Meet Ashley Fortune

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ashley Fortune a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Ashley , we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?

I have always been an expressive and outgoing person (which people automatically think equals confidence). It wasn’t until I divorced that I feel my walls came crumbling down. I stepped out of a relationship that was no longer serving my highest self and was able to look through the lens of my life more clearly.

We all come from different upbringings, experiences, and those ah-ha moments that get us to where we are today. For me, my divorce is what made me really open my eyes as well as be honest with myself. Now as a full time business owner, people automatically assume you’ve always had confidence. When in reality it’s the moments in our lives that have shaped us for the better (through good and bad).

When I divorced, it allowed me to take an honest look at my life and understand where and why I wasn’t happy. Through the divorce it brought up every insecurity from all of my relationships. This period in my life has shown me the importance of going from within and making my internal world happy first. Through meditation, therapy and a life coach I have received guidance to look back on different experiences to remember how I felt and how I feel about them today.

Being able to take a step back and look at repeating patterns to discover how we can make a change is important. For example, I would receive a compliment on an order I created or a great game I had in soccer. But my internal dialogue would tell me otherwise as I never felt I deserved the compliment or believed in myself enough to think I am meant to be here. The impactful moments in our lives is what can shift life for the better. And as a single mom, it’s important that I pass along to my son at a young age the importance in talking well to ourselves and believing in our capabilities. Especially through failures as the best thing I have learned in recent years, fail = first attempt in learning.

I am grateful for where I am today and the experiences along the way. So, if there’s any advice I could give to anyone out there.

1. Be unapologetically you – the people that are meant to be in your life will and it will create a positive experience
2. Be grateful for every moment in your life; good or bad – these moments are what shape us, teach us and allow us to grow
3. Don’t stop believing in yourself – talk kindly to yourself and speak to someone that can guide you through these experiences

I am thankful to be in a place where I am not afraid to “fail” anymore because without those moments, I block myself from creating a new product for my customers. Life is not perfect but it is meant to be lived. I am grateful to have started learning this around the age of 36 as I have so much more life ahead of me.

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?

Letter your Life Designs was created when I was gifted a Cricut. A crafting machine that allowed me to make t-shirts, custom vinyl designs, cups and more. A machine that I feel many laser owners once began on. For nine years I went through the ups and downs of promoting, creating and building clientele. Then I had my son and everything was placed on the back burner. It wasn’t until March 2022 that I began seeing ads for a laser machine and that’s where everything shifted.

I purchased that laser and took a massive risk that paid off quickly and I felt a shift from within as well as in my business. It was a humbling reminder that everything happens for a reason and when we are ready. I quickly dove into creating and saw a new side of myself that I hadn’t seen before – I wasn’t afraid to create (even if that meant failing at it). My soul felt like it had been ignited again and my business was moving in a new and incredible direction!

After spending a year of creating and seeing that success, my wheels began turning and in February 2024 I chose to leave behind the corporate world and take on my business full time.

I am beyond grateful to be a business owner within the community of North Attleboro, MA. I have a space where I can create all of my online and local orders as everything is produced onsite and handmade by me. I often tell people I am Etsy at your doorstep. My vision for this business (locally or in the US) was to create connections and make sure my customers feel connected to the person behind their signs. We make keychains out of acrylic, business signs (that are as small as 4×6 for QR code signs and up to 48×24″ ones that are displayed behind cash registers). Each and every day there is growth, new techniques and ideas coming to life!

As of September 2024, we launched Kids Craft Saturdays where they picked and pay for their design online then come to the shop to paint and put it together. There will be pop up events with other local business owners to help grow their community. We are hosting networking events for businesses of any genre and so much more!

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?

1. Networking/connection

Find other businesses, whether it be through social media or locally, where you can connect and discuss different elements to the business. The laser community has been one of the most incredible group of people I have connected with and learned from! Also, get out there and network and connect with your customers. Do not be afraid to drop off a sample of your work or a flyer on what your business can do. Because you never know who your next customer will be and it’s great practice to continue talking about what you do.

2. Adjust as you go

Do not be afraid to make changes as you learn what works versus what doesn’t. A business is not much different with life where trials and errors are how we learn, grow and evolve. Without change, we simply stay the same.

3. Make time for yourself

Yes, there is a grind but it’s important to take care of your mind, body and soul (whatever that may be for you). Set boundaries with customers if something doesn’t feel right. And remember, if we are not taking care of ourselves, then we are not taking care of the business.

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 feel it’s important to know what your strengths are and make that a priority but, I also feel there is always area for improvement. Areas for improvement could mean learning a skill that has scared you but it will teach you the importance of getting out of your comfort zone and build a better confidence because you tried something different. Then there is knowing what isn’t your strength and allowing someone else to do it (release control) and trust that someone else on your team will take care of it. It’s all about finding that balance and knowing what helps you and your business feel balanced.

In our laser community, I have been connecting with owners from all over the world and have learned something simply by asking. Having the courage to ask is something that can make you feel vulnerable but not everyone has the answer to everything and we don’t know if we don’t ask. I feel there is an important aspect to always be learning. I have been able to host local laser makers in the shop and one of the owners is much more tech savvy with the machines and I have learned SO much. I am grateful for their knowledge and wanting to help each other grow.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Noli French (Frenchs Fotos)

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