The Power of Investing in Community -- and Yourself (POLARIS & ASL Creative Firm)

In this special episode of Main Street Business Insights, recorded in front of a live audience during the Main Street Now Conference, Matt sat down with Alycia Levels-Moore, owner and founder of ASL Creative Firm and POLARIS, an event and co-working hub, based in Birmingham, Alabama.   Alycia moved to Birmingham’s Woodlawn neighborhood roughly a decade ago, and shortly after started volunteering in various community and civic engagement initiatives. “At the time, ten or eleven years ago, it was very much in transition, it was not the Woodlawn we know now,” Alycia said. “My thought process when I do anything is how can i make sure that whatever I’m apart of is better once I’m finished with it.” She began supporting neighborhood small business owners, organizing community events, and eventually, founding the community-based co-working and event space and educational hub, POLARIS, with the mission of creating a safe space to nurture community and build local entrepreneurship.   In addition to her work at POLARIS, Alycia also founded ASL Creative Firm, a consulting agency specializing in community development, program management, and strategic planning. Through her consulting work, Alycia was brought on board as the lead project manager for the Where It Starts: Breaking Barriers to Business initiative, supported by the Truist Foundation and alongside Living Cities, to accelerate wealth-building pathways for business owners of color in five cities in the southeast.   In their conversation, Matt and Alycia discuss her journey to business ownership, her community development work in Birmingham and through the Breaking Barriers to Business initiative, and the importance of resilience and self-belief for entrepreneurs.  Further Reading: ASL Creative Firm | POLARIS | Where It Starts: Breaking Barriers to Business | Main Street Now Conference | About the Woodlawn District | Main Street Alabama |