“Behind the Brand: The Reality of Building While Becoming ”

What’s up, Ballers! Welcome back to The NxtUp Ballers Podcast — where we spotlight the people building something bigger than themselves.

And today’s conversation is for every person who’s ever tried to build something while still figuring themselves out. Because building a brand sounds exciting… until you realize you’re also building yourself at the same time.

Ashely Franklin is a Marketing Strategist, Creative Lead, and the founder of Remarkable Marketing & Ad Solutions — a boutique marketing firm helping businesses grow through storytelling, strategy, and experiences that actually connect with people.

But behind the strategy and the branding is a story of perseverance, reinvention, motherhood, self-doubt, and continuing to show up anyway.

Transcript

Welcome And Defining Legacy

0:00

What's up, Ballers? Welcome back to the Next Up Ballers Podcast, where we spotlight the people building something bigger than themselves. And today's conversation is for every person who's ever tried to build something while still figuring themselves out. Because building a brand sounds exciting until you realize you're also building yourself at the same time. Today's guest knows that journey firsthand. Ashley Franklin is a marketing strategist, creative lead, and the founder of Remarkable Marketing and Ad Solutions, a boutique marketing firm helping businesses grow through storytelling, strategy, and experiences that actually connect with people. But behind the strategy and the branding is a story of perseverance, reinvention, motherhood, self-doubt, and continuing to show up anyway. From working full-time jobs while building her business on the side to doing free and low-cost work just to prove herself, to eventually betting on herself completely, Ashley's journey is about becoming visible while still becoming confident. Let's get into today's episode. Hi, Sister Ashley Gay's sister, church girl for sure. Which of course is fine. I'm here for it. No, just kidding. Saints and A. Oh, yeah. Hi, Ashley. How are you? How are you? I'm good. I'm good. So excited that you are here. Yeah. Um, I people who have been watching this season know that like this season has been full of my friends, and you are my friend in real life. Yeah. And um I can't wait until people just get to know you. Uh, you just have so much to offer the world, and I'm just excited about like the space you are in life. And I think you just have so much knowledge, um, experience, and I know that you are going to be able to just encourage some people. Um, they're gonna hear something in your story that's gonna be able to allow them to know that they can do it too. Amen. So you ready to get into it? Let's get into it. All right. So the first question that I ask every guest is What does legacy mean to you? Legacy is what I can hand down to my children and my children's children, whether that be a good habit that I build, whether it be the community that I build, whether it be the business that I build, something that has a very strong foundation that has some money behind it, right? And something that I can give over to my children that they don't necessarily have a burden to carry. Um, that's something that's what I want to be known for. That's what legacy means to me. Yeah, yeah. And I I appreciate that you mentioned like it's not, yes, it is money, and money is great, but I think sometimes, like, I've heard so many ways this question has been answered, but I think this is also the first time I've heard someone say community, right? Like that is so intentional, you know. Like we are privileged right now to just kind of have this uh unspoken just like thought of just like I'm going to be here forever. I'm gonna be here for, you know, for my kids. They're gonna grow old. I'm gonna see the like I'm gonna have, but like the the reality is if we're intentionally building our community now, whenever God takes us home, right? Like whenever something happens, like you know that your kids are okay because of the people that you have intentionally placed around them and in your life. Um, so really uh thank you for saying that because that is, I don't think people think about legacy um in that way. And I think that's wonderful. I'll add it's the greatest asset of my life, to be honest. Um, I am a tribal person. I grew up with in a neighborhood all of my life where the people around me raised me. Um, and I feel like I can't go anywhere in the city without somebody recognizing me, my mother or my grandmother, and that's a legacy thing. Yeah. So I feel like passing that on and like teaching my kids to build community. Um, like you said, I can be gone tomorrow, but there are people who will come and love on my children and love on my family, right? My my my internal family, just you know, based on my loss and the love that that would be absent because of me not being there. So, yeah, community is top on my list for sure. Yeah, yeah.

