Candid Conversation with Adrienne

Brother is somewhere around here, but he wasn't having it today, so we'll let him be.

Hi Carmen, you're beautiful. How are you?

I'm good, how are you?

You know, I, I remember when I first saw you. I hadn't met you at the time, I— but I remember it was last year and you, you had come into our leads group. It wasn't even actually my leads group. I was like testing out leads groups, so I never actually ended up joining that leads group, but it was the one that meets at Pickle. DB Pickle, and you were talking about— I loved it. You were really, you were, you were doing a great job talking about the, um, the awards, right?

Yeah, I, I was with the Chamber Small Business Committee, still am, and we were visiting the RBC groups to ask businesses to either recommend or to apply for the awards, small business awards and stuff.

So you, you are fairly new to the community. You have a lot of interesting— first of all, because your family, which I want to talk about, and then you were with Fafsign Altamont.

I was with the Apopka Altamont store, uh, since 2005. I left for a, a brief 2 years to go work for the Apopka Chamber of Commerce and then came back to, um, the Apopka store It's been such a great experience. Obviously I love the brand, I love Bass Signs, and that's why we decided to open a store here.

I think it's confusing when you look at you, 'cause you still look like you're like mid-20s, but I can't picture that your mid-20s have done all this. So like, I get like, 'cause you do look young, but that's, you're lucky.

I'm 37.

That's so screwed up. You don't even look at it all. Wow. So that's why I think that when you tell your story, because it's like, wait a second, so you come into Daytona Beach and you already looked to see who you had for competition, what else was going on in the market?

Yeah, we— so, um, our Daytona store was here 5 years prior to us purchasing it. Um, now I, I own it with my employer of the Fast Signs of Popcah stores. So we went into partnership together and that's been a blessing. So it was a resale center, purchased it. We're going into our third year and Volusia County has been very good to us. I can't, I can't complain at all. You know, there's always that fear when you've done something for so long at one place and you build relationships. What is it going to be like to go into a new community? But I have to say that everyone here has been so kind. And this community is definitely community-based. They're givers, they're servers. I mean, they're just— there's just so much happening here on a social level that it just— it was right. It was definitely right. So I know God brought me here for a reason, for sure.

Now, I believe everything you're saying, but I feel like if you went into any community, you would be able to have to say the same thing because you're get— you're, you're receiving what you're giving. So your personality is allowing you to have all of that because you have— you're very outgoing and pretty amazing. So you, you like— just that the story of the owner says, looks at you and says, I want to go into business with you, Carmen, let's open up a new store with you. That just speaks volumes right there.

Well, I tell people all the time, I don't have a degree, I don't have a lot of the things that a lot of business owners do, and when I walked into that Apopka Center, I feel like Fast Signs, Rod Quick, and just the platform and the opportunity that I had to grow as an individual, I mean, I'm very blessed, let's just say that. But we definitely, we work very well together. We have for an amazing partnership. It's during times like this where things are a little chaotic, you don't really know, there's not a business plan for this and I guess in the future we will prepare for something like this, right? So there's not a lot of people that have partners in business that they can say, we've agreed along the way throughout this and I'm very pleased.

I think it's amazing. I think of my parents as they're starting a business and that, You know, my parents would go out and they would, they would have met you and they would have said, oh my gosh, Carmen. And they just had to bring people in. So a lot of the employees that had worked in the family business had been there many years that were hired by my parents by just recognizing someone who has value, who has charisma, who has smarts. And you definitely don't need a college degree to be able to run a business, as you know. So you're amazing. So when you come into Daytona and then what, like, did you join the chamber right away? Like, what was that first year like? Right away.

So the first person that I met here was Jamie Gallegos, who's now with Akius Technologies, and she was the membership director at the Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce. Now, obviously, because there's another center that my business partner Rod owns, we know how to do this. We know the value of the chamber. We understand it's important to be a part of the community. So that was the first thing that we did within our first week. Of opening the doors back up here in Daytona. So that's really been a blessing for us. It's been the majority of our marketing. We do a lot of networking and I have to say, you know, walking into the chamber and meeting Jamie, who was the marketing director at the time, of course now it's Brian, he's phenomenal as well. She was just so welcoming and I was traveling an hour and 20, an hour 15 minutes every day from Apopka back and forth. So, you know, I needed to do as much networking. I needed to get as connected as I possibly could with the limited time that I had here. And Jamie and the chamber were just— they were amazing. Of course, Nancy and Ken and all of those guys have just been phenomenal for us.

Again, though, I think that you had the personality to make it. You didn't walk in and be like, okay, I want to join the chamber. Like, you're like, I want to join. I want to get So when did you move? What was the decision to move to Daytona?

