anyone on your headset? Like, at a sleepover? And my kids now are pretty good at being like, oh, like, I can’t, you know, like, my I can’t, like, we film a video, like a dancing video, or something, like, you can’t post it without my mom knowing. Or, like, I can’t play Fortnite, like I can play the Lego version, but I can’t play like the real version. So it just kind of like they now have a little bit more power as well. And we’ve talked about, you know why, and every family has different roles. I do feel like being in social media so much like I see the power it has over me, and like I the power that it would have over my eight and 11 year old is just beyond something that they have the scope to handle.

 

Emily Merrell  11:12

And as someone who has been in the social media world for for eons, for as long as social media has been around. I do think there is something to be said about people who are content creators versus I don’t know if you feel this way with your friends, but my friends who just post like a family vacation, or they post their puppy and they have no strategy, because it’s like, this is just kind of like a Live Journal of sorts, a photo journal. There’s a different element of pressure, but that feeling of comparison, regardless if it’s their puppy or their vacation like it still creeps up no matter how curated or perfect their content is

 

Allison Carter  11:53

totally and there’s a lot of people that don’t have a prior knowledge of how much is not real because they’re going On and like Facebook and following their friends and family and posting their vacation things. And so when they come across and see something like, What do you mean that was created with AI, like, What do you mean that’s not like something that they actually did? Like, there’s so many different layers to the content that we see that I and you, and probably a lot of business owners, have a different understanding of the motive behind that. Like, it’s my job to help you put social media out into the world that is going to connect, relate and resonate with your audience. Like that’s what I do for the majority of my people, and I know the marketing strategy, the tactics behind so much of the content that we see, and everything in life is a business. And when you don’t own your own business, it really is hard for you to wrap your head around that. Literally, every single thing around you is a business, and it all directions point to money, and the amount of money that these anyone makes online, like is just wild.

 

Emily Merrell  13:10

And I think you pull back the curtain even that much more, and that’s inclusive of politics, that’s inclusive of agendas and whatnot. But you’ve you see bots, you see commenters, which people, if they are not as understanding or savvy of things, are like, Oh, look at all the comments. And you’re like, Yeah, that’s a hired group of people commenting on things, or that’s AI, or that’s a bot. I do want to just share a quick story. The other day, I saw the movie, it ends with us, and I had like, three missed calls from my mom, and I got some text messages, and I had posted, posted on Instagram. I said, we’re closing. And then it was like a click bait thing where then I talked about, like, closing of other businesses, and my mom’s like, you’re closing. You haven’t told me you’re closing. But I was like, Mom, just like, open the post. Open and you just think about how like, reactive we can get to a headline or to something without, like, understanding or reading the full picture behind what is being posted. Which brings me to you, my party person, as the founder of Allison Carter celebrates. I I, I’m curious, are you someone who, first off, loves to celebrate, and how did you choose that as the name of your business? How and why? Good

 

Allison Carter  14:29

question, the early days of business. So I started my business technically when Evie was three and Hudson was six months old. They’re now 11 and eight, and I did party planning online. And I did these digital party guides. They were all PDF. They were downloads. They were interactive. So, you know, moms planning a birthday party for their kids, going to Pinterest, seeing like the cutest blog, seeing the cutest. Pictures. Oh my gosh. How do I recreate that? You go to the blog, all the links are broken or they don’t have links. And so I went in and I, like, took that puppy party and I shopped the whole party so everything had links. And, like, this is exactly how you’re going to set up that table scape or that activity. And here’s the link to the supplies that you’re going to need. And I just put it all in one place. Then I had, like a party planning checklist that went along like, you know, six months out of your party, this is this. This is this. So I started to create, like, a name for myself in the party space, and that quickly turned into a podcast. And my podcast kind of came to life with a subscription box that turned into everyday celebrations, but really like holiday. So every month, it was the theme, seasonal theme or holiday of that month, paper plates and napkins and activities, crafts, games that were all centered around whatever celebration it was in that month. So I started my business as confetti party plans with the OGS that are not in your audience, but my audience all confetti party plans, Allison Carter, Allison Carter. And then I started getting a lot of media attention, and I was Eddie’s fifth birthday, was about to be published in like a print magazine. I had my first couple features with Martha Stewart. I worked with her pretty regularly as a contributor, and so I had my first kind of big features coming out. And I had gotten a couple features as confetti party plans, like my Forbes feature and things, but I started really utilizing that strategy of PR and media and getting featured with my expertise. And I really wanted it to be my name, and so I wanted the business name to be me, as me as the founder, because I, from a very early on, was creating a really solid personal brand with me as the face, with me as the head, with me as like the trusted leader. I wanted my name associated with my business, so when I changed it, I was still in the party space once. And then my my subscription box was called memories and moments unwrapped. And then once I change gears, based on a lot of things that were just going on, it went back and forth, like, do I take it out? Do I not? But I’m a fun brand, and I’m a fan, and I’m a fun gal, and I am a good time gal. And you know what? Like, we’re celebrating building businesses that we love. We’re celebrating doing things our way, setting the rules for ourself, our businesses, our life. We’re celebrating our expertise and how we show it in the world. And I just really feel like I kept it and I figured out a made a wake of work and the spinning creative spins that I usually can come up with real quick, and it’s stuck, and now I’m always referred to as ACC so much from some people. So it’s just so beyond. A

