Ashley Shimer

I attribute my success to the people around me, for sure. My kids are my why - they push me to do what I do every single day. My mentors push me outside my comfort zone beyond belief, and that's what pushes me further to then support my kids even better. It's like everybody around me has put me in the place that I am. I truly believe that the people we surround ourselves with shape who we are, quite literally. Elevating your circle elevates yourself - you are what you eat, you are what you do, and you are who you hang out with.

The best advice I ever received came from a really heavy producer in the Portland area that I was intimidated by in my mid-20s. I asked him what someone in my position had done before to change his business and make him go with them. His literal answer was, 'They asked me. What could I do to earn your business?' It blew my mind that it was that easy of an answer. He told me that people don't ask him for his business - they'll invite him for coffee, they'll invite him for lunch, they'll do all these things, and then they never ask for the business. I learned that we have to get what we want in life by asking and working hard for it. If I'm working really hard, and I know that what I offer is better than my competitor, and then I'm not even asking that person to try us out, I'm doing them a disservice and me a disservice.

Don't hesitate to ask questions - that would be my biggest thing. I remember being literally a teenager in the industry, and I would see women that were maybe in their 40s or 50s, and I just thought I could never just ask them what they do that works. But I love being asked questions. I absolutely love it. I just had a client reach out and ask if one of their college kids can shadow me, and I was like, gosh, I wish I would have done that at that age. Go find what you want to do, find the people that are doing it well, and learn from them, instead of feeling intimidated. Even at my age now, I'm finally comfortable asking people questions, but that takes a long time, and maybe it doesn't have to. Surround yourself with women that support women and don't feel threatened by women. The people we surround ourselves with shape who we are, quite literally.

The biggest challenge in my industry is differentiation. I work for a title company, and we're title insurance at the end of the day - that doesn't sound super sexy all the time. So finding a way to differentiate our company versus our competitors is what we're always all trying to do. There are fun aspects to that because you get to use your creative side, but that's definitely the biggest challenge. On the opportunity side, I'd say it's being a disruptor and thinking outside the box. That's where the real opportunity lies in our industry right now.

A really strong work ethic is how I was raised - my dad was an incredible worker, and my mom led with service, so I was super lucky to grow up in a home where I saw both of those happening together. I absolutely attribute my work ethic to that combination. I'm in a fun industry where you get to work really hard by helping people, so it's such a cool sum of what I saw growing up. I think it's what makes me love my job - I get to help people, and that makes me better at my job, the better I can help them. Ethics comes into it hugely in our industry. I think you've got to stay really strong to your integrity and your ethics. And then surround yourself with those people that are always gonna level you up and call you out when you're not leveling up.