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Visionary Women Spotlight: Entrepreneur, Humanitarian, Alyssa Phillips

2022 Visionaries

By Tammy ReesePublished about a year ago 3 min read
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From being granted top-secret clearance working for the National Security Agency in Maryland, or securing clients with homes in the real estate industry, to now securing the future of countless teens in Texas, Alyssa Phillips has spent most of her life in service to her country and community.

Alyssa Phillips’s latest venture is crowdfunding to secure funds needed to develop the nation’s first Black Culturally Enriched Resort which will be a resort with overwater bungalows and a town center with Black culture enrichments in the music, food, art, and more!

Tammy: Tell me a little about yourself (i.e., where you are from, currently live, etc.)

Alyssa: I was born in the UK to military parents. I spent most of my adulthood in Maryland working for the National Security Agency with a top-secret clearance — and worked to protect our nation’s most critical and most secret information. I worked in many roles- as an analyst, technical director, and supervisor. I began buying rental property at the age of 19 in 2010- right when the market was still recovering. I purchased several properties for less than $20,000 and completed work on them on my own — going paycheck to paycheck to fix them up.

I currently live in a suburb of Houston, TX. I have five children.

Tammy: What made you choose real estate at such a young age? And how did it turn into flipping?

Alyssa: I was a social worker, working to help teenage parents gain the life skills necessary to be productive parents — I enjoyed what I did, but I needed a little more income as I had two kids of my own (I was a teen mother of two myself). So, I looked for other avenues of income… and real estate made sense — as I could do what I love and have passive income.

I only was interested in rental property until the market started turning around… and I saw the importance of diversifying my real estate approach — so I did both rentals and flips. Flips gave me a quick money grab to purchase more rental properties, buy businesses and create other revenue sources.

Tammy: What was your first experience like flipping a home?

Alyssa: The first flip went well. I only did one at a time. I got lucky and had a really amazing construction crew. We didn’t do major renovations like moving walls. It was all cosmetic. We were in and out within three weeks.

Tammy: You currently average 25,000 square feet at a time. What did you start at initially, and what made you decide to develop with larger constructions?

Alyssa: I only did one house at a time, so around 2k. My processes were really well-oiled, and things moved smoothly, so I started to add more houses. I eventually resigned from my full-time job — and as such, I had more time on my hands to flip more houses.

Tammy: Let’s talk about work, life, and balance. What do you do to let your hair down?

Alyssa: Spend time with my family — we are always traveling somewhere. We try to go out of town once a month or once every other month. Every Friday is game or craft night at our house…

Tammy: What is next for you in 2023?

Alyssa: Anything you want to share? Next — we are crowdfunding for that nation’s first Black Culturally Enriched Resort. This will be a resort with overwater bungalows and a town center with Black culture enrichments in the music, food, art, etc.

Tammy: How can people connect with you?

Alyssa: On Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/alyssa-phillips-82b54055/

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About the Creator

Tammy Reese

Tammy is best known for her legendary interviews with Sharon Stone, Angela Bassett, Sigourney Weaver, Geena Davis, Morris Chestnut, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Laurence Fishburne, Omar Epps, Joseph Sikora, and more.

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