Oldest Daughter Pressure And Perfectionism

4:43

Um, so I want to dig into just something that actually you you started to hint at already was like, this is where you're from. Like, born and raised Columbus through and through, like this is you can have that. I am probably I am a Buckeye, I am a Columbus native, born and raised, um, all of those things, yes. Yep. So uh you also mentioned like you already had like a built-in community. So you're the oldest girl of four, right? Oldest of four girls. Um, how did that shape just like the way you move through life now? Like growing of the oldest, how did that at a very early age, how did that begin to shape Ashley? Sure. Um, I felt like one, I had to be the example in a lot of ways. And honestly, it wasn't necessarily something that my mother put on me. Right. But when you're the first to do it and you are the first to walk through the door, and the first to get the call from the school, or the first it weighs on you, right? Because the reaction if you get is a ripple effect for other people. And so that has formed a perfectionist spirit inside of me where everything that I do has a caution before it. Everything that I produce has to be perfect in every way, because the ripple effect of it not being said, you know, whatever standard of perfection could affect the people behind me or coming after me and also cause a burden for the person that is doing their best to bless me, right? So um I think it is something I am unlearning as a position, um as an oldest daughter. Granted, there are some benefits because I do get a lot of uh first like experiences. I have been able to be the person who has done all of the things that may not have trickled down in a in a beneficial excuse me, beneficial way to my siblings. For instance, I was a in a cotillion, I was in numerous and traveled into numerous um plays and you know experiences in life that it was good for me, but it may have not been something offered to my siblings, right? Because I was in position. So I there's there's a good and bad with it, but it's definitely something that I have to be intentional about unlearning in some cases in the in the space of being perfect at it all. No, I as the oldest daughter, you already know, but there is also always this consistent space of being of like unlearning. I actually was just dealing with the situation mentally this morning where I was like, I need to text my sister and tell her that was pride. Like, because I had to take care of you for so long, I pride stepped in away when you asked if I needed help, right? Like, even so, like there's this sense of hyper-independence, this sense of like always feeling like you have to show up and you know you can't ask for help and you can't like all the th all the things that can get in the way of um we can get in the way of ourselves, we can get away with our business and other relationships and all of that. So I want to ask you too, um, how did being the onus make you naturally independent or like make you feel like you always had to carry more? More? You know, I'll be honest. So, and this is like personal. So, my mother, um, we are stair steps, me and my sisters. There's four girls. And my mother did the best that she could to make sure there wasn't a hierarchy. Yeah, so there wasn't a hierarchy, there is no listen to your older sister. We are all on one even playing field until I started to branch out and have my own personality and go after the things. And there's like, oh, actually, you follow that one, you know? So that kind of yeah, yeah, yeah. That kind of came later in life. Um, but in all actuality, a lot of the times I heard like, she ain't gotta listen to you. And I was like, oh, okay, which caused me to have um um kind of check myself in terms of like trusting my own thoughts and trusting, you know, what comes from me. Um because if the people who um are raising me are not reassuring me in my thought process, but also, you know, telling me that like what you've done, what you've experienced doesn't count in in a retrospect of like what they're going to experience, um, it stifles you a little bit. So the weight that I carried was like, am I doing this right? Like, am I being a good influence? Is this going to really benefit our family? Which in actuality kind of reflects in my business today. Because I'm like, I can do everything to prepare, prepare, prepare, but really, what are you going to do to launch? And why is it going to require reassurance from external factors for you to really do that? Yeah. So, yeah, that's a challenge. Yeah, no, I get it. Carrying that burden, as you mentioned, like of perfectionism, carrying that burden of like, how will this affect people who are coming behind me? How will this affect the people that I actually plan on touching in my business? How do I, you know, like that is weight. Like that is real weight. And to an extent, and we'll get more we're we're gonna start moving into business here in just a moment, but to an extent, like the the weight of that like responsibility is necessary in entrepreneurship. Like you have to be able to, like, you can't just be out here willy-nilly. Like, I hope it figures itself out. You know, it so you know, it is when we think about, I like to start with how you kind of started and how you were brought up because a lot of it does show up in how you carry yourself in business and family and all of that. Um and I like to give our our listeners and watchers like color to the conversation in a sense of like, one, you're human, right? Like having a very real human experience. Um, and also part of being human is like all of these things that helped for me are also going to show up in my business or show up and you know, grace and things like that. But um, it it is important just to just to make the point of like the the weight, the what they say, the uh heavy as a head that wears the crown, right? Like in the sense of like when you're just responsible of so much, there is there is some weight that is attached to that. Yeah.