I was really vested in Apopka and that Central Florida community for so long, and there's always that fear, right? Of like, am I gonna fit in? Is the business gonna take off? So I went through a divorce and I decided, you know what, now it's time. It was July of last year. I decided, you know what, it's time to sell the house and take the leap of faith and go to Volusia County. And I was very much at peace making that decision. And it's just been, again, it's been amazing. I love this community, I really do. And honestly, I didn't know that I was gonna say that because I really loved my Apopka community. So even making the decision to come here and commute every day was a hard one to leave those guys, but man, I can't complain. Volusia County has been amazing. Everybody's, everybody's so kind here. I haven't come across anyone that's just treated me badly or not accepted our help or given us help or— I could go all day long about Volusia County.

No, I have to say I agree with you. I had, I came to Florida, lived in Celebration, so got involved in the Kissimmee Chamber, then the Orlando, which I love, then Greater Hollywood when I lived down South Florida in Hallandale and And then Tucson was amazing too. I like— that was just amazing. So when I opened up the gallery and then closed the gallery after my dad died, I'm like, okay, now I could like play with the chamber. And that's my first— I was like, oh my— because I called Jennifer before I even moved up here to say, where do I get my locksmith and where do I get my computer person? Like, I knew that. But you're right, and I joined the chamber. But once I had the ability to really get to meet everyone. I totally agree with you. And you did Elevate Lab, did you do Elevate? Because I feel like— or Leadership, your Leadership?

Nope, nope, I haven't. I, um, we made the decision this year, um, in our business plan to kind of work on diversifying, um, and I just joined the Holly Hill Chamber and Young Professionals, so we decided that was going to be for the following year. Yeah, but I will definitely be in it in the next coming years, I promise.

Young Professionals is brilliant. Yes, that's what it would be. The Young Professionals, a nice group. And that's another way, because you've made everyone your friend too, which is really lovely. So you were born here? Where were you born?

I was born in Ansbach, Germany.

Really?

Yes, I was. I have a twin sister, so I actually have two sisters. I have a twin sister Lorena and I have an older sister Adeline. And my dad was stationed in Ansbach. My mom is from Spain, so they met when my dad was on base. My dad was in the Army Airborne, so they met on base, and then my older sister was born there, and then we were born in the same hospital 4 years later.

When you say twin, identical or fraternal?

I think she's prettier and spunkier, but we are fraternal, but we look identical. I mean, you wouldn't know.

You would not know. Where do you live?

My twin sister, my mom live in South Florida in a small town called Hialeah. Yeah, is in Tampa, and my dad is in Puerto Rico.

So was your dad— is your dad born in Puerto Rico?

Yeah, my dad is from a town called Isabela, Puerto Rico. My mom is from Seville, Spain.

Wow.

And then we were all born in Germany and raised, um, a good part of our lives in North Carolina, and then we moved to Florida when my dad retired 21 years later.

Your dad's handsome.

He really is, isn't he?

He really is. I, I like that to be a weirdo, but I saw the picture of him, Rico, and I was like, and he's in good shape too. Does he work? He's in great shape.

You know, being in the military, he's always been really, um, uh, cautious of that. He, um, he actually Good news, he had leukemia for 10 years and it's his first year in remission. So Daddy is in good health right now. We're very blessed that he is in good health.

So you did the Majeras on a Mission. Did I pronounce it right? I think.

Which I thought was really good.

And you knew, you knew your father would be so open. Like you just knew your dad would open his doors literally and open his arms to, to the other beautiful woman that went with you. And just because I, I kind of tear up when I see that because it really was very beautiful. I don't know who captured it, but your dad welcoming you and then just the fact that he was there and he did some of the travel with you to see— that's incredible.

We, we are a very close family. Um, my mom, my dad are just two of the most amazing people. I feel very blessed. You know, when I talk to other people, the kind of family unit that we have. So yeah, when I called my dad and originally it was a vacation, my sales and marketing manager from our Apopka store is a very good friend of mine and Kathleen Bellrose, who owns Pink Lotus here. We decided, hey, let's go on vacation. And I just met Maria in December through the Chamber of Commerce and we talked a little bit about what she did. Of course, I followed her. As she was doing all the relief in the Bahamas, and I had invited her. I said, listen, just come to Puerto Rico from the Bahamas, get— take a break. We're going to be at my dad's house. We're just going to relax. And one conversation led to another. And then we're like, well, you know, let's do a day of relief while we're there. We're already going to be on vacation. Let's do a day of relief. Of course, we had no idea that the earthquakes were just going to continue to hit Puerto Rico the way that they did. And, you know, one day of relief turned into 2 or 3 days of relief. And it's really— it has to be one of the best experiences that I've ever done. It was very emotional having to leave my family behind, of course. But if anyone ever has an opportunity to do a missions trip or service trip to some degree, of course, I would never recommend for someone to go somewhere where there's like earthquakes or whatever. But, you know, that's a personal decision. Decision that you've got to make on your own, but it just, it's very fulfilling, very rewarding.