 

Emily Merrell  18:13

little nod to your past, pulling into the future, celebrating every moment. So you started this first event planning company, remind me You said it was confetti celebrated party plans. Confetti party plans. You have a six month old and a two and a half three year old. Were you an event planner by trade before this? Or was this just something that you felt was a gap in the marketplace?

 

Allison Carter  18:37

I was a second grade teacher for a long time, and I only wanted to be a teacher my whole life. Growing up, I only wanted to be a teacher, and so I went to teacher school, did all the things that I taught. And then Evie was born, and I she was born in July. I taught all the way up in Dell June. And have my master’s in education. I have my national boards in early literacy, like I was doing the teacher thing. I wrote my own curriculum. I would like pass thing I would, you know, break all the rules at school, because I don’t like people telling me what to do. I would never be able to be a teacher now, BT Dubs, especially in Seattle, there’s zero chance I would have got kicked out in two seconds, because I would have had a very hard time following a lot of rules and a lot of changes. And, you know, my kids, my classroom, was the one that everyone sit on bouncy balls, because that was, like, scientifically proven for focus, like there were I, and I always had the best classroom parties, like my mad scientist party for Halloween was epic. People were like, crying because they weren’t in my class. And I mean, it was, I have always been a host. I’ve always been a gatherer. I’ve always been like, then when I decided to quit and be a stay at home mom, I was like the playdate queen, or like, the themed brunch for the moms and the kids. And loved. The birthday parties. And it just always was something that I loved, because I love when all of my people are together, like I just love having the open house. I love just putting it together. I love thinking of it. I love the setup. And so just kind of naturally happened as something that I love to do, that I started getting kind of known for, like in my friend group. So when I planned that the parties in this way. I did not plan anything in person, so I was not leaving my house on Saturdays to go set up someone else’s kids birthday party. I was doing it in this digital way where people could come give me my theme. I would build up my library of themes, so then people could just shop the ones that are already done. It was a girlfriend of mine who is very high up in Microsoft, and she was planning her second daughter’s birthday party. Was like, I don’t think I can do it. I don’t have the time. I do not have any capacity to think of one detail. And I said, like, I’ll do it because I was bored out of my mind, um, watching Real Housewives at nap time. And like, my husband going on, and

 

Emily Merrell  21:01

please talk to me anyone you’re

 

Allison Carter  21:03

like, yeah. And so I was like, I’ll do it. That would be so fun. Like, I didn’t even have a laptop anymore because I had to give it away when I quit teaching. And so it’s pulled up Ryan’s laptop, and I started throwing a all these ideas for this first fiesta party to for Charlie on a Google Slides, because it was a Mac and there was no, like, PowerPoint installed on it. I was like, What is my free PowerPoint? And I Google Slides came up. Didn’t even know that was saying through some ideas on there, I linked them all. I kind of outlined some different things, and I sent it to her, and she was like, Holy crap. What is this like? This is amazing. I don’t have to do one thing, adding to cart immediately done. I know exactly what to do. Boom. Shakalaka, word got out. 10 party requests came in, and I was like, Okay, let’s go. So

 

Emily Merrell  21:54

basically, you’re able to validate the problem and the solution by just Google Slides. So initially, your first offering was Google Slides. You weren’t paid for this at the time, I imagine, or were you or,

 

Allison Carter  22:05

I mean, I think she then mowed me like 30 bucks probably. I was like, a thank you. I was like, No, don’t I’m happy to do it. You know, you

 

Emily Merrell  22:12

crazy. That’s too much. Too much. It only took me seven hours. At what point, how many parties did you plan that you realized, or did someone tell you, like, this should be a business.

