Her Story
About Ashley
I've been in my field for about 15 years, and I've been in my current position as a marketing consultant for about 4 years. I started my career working in journalism, where I touched on newspaper, online, and broadcast journalism because I wanted to try out all of the different forms. I then worked my way into PR, and that brought me to marketing. Today, I focus solely on marketing as a consultant, working for different clients with any marketing projects they're working on. I excel in email and customer relationship marketing. This type of work really helps as I'm also a full-time mom, raising my daughter. I recently published a children's book called the Balloonamals, which has been a very fun ride. My typical day starts with a client meeting where I find out what they're looking for and what their needs are for a certain project, and then I would typically write a proposal, which would include everything that I plan to do for the company and my expected results. I work with clients remotely across the U.S., including staying in touch with former bosses who are now clients of mine. One of my most notable achievements was when I was working for Mother Dirt, where I started as a consultant and worked my way up to becoming hired full-time as a project manager, then was promoted to head of brand, and then to head of marketing, running the entire department. I had to leave when I had my daughter, but it was a wonderful experience. When I was working for EmbarkVet, one of the videos I created was entered into an award show, and I ended up winning the Communicator Award. I also worked really hard to get the DNA test onto Oprah's Favorite Things list in 2018, and the next year we were able to get into Ellen's 12 Days of Giveaways.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Ashley
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think just really being a go-getter. I've always had a great amount of drive and just always wanted to do better, and I think that's always sort of helped me to keep going and to just strive for more. Whenever there is a challenge, it excites me. When I started at EmbarkVet, they really wanted to be on Oprah's Favorite Things list, for example, and I knew how difficult that was, but I found out the method to get on the list, and I worked really hard at it. I didn't give up, I didn't take no for an answer, and I got the DNA tests into the right hands and was able to get them onto Oprah's favorite things list. So I would say shoot for the stars, because nothing's out of reach.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I think I would say the most important thing to do when you're starting is to just learn everything that you can and take everything in, because there is so much happening and it's ever-changing. But I would find a mentor right away, and use them as a sounding board. You can bounce ideas off each other, and just having someone to gut check with is really powerful. I would also say it's very difficult to get a full-time role right now, just based on the current market, so even if you have to start something on your own and eventually work towards a full-time role, it can be tough, but it's worth it to just build your own brand, and you can use what you've done to build your own brand to attract companies to you.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I would say it's very difficult to get a full-time role right now, just based on the current market. It's very tricky to secure full-time work right now, so even if you have to start something on your own and eventually work towards a full-time role, it can be tough, but it's worth it to just build your own brand, and you can use what you've done to build your own brand to attract companies to you.
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