How's— I mean, it— like you just said it, one, one thing is going, one thing is going when it's actually live and you're, and you're, you're scared, other people are scared, like, don't go, I'm worried about you. What was it like being there and feeling? And have you felt an earthquake before?

No, no, we— so the last day that we were there, by the time we went it was starting to calm down a little bit. On the last day, on Monday, when we were in actually in ground zero, we got into the car and our phones rang that there was an earthquake, so we didn't actually feel it. We had actually gotten in the car at that point, um, so I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing, but I think it was a good thing for us, um, but you know, um, it just— everything lined up and everything fell into place and the supplies that we needed showed up and all the help that we needed to get there. The amount of support that we got from franchisees, friends, people in the community to make this happen. I mean, we just delivered it, but it took, it took a mountain of people to make it happen. It was, it just, it made sense. We felt safe once we got there. We felt safe. And of course for me, there's nothing like being with your dad, right? So talk about really feeling safe, you know, always felt safe with him. So it was great to experience that and have him come along with me and some of my family too.

I thought it was absolutely beautiful. I saw at the end where it really seemed to all like just come to you like very powerful and you were so raw. I thought that was really, it was an insight that we all needed. Why were, why, like what was the reason for the earthquakes? Like just trying to understand, is it, Was there something that was happening that they know of? Has there been talk about it?

No, nothing that I've seen that could say this is the reason. What we do know, and we were blessed to be joined by some gentlemen that had been there doing work in Puerto Rico since Maria, and some of the reality is that the ground is shifting between Cabo Rojo and and Guanica, which is the city that is the most hit by these earthquakes. So, you know, I think the reality is that we may see some of that island start to part off, but, you know, there's so many different avenues of information from scientists' blogs and stuff, but really, there's, it's hard to say.

Wow, and then you went to Phoenix, Arizona, right?

You did, you did.

Sedona? Okay, Sedona. Beautiful, right?

So we were there, um, with— I was there with my business partner for our annual convention. Um, we try and do as much fast sign stuff as, as we can. So, I mean, just like you, I know you go to all the ASI stuff. I mean, we just have— we have, um, such a great network of information and those conventions are really crucial for us to kind of prepare for what the upcoming year is and just kind of get our mindset right. So I've been going to conventions since 2005, and this is the second time that we went to Phoenix.

We were—

the convention was in Phoenix. We took one day and drove out to Sedona, and it's beautiful.

I know it really is. But you won some awards, right? You won an award. I remember. Did you? You won something.

My business partner got an award. He's in a— he's a top 25 center in the US, Canada, and South America. And our Daytona Beach store was recognized for mentorship.

That is really beautiful. Wow. Wow. And then you— so you— and you donate so much, which I love. So when I was at Maria's Healthy Souls, I, I keep talking that sign. No, it was like a mesh. What was it? What is that? Because it's so beautiful.

It was a perforated window, so we just covered her conference room so that, you know, it's got her logo, it's got a nice cool background, kind of tells a story. Yeah.

It's awesome, I don't know why everyone wouldn't do it, it's absolutely beautiful.

Oh yeah, we do a lot of interior decor. A lot of times people think sign companies and they're like, you know, vinyl on doors or whatever, but we do a lot of interior 3-dimensional wall wraps. Um, we do a lot— ADA signs.

So I saw— so, so this is interesting. So now, so you're— are you closed now? You're closed, right?

We are. So we, we, we're really trying to do the social distancing thing. Um, we have our production person is in-house producing signs. My designer, my inside salesperson, and myself are all working remote. FastSigns really set us up for this way before without knowing that this was going to be what it was. Our POS system went onto an online server a couple years ago and it's just been, it's been so easy for us to be able to continue to do business as normal. Now as far as what's coming in the door, you know, people are not purchasing signs and we totally understand, but we're ready for when this is over to kind of get back on, on, on pace. And if that happens sooner than what we think and the social distancing is still in place, we are very blessed to have the ability to work remote.

That is, that's really, really true. And then you, is it okay if I mention this? The NASCAR business, the NASCAR, is that okay?

NASCAR?

Yeah, that's amazing because you do a lot for NASCAR, right?

You know, we, we do, um, we do some, we do some, um, of the— oh my gosh, what are they called? I lost my train of thought. We do a lot of the, uh, private rooms, the suites, but not necessarily for them. We do it through other companies.

Okay, got it. Because I love looking at the different signs that you do. I think that signs are really important and needed actually for people to know where to pick up. So how are you doing? Because you live alone— not that I want to say— and she has a security guard. She has, um, Brutus. Brutus is your door, so stay away from wherever she lives because Brutus will get you.

But what is it? I've got two dogs and a 9mm. I'm good.

Oh, good for you. That's so— you know what, you're so brave. I love that. Do you have a tattoo too? Do you have tattoo? I do.