 

Allison Carter  22:28

I think I was probably maybe five in and then I started creating, like ones that I had done. So I had, like, three parties under my belt for Evie that I had all the photos from. And you know what I did that? I was like, Oh well, here’s her farm party. Here’s the and like, I’ll just put that. And so then I kind of created this library, almost, and then started on Etsy. And so I started listing the PDFs on an Etsy shop, and then need to do link to Amazon links. They were all in a PDF, so, like, you’re not allowed to do that. Oh,

 

Emily Merrell  23:07

sorry, sorry, no, no, that was stupid idea. Oh, for everybody

 

Allison Carter  23:11

listening, don’t do there are some rules that maybe break a little bit. But, um, I still have a very robust Amazon affiliate sector, like, of my business, and it’s just random, and half of it comes from Pinterest, things that are still running like I Pinterest has been like the bane of my existence, because I was so huge on Pinterest, and I had millions and millions, like many millions monthly views and impressions and clicks like that, because it was just like all party stuff and so so marketing for me, when I was really starting, was social media was really great, because people got went to my Instagram and kind of felt like they started to become friends with me, and I realized pretty early that that was fun, and I really liked meeting people on this app that prior was the digital scrapbook of my family, and it was just random pictures with the Valencia filter and like, it is My dog, like, you know, random things at Mom’s post. And then I realized, like, Whoa, I people are commenting things, and, you know, I’m talking to them, and this is pretty cool. And like, I’m meeting people from not that I even know. And that was pretty cool. And then Instagram stories started. And then I was like, well, game freaking on. Like, this is epic. I can just talk into my phone and feel like I’m having a conversation with these people. I can teach them. I can show them things. Like, I can turn my camera around and show how I’m setting up a table. I get like, that opened. Whole huge door, and so Instagram Stories, really realizing my growth and my expertise was better spent doing like media outlets, and really figuring out how to get my business known on a wider scope, because I’ve got balls. And I’m like, Hmm, this Instagram’s slow moving, and I’m seeing all these people being featured in these parties, and I can do a way better job, or I have a way better tip for that. So I’m just gonna go insert myself into this conversation that no one’s asking my opinion on. And how did you do that? Did

 

Emily Merrell  25:36

you DM them on Instagram, or did you email them

 

Allison Carter  25:39

or my friends on Facebook. My first feature was in Forbes, my first big one. So I had been on, like, a couple podcast interviews or like, a couple blog contributors for people that I had made contact with on Instagram and are at in person events or something like that, and was asked to be a guest or asked to write a blog post for them or something like that. And then I was in a random Facebook group. I don’t even people ask me all the time what it is. I have no idea what it was. I have totally no clue. And it was an editor at Forbes, and she was looking for a couple women to share their story, of like, how they started and how they shed their shoulds, essentially. And I was like, Oh, this is it. This is my shop, and I filled out the I wrote my pitch email, and my whole motivation was, okay, this lady is a big wig, like, this is never going to happen, but I hope that she writes back and just says, like, thank you to Elise and me, and then I will write back. What could I have done better? Like, all I wanted was her feedback. That was it, that was my sole motivation of pitching her, and then she wrote back, like, really quickly, and was like, This is awesome. This is such a fun email to read. I really want to get on the phone with you, because I think we’re going to have a really fun conversation. I think that my audience is really going to resonate with your story, and your email was just so personable. And I sounded like I was reading an email from a girlfriend, and that’s just so rare. And so it was like, Oh, interesting feedback. And so then I kind of talked to her, and she said that that was like, some of the things that stuck out. And so then I was thinking, Okay, well, who else can I get? Who else can I start finding copying this email Exactly, right? And so then I was thinking, okay, so she really like that. Stood out, being myself, weird. Stood out and talking. I write how I talk. If you’re on my email list, which any of you can be after listening to this, but you’ll see if you start listening to me from this episode, or watch Instagram stories or something that I write very similar to how I speak, and you read things in my voice, I hear that all the time, and that’s such a compliment, because it really is me. And one of my biggest compliments that I ever receive is people meet me in person, you’re like, you’re the exact same person in person as you are online. Like, that’s kind of wild. And I’m like, good, I don’t know anything other than me. So anyways, that getting that foot in the door and just kind of understanding there’s so much out there other than this, like, random Instagram thing, this reels were not even anywhere close to thing at this point, like maybe we would go on a Facebook Live or something like that, but And Instagram stories really kind of changed the game. And Pinterest, this all stemmed from my Pinterest comment, but my Pinterest really massively changed the game with my email list and traffic in my sales and things like that, because I just had so much content on there, and I saw that that’s where my audience was, because they were going to look for party ideas. I wanted them to see my stuff and see that I did it all for them immediately. Go buy my $49 digital guide for their whole party that they’re looking for and move on. And that’s really like what happened, and that’s kind of how I set that up. And went from there, holy

 