Starting Remarkable Through Faith And Vision

10:53

Um, okay, so your journey to remarkable was anything but linear. Um take us through how you got here. I want you to take you take us through how you got here. Um, but was this something that you always wanted to do, or did this just kind of like fall into your lap through the journey? Yeah. Now, in hindsight, I feel like it was always something that was going to happen. Um, I feel like um there were like little glimpses early on in my life in terms of like public speaking, my ability to keep things organized, my ability to see foresight and you know, have foresight, excuse me, and have a vision about things and actually execute on vision, right? A lot of those things were being implemented into me as a child and growing up. Um, how remarkable marketing came about. Um, I was in school um and again, determining to graduate and get my degree regardless of everything in life. And um God gave me a vision about a t-shirt line. And the t-shirt line was a school. Yes. Um, and God gave me a vision about a t-shirt line to for a campaign about forgiveness. Um, Matt Matthew 18, 22. Um, you're supposed to give uh forgive someone 70 times seven, which means an infinite infinite amount. And I believe that that was one of the major things that has stifled us as a community is our inability to forgive. So that turned into like me designing t-shirts, me be building a website, all if within like a logo, everything within 24 hours. Okay. Right? And I was like, well, God is feeding the vision, you know, somehow. So I extended that to someone else, and they were like, um, the t-shirt vendor that I needed. Uh she was like, You built this website? I was like, girl, in my sleep. Like it was just a gift that Gabe came to me. Um, and it blossomed from there. And I know that God is always going to make room, like your blessing, your excuse me, your gifts are going to make room for you. And so that trajectory lended into other opportunities and a leadership role with, you know, serving on the board for Columbus Urban League, working with Dress for Success and some of the other reputable nonprofits within the city. It literally just blossomed from there. Um, one, with giving my testimony and where I wanted to go, and two, really God just fueling it. Yeah. Um, and that's how, you know, we literally just following God, following what the vision he gave me every single day is something poured into me about my business that I cannot ignore. Um, and through all of the trials, through all of the journey, it's literally steadfast. And so that's how we were able to be. The thing that stayed. Yeah. Through it all, this is the thing that kept going. 1,000%. Um, so one thing you didn't talk about that I do want to bring up through this next question is like the leap. So you didn't talk about working the nine to five because we do have, we do have people who watch and listen who are like, I want to be an entrepreneur, but I don't really know what it takes, and I'm too scared to take the leap, and like all of that. So a lot of entrepreneurs romanticize taking the leap. It looks so good. The internet, social media makes it look like this is the life, right? But you spent years building your business while still working in nine to five and raising three boys. Yep. What did that season really feel like emotionally? You know, um, at first it was a hobby, like it was an escape for me from my like real life because it but the work that I was doing was simply there to bring in a check. I was not excited about it, um, but I could do it, right? I could use my skill set to do it. And I had been in that position for 10 years, right? So I was giving a different level of stability to my family, but I was not growing within the company. I was going to sit in that same cubicle in that same seat for however long I decided to be there, right? Um, once I graduated and saw all of the opportunities that came to me, I felt like that was God telling me that it was time. And um it was time for something. I don't know if that was quite the time. But it was time for something, right? So I took that leap of faith and quit my job, my stability because I felt like my faith was bigger. And it it was it was something. Yeah, it definitely happened, but um I just my faith was bigger. Yeah, I'll be honest, because no amount of money that I could sit at a cubicle and make was going to strip away the vision that I was getting from God, was going to strip away the ideas, the way, like literally the directed, the directives of how to do this business, what it's supposed to come to, right? So I could not ignore that. And when I, when me personally, when I can't ignore something, it means I'm supposed to learn something from it. And there was the leap, right? Um, there has been times where I've gone back to corporate and and not necessarily in my career path, but just gone back because I got to feed my family and making sure that not only my boys see my resilience, but my boys see that I can go lick my wounds and get back to it. You know what I mean? Like, and it won't be down for long. You know, so I in this I've learned that my resilience, you know, can carry me, my faith can carry me, but I always have to be ready for the pivot. I always have to be ready and in position to be able to say, like, yeah, this next year, it's gotta be a grind year. It's gotta be with the platform, the structure, the infrastructure is building every single time. You know what I mean? And that you can't take

