Meet Ashley Miles

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

Ashley, thank you so much for joining us. You are such a positive person and it’s something we really admire and so we wanted to start by asking you where you think your optimism comes from?

My answer is two fold:

1) I have a deep recognition of how much I have to be grateful for. For 5 years I led mission trips to Central America and Haiti where I met amazing humans who lived in the worst possible environments and circumstances – yet they had so much joy. I learned that what matters most is not what we have, but who we surround ourselves with. No matter how dire a situation may seem, there is always – always something to be grateful for. There is always light in the darkness, you just need to look for it a little harder sometimes but it is there.

2) When I was young at family dinners at my aunts house she started asking everyone “What is your high and low today, and what are you thankful for?” And we would go around the table sharing about our day. Later in life she told me that she read about this in a book and used it as a tool to get her kids to actually tell her about their day instead of the typical “it was fine” answer. This practice started a tradition that has lived on throughout my adult life of asking this question almost daily. It forces me to pause and reflect on my day and helps me get to know myself better. I use this daily feedback as a way to calibrate my days moving forward, what is my high? What brings me joy? How can I incorporate more of that? So this little tradition that started at the family dinner table has embedded itself into my daily life. Training my brain to find one thing each day that I feel good about, and one thing I felt could improve, as well as one thing I am thankful for helps me become more aligned,

This practice also teaches me what my friends, family, and team members value as well based on their answers. Creating deeper relationships! I believe it has helped me become a better and more impactful leader in my business too. I ask this question at every team meeting, or work event we have – it helps me gain a clearer understanding of my team and what they value – helping me create an environment where we’re all heard, and can grow together, and know each other more. This seemingly little practice, has a ripple effect that goes far beyond the dinner table.

These experiences are the root of my optimism.

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?

My entrepreneur journey has taken me all across the globe, and down paths I could have never predicted. My first photography company started with a camera from Walmart, I took photos for weddings, high school senior photos, maternity photos and more. At the time I was also going to school at The Art Institute of Portland, while working at a real estate office during the day, and delivering cheesecakes in the morning. I was doing it all, and it makes me tired just remembering it! While I was at the real estate office I was asked if I could photograph a house for an agent, I had never done that before but I figured it was worth a try. Low and behold I started doing real estate shoots at every opportunity I had, soon I became so busy I was able to quit all of my other jobs and take the leap into photography full time. My team grew rapidly, and today we photograph properties for some of the largest brands in the globe. While I was hustling to grow my brand I also felt lost – like this is not where I ever imagined I would be. This longing for something more led me to my work with an international non-profit where I led teams of high level donors all around the globe, showing them how their contributions were making an impact in the most desolate communities. All while my business was operating back home without me involved in the day to day and funding my world-wide adventures. I felt in alignment – like what I was doing was making an impact, and I was having a lot of fun. Everything was great, then… it wasn’t. I had a major oversight within my team operations, and eventually found out one of my executives was stealing significant amounts of money while simultaneously destroying the company reputation and ruining long standing relationships. My business went from making 7 figures to barely make enough to get by, I had to lay off many of my team members, cut expenses in every way I could to try to survive. I stopped taking a paycheck, and found part time work at an amazing business called Thrive Local so I could pay my bills while trying to resurrect my business. I was living the lowest point of my life, contemplating if I could do any of this anymore. My ego was bruised and I felt like a failure in every sense of the word. While at Thrive Local, I was able to connect with other small business owners and I started helping plan events – this brought me to where I am today. Re-growing my real estate photography business, helping out at Thrive Local planning community events, and running a passion project I’ve always dreamed of -Maggies greenhouse. It’s a fresh floral bar that pops up around the space coast of FL, where I sell fresh bouquets to anyone walking by. It brings me so much joy. My life has taken many twists and turns, and I still feel like I have a long way to go to achieve my goals. But I wake up excited for the day ahead