Emily Merrell  29:08

shit. And so much of this just from your you went from a second grade teacher, which I have to just shout out, teachers, I think are extraordinary coaches, superheroes, yes, and superheroes, yes. They’re incredible. They help our children, blah, blah, blah. But I think in terms of transitioning like you, you were saying that you were writing your own curriculum, you were planning these amazing parties you have. You’re holding space for like 20 psychos, basically, who have attention everywhere. And coaching, essentially, is that like you’re helping them get from point A to point B and so, so. But I want to just commend you for, you know, borrowing your husband’s laptop. And I think so many people with entrepreneurship, they think that, oh, I have to have a business plan, and I have to have everything mapped out, and I have to have it all figured out before I start. When your story is such a great example of. Really figuring it out as you go from from Google slides to what is Etsy, can I do what this Pinterest thing? And kind of just like peeling back the layers and testing and experimenting with what works and what really works and what didn’t, or, you know, shooting your shot and having the confidence of a mediocre white man and putting your putting your hat in the ring, and actually getting a call back, of sorts. And then, like, again, yeah. I mean, it just can

 

Allison Carter  30:29

prohibit. I mean, this was my, my business, like, anniversary is February every year then February and so, I mean, this February, looking back on where I was, when I was that party planning mom, who, you know, was working with Oprah, and real simple and talking about spoon parties, and, like, drive by parties. Remember that and having to pivot in that way. And then, like, I just my life has taken me, and my business especially has taken me in so many different areas. And honestly, like success leaves clues, and that is something that is so true, because there are so many things throughout my childhood, throughout my college years, throughout my first jobs that have led me to really uncovering what it is that I am so skilled at now and really helping build the businesses that feel really good and aligned with you and your expertise and how you show up as the face of that and the way that you connect with your Customer, both as an expert and as an authority, but also as a human, which is a massive part missing from so many people’s marketing. And then how do we take that and utilize the best traffic places, the best platforms, the best avenues for you to really expand that reach. And if I went right from coaching to like or teaching to like coaching, oh, I would have no idea what to do, because I’ve never been a business coach before, but, like, I had to do many things in my business, and I’ve built three, four very successful businesses, well over six figures for each and in every avenue, I’ve had a physical product, I’ve had a reoccurring business, I’ve had digital products, I’ve had service like I’ve had it all. And know how to build each of them, but every single one of them would not have been successful had I been hidden. And I really do feel like that’s a huge testament to the pull that we’ve always had to people and to that humanized marketing. But I just feel like it’s more important than ever in this market where we are so much savvier than we ever were as five years ago, buyers. We would buy every course that came across our inbox. I would go to every free webinar, every master class. Yes, I need that. Yes, I need that. And I mean, the last time I did something like that, I have to well, Shannon who were in the group together, and that was a large investment, and there’s zero chance that would have happened had I not had a very solid relationship with Shannon and how I have not learned from her before and worked with her in different capacities, and seen how she works and her style and how it fit in with me and like, I could never even wrap my head around, just like having a course come through my inbox to someone I have, like, don’t even know their face looks like, like, that’s just so weird to think about. Versus, before I’d be like, Oh, great topic. I should get that. And okay, so this person is, I don’t know

 

33:58

now,

 

Allison Carter  34:00

anybody can say anything on the internet with the help of AI and be an expert in anything. And this is something that some of my like PR contacts, are really running into, and their pitches is how many pitches are AI driven? And the importance of having that relationship with the outlet, with the podcast host, with the event host, like, with whoever it is that you’re trying to get in front of their audience, essentially, is why we would pitch a media outlet or pitch to be a speaker, or why am I guest on this podcast, and things like that. And without that, now they have this other added layer of being like, well, I have no idea who you are. I don’t know if this is a robot writing this. I don’t know if those pictures you’re sending me are real. I don’t know if that like, that’s crazy, and a relationship with a human is one of the ways that you can continue to propel yourself. Forward as this market just continues to get even crazier and crazier, with all of these people that can really create a digital product by implement asking chat GPT to create their digital product like it really is kind of crazy when you think about it, and when you don’t have that added layer of trust and respect and likability, and I feel like I know her. I feel like she’s talking to me. She understands me. I feel like I would be friends with

 

Emily Merrell  35:27

her.

 

Allison Carter  35:28

That is an immediate, massive leg up. But it takes time, and it takes effort, and it takes things that a lot of people don’t want to do, but I really am kind of in the camp of good luck. That’s not what a lot of people want to

 

Emily Merrell  35:46

hear. And I think a lot of what you’re saying too is in nurturing those relationships where, right, like you didn’t just pitch this woman and peace out, I imagine you probably have some sort of connection with her, or relationship or team up other people to be connected with her. So you’ve built and established this like know and trust, not only in the PR world, but same thing with your clients, from planning a drive by zoom party, which makes me laugh so hard, to to planning your subscription box like there’s testimonials, there’s quality, there’s people that Martha Stewart vouches for you. You have this authority behind what you’re selling, and you’re not built by an AI platform, which is pretty cool. I can see, I can see her, guys, she looks, she looks

 

Allison Carter  36:32

flawless, yes, being in real life, people,

 

Emily Merrell  36:35

no chisel, you

 

Allison Carter  36:36

look flawless. And I am not a deep fake. This would

 

Emily Merrell  36:39

be really funny if this was my first deep fake podcast.