The Leap From Corporate And Resilience

16:14

away from me. Yeah. So what would you say that you felt emotionally through all of that though? Like, how was it's the ghetto, but that's life. Like, I feel like it's the but but honestly, I was gonna have those woes, I was gonna have that up and down, I was gonna have that regardless. Yeah. And why not do it in a space where I am building something that will build like give me fulfillment? Yeah, right. I was gonna be at work every day, even in a point where they were doing layoffs when I was going to give my notice to quit again, right? God was like, this ain't stable, this ain't structured, this ain't like this is not where your source is. It can go any moment, you can't. It can go any moment. And so that was not giving me peace. They're there, the corporate world is not a peaceful place, right? So you just gotta deal with whatever, whatever demon you want to deal with, you know, to be frank. And it's an emotional process every single time. Every single time there's going to be something, but I've learned in this that I can spiral up. I can definitely do it different. And in the the thing that I've prayed about most is Lord, let the time in between be shorter. And it's sometimes it's been months, you know what I mean? In between, and most recently it's been days. You know what I mean? And I'm so thankful for that more than anything because the spiral is going to happen in whatever case. Yeah. You know what I mean? The devil is did is he's gonna do the doubt thing. Yeah, right. So you gotta be able to pull on your resources, get in that toolbox, get in community, and let people reassure you of all of the hard work that you cannot see that you've done so far. Um, I love I love that you said like emotionally it's the ghetto. It's the ghetto. Because you really do. You be like, why? Yeah, why did I do this? Like, talk about like the times you you actually like wanted to quit and what made you like keep going anyway. Because that's it, right? Like, it is you are choosing your hard. And at the point where you're saying, like, the hard that I'm choosing is entrepreneurship. There's still going to be days like, why in the world did I choose this? Yeah, right? Like, I'm quitting and I'm going back. Or like, you know, this is this is not actually what I thought I was signing up to. But like in those moments, what made you keep going anyway? To be honest, um, nothing else works out. I cannot say this isn't it. I lit I can apply for a million jobs, I can put myself in every position, but everything has always led me back. Once I decided, it has led me back here, right? So it's like, why go against the current? If God is one giving you the security, giving you the space, he ain't no building came undone, ain't nobody, you know what I mean, nobody gone hungry. Why are you fighting against the current? It is a season, right? So I think that having my mind check, having your mind right, right, is is the most like the best thing that you can do in this in this season in any season in entrepreneurship is having the right mental state more than anything. Having a stable place. Um, and like you said, community the people that's able to remind you. Remind you more than anything and pray for you and say, listen, I'll hold you accountable. You know what I mean? Like, yeah, you said you wanted to do this, and this looks like this is what this looks like right now, you know? So it helps having their entrepreneur friends. Yeah, yes, which is a good point. Yes, because you definitely get the people who don't understand the process, and they like, girl, what are you over there doing? You know, it looks whimsy. It looks great, and and how did we get here? And I'm like, I'm over here fighting for my life. For the women, right? Because what? What happened any other way? Any other way? Um, I would say because I know you, like your why behind this is a is a large part of also what keeps you going, right? Um, but I thought it was beautiful when I asked you to send me your bio was you said specifically that you describe yourself as someone who wants to make things matter. Where did that come from and what does that actually mean to you? Yeah, so my tagline is where we make your mark on the world. Um, everybody has a unique fingerprint. Everybody has something unique about them. And they don't always realize that what that what's unique about them is what matters, right? And so with that very unique, very identity, like identifying personal approach to my marketing, I think it helps people realize what you do matters, how you show up in the world, how organized you are, your foundation, all of this stuff matters. And in the right hand, it will bring you the it will bring you, it it should bring you some sort of reassurance and inspiration and motivation, right? So I that's what it means for me. That's where it came from. Um, okay, so with Remarkable, you help brands become visible while behind the scenes you're still learning to fully see yourself. Because there's a large part. But it's the honesty about it all. Sure. Um, because we I think I think what I really appreciate about our guests that come onto the show is just like, I'm just gonna be honest. I'm I'm a real human being, like trying to figure this out. I I produce great work, and also while I'm building your brand, I'm building my brand, which is me. Right? Um so as a strategist, you help other people communicate confidently. But was there ever a gap between the confidence you projected professionally and how you actually felt personally? Right now. Okay. And to be completely honest, I feel like I'm coming out of a season um recently participating in a Goldman Sachs Black Women in Business program where we have really like got to the nitty gritty of what we've been doing. And I confessed on the other day, like, I was using my gifts to get paid. I didn't know how to have a business. And now I have a Business. You know what I mean? So I was insecure. My I was putting stuff out there and just really shot shooting at the dark. Um, for I want to say the past year or so. Um, where now I feel much more confident in what my capabilities are and what I'm able to offer to the world. Um, and I can speak to it more fluidly because of what I've been through, because of the evolution of it all, and because of the emotional roller coaster. I had to evolve, right, and get real with myself and build some tough skin. Um, and and that came in the season where I had the ability to rebuild my foundation and come out on the other side where things are much different. And again, I'm gonna keep saying this because I do know you what I will say about your transformation, and I say it to you in private, but I'm saying it publicly, like, I have watched you literally, and this is gonna go into my next question, but like I've seen you literally like do things for free. I've seen you like again, just like make it and be like, I can do this, but also like I'm doing this because I need the money. But what I tell you, once you locked in to like this really being your thing, like this is what you really believe that God created you to do, there has been a switch in the amount of performance, the amount of elevation in your work, the amount to where you're just able to speak strategically to people's plans and people's visions, like your creativity has been like, girl, girl, where'd that come from? You know, but there's there's been this beautiful sense of locking in. This once you really decided, like, oh no, I'm here, once I once you started to to uh get resources to help you produce better and and really to to hone in your craft, this is really only like this podcast. I'm telling y'all right now, wherever my camera is. No, this is really the beginning. Yeah. Um, and that is so beautiful, so beautiful to watch. Thank you. Um thank you so much. So I'm gonna give you your flowers. Okay. Okay, so as I mentioned, and as you started to allude to as well, uh, you have done work for

