Her Story
About Ashanti
Ashanti Bailey is a substitute teacher and bar manager with a bachelor's degree in business administration from UCA in Conway, Arkansas, earned in 2020. After working in retail for three and a half years as a key holder and acting store manager, she transitioned to roles that better aligned with her desire for personal fulfillment, including managing a bar on weekends and substituting in classrooms from Monday through Friday. Her expertise spans business administration, retail management, education, and hospitality. Bailey attributes her success to her own determination, drawing motivation from her past experiences and her close relationship with her brother, as well as her responsibility to her dog. She values integrity in the workplace above all else, as demonstrated by her decision to leave a previous position rather than unjustly terminate an employee. Bailey advises young women entering her fields to persist despite challenges, leverage their unique perspectives, and build their own opportunities if needed.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Ashanti
01What do you attribute your success to?
I would say myself. Growing up I didn't have a bad childhood but there are things that happened that I don't agree with. I put myself in positions where I can make sure I don't go back to that. I'm really close with my brother. If I ever failed I couldn't depend on my family. That's my motivation to never give up and always keep trying. Me and my dog, I have to do what I have to do for me and my dog.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best advice I've ever received career-wise came from a man named Mr. Dickerson. He works at Crane Hyundai. He always said don't be afraid of a no. If you know keep going. Someone's gonna say yes. Don't let a no stop you. Put yourself out there, don't be afraid to try new things. It's good to be uncomfortable than to be scared.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Don't give up. It is gonna be hard because you are a woman. But at the same time God created a woman for a reason. You have new ideas, you have new experiences that you can offer to any field. Even if you think that it is small. Do not give up. Like I said I have a business degree. I have an interview today at 2:30 for logistics. You never know what could happen unless you put yourself out there. Don't count yourself out just because you feel like someone else may not be able to handle you. If you cannot fit at a table that's perfectly fine. Build your own table.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
A lot of the challenges and opportunities that I have faced is people tell me I don't have experience. Oh you only have like looking at my resume yes I do have a lot of retail experience. Even now I am a bar manager. I still have essentially retail experience. You're gonna hear a lot of oh you don't have experience. It's not about having the experience I feel like mainly it's just like give me a chance.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
My values weigh a lot more than just a paycheck to me. One of the reasons I left K's is because my district manager wanted me to fire someone and I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I'm not the type that's just gonna fire someone because you don't like them. If we have done coaching with them and they are not getting it yes but just because you just woke up one day and was like I don't like them specifically is wild to me and I feel like it's kind of childish.
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