 

Allison Carter  36:43

Really well done. Oh my god no, going nuts, and it’s really weird. And if you don’t know who you are and what you’re really good at, and what you can help people with, and what sets you apart, and what your messaging is and how you really put down something that people are going to put up like, I mean, really though it is real hard to compete against a robot, and it is real hard to compete against a crap ton of ad spend and different things that we are Just constantly up against. And, you know, you can control how you show up to your audience. You can control the content that you create. You can control the relationship that you are starting with them. Like those things, you can control a lot of things are a completely out of our control. So I’m going to continue to choose the things that I can drive and then I have 100% saying, so

 

Emily Merrell  37:44

Oh my gosh. Well, Allison, I could talk to you for like, 17 more hours. So I’m gonna succinctly This is so hard to I know I feel like I need a PERT too, because there’s so much more to dig into in terms of, like, how you support your clients now. So can you, can you tell us how you support your clients knowing everything you know, from second grade teacher knowledge to planning the kick ass party virtually to subscription boxes to hosting in person conferences, like what is working with you look like, and how do people discover working with you? Yeah,

 

Allison Carter  38:18

everything’s on. Allison Carter celebrates.com my email or my Instagram’s. Allison Carter celebrates 2l and Allison uh, 80s, baby. And I work with businesses in different capacities. I work with service providers. I work with product based businesses. That does not really matter. It really matters on how you want to show up to your audience, and where that frustration is lying when it comes to your marketing. And what I see with a lot of businesses is you’re continuing to try what worked two, three years ago, and it’s just not working anymore. And you’re tapped out, you’re burned out, you’re annoyed with doing things with no results. And how can I come in and really pull out some of those unique differentials that you’re not even really thinking about that are like jaw droppers for other people, but they’re so second nature to you, because you’re so close to what you do. And pull out a lot of that authority content and then really look to see like, one of the first things I ask my clients is a quote, Tell me about you like, just as a just as a person. I just, what do you like? Like, what do you like to do? What is a weekend? Look for like, for you and your family. Like, where, where are you in all of this? And then what can we pull out that can start connecting on that like real human to human level, outside beyond, before we do anything with selling or anything like that, it’s you like, Bravo too. Who’s your favorite housewife? I am a spicy Kindle reader too. Yes, please sign me up. Margaritas on. The porch, yes. Like, girls, girl, me too. Like, there are different brand builders that I really lean on. And when I was doing a lot of the parties and stuff, like, my kids were huge brand builders, and they’re much more less now, but my audience really, like my kids, have grown up in front of them, and they still have this pull. When I was remodeling my house like the amount of just conversations, and what people don’t understand is for the robots, all of those DM conversations about book recommendations and TV shows like oh my gosh, and meme shares, and all of that is just tick, tick, tick, tick, up in the engagement, and it is all helping you grow that. But people think, like, people don’t care about that. No, I’m here to sell my product, or I don’t want to show my face, or I don’t want to do this, and it’s like, okay, but like, something’s got to get so anyways, I’m

 

Emily Merrell  40:54

just laughing. Just I had like, a bumps on my body. Situation. The other day I posted on social media, I had like, the highest viewership and commentary, and the internet trying to solve the problems for me. And it’s so you’re so so so true. I think those relatable things where people are like, I have to be professional and I have to be perfect, and I can’t have crazy hair like this, and I have to but it’s you’re so so Right. Like, people know you for being on the lake during the summer, or people know you for drinking every Friday? Like one of my clients always has sushi on Thursday, and she orders the same thing, and she posts about it, and people like feed into it. It’s so It’s so wonderful to see.

 

