Today we’d like to introduce you to Carolyn Alvey.
Hi Carolyn, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
As a teenager, I knew I wanted a career in public relations even before I fully understood what PR was and how to get started. I have always loved telling stories, meeting people, and creating strategy. My dad was in the Air Force so we moved around throughout my childhood. I learned to adapt to new places, people and situations.
My parents grew up in Indiana and were high school sweethearts. When my dad graduated from Purdue and my mom got her nursing degree from Ball State University in Indiana, they began a nearly 30-year journey in the military before he retired after my sophomore year in college. They bought a house outside of their hometown and for the first time in their adult lives, they began to settle in. But I knew Indiana wasn’t in my long-term plan.
Two years later, when I graduated from Ball State University, the economy was challenging and there weren’t a lot of jobs to be found in PR. So I interviewed for every job I could and even took a substitute teaching job in a school district near my parents’ home. I have the utmost respect for teachers and what they do every day to inspire kids. It’s a hard job!
Six months after graduation, I decided to move to Dallas without a PR job. It wasn’t a glamorous beginning. I lived with my brother and sister-in-law in Fort Worth and took a job at The Gap at the Irving Mall where a sorority sister was the store manager. I worked there for three months when Ogilvy & Mather called and said they had a job in the Dallas office where I had completed an internship the previous year. I took it and moved to Valley Ranch, home of the Dallas Cowboys (my favorite team since I was 12) and started my career. Three months later, Ogilvy announced they were closing their Dallas office and I was out of a job again. I connected with a recruiter and she knew of a tiny PR firm looking for an entry level person. It was the BEST thing that could have happened to me. I got to travel all over Mexico handling the PR for resorts and I met my future husband. I stayed with this agency for two years and was lured away by another PR firm in Las Colinas to handle the PR for resorts St. Maarten, Florida, Puerto Rico and Arizona. I was having the time of my life and learning everything I could from the team around me. Five years later, the agency (which ironically was headquartered in Indiana) decided to close their Dallas office. I was able to take my clients anywhere I wanted, and several firms courted me. I made a poor decision to go with an agency my husband advised me not to and was miserable. It wasn’t a fit. I talked to my husband and several of my clients and they all had the same advice: start your own PR firm! Two years before (my then fiancé), created a boutique ad agency, Aardvark. He suggested I come work with him and we would add PR capabilities to the firm. I was scared. What if I failed? But I joined him in 1994 and have never looked back!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Many struggles:
1. Economy was horrible in Texas in the late 80s.
2. Agency life can be hard when your job is dependent on so many variables you can’t control when you are at the bottom. When an agency loses a piece of business, your job isn’t secure.
3. My husband became very ill in 2000 and for two years his health was tenuous. I had to run the company, take care of a toddler while I was pregnant, then care for our newborn, and take care of my husband while he was in and out of hospitals before and after multiple surgeries.
4. Being self-employed, our health insurance was mediocre at best and we ended up with more than $100,000 in medical debt. Our CPA advised me to file for bankruptcy but I said no. Slowly, I paid every bill until we were debt free again. And I got a new CPA.
5. When 9-11 happened, we didn’t know what the world would look like. We had two young babies and a business that was doing okay. I was thankful we lived in Texas and the business leaders we worked with had a vision. We helped businesses move forward and build their companies amidst the turmoil.
6. The first few months of COVID were hard! Not in the way you would imagine either. Our business was booming. We were getting calls weekly for help with the crisis. I was working 60+ hours a week. It was physically and emotionally exhausting.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Aardvark Communications ?
Founded in 1992, Aardvark Communications is a Dallas-Fort Worth public relations, advertising and marketing agency. For more than three decades, we have helped businesses, brands, and non-profits tell their stories, build their reputations and connect with the audiences that matter the most to our clients.
We are proud of the depth of our relationships and the longevity of our client partnerships. We have had several clients for more than 15 years. In one case, we have been the PR agency for 27 years!
Our work includes PR, creative services, social media, crisis communications, advertising, digital marketing, media planning and buying. We work with clients in a wide range of industries, including automotive, banking, hospitality, entertainment, nonprofit, sports, healthcare and hospitality.
At the heart of Aardvark Communications is our belief that the best work comes from truly understanding a client’s goals, learning their business and having a genuine passion for their company. That mantra is a big reason we have been able to build such long-standing and successful client relationships. We only work with clients that we believe in their mission and love the people behind it. For us, it is the Golden Rule: treat people with honesty, respect, and kindness. Life is too short to work any other way.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
Never give up. Life is hard and challenging but perseverance will help you break through.
Kindness matters more than talent or knowledge.
When I was trying to find a job after college, I felt like no one really wanted to help me. I promised God, I would always give of my time and any resources if I ever was in a position to help someone else just starting out. Never forget to give back.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://aardvarktx.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aardvarkcommunications/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aardvarkcommunicationsinc
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aardvark-communications-inc/
- Twitter: https://x.com/aardvarktx