I actually, the ones you can see the most are my parents, my parents' handwriting.

So, so brave. I just, I don't, I'm not brave, I'm a wimp. So how are you doing? Like, what is it like being alone? And are you getting out, using Zoom? Like, what does it feel like?

I am a very social person, as we know. So I like to be out and about, and I like, I love to do community stuff. I mean, I'm, I'm at my business every day and then if there's something that I can do in the community, some sort of an event, I'm at it. And then I really love my girl time so I do a lot of dinners and then I travel to see my family quite a bit. So it's been a little bit challenging. I just had a niece's birthday that I had to be here, here and just talk to her over the phone and then it is hard but I think it's just a matter of working on yourself, right? So we have all this downtime. Some personal growth stuff. If you can, I started reading the Purpose, My Purpose Driven Life again with a couple of friends on Facebook. And I do a lot of Zooms, a lot of happy hours, and just try, try and stay as active as possible. And I do go walk the beach on beachside so I can go walk. So, you know, we complain all the time that we don't have enough time to ourselves. So I think, you know, this is definitely a time to reflect, get a little time on yourself and really prioritize and really think about like, you know, what, what, you know, what do you want your life to look like when this is over? Right. I love that.

Yeah, you're right. You're right. You have— I know you give a lot and you're very passionate, but what is your real passion? What is it that you really, really— what is the nonprofit that you are? Because I think I saw it with Maria helping you. What is that? Because I'm not 100% sure.

So, um, there's a couple of nonprofits that we're involved with. We are— Fast Signs Corporate has a Fast Signs Cares program that they were, you know, that they encouraged us to give back. And we had selected the domestic violence shelter, the Beacon Center, to be our 2020, um, nonprofit of the year. So all of our staff has passed background checks to be involved with them. Of course, now it's hard to do anything. But what we do deliver lunches through the Heroes Hope Network. Mike and Melissa give us lunches every day to provide for the Beacon Center. And then of course, with our trip to Puerto Rico, we're involved with Maria. So it's really hard to pick one, like, especially in a community like this. And because I do have a lot of free time, I really enjoy just kind of being around people that are like-minded. And those are usually the circles other people are, the less selfish, more kind, and just breathe life into other people. And I think that's important.

I love that. I, you know what, I think that I would love to see your friends, because you said that's why I started this, like-minded people hang out with people. Hashtag show off your friends. Will you do this too? Will you, um, you know, interview Catherine and interview some of your friends? It's Candid Anyways, and use whatever program I, I mean, I picked the lie, but I don't even know. So it's all over the news, and it's, it's kind of— and I kind of knew that this was going to happen, that, that women that are, are home with an abusive husband, or vice versa, because I don't want to say it is both, both, um, this is the hardest for them. And it's finally making the news. We're seeing more and hearing more about it, and Those are the things that are scary, is being with someone that can be emotionally or physically abusive. And how— yeah, go ahead, because I want to hear.

No, no. So one of the things that they reported in the news last week or the week before was that they'd actually seen a decrease in phone calls. So where, like, let's say on average they had 27 calls, they had 7 calls. Well, no one's going to call for help if their abuser is at home. So, you know, not just women, but also child abuse and all these other situations that we see that happen inside the home. It's really, it's really a trying time. I mean, I know for me, and 'cause I'm a survivor of domestic violence, I was married for 8 years and really, I adored my husband. You know, I wanted to make it work. I wanted to do everything that I could to put us down the right path. And there were times where I felt like he was trying, which is why we continued to get into the cycle. And I can tell you that long weekend, so Thanksgiving, the holidays, Labor Day, it's one day too many. It's just one day too many, right? So I can't imagine being in my home for 14 or 30 days with someone who tears you down, who physically, you know, harms you. It's really hard. So, you know, I tell people all the time, just continue to pray for those women that when this is done, that they can find a way out. It's easier said than done. So I think we're gonna see a high, like a rise in numbers of people that are calling once these shutdowns are released. You're gonna see a lot of people just say, you know, it's done. And here in Volusia County, in the last week, we've seen a lot of cases where unfortunate things have happened to people in this kind of situation. So just continue to keep those women and children in prayer and some of those men in prayer too. I mean, it's unfortunate that it's the world that we live in, right? And it's still such a taboo. I mean, it is a taboo subject.