Allison Carter  41:35

Oh yeah, yeah. Mine was Friday night kids snack board. So kids on Fridays, as life has gotten crazier, like my, we did a big snack board that was whatever’s in the pantry, whatever’s in the fridge, everything goes on this big wood board that’s their dinner. They eat their dinner. We watch a show or whatever, and then we get them going at bedtime, and then Ryan and I have takeout, and we like, I’m just like, obsessed with my bed, like my I work in bed, I eat in bed, I watch TV, like, I just invest in bed and take that however you want. Yeah, yes, please. No. But then we have, like, kind of like an at home date every Friday, where then we watch a movie, and the kids are, you know, they’re fine to put themselves to bed and they’re playing in the rooms or whatever. And so that became kind of like a big thing. Like, what takeout Are you getting tonight? Like, oh, I’m thinking of you. We’re having a date night tonight, and like, things like that. So I really can help come in and pull that personal brand out for your brand, your brand needs the personal side and the business side. You have to show up as that authority, as that expert, as that go to product or person that people refer and that people that recommend and share with their friends while also remaining that person that they feel connected with, that they are excited to share you, and they’re excited to open your stories and hang out with you throughout their day, and then once we sort of established that going into more of those bigger visibility ops, like I talked about, like helping you with that pitch and helping you with that database. So I have a signature program that I run. It’s called Brand magnet accelerator. That’s a great place to start. I do like VIP months, where sometimes we don’t want to hire a coach for 346, months, and we just kind of need to go, like, down and dirty. So, like, that’s like, a month. Let’s whiz this out. Let’s, you know, create a content plan. Let’s get an offer lunch. Like, let’s get something going. Choose your own adventure. When it comes to ACC, we really have it in many capacities, to hang out together and figure out where your business needs and tweaks

 

Emily Merrell  43:47

brilliant. And I love that you have such a vast history of building your own business, sunsetting businesses, pivoting businesses. And I think it’s such a great reminder for people who feel like it’s overwhelming, or they don’t know what the next five years looks like, and it it’s a reminder that that’s okay, and like something greater might even go out of this idea today. Yes,

 

Allison Carter  44:14

wild, and you have to be open to to what’s gonna happen. Like, I mean, five years ago, I would never have guessed that I owned a creative conference like, what? And that would be great. I love creative conferences for what I had on my bingo card, that I would be the owner of one. Like, no. I mean, and I can say that was so many aspects I vowed to never have a physical product business. Yeah, inbox was one of the highest revenue generating things I’ve ever created, and was funny, huge marker as of success and credibility to get me to a position where I am now and like I’ve always, never product, never product, never product. I didn’t want to be weighed down with him and. Story and supplies and anything like that, and then joke was on the air,

 

Emily Merrell  45:06

exactly, be open to opportunities. Well, before I I let you go, I have a few quick questions for you. Okay, so my first question is, tell us an unknown fun fact about Allison. Hmm,

 

Allison Carter  45:19

I have no sense of smell.

 

Emily Merrell  45:22

My God, can you eat food? Can you taste food? Because I

 

Allison Carter  45:25

am a super taster. So you get two fun facts about my scent or my Yeah, scent journey. A Yeah, I can taste everything. I’m like able to pick up a lot of things and foods that people can’t herbs are very hard for me to pick up, because they’re so No, those are the only things that I have kind of a hard time differentiating between. But yes, my sense of smell is a childhood thing, and it’s not a covid 19 better, as per usual in my life. I like finding those trends and setting them setting the rum. It was you. You caused all the I mean, really, I’m very sorry.

 

Emily Merrell  46:05

No, you can’t smell like a campfire. Or can you taste a campfire where I can, kind

 

Allison Carter  46:10

of taste that I feel, like my throat, I can’t the only, like, nose feel thing that I have is minty stuff. Yeah, yeah. But I can tell by, like, breathing, if there’s like, fires around, like, if it’s okay, or something like that. But if we had like, a gas leak or something, no, screw, I would not be able to yeah, my husband’s, like, constantly,

 

Emily Merrell  46:31

I feel like, I don’t know if you use natural deodorant, but I use natural deodorant, and my husband’s like, you smell freaking ripe. Yeah, that

 

Allison Carter  46:38

is an insecurity of mine. Yeah, I smell. I also don’t know. Like, sometimes when you know you have quiet too, I don’t know if. So I’m like, sure I love that. So I’m like, well, am I going to pass that on to someone else? Oh, oh, my god, does it smell? Yeah. So always like, that’s my other insecurity. Only thing I regret not being able to smell are my babies. Those are the Oh, that’s it. But everything else I really has no effect on my life. Oh, my God, you

 

Emily Merrell  47:11

were so lucky that you don’t smell. There’s like, crappy poops and I

 

Allison Carter  47:14

didn’t smell. But baby heads, I will always wonder about the baby heads. Maybe

 

Emily Merrell  47:20

in time we can recreate that. Okay, I’m gonna ask, I’m gonna reword this question, but I who would be a dream person that you would want to have as a speaker at your next in person conference?

 

47:34

Oh god,

 

Emily Merrell  47:36

there’s something out there.