Outgrowing Survival Mode And Pricing

24:10

free. You have done work at low cost, you've done community work, uh, and you have worked with people um that have probably underestimated you. Uh but looking back now, do you think those seasons built resilience or survival habits that you later have to break? Very much so, survival habits that I later have to break. Okay. Um, I've literally had clients like, you okay? Like, what's changed? What's different? The conversation's different. Everything is is different, like you said, um, because I am no longer in survival mode, because I have a a foundation that I know will work, right? And so I'm not not discounting the experience that I got, right? All of those organizations, all of those companies built me in a different way, you know? And so, and so um I welcome those challenges. I knew this that that there was going to be a season that that was necessary, um, but with all of the love in the world, it's no longer here. Yesterday's pricing, today's pricing. It's not. It happens. Yeah. That's okay. And we love that for you. That's it. It's cool though. Um so Remarkable has gone through so many different iterations. Sure. Beautiful, yeah, but so many. Yeah. Um, what did you have to unlearn about success and entrepreneurship as you evolved? Um, that I cannot do everything. And that it's not my job to do everything. Yeah. Um, with this restructuring, I have to operate as the CEO and CEO only in order for my company not to be bottlenecked, right? And so being able to delegate, putting um SOPs in process, excuse me, in place so that things can be able to hand off and be done properly, right? Um, the like I said, the foundation's different. So being able to not say, ah, I can take this project on because I know I can do it. Okay. But being able to say, okay, now my team has the capacity to be able to take on this project. And this is what the outcomes will be now that I have a team in place. You know what I mean? So my mind is just it's just different entirely. Yeah. Yeah. Um because it is like, if you're going to grow your business, if you're going to realize that this process is also growing you, you have to stay in a place of like, get your pride and ego out the way and realize you still are learning and unlearning, and it is never going to stop. Right. And I can't fully operate in the gift that God gave me if I am doing everything, if my hands are full with everything. I am not the person that sends the emails. And too, we're like business, business alone. I mean, yes, business as well, but like we're literally just vessels. Very good. Like, if I'm not pulling along somebody else, if I'm not trying to help somebody else operate in their gift and God then gave me this, and what I'm not even using my gifts properly. I'm being, you know, disobedient or I'm not, you know, doing this in a way that I'm I'm not being fully functioning in the the uh the purpose that God has given me. Like and I also love the fact that you said that like I am standing in the way of somebody else's blessing. Yeah. I am, if I'm not giving this person who has built their business to do what I need the opportunity to do what they love to do, what am I doing? Like, why am I stopping their flow? I need to, like, I got real clarity on what position I'm supposed to be in so that I can delegate and ask for help, right? Because there goes the pride. Yep. Not asking for help, expecting people not to give me. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Not expecting the support, not expecting people to come through with the real support, not expecting people to hear me properly, right? All of those things I have to unlearn in order to really operate and have a business. Yeah. So yeah. So good. All

CEO Mindset Systems And Delegation

27:47

right. So at this point, uh Remarkable has has done, I mean, uh, even just the the businesses that you were helping when you were doing it for free are very low cost, like whether they were paying, you know, a a smaller rate or whether you are taxing them what you are worth now, um, there's no doubt that you have helped businesses grow. Uh, you've secured media features for clients, you have helped clients sell out events, um, and you've helped them clarify their messaging. But what do you think most brands are actually struggling with, struggling with beneath the surface? So you've really been able to like get in there and help people. But like once you get in there, you see things happening behind the scenes. We're talking about like building brands behind the scenes. And once you get behind the scenes, what are what are most businesses actually struggling with?

What Marketing Really Is Strategy

28:35

They don't know what marketing is. Um, they think social media alone is marketing. They don't have a strategy. They think that you can just throw something at the wall and make it happen, right? Marketing should be the foundation, should be a part of the foundation you build with your company. It is not something that you build later or try to ask someone to come in and structure for you later. When you have the idea in the idea phase of your company, you should be considering marketing because how are people going to know about your business, right? How are people going to know what you do? And if you have no strategy about that, right, or no plan about your marketing, or it's something that's a last thought, then it's not integrated in your process, right? So that silver lining that you're looking for people to see about whatever you're offering, they will not see because it was not built from the beginning. So the strategic part of marketing is what people miss a lot, right, in their foundation. And then they then turn to social media to tell them what they need. And so that's another thing that people are missing, right? Digital marketing is not the end-all be-all, and you have to have a strategy to engage with your client. Don't get me to start in girl, because I'm not going to be able to do that. No, this is great. I mean, we have a lot of options. I was gonna ask you to keep going because this is this is not knowledge that a lot of entrepreneurs know or business owners know, or even you know, think about. They do think that it is just like, yeah. I got this now. I'm just gonna get out there to the world. It can be that. It definitely can be that. And once people realize that it marries with your company, it literally can be the wife, it can be the bride, it can be the things that helps you get the structure, gets the get the people in the door, get the message out there, bring the awareness. You better also be giving marriage advice. No, I'm just kidding. Um but um, but but there is there is a there is a necessary um incorporation that needs to happen on a foundational level before you think you can go out here and tell the world what you're doing or giving or, you know, in any capacity. That's good. So do you oftentimes find yourself just like in a place of either scratch at everything they got and just be like, we gotta redo this? Or is there a lot of um, you know, having the hard conversations of like this is a lot more than I thought this was gonna be. This is fine. We're gonna work with this, but this is gonna be a lot more work than than what you thought. I'm a life is about balance person. I'm going to tell you what's wrong, but I'm also going to give you the play the spaces and the opportunity to fix what's wrong, right? So I'm not gonna come in and say, hey, like this is terrible. And if you don't want to do what I say, there's no way, right? I'm gonna give you avenues and ways out that fits your infrastructure that makes you, you know, makes most sense for you. But there has been times where I had to come in and say, hey, you are not in a space that you think you are in, right? And you have to go back to the drawing board to be able to give better results. A lot of people don't want to hear that because they're already umpting amount of money in, right? And so they don't feel like they can go back and restructure and they end up spending more money doing the, you know, throwing spit at a wall than then really having the foundation to make sure that everything scales properly. Yeah. No, that's really good. No, help the people. I'm going to. More to come. More to come. Um because I didn't I have been to or been a part of a lot of accelerator programs, and that is not taught. You know, that's that's not taught. It's not taught that think about this also in the beginning. Yeah, or it's a brief conversation, and the conversation's directed towards digital media or digital social, you know, or like digital marketing, which is again a huge disadvantage for people who are wanting to build a business because the conversation has to happen early. Yeah. Nope. Thank you. That was good. All right.