People don't want to talk about it. I was 17, by years of 16, 15 to 18, uh, dating boyfriend, uh, you ran away from home, live with him. And, uh, yeah, I wouldn't tell anyone. First of all, he was very good looking, so all the girls were like, oh, Adrian, like, oh, you got such a good— like, so there was no way. I couldn't tell my parents because they would tell me to stop seeing him, obviously. So you really— it's so true, you have nobody to speak to. And that cycle of hit, I'm so sorry, I don't mean it, I'll help you, It was, it was consistently, and I haven't even thought about it, but I was being interviewed on my book that I had wrote, Head Down Shut Up, about more emotional, just growing up with my brothers, how they were treating me. It was pretty horrible being in the workplace. But he brought up this Brian Hammer Jackson on a live blog radio. It's like, how was your high school year? And next thing I know, I'm blabbing to him because in my heart I always felt that that is the one— that is also another group these teenagers. You're still too young to understand it, and, and you can't tell anyone. I mean, it's really hard to say because if you really are in love, which you don't even really know what love is at that age, you don't want anyone to, to know. So I really, I, you know, I was a pretty much a mess. And it stopped the day I went to college. And I went to college and he came to the door, the guy, the kid, and he came to, he knocked on the door and the the young man that I was seeing at the time was big. He met him at the door and he said, and he gave him like a shout out and said, leave Adrian, you know, just whatever it was that was said. And it stopped. And I was like, oh my God, like that's what needed to be done was just standing up. Someone stand up for me. That's all I really need. That's crazy. I could have done that before.

Right. And I think, you know, like a lot of times, because you are seeing it younger and younger, I gave a speech a couple years ago and did some— looked up some statistics. And at the time, that was 2017, you know, they said that 6 out of 10 high schoolers will complain or report to a counselor some sort of physical or emotional abuse from a partner. They're not even married, you know what I mean? Like, I used to justify my situation because I was married. I was like, I'm married, I'm trying to make it work, I believe in marriage. But we really need to look at what that looks like, right? So for better or for worse is not for better or for the bad decisions that you try and make. It's for better or for worse. Times like this, this is for worse. Financial, that's for worse. But deciding to be unfaithful, deciding to physically harm or emotionally harm somebody, Those are choices. That is not for better or for worse. That's not what marriage means. And we really need to talk about it more so that people feel more and more comfortable saying, you know what, I'm better than this. Like, I don't need to put up with this. This isn't part of marriage. So I was passionate about marriage. I'm a good old Christian girl. I believe in marriage. I believe in true love, and I still do. But I think I had to change my mindset about what that really meant. And I'd never seen it at home. I didn't see that at home. I don't come from a broken home, nothing. You know what I mean? But the reality is that it happens and it happens in CEOs' homes. It happens in people that are well off and people that are not well off. It happens in blue collar homes and white collar homes. So we need to talk about it more and it's happening more and more at all ages.

So the Beacon Center, is it actually like a location where women can live or is it like, I don't even know anything about the Beacon Center.

Oh, we're gonna have to take you on a tour. It is an undisclosed location for obvious reasons, and they do house women and children that, that are going through this situation to help them get to the other side. So a lot of the times what will happen is they've got nowhere to go. Again, I can go back to my situation. I'm alone, my family's in Miami, my other family's in Tampa, everybody's in Puerto Rico, and I could have gone anywhere, but I didn't want to leave where I had decided my home was. Where was I going to go? On a friend's couch for 2 weeks? You know what I mean?

They, they—

so it's great to know those resource centers, to have access to them. They do so much in the community. If you're a women's issue kind of a woman, they're a great organization to donate to. They're doing amazing things. Angie Pye is doing amazing things there. I think this weekend, unfortunately, their administrative offices had a fire. So I saw that, and I'm sure that we'll continue to post stuff on that. So if the community wants to help there— but, um, listen, if you want to take a tour, I'll coordinate it with her. She's an amazing woman, and, um, the Beacon Center really does a lot for women here in Volusia County. There's a lot of things that I think we need to look at Volusia County to make it a more woman-friendly place to live. I love that.

I have, um, I have what I will— I will send to you I have— I bought about 4 years ago when I went to the school, to the Protocol School of Washington, I bought a whole program, like a library of business soft skills. And a couple of them are women leaders and also confidence. So I'll give you the whole presentation so that you can use that because you can either use that for your blogs. You could also use that to actually just hold a presentation with them. It gives you the instructor's manual, the PowerPoint, the workbook for the attendees, icebreakers. So it could be a nice workshop because we all—

Maybe we could do it together.

What was that? I would love to do that with you. I would love to do that. Yeah, that's an important group. I really had forgotten my childhood years, but we also need to get it into the school systems.

Absolutely.

But for in high school to really start teaching about dating and, um, and not just dating rape, but dating abusive boys or girls, or it's vice versa, as we know. It's— I hate to always say just— it's, it's both. And it's just— and it could be very emotional too. Your little dog's so cute. How old is he?

They are 7 years old. There's 2 of them. Hey, Colt, come here. There's 2 of them. He is not— he doesn't really want to, um, play play today, but they are, they are the pair. So they're, they're from the same litter. I've had them since they were 6 weeks old, and they're just precious. They're emotional support dogs. They're—

oh, look at— oh, they may feel this whole like, why is Mommy here all the time?