 

Allison Carter  47:37

Yeah, oh my gosh. Who would God that one I have to think about trying to, like, look around for, like a female you’re like, what housewife? I mean? Well, yeah, exactly. Well, when I glanced at them, my answer to who you would like, just want to connect with was Andy Cohen, my King and Lord and Savior of Bravo. But as a speaker, you know what I I would just what is the founder of a company that I just like Europe, Blakely, but I feel like that’s such a cop out. But I mean, it would be a founder of a product business, but it would be someone who just shows up and they’re just like, so rad, and they understand where the business owners are in their journey of building their products, because the event is for product based businesses. And so founder of olive in June, someone like that, that just, I feel like, has a story that a lot of people could resonate and relate to and be inspired from of that really, I cut my pantyhose and look at what I created, or I, you know, create revolutionized at home meals, like, just something like that, though, but it’s such a you really that honestly, could be your story, and it’s pretty cool to think about. And it’s not like nipple baby land, or it’s not like anything like that, like it’s just, yeah, something realistic. But wow, look at what they’ve been able to create that’s pretty cool. And someone that would interact with our guests, that would be a dream. Even cooler.

 

Emily Merrell  49:21

The person that came into my mind was Eliza blank. She’s the founder of the sill. She created the it’s a plant based company, but it was dropped to consumer, and then it was and now it’s they have, like, multiple stores all over and she’s a really close podcast I

 

Allison Carter  49:40

love the founder of little word project too. I love her. She’s one of my favorite follows on Instagram. Love her. I love that. So

 

Emily Merrell  49:50

that’s a fun challenge, also for listeners too, if you fit the bill, this is a challenge to pitch yourself to Allison, potentially to be a speaker, yep. Okay. You? Well, I feel like I know the answer to this one, but I’m curious if you’ll deviate. But What show are you currently watching?

 

Allison Carter  50:06

We are big brother family, CBS, old school, big brother. I’m watching a million things on my own. I need to catch up with Emily in Paris and everything like that. But it is really rad when your kids are old enough to watch, like, actual shows. And so we’ve done amazing race with them, which is super fun. We’ve done survivor with them, which is awesome. And so now my husband, I have always been like, big brother people every summer, because it’s only one in the summer. And so this year we were like, kids totally have to watch with us, and it’s been so fun, and they’re so into it, and they’re like, what’s gonna happen? And we’re equally as like, into it, and it’s just as really fun. And then Evie and I literally finished Gilmore Girls last episode last night, and now I feel an intense like, hole in my soul.

 

Emily Merrell  50:57

Oh, Rory, your decisions so challenging year of the year

 

Allison Carter  51:02

later, like immediately, I mean, the whole thing, but that also was just, like, a really fun thing to do with my daughter, and just a fun show that we shared together and like that also was really fun. So I just have been really loving watching shows with my kids and experiencing things that I loved so much, like with them now the

 

Emily Merrell  51:26

roadway, like, those phones are so stupid looking, what are they flipping

 

Allison Carter  51:29

right? Yes, a lot of non PC things that they say shows from past. And we’re like, I didn’t think we were allowed to say that, mom. I’m like, you’re not. You’re

 

Emily Merrell  51:38

not. This is an example back in the old one days when mommy was a little girl. Oh my gosh. My cheeks are hurting from smiling so hard, by the way. Yes, what book are you reading about spicy

 

Allison Carter  51:50

pulling up my Kindle to look because I never remember titles. No, the cams. I never remember titles. Okay, I’m reading a like spicy hockey series. I’m on book four. I started book four last night. It’s called the lakes hockey series, um, and they’re all pretty good. They all have like, a little bit of a twist to them, like, not dark, because I’m not really a dark romance girl, but they it just is some other, like, little like, almost mystery or something to them like to kind of pop it up. I also just finished the women, which hard left from lakes and the spicy good god Kristin, Hannah, Queen Jesus cannot do any wrong. The win. I loved the nightingale. I loved the great alone, which are other greats, but the women that might have been top five books I have ever read in my whole life. It, I was bawling on the airplane flying to New York a couple weeks ago. Finishing it, I started on audio. I finished on my Kindle. Dead. It was phenomenal, and

 

Emily Merrell  52:59

it’s such a hard audio listen like, I’ve, I’ve had to, I’m still listening to it, because just listening to the description of, like, the carnage, you’re like, Okay, I think I’m going to read this instead. This is, this is too much for me.

 

Allison Carter  53:12

But yes, I’ve listened to all of hers, and I really like the narrator, because it’s all the same. And so she’s just, like, comforting. And I really like doing the women, and then I don’t love listening to things on the airplane, like, I just, I don’t love the iPhones. And so I was like, Oh, I’m gonna get it on my Kindle, because it just came at the library, like, the day before I left on my trip. So I’m like, Oh, I can read it. And I had so much work that I had to get done Seattle to New York, six hour flight, I started reading it well, you know, you can’t use your laptop and things like that, literally did not stop. Like, finish the whole thing in the air and no regrets whatsoever. It

 

Emily Merrell  53:54

was so good. Like, I’m busy reading, and that’s how I have an addictive personality to reading. So I 100% understand that. Okay, really serious question. But what is your favorite or most used emoji, the knife.

