Community Building Through Marketing—Powered by Showing Up and Staying Open

In this episode of Professional Quotient: Conversations That Build Equity, host Jason Winningham sits down with Alicia Layfield, founder of Casa Layfield, a boutique marketing agency in Houston, Texas. Alicia shares how she built her business from the ground up—not by following a perfect plan, but by showing up, staying open, and turning connections into community building through marketing.

From launching a career inspired by a high school art teacher to navigating unexpected layoffs in commercial real estate, Alicia’s story is one of resilience, reinvention, and real-world relationship-building. She opens up about the challenges of networking as an introvert-extrovert, the surprising power of a microfiber business card, and why “touching the grass” (aka showing up in person) has made all the difference in her growth. Her journey is a clear example of how community building through marketing creates both opportunity and impact.

Highlights from the Episode:

• Networking as a Growth Tool – Building a business starts by showing up, even when it feels uncomfortable. Every event is a chance to learn and connect.

• Creativity Meets Strategy – From a foundation in art and design, Alicia developed a marketing approach that blends creativity with business acumen.

• Resilience in Reinvention – After layoffs in commercial real estate, Alicia chose entrepreneurship and discovered a more fulfilling path through service and community.

If you’re curious about marketing, entrepreneurship, or how to build professional equity one handshake at a time, this episode is packed with insight, humor, and heart.

Because sometimes the best career move isn’t a job title—it’s a conversation that leads to your next chapter.

Alicia Layfield is a seasoned marketing leader with over a decade of experience driving integrated marketing strategies across commercial real estate and small business sectors. Her background in design enhances her ability to deliver high-impact marketing materials, lead cross-functional teams, and manage complex projects with precision and speed. As a former Senior Regional Marketing Manager at Cushman & Wakefield and Marketing Manager at CBRE, Alicia has led multi-state marketing efforts, built high-performing teams, and consistently delivered results for executive and client-facing campaigns.