We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ashley Toman a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Ashley, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
Humbly, I’d like to say I’m very resilient. I think it comes from years of not only navigating this tough industry and having to be told “no”’only to slowly find the “yes” in the doors that were for me- but also just in life itself. Resilience is something that happens as you realize you truly ARE built for this life. Years of going through things and learning that no matter the battle, I somehow someway find myself through it. It isn’t easy, the resilience wasn’t something I always had. Or maybe I always did have it, but it wasn’t until recent years that I realized no matter the obstacle, with GOD on my side I truly can get through anything! Life is always going to be tough, but you have to believe you’re doing it for a reason, you’re walking in your divine purpose and calling- and through that, you realize not everything will be perfect and many days are far from it, but somehow someway you end up seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and you have to go through the battles in order to see the beauty. I think in a weird way- the battles are what make us beautiful. There is beauty in the struggle and when I look back I realize truly how resilient I am/was to have gone through everything I have and continued to keep going- no matter what life throws at me. To me- that’s resilience. I think I am a walking testimony of that.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I’m a pop/R&B recording artist and songwriter. The journey of navigating this industry hasn’t always been easy, but it’s been a beautiful one. I always knew I was destined to do music from the time I was 5 years old. I was always singing as a child, was in musical theatre and kind of just never quit from there. One thing has led to another and fast forward to now I’ve had credits with Chaka Khan, Disney, Lifetime, Netflix, Hulu, The C.W. Etc. Songwriting was a gift I found later on in life and realized I have this ability when it comes to creating songs, taking ideas and putting them to lyrics and then somehow I end up creating a full song and look back and almost feel these songs have written themselves in a way. I kind of don’t know how I do it, but it’s not only a gift but a true passion. I’ve attended writing camps this year with major labels, writing for other artists, tv and film while simultaneously creating my own music as well. In the end of the day, I just want to create music where I make others “feel” the same way music does for me. And I believe I am doing just that!
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
I think the main area of knowledge was and still is networking! That’s one thing about me, I was always networking and going to any and everything I could find that was beneficial to my career and making sure I made my mark. I don’t think I would be where I’m at today without those networking skills. It wasn’t something someone taught me, I think I just learned it along the way- one thing always kind of led to another in the trajectory of my career which usually always started with networking in some capacity.
The second tool would be social media. I believe as creatives- we have to use social media as our business card in a sense. No matter the event, big or small, I always made sure to connect via social media with other creatives. Also, I think it was a powerful tool during the pandemic as it was the only way to network. I wanted to reach an audience outside of just Houston & LA and I believe I have done so, thanks to social media and putting myself and my music out there for others to find.
The last tool I would say is just continuing to drop content- via social media and releasing content/music across streaming platforms and releasing music no matter what. Even when I’m writing for others, attending writing camps and landing sync licensing opportunities, I still want to independently release my own art. I never want to get too focused on the writing aspect where I forget about my own art. At the end of the day, yes I’m a songwriter but I’m still an artist, so I think it’s important to remember WHY we started to begin with. I love writing for others but I also love writing for myself and releasing my own music- so I think it’s an important tool to remember why we started in the first place and continue sharing your art with the world.
We’ve all got limited resources, time, energy, focus etc – so if you had to choose between going all in on your strengths or working on areas where you aren’t as strong, what would you choose?
I think the things that scare us could actually end up being those things that really impact us in the end. For me, performing always felt natural, but there were times I had to hold my own on stage and carry out an entire show with just me and a mic- and I had to learn that through years of performing. If I never had those opportunities, I think the idea of performing more than a few songs would feel scary- but after doing it time and time again, it becomes second nature. That also goes with being in the studio and working with others, and learning to adapt in any and every environment. But that’s also what’s exciting about it! Everything is new when it’s your first time, from performing to networking to recording, writing songs, writing for others, releasing music, auditioning etc. Now that I’ve been heavy in the industry for 10+ years I don’t feel like anything scares me anymore, and even if it does it goes back to resilience and realizing I really can handle anything. It didn’t always used to be that way, but after navigating it for many years with many highs and lows you kind of adapt to this environment. If you believe this is your calling, do it, do it with the fear, because if you’re passionate- that fear will eventually subside and will turn into good nerves and then it just becomes addicting and becomes second nature. And one last thing, the thing that might scare you the most or where you feel you aren’t the strongest, if you dive in and go for it, it just may become your strength!
Contact Info:
- Website: AshleyTomanMusic.com
- Instagram: AshleyToman
- Facebook: Ashley Toman Music
- Linkedin: Ashley Toman
- Twitter: @AshleyToman
- Youtube: Ashley Toman