 

Allison Carter  54:12

The knife, the sideways laughy face, and the flamenco dancer, Lady red dress lady, those are my three. I use the knife all the time. Oh

 

Emily Merrell  54:22

my gosh. I’m going to start bringing that into my rotation a bit more. A murder pops up, maybe, like, cut down the knife usage a little bit,

 

Allison Carter  54:31

right? I know I’m always like, Well, my production is already at Costco. Knife emoji, like, you know, it just like, fits the feeling so much and so many things, it just feels so good to push that I love that

 

Emily Merrell  54:44

I’m going to start playing with that one. Okay. My final question for you today is, what permission Do you want to give our listeners today,

 

Allison Carter  54:52

I would like to give the permission of really being okay with what you want out. Out of your business and out of your life. And this is something that Em and I were talking about before we started recording, but I feel like we have been just beat over the head with what success should look like, what it does for other people, this comparison syndrome. And if I’m a business owner, then obviously the only acceptable goal of mine is to be a millionaire. And like, if the things that you’re doing daily to try and chase those goals, or the goals that you’re setting for yourself, like, if they are not aligned with what you actually want out of life, then sign that red flag you’re listening to other people instead of what you really want. Like, I really wanted to be on the Today Show so badly. I wanted to be like, get my foot in the door, Hoda and Jenna sitting at the table talking about parties. And I wanted to be a regular guest on all things celebration. That was my goal. I would vision it. Envision it. Envision it over and over and over. And then when I really look back at that, like, I I live in Seattle, that is New York, that is a six hour flight and three hour time difference. I can’t just be going there all the time. I wanted that to be a stepping stone into my own show. Okay, studios are not necessarily in Seattle, so that does not align with the goals that I have for my life, which is time freedom and being there to meet my kids bus and being there when my kids come home from school like those are two huge goals of mine. Those goals, as cool as they sound and as amazing, incredible and fancy and all the things like that, does not actually align with what I want. So I really feel like I would love everybody to just think, like, what is it that I want, and does working my ass off to make seven figures. Like, does that really what I want? Or do I want, just like, a great amount of money that I can contribute to my family each month that allows us to take an extra vacation or get a nicer car, or not have to worry about school supplies. Like, I just feel like we’re just beating ourselves up so much, and we’re hustling like crazy, and we’re not 100% sure why we’re doing that, and then we don’t take the time to really think about it. And I would like people to actually think about it.

 

Emily Merrell  57:10

If I would feel comfortable dropping this mic, I would, I so

 

57:16

Oh, baby.

 

Emily Merrell  57:17

Co sign that I think that is such an excellent way of just not saying that you’re giving up on your dream by not being on the Today Show, but just to going back to your values. And what, why are you building the business that you’re building, and why is this matter to you? And what, what is the legacy you want to create from the thing that you are building? And Jenna and Hoda. I’m like, do you remember anyone who’s been on The Today Show?

 

Allison Carter  57:44

I mean, I just that was the goal. That was the goal. And I look back at my goal journals and everything like that, and I’m just like, oh, sweet baby business owner.

 

Emily Merrell  57:56

I’m, yeah, Ellen. Ellen was my my show. I wanted to make Ellen laugh. I thought that would be fun, but

 

Allison Carter  58:03

sorry, I’ll be associated with her movies exactly.

 

Emily Merrell  58:08

I, you know, I dodged a book who had that on their bingo

 

Allison Carter  58:11

card. No money, right? You know, that’s how the world changes. I just, we are just beat over the head with noise, noise, noise. And I made a million dollars by this hook, and I did this. And this is just this. It’s so frustrating. And it just, I don’t know, I don’t want to, I don’t want to live the life that a lot of those people live, or or if they are living that now, it’s because they went crazy, crazy people also don’t understand the millions that people spend in ads to have this quote, unquote freedom that they’re talking all over the internet like it just there’s, there’s so many things to be aware of before you really start looking at where you are and feeling bad about that and just uncovering all those secrets, just like We talked about at the beginning in the episode social circle.

 

Emily Merrell  59:07

Well, yo, I think that’s a note Allison for celebrating today with us and for being such a wonderful guest on today’s show. And yeah, I always just love talking to you, so now I need to schedule like six more hours talking to you. But and listeners, if you like today’s show, go follow Allison, send her a DM, tell her your favorite thing that she said, because there were so many incredible little moments, and we’ll see you. Then next time on the podcast, have a great day. Everyone. Bye, bye. You