So what's interesting is that they, they come to work with me every day. Yeah, they come to the center every day. So they have friends that come and visit. So they are— we had some, um, I had my business partner and a friend here this weekend, and they were definitely in need of social interaction because that is their love language. So we do a lot of cuddling and a lot of, um— look at how beautiful!

Look how sweet! Oh my gosh, my dog is legally blind. I have a dog, blind Pickles. Poor Pickles, he's legally blind. Sometimes he's like a like a— like when you do a pinball machine. When he comes in the house, he's all excited, he bangs on here and here and here. But you know what, he's— Alana just picks him up and I don't know, she's— she's— he's like that dog goes, but he's— oh, he's so cute. We went to go pick up a dog. We thought we would get a dog from the Halifax, um, Humane, so we were looking at fostering and we got in the little room So we brought pickles and little Holly wanted to bite my dog's face off. So it wasn't going to work out. Yeah. I was like, the girl's like, yeah, that won't work. And I'm like, she must like pickles. My dog's pickles. But anyways, so thank you for taking the time. And I really— now, are you in a group? Are you in an— what is your leads group? Which one are you in?

I'm in the Wednesday leads group. So we've self-proclaimed ourselves the large leads group. I don't know if we're the largest ones anymore, but you're more than welcome to come and join us one one week and just come and say hello?

I think we should every like quarter. I know when like, um, in Kissimmee, every quarter they would have like all the leads groups get together, which was always nice. And then I think we're doing an RBC— oh, I think, Jennifer, someone created the RBC leads group on Zoom, right? Are you, are you doing yours coming up? We—

yeah, we're doing ours weekly on Zoom, so It's been great. I'm a people person. I need to be connected to my people.

Otherwise, I think that's great. I can't wait. I think ours is this Thursday. I was so happy that someone put it together because I think it's important. And also, I said to do it live because doing a leads group live would allow someone else to be like, you know what, I should be in that group. So it can't hurt. And it's just a great way for invite other people because you just never really know. Like, you know, you just don't know.

Do you—

where do you meet? Are you meeting at—

do you meet? No, we meet at Hooligans on International.

Oh, nice.

Yeah. Oh, um, if that group has been so very helpful in me growing my business, um, here in Volusia County as well, and just feeling welcome again. I can't Fano.

I have to come in and see you because I know you do banners and stuff like, you know, and another sign.

Why aren't we working together?

Well, we will now after this. Maybe that's, you know, it's weird, Carmen, because I, as much as I want to say, okay, all of this is good, and I do, I can't— the people that, that you just hear these stories, and I try to read every story because I say to myself, if someone could go through it, I should be able to read And so, but reading these stories, and it's, it's such an insidious, uh, disease, the COVID-19. And I, I'm, I'm a CNN fan, so I love Chris Cuomo, and I don't even know what's going on with him. Like, I feel like someone needs to tell us where he is because he's been dealing with it. Yeah, 3 days he hasn't given us an update, and I'm like, okay, now I'm getting nervous. But I have friends that are dealing with this right now. Friends, a lot of friends like lost— I mean So as much as I want to say yes, there's going to be some— a lot of good that will come out of this, and I think stronger businesses, and, and that we are all having a time and yada yada yada, I, I just— at one death is too many deaths. So it's, it's just— you're right, it's hard to balance it out.

Yeah, you almost have to, you know, think about this earlier, and, you know, I've got some family members that are dealing and some friends that are dealing with it as well. And, you know, some cases are worse than others, right? But I think it's really time, like I said earlier, to really reflect on like what your priorities are. I know for me, I am oftentimes very business focused and very community focused. And, you know, I've got something to do with family. And while I'm very family focused, I do sacrifice a lot of family time. I sacrifice, you know, building my own family again or whatever because of those things. And I think it is time for us to kind of look at ourselves a little bit more and go, hey, where do our priorities stand? Like, what really makes us successful, right? So if we have all this money and our businesses are really strong, but our personal lives, like we struggle being at home with your family, or we struggle finding time for the things that matter, then are we really living a successful life? Hopefully out of this, right? More kindness will come out. People will learn compassion and discernment again. So it's okay to have faith in what's to come. I think unfortunately some people will suffer out of it, but I think even sometimes from the worst situations, the most amazing things come. So when you hit the bottom, the only way to hit is up. Go with up.

Okay, hold on for one second. Alana, Alana, I wanted to meet you. Come here, I want you to meet Carmen. It's important to me. Come here. I'm 57 with a, uh, 14-year-old. Come here. Wow, come over here.

Just—

what do you mean no? I'm gonna turn the camera. Just come over here. I'm just gonna come to Mommy. Just say hello, Alana. Oh, she's being— okay, just turn the camera to— so there she is. Alana, Alana. Yeah, this is, this is tough on, this is tough on our kids too. This is a lot of stress. I don't know how to help Alana. I know every day is I'm bored, and yeah, she's doing her homework, and yeah, she's coloring. I mean, I saw her the other day, I'm like, okay, that's good for your health. And I'm worried about her friends too. I'm just gonna say this out loud.

