The Tim Lower Podcast

Alabama is one of the reddest states in the country. So why did barely 1 in 10 registered voters show up for this year's primary runoff? Shalira Taylor calls this out directly on the Tim Lower Podcast, your vote counts, voter ID or not, and a red state only stays red if the people who actually believe in it show up. With turnout numbers this low just posted in Baldwin County and across the state, this conversation is exactly on time. Full interview linked in the comments!

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Everyone's fighting about AI in schools. This teacher has a different take. Back when Stephanie Swindle Cody taught English, her struggling students all hit the same wall: getting started. They knew the story. They could tell you all about it. But those first three sentences on the blank page? That's where they quit. Her point on The Tim Lower Podcast: there's a way to use AI that helps kids get unstuck WITHOUT letting it do the work for them. Not cheating. A crutch that gets kicked away. With 92% of students already using AI, maybe the answer isn't banning it, it's teaching the line. Stephanie Cody, career tech teacher at Foley High School. Where's the line for you? Tell me below. Full interview linked in the comments! 👇

Edutopia, WeAreTeachers, (OpenAI), Foley High Baldwin County Public Schools .

"He's not going to take my money and do a poor job."

That's what a stranger decides about your business in about four seconds. Travis Valentine, President & CEO of the South Baldwin Chamber of Commerce, explained where that instinct actually comes from.

"You open your small business, whatever that is, lawn care, home inspection. And if you don't have those relationships in place, joining the chamber is connecting yourself with an organization that's been serving the community for 80+ years. That's instant credibility."

Eighty years of trust that you get to stand next to on day one.

Then I gave the honest math, because I've been the guy writing that check:

"When I first started, I always set my value around how many inspections would it take to earn that back. And I think the membership equated to 1 to 2 home inspections. So if I got 1 to 2 a year, I'd be very happy with it. Now I've gotten way more than that."

One or two jobs a year. That was the whole break-even. Break it down per month and it stops being a debate.

If you've been sitting on this decision, watch the whole thing before Q4 planning.

The full interview is linked in the comments!



U.S. Chamber of Commerce, SBS News, NFIB, Entrepreneur, Forbes, . Dave Ramsey Gary Vaynerchuk

His team does 50+ ribbon cuttings a year. For the person holding the scissors, it's the only one they'll ever have.

I asked Travis Valentine how the South Baldwin Chamber of Commerce keeps the energy up when they've cut the same ribbon fifty times, and his answer changed how I think about repetitive work entirely.

"It's something you do a lot, it's easy to get complacent. That energy gets lost."

Then he said this:

"It's their only ribbon cutting. It's special to them. And in a lot of cases, it might be their dream. They might have thought about this for 20+ years. And they finally took the leap, and they opened their own, and they chose us, and we get to help them celebrate that."

Twenty years of thinking about it. One pair of scissors. One photo they'll keep forever.

Whatever you do fifty times a year, somebody in the room is doing it once.

I dropped the full interview in the comments, go watch the whole thing!



South Baldwin Chamber of Commerce , Visit Alabama's Beaches Visit Foley Alabama , Gulf Coast Media, Timothy Lower Tim Lower Simplihom Alabama State Broker U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Opening a business in South Baldwin and expecting the floodgates to open on day one is the fastest way to fail. Timothy Lower sits down with Travis Valentine, President and CEO of the South Baldwin Chamber of Commerce, to discuss the brutal reality of local entrepreneurship. Too many new owners unlock the doors, sit down, and just wait for the community to support them. The truth is that business is personal, and you have to get out there and build relationships before people will trust you with their hard-earned money. If you are an entrepreneur or thinking of starting a business on the Gulf Coast, you need to hear this reality check.

Full interview linked in the comments!

U.S. Chamber of Commerce Tim Lower Simplihom Alabama State Broker SimpliHom Alabama Foley Main Street U.S. Small Business Administration Entrepreneur NFIB Gary Vaynerchuk

I was 11 years old the last time I really missed my dad like that.

He shipped out on what they told us would be a 6 month deployment. Pretty standard, they said. Out 6 months, home in 6 months. It turned into 2 and a half years.

Back then there was no cell phone in your pocket, no FaceTime, no email. We wrote letters, and letters took forever to get there and forever to get back. And when we did get to talk, it wasn't really talking. It was called a relay call. Somebody sat in the middle of the line and repeated what you said back and forth, so you never actually heard your own dad's voice. You couldn't really say what you wanted to say, or how you actually felt. Not to an 11 year old missing his father during the years he needed him most.

Today is 25 years since September 11th, and I keep thinking about how many families are living some version of what mine lived back then. Long deployments. Static on the line, or no line at all. A kid counting months that keep stretching.

If you know a military family who is in the middle of a deployment right now, or one who's lived through it, tell them somebody sees what that costs. And if your family has its own version of the relay call story, I'd be honored if you shared it below or passed this along to someone who'd understand it.

U.S. Navy Timothy Lower Turning Point USA Tunnel to Towers Foundation

You've been told you need 20% down to buy a house. Timothy Lower says that's the biggest myth in real estate, and he's got the receipts. 3% down. 5% down. Zero down if you served. Rates just climbed again this week and the Fed meets in two weeks, so this matters more right now than it did a month ago. But here's the part nobody warns you about: some lenders can't make your deal work, and they will not tell you the lender down the street can. Tim explains exactly how to find the right one in the full interview. Full interview linked in the comments! Tag the person who keeps saying "we're saving up for 20%." Call or text 251-424-5395 and let's talk.
Dave Ramsey BiggerPockets South Baldwin Chamber of Commerce Coastal Alabama Business Chamber

Timothy Lower moved to the Gulf Coast knowing absolutely nobody. First thing he did was walk into a South Baldwin Chamber speed networking event with sweaty palms, no elevator pitch, and 60 seconds on the clock. Twenty rounds later, something clicked, and it's the reason his business exists today. What changed between round 1 and round 20? He breaks the whole thing down in the full interview. Watch the full interview, linked in the comments! Tag a friend who's been "meaning to get out there" for six months.

Gary Vaynerchuk Grant Cardone Entrepreneur simpliHŌM