Trust Vulnerability And The Long Game

32:16

So uh something also powerful that you said in your bio was marketing isn't just about visibility, it's about trust. Can you unpack that? Because I would imagine, as you mentioned, like you're going behind the scenes. And there has to be this level of trust that's built with these companies for them to be like, all right, well, if I am gonna have to rethink this whole thing and the way that I've been doing it, you have to establish that early on. Can you speak to that? Sure. A lot of the times, trust is built in vulnerability. So if people are willing to be vulnerable with me and I'm being honest with them about where they are, we are able to build trust, right? Because I'm not going to sugarcoat it, but I'm also going to give you a solution. And so with that, it's easier to say, okay, let's go in the direction of restructuring, or I can't do that right now. But that's up to you, right? But it takes vulnerability, it takes honesty, and it takes the work that I did for free to prove that it can be done. It can be done. That's really it. That's good. Um I feel like I wanted to say something else about trust. What does that look like for a business and what does that look like for you? Like vulnerability. So, yes, trust is important, but you mentioned vulnerability is what establishes that trust. Yeah. Like what is what is that? It's all in a conversation. So a lot of the times in my discovery calls, I am approaching it not as your marketing person. I'm approaching it as a consumer. I'm approaching it as like, where are the gaps and holes in your whole entire process that I am able to come to you and say, hey, this is what I've noticed. And then that opens the door for people to say, yeah, this is something that I have not been able to pay attention to, or I just didn't even think about it, right? They don't have it in their mind to even because nobody's a marketer, right? If I'm coming to you, you're not the marketer. Right. So your brain is not even going to think and consider all of these things that are affecting your messaging and how people, you know, are getting out, getting your messaging out. Um, and I always say there's a silver lining in there. This there's always something that you've been doing that is beneficial to you that you can continue to do that keeps you consistent while you are restructuring. So it just takes to have a real honest conversation and point out some things that people may not think about or consider, and then that opens the door for them to be honest about everything else. Um I was listening to something the other day, and it was just saying, like, a lot of times the confidence that's needed and trust is built like even through the wins. Uh, do you find that like if there aren't instantaneous wins or there aren't instantaneous results, you find that your customers just start to waver on you some? Yeah. I think that's another foundational conversation that I have. Marketing is a long game. That's why you have to put it in your foundation, right? It's like um a tree analogy. The tree grows upward and below the earth at the same time at the same rate. And if you are only hitting the tree in the beginning, if you're excuse in the middle, if you're only looking at your business from the middle versus how it's growing up and below, then you're gonna miss everything that's happening, you know, from each or from both views. And so if your foundation is not built with the marketing in mind, with these things in mind, there's no real way to navigate after that unless you go back to the foundation. So I don't know if that answers your question. It is. Um because it is. If they again, if if I I can see how, you know, if they you put the plan in place and are like, well, it's been two, three months, and I haven't had any new business, or you stripped this plan, and I was it was kind of working this way, but now it's not. I could see how they could say to you, like, this ain't working. You know, this ain't worth it. It's not worth what I'm paying. I'm not seeing it. And a lot of people have been burnt. A lot of people have agreed to something, but again, it's about knowledge and knowing what marketing is, right? Um, and so my hope and goal is to be able to give people some real understanding and like foundational information, especially small business owners, because they are giving their last in a lot of cases. And you want to be able to do it strategically. And having the knowledge about what it takes to really do full-scale marketing is something that is amiss. And understand that that marketing and promotion are also two different things. Also two different things, right? So people they they don't know. Way too much, and it's hugely at a detriment, you know. Um until unless you have someone, and that's maybe why I have to be in position to be able to give people the knowledge. Um, you know, that's why you you cannot be uh shy or not confident about you know the gift that God gave you. Because you gotta speak and give people the knowledge. Um before we start wrapping up questions, the last two questions I really just wanna like this is the space of also just kind of being, you know, I feel like you've been pretty vulnerable, but kind of vulnerable. But in a sense of like, so your story is all about strategy, it's all about building the brand. Um, you know, we talked a little bit about the learning and unlearning and all of that. What is the strategy that you are building for your life, like life outside of business? Um and through that strategy and branding, because again, as you're building other people's brand, you're also building you, the brand of Ashley. Um what story are you finally learning to own about yourself? Um, I feel like you asked a couple questions. I did. I asked a couple. Okay. So the oh, go ahead. Repeat the first one. Okay, the first one is um the strategy. So, like this, what is the strategy you've now like that you're adopting for yourself? And then the second question is what's the story that you're finally learning to own about yourself?