I really, I saw some of the videos that you posted, and I, you know, obviously I don't have children, so I don't have to deal with any of that, but I do sympathize. But, but kudos to you for looking, being aware, knowing what's on social media, and just helping navigate through that because I think it is conversation, right?

Right, it is a conversation. And I, yeah, we have to, that this is the hardest age, so it's hard when you have to. So that was the whole thing, like, do we start back at school? Well, there's some parents that are both working. I don't know, I'm glad I've been working from the home since 2000 and 12, except when I lived in Tucson. I worked for American Cancer Society, which was lovely. But, um, oh, I did. I loved it. I worked for ACS. I did distinguished events, and I absolutely loved every second of it. It was really great. I interviewed Alexis last week, um, who did Strides. And so I was at Strides October 22nd, 2017, when I got the horrible call from my sister that my mother had passed. And it was weird because my dad was the one that was in the hospital. My mom wasn't well, but I think my mom and dad— I think my mom didn't know where my dad was, and nobody actually told my mom. And I think that, well, I was upset. I mean, they spent almost— they were 2 months shy of 70 years together, and they never—

beautiful.

So my mom— so I, uh, so they said to me, well, what do you want to do? Do you want to go home? And I'm like, what am I going to do at home? So I, I high-fived everyone. So I'm excited to be on the committee with Jamie. And her fiancé Richard, they're, they're so funny.

They're, they're like two of the people that I connected with right away. At the time they were not together, but I just, I love that. I love them together. I love them both. I tell them all the time, I just love her. Well, we put my brother— you need to, um, we need to interview you. I, I was listening to you talk about your parents, uh, this morning, and I just thought I was like, oh, you know, I knew I liked her. She's community-focused, she's family-focused, and you just have the kindest heart. And it's, it's so nice to see you do this. I mentioned it to the chamber earlier this week and said, are you guys watching that? Like, this is great. And I just think, um, you know, we need more positive things like this. Thank you for sharing your friends with us.

But I want to, I want to see your friends. I want to know more about Catherine. I want to know more about Jamie. There's so many. When I see the pictures of you, Terry, oh my gosh, I really— I'm so glad our mom's home though, right? That's Oh my gosh, let me, if you've got a second.

So, so we, when we did this Mujeres on a Mission, it was just 3 of us. And then as we brought Marie on, we added people. And of course Terry was added to that. And, you know, I didn't really know her that well. I mean, I knew her, but I didn't know her. And I was like, hey, Dad, I'm bringing some people that I don't really know, but I think they're really cool. And of course, Christo's also joined us for that. He was the non-Mujeres on the board. And Terri, let me just say, I can get through this without being emotional, but she is just one of the most amazing human beings that I have ever met. I mean, she talked to everybody with such dignity. I mean, when we went there, there were people sleeping on the floor, they hadn't showered, sleeping in tents. It was not, uh, it was not the easiest situation to walk into. And she just— I mean, she doesn't know any Spanish, but she, you know, she stayed with her guide and she would, she would share messages with other people, just hope. And God, she was just so kind to everyone. She was so kind to my dad. I mean, she was with my dad almost the whole time and just was so kind to my dad. And at one of the camps on the second day, we were all just kind of waiting for the next thing. And there's Terry, you know, with the kids playing basketball. And I have to say, I will forever feel connected to her because of Puerto Rico. But I'm just so blessed that God put her on that trip because it really restored faith in humanity for me. She's an amazing human. If you have a chance to interview her, please do it.

You do it. Show off your friends. I want you to do it. You would be— you're perfect. You're perfect. It's all candid. I'm using— I'm just using this program, so— or use Zoom. But, um, Terry went, but she was concerned about her mom, right? Her mom was in her—

her mom— I want to say her mom ended up in the hospital like a couple— like, she got worse. She went home and then got worse, and we actually didn't think she was going to make it. And her mom told her, no, I want you to go. And so she ended up joining us. And, you know, kudos to her for being able to jump on a plane, go to an island where there's active earthquakes and serve others when she has her mom in the hospital. But her mom insisted for her to go. And again, I will interview her. I will, I will do it specifically to get Terry on the interview. She's an amazing amazing person. And, um, and when this is all done, we should go have lunch or have dinner together because I really think you have such a sweet soul, and I really— I, I think you guys would connect greatly. Thank you.

I look forward to, to learning more about Terry. She is beautiful. I'm so happy her mom is home. I'm sure that is a huge—

yeah, huge relief.

This is just— when do you think this is all going to end? What do you say to yourself?

