We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ashley Lester a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Ashley, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
Ever since I can remember it’s been hard for me to sit still, figuratively speaking. While I do love a good nap and a 2-3 hour Netflix binge, in the broader sense, I’m always doing something.
I got my first job at 14. My parents and I were out to eat at a local pizzeria and they suggested that I get a job there. After laughing it off initially, I started working there just a few short weeks later. Ever since then, I’ve consistently held some sort of part time job or was actively involved in a competitive sport. Even when I wanted to just “hang out” during the Summer and hang out with friends, my parents insisted that I work. I remember resenting them for it back in the day but I look back and realize that it made me who I am today. In 2012, I started my first business and now, 10 years later, I’m on my second business and running it full time.
Having a strong work ethic doesn’t necessarily mean you know the value of a dollar but it does mean that you’re constantly thinking of ways to be better. From constantly having a job while I was a young teenager, I learned how to “climb the ladder” — now that I am my own boss, it means having to actually make that ladder.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Summerside started off as a daydream. I was working in corporate marketing and I started helping a few business-owning friends on the side with tasks that I did on a daily basis at work. I always loved the feeling of both being able to help people and to use my creative brain with the added benefit of getting paid for it. I kept doing things on the side but soon realized that I was on to something. In 2020, I officially opened the doors to Summerside Creative Studio.
Initially, it started out a small design studio focusing on branding and website design. It’s now grown into a full creative studio complete with commercial and food photography, branding, graphic design, custom websites, and social media management.
The name Summerside stemmed from the warm and blissful feeling you get when thinking about a summer vacation. I wanted my brand to represent the warmth and joy that I feel when I get to work on these projects and for it to always feel casual, approachable, and authentic.
There are a lot of people out there that do what I do, and imposter syndrome has prevented me from doing a lot of things. However, looking back to 2020 to now, I realize just how far I’ve come and how far I still have yet to go.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Three qualities that have been absolutely imperative to running Summerside are motivation, persistence, and confidence. The last one is one that I lack on most days, but pretending to have confidence counts too. There are truly so many days where I want to give up, quit, close the doors, and just go back to working in corporate. On the other hand, there are days where I feel on top of the world and feel so optimistic about the future. Having those three qualities keeps the roller coaster of entrepreneurship manageable.
My advice for anyone interested in starting their own business, specifically in an industry where there are so many businesses already doing what you’re doing — just start. Take the leap, have faith that your being called on this journey for a reason. There may be 1,000,000 people doing what you want to do, but there’s only one YOU.
Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?
As a business owner, feeling overwhelmed is pretty much a daily trait at this point. There are times where I am so overwhlemed with the amount of things I need to get done that I just shut down completely. I’ve been really focusing on ways to cope with this and investing in courses and education on how to better balance my time and workload.
One thing that has been really helpful is going outside for a walk or bike ride. When I’m feeling particularly stressed and overwhelmed, I have to force myself away from the computer and outside to get fresh air. I’ve found that I come back to my computer later with a more calm and collected way of thinking and the endorphins from the exercise really help me to approach situations differently.
Contact Info:
- Website: summersidecreative.co
- Instagram: @summersidecreativeco
- Facebook: facebook.com/summersidecreativeco
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/summerside-creative-inc/
Image Credits
Image of me: Steph Guerrero Photography All other images: Summerside Creative Inc.