Motherhood Strategy And Not Dimming

38:24

Okay. So my life strategy, um to be honest, this is um the most I've ever had a strategy. Um, the goal has always been for me, um, especially having children early on, is to raise children who do not have to recover from their childhood. Um, that has been my life strategy, right? And so the places that I lived were always catering to my kids' schools and the schools that were best fit for them. Um the uh environments that I was in, community that was I was in, has always been catered around my children. And so now being uh a full-time entrepreneur and going after this, the strategy is to not quit. The strategy is to not only continue, you know, the plan for my children and creating a safe space for them, but to also really like, really decide that this is it, right? Really decide to not quit on myself, to really like lean on my in on my faith as much as possible, um, build my community. Just look, everything that I said my legacy is, it's going after that, literally. Um, and then the things that I have learned about myself in this process is that I cannot dim my light. No matter how much, no matter where, no matter what, no matter what somebody has said, I cannot dim the light that I come in the room with. And so I should be able to use that at my advantage in a way of like showing people like God's love and giving my testimony because there is a testimony there. And apparently my light is still shining so that I can give that testimony. So yeah, that's what I've learned. Um, and you started to talk about this a little bit in the last question. Um, but when your sons look back at your life one day, all of it, the sacrifice, the businesses, the community, the stick to it-ness, that although things don't go as planned, there's still a plan in the midst of all of that. Um, what do you hope they understand about what it took to build this? Not just financially, but emotionally. Oh, that you are capable. You can do hard things. Um, I always kind of ask my boys, like, what do y'all think about this process? Has it gone too far about in terms of your comfortability? Um, they are and have been a part of this every step of the way. Um, and I pray that what I am showing them is not only resilience, but what it looks like to go after things with all of you. Like, be a human in it all, be emotional in it all. Some days it's gonna look up, some days it's gonna look crazy, right? But I have not quit. My kids, for some reason, they see my business bigger than what it is. My son asks me all the time, right? They ask me all the time, why aren't you the one that's on TV? Why aren't you the one that's like hiring people? And I was just like, I've casted this vision that they believe in in real life, right? And so hopefully that that's what they're taking away from it all. That's good. Because the next question was gonna be like, What have they said to you? Oh, girl, they we talk about it. I love that. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. We talk about it often because I again want them to know what I'm going after. And and to be honest, I don't want to put it on them to say this is for you because you don't have to do this. Go into marketing. You don't have to go into marketing, you don't have to, but there are things. My sons are definitely like, maybe that is a career path that I can get into. Maybe there is different ways that I can do and be supportive. And like Brandon's making flyers, James Br Aiden's taking pictures of people at their games. James is looking into majors, you know, what schools had the major in marketing. So it's an influence in some way. They see the benefit of it all. It's bigger than again, right now. But um, I I I don't know. They they fuel it in a way for sure. Yeah, I'm sure they're so proud. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. That is the goal. Um, okay, so we're gonna move into what's called the quick

