Alex Fevola: Loss, Motherhood, Business & Finding Your Voice

In this podcast episode of Say It With Your Chest (SIWYC), Tamara Meyer sits down with Alex Fevola for a raw conversation about resilience, loss, female entrepreneurship, motherhood, marriage, public judgement and building the Australian beauty brand Runway Room.Behind the successful founder and beauty brand is a story most people have never seen.Alex opens up about becoming a mother at a young age, losing her former partner to suicide, experiencing a serious medical emergency shortly afterwards, and how those experiences shaped the resilience she later brought into business and public life.She also shares what it was like navigating a relationship in the public eye, separating and eventually reconnecting with Brendan, and why finding her independence became such an important part of finding her confidence and voice.The conversation then turns to business.After more than 25 years working as a makeup artist, Alex saw a gap in the beauty industry and created Runway Room around a simple idea: make professional hair, makeup and beauty services more accessible to everyday women.She explains how that service business evolved into an Australian beauty brand, why consistency and product quality have remained central to the company, and how Runway Room is approaching sustainability, refillable products and its continued retail expansion.Tamara and Alex also get honest about the reality of being a female founder. They discuss resilience when business gets difficult, balancing motherhood and entrepreneurship, supporting your partner's ambitions, dealing with judgement online and why building something meaningful requires far more than chasing money.The episode opens with Alex sharing her frustration with recent Australian government decisions and what she believes they mean for small business owners, before exploring the resilience founders need when circumstances outside their control change.Above all, this conversation is about refusing to shrink yourself.As Alex puts it, finding your voice means being unapologetically yourself, standing firmly in your values and not allowing other people's opinions to determine who you become.Chapters:00:06 Meet Alex Fevola00:22 Small Business and the Australian Budget03:25 Why Resilience Matters in Business05:24 The Personal Story Most People Don't Know09:42 The Experiences That Shaped Alex10:20 Marriage, Public Life and Independence12:24 Taking Back Your Power16:29 How Runway Room Began19:59 Beauty Without Compromising Your Values20:43 Sustainability and Beauty Products22:45 Why Beauty Can Build Confidence24:24 Passion, Business and Long-Term Success26:18 Motherhood, Business and Priorities28:10 Why Alex Kept Her Past Private31:38 Building a Partnership That Supports Both Careers34:32 What's Next for Runway Room36:37 How to Handle Judgement Online39:16 What Finding Your Voice Really Means40:11 Final ThoughtsDisclaimer: This episode includes discussion of suicide, grief and medical trauma.#AlexFevola #RunwayRoom #FemaleEntrepreneur #WomenInBusiness #BusinessResilience #FemaleFounders #BeautyBusiness #PersonalBranding #Entrepreneurship #TamaraMeyer #SIWYC📩 DM "SIWYC" on Instagram to⁠ @tamarameyercoach⁠ to get an exclusive offer for our listeners🎧 Please LIKE, COMMENT, and SUBSCRIBE for more business, branding, and content creation strategies! This really helps us reach more people and have more impact globally.