Life & Work with Alicia Haygood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alicia Haygood.

Hi Alicia, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story. 
I’ve been in the media industry for over 15 years. I worked behind the scenes in T.V. in all aspects, from camera operator, Associate Producing, International news, TV agency work, and more. When my family and I relocated to Scottsdale in 2019, I transitioned from T.V. to podcasting. I worked for a podcasting company for 1.5 years before buying the company and rebranding it to the Scottsdale Vibes Podcast. In just a short 2.5 years, Scottsdale Vibes Podcast is ranked in the top 10% of all podcast globally. 

When I saw the podcast take off, I knew that Scottsdale was craving community connections. Each week, I feature a person, place, or event that is happening in our city. One of those interviews was the Publisher/Owner of the luxury magazine Scottsdale City Lifestyle. After 5 years in the business, the owner was ready to move on to other adventures and asked if I’d be interested in taking over the magazine. I jumped on the opportunity! I knew this was the next step to grow the podcast the magazine and bring even more awareness to the greatness of Scottsdale. 

Being a small business owner is anything but a small task. I never thought I was the kind of person to run a business, as I enjoyed coming in to do my job and go home at night. But as I grew in the corporate world, I wanted more for myself. I wanted more of a work/life balance and more reward for my work. I’m so lucky to have a community that supports the podcast and magazine. We want to connect with our community, and I’m honored to be the one to share that information with them. 

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?
Building a team is probably the hardest part of growing. You need to make sure the people you bring on have the same work ethic as you, are your yin to your yang, and challenge you on decision-making. People who always agree with you and don’t bring suggestions to the table aren’t there to help you. When you have that team behind you, success starts happening. 

I also am never afraid to ask for help or guidance. I’ve learned that people are eager to help you grow. Learn from them! People love to talk about their successes. Use that to your advantage and ask those questions. You have to have a willingness to continue to learn, and not getting complacent is huge. The minute I feel like everything is running smoothly, I know something big is about to happen. Never feel settled, or you’ll miss the knock on the door. 

Making sure your procedures are in place from the beginning is crucial for a successful growth. Otherwise, you spend too much time going backwards to make going forward easier. 

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m the creator/host of the Scottsdale Vibes Podcast. A weekly podcast that focuses on the people, places, and events in Scottsdale. I love to feature all the great things happening in our city! I’m also the Owner/Publisher of Scottsdale City Lifestyle. A luxury magazine that features local businesses and content in Scottsdale. 

I love connecting people to make their life better. I hold many titles in life, but Community Connector is one of my favorites! I love that people know they can come to me for any contacts or resources. If you ask my kids, ” My mom can’t leave the house without talking or knowing at least 10 people,” haha. It makes me feel so good that I’m known for bringing people together. 

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
Oh my gosh, this is such a tough question! Besides summer in Scottsdale, there is really nothing I don’t love about this city! I’ve lived in almost every region of the United States. I grew up in the South moved to the D.C. area, then Chicago, Houston, and Reno. This is by far our favorite place we’ve lived. We love the people, the amount of activities and events here, and this is one state where you can go from playing in the desert to ski/snowboard in the same day. This is definitely home for us. 

Now, if we can just get July-September to cool off more, I’d be willing to love it all 12 months of the year! 

Contact Info:

• Website: https://scottsdalevibes.media and https://citylifestyle.com/scottsdale
• Instagram: @scottsdalevibespodcast @scottsdalecitylifestyle
• Facebook: @scottsdalevibes @scottsdalecitylifestyle
• Linkedin: Alicia Haygood
• Youtube: @scottsdalevibes