Like, what, what do you You know, we've prepared business plans for up to 12 weeks. I know nobody wants to hear that. Now, our industries are a lot alike, and I do believe that when this is all said and done, that people will be ready to advertise their business and work on marketing. So we'll probably be in a better position than where we are right now moving forward than in even some other industries. But I, but I, I think without getting into politics, right? I think that we're— I believe that we're gonna see them extend the date that they've already given us for the state of Florida, maybe by 2 weeks, another 14 days. What I'm hoping for is that they require everybody to wear these wonderful masks. Yeah, because I think it's important. I think, you know, a lot of people don't want to wear them because this isn't really The other day I was kind of sad because I was at the store with mine on and I smiled at somebody and I was like, oh my God! And he smiled back, you really saw it in your eyes.

That's funny, right? You do, you miss that kind of—

Yeah, a smile can change someone's day, right? But right now, I mean, these things are saving lives and it's not about me or you who's healthy, it's about those people, some of those essential workers. I have an employee that is an essential worker that has somebody at home that's immune compromised, and he's made the decision to come to work, but I want him to be in the safest position that he can be to return back to that person. My mom is a grocery, my mom is a, is a receiving manager for Winn-Dixie. So my mom has to receive merchandise. So when somebody comes up to the door and they're not wearing a mask, essentially it's, they're saying they don't care about my mother's life. And she has a daughter and she has daughters, she has grandchildren. These people belong to someone. So just, um, if you take anything out of this whole interview, please wear your mask. Find somebody— stop wearing the medical masks, go find a cloth one. Everybody, you know, you can do this at home. Um, where— where anything— I know you're selling them too, right?

Well, this is the one I had. I bought this from someone. Um, but my husband gets to wear this too, and, uh, it's like a baby one, but it's sweet. I don't even care. I think that the mask— I think you said it so beautifully. I've been saying, um, if you don't wear a mask, you're kind of— shows you're a selfish person, right?

Right.

Um, right.

Especially, you know, here in Volusia County, we have so many older people here that are retired. I'm in the Daytona Beach Shores area, so there's a lot of older people here. I go to get gas and I see people even, you know, behind the counter that aren't wearing masks. You know, as business owners, it's our responsibility to educate our staff and to put, you know, systems in place. And really, I challenge the business owners in Volusia County to consider wearing these or face shields. I know that you sell 'em, I sell 'em. I mean, I don't sell these, but you know, you can have a family member make this. This is so easy. I'll post it on my Facebook page. You can do this by hand. Just help the community safe.

Exactly. It's so important. My son— so when my son Sam comes back here— Sam, you have to meet Sam. He's 31, uh, quite the handsome. He lives in Shanghai. He sells, uh, maces, the steel mace with a ball. So he does— it's Set For Set. So once in a while I'll throw up his, uh, site, Set For Set. But, um, but so kind of of like what's going on. So Shanghai is pretty much back to work, so he is— he still wears his mask. The restaurants that were able to cope and keep their employees are opening up now. Sure, some have closed, but, you know, I think— I love the owner of First Watch and what he wrote. I saw it on LinkedIn. He was saying that he, you know, he's gonna— he's closing down, but he'll be back up and running, and he's paying all of his staff. And I think you're right, real leaders are also forming.

Yeah, you're really— I mean, I, and I get it, you know, a lot of people do have to, you know, furlough and lay people off and all that stuff. But I think what I, what I do hope is that we change our business mentality, you know, accountants telling business owners, hey, you have too much money in the bank, you need to get rid of cash, you need to operate your business, you know, as a loss, all that stuff. I hope that that goes away because we can obviously see that Cash is king, right? So, it's, you know, and unfortunately this happens in the beginning of the year as people are purchasing stuff to get rid of some of that liquidity, right? So I hope that this really puts us in a position, you know, we operate our homes with a certain amount of money to be able to sustain ourselves. And as businesses, we shouldn't be penalized because we're being good stewards of our cash. In this kind of situation, you need it. So if you don't have cash, you're forced to let go of people. So I'm hoping that, that the way that we do business, but even the way that we operate our business from an operation standpoint, right, it changes a little bit.

Interesting. Oh my God. So Carmen, if we were actually together, I'd want to like stay and keep talking, but I won't. I'll let you go. Thank you. You're as beautiful as can be. I'm so excited to see you in real life. And thank you. And I look forward— I'm Terry, you're gonna do the Terry interview, and Catherine too. I want to get to know Catherine. And also, um, Beacon, I look forward to— and if there's anything I could do, I just— just let me know. And thank you.

I'll connect you guys on email. Thank you for having me. Um, I always— I tell people, a friend of Maria is a friend of mine, and I— it's so obvious why she's connected with you. And she told me a long time ago, y'all need to connect. You guys are a lot alike. I like it, I like it.

I love that. Oh, you're so beautiful. Okay, thank you. Have a great rest of your day.

It's not funny about your haircut. You look great.

Oh my God, stop it. Oh my God, real— I— okay, bye. I need— you have a beautiful smile.