Quick Play Creativity And Hard Truths

42:11

play segment. This is just some time to have a little fun. Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's late already. No, but um, all right, so there's no overthinking. First answer that comes to your mind, no long process. We don't need a strategy built out on like why this is how you came to it and how you're gonna roll it out. Okay. Just really quickly, just to have some fun uh for the the watchers and listeners, just to get to know you a little bit. All right. Um, what is the favorite campaign or project you've ever worked on? My YP campaign. When we did the YP, I am a YP campaign, the video, I feel like that was my first opportunity to uh give creative direction on a vision that I had in my head and see it come to life in real life and use my network and resources to pull the people together to do it. Like it was a lot of fun. Was that five years ago? Yeah, it was about five years ago. Um but that I um I think that, like I said, the Columbus Everyone League giving me the opportunity to um, you know, act as the marketing chair, um open my eyes to what I was capable of. Um, and that opportunity to see it and see it spread and people be involved who who have different career paths. And like it was a beautiful sight to see. I love that. Um okay, one song that instantly gets you into create a creative mode. Just fine by Mary J. Blige. Yeah. I would sing it, but it ain't gonna get it. Okay, so nice. But yes, that's like my um my like spirit lifting, move your body, everything's gonna be just fine. Like, you know, it's like a chant almost, you know, it's like spiritual. Um, and you can't help but to feel good and dance and get into it. Yeah. Um, so when an idea hits your mind, How are you like capturing it? You pull out the notes app, do you pull in out a voice memo? What are you how are you capturing? I wish I was better at that. Okay. Because just hope it's safe. Well, God, normally, but I pray. I'd be like, God, give it back to me. Okay. Like, oh, ooh, give it back to me. I know it was good. Um, and I'm so churchy. But I'm definitely like, I can see because I when people say things to me, I see it in in um like a movie. Like if you were to talk to me about your business or an idea that you had, I can see it like animated in my head instantly, and then it grows legs, right? So when God gives me an idea, I'm like, oof, please give it back to me. But I wish I did it more in capturing like the things that like come to mind because I know that it could be beneficial for something later. I just don't know what. Yeah. Um, so I think I'm gonna charge myself to that. It's just like start writing down stuff for sure. Yeah. Um, one thing entrepreneurs need to stop pretending about that it's easy. Um, and that they don't need people. I think that's it. Like, um, I think the individualism that the world has like put us in has caused people to go after entrepreneurship. I think that's the wave of it all, right? It's a natural progression. Be independent, get everything by yourself, you know, raise your own money, blah, blah, blah. Now we're into, you know, entrepreneurs. And it's taken away the sense of community that you need to build anything. And so it's not easy. And it's gonna take you being vulnerable and it's gonna take you letting your pride aside because you need community to build anything. Yeah, so yeah. I actually need to stop calling this section quick play because it doesn't matter if I'm like one thing that comes to everybody's like, but I gotta explain. Yeah, because that's not a quick answer. What would be a quick answer? You could have just said stop, you could have just said that you can't do it all. Oh, okay, cool. Cool, cool, cool, cool, cool. All right, all right. Um, early morning creativity or late night creativity. Early morning. Early morning. Um if you could say one thing to the woman you're becoming, what would you tell her? Baby, it only gets better from here. I was gonna do it anyway. It got to get better. It's got to get better. It's got to get better. If I could tell the woman, the woman ahead of me, yeah. It's gonna, it's, it's, it's gonna keep going up. Yeah, yeah. That's the only thing I got for her. I love that. Okay.

Challenge Get In Position

46:30

Um, so every guest is child is tasked with giving our listeners and watchers a challenge. So, what is something that anyone who is listening or watching can start doing today? Um, and that could be anything, but if you can keep it marketing focused, specifically for our entrepreneurs, business owners, anyone thinking about taking the leave, anyone that's a mom, any whatever the case may be, whatever you think a great challenge is, what's something that someone can start today that will start changing them? Get in position. Can I explain that? No, get in position. I feel like um there are a lot of distractions happening right now that's taking everybody off their post. And just like I said earlier, I need you to go after your dreams so that my dreams can be fulfilled. I need you to be in position so that my dreams can be fulfilled. I am in position so that someone else can make their mark on the world, simply put. Yeah, so make the plan. Make the plan. Go ask the question. The thing that's nagging you, the thing that is in your heart that won't go away, the thing that you can't, you don't think it can happen, the things that you feel stifled about, go talk to somebody. Go, go share what's in your brain, get in position. Get in position. Because it's coming. It's coming. No, that's the thing about it. What is for you will not pass you by. So it's going to come to you in some form or fashion. But you gotta be ready. You gotta be ready. Yeah. Get in position. That's the thing. Yep. Well, thank you, Ashley. Of course. I appreciate you sitting down with us today and really just sharing some gems with the people. Um, I really do believe that like things that you've said, um, whether that is the perseverance, whether that's the keep going, whether that is getting in position, um, is going to help people just like encourage them, uh, really encourage them to do all the things. Or just like a lot of times, people just want to say, like, oh, I'm not alone. Yeah. You know, or oh, I'm not the only one feeling this way. Yeah. Or maybe I do need to rethink my community. Um, so thank you. Yeah, thank you for sharing what has worked for you. I'm so proud of you. Me, I'm proud of you. I'm so proud of you. I'm so proud of you. I couldn't wait to be on your podcast. Oh my gosh. All right. Well, thank you again, sister. Um, and we'll see you soon. Of course. Thank you. Thank you for having me. All right. Yay!

Closing And Where To Listen

49:03

Wow, what an amazing conversation. I told y'all it was gonna be good. Ashley reminded us that behind every brand is a person becoming in real time, someone learning, stretching, doubting themselves a little, rebuilding, and then trying again. And sometimes the real success isn't just building the business, it's becoming the person brave enough to keep showing up for it. To everyone listening, don't wait until you feel fully formed before you begin. Growth happens while building. Thanks for tuning in to another episode of the Next Up Ballers Podcast, where our guests are built on wisdom, driven by action, and leaving a legacy behind them. Remember, you can listen to us wherever you listen to your podcast. You can also watch us on YouTube. Remember to like, share, and subscribe. We'll catch you on the next episode. But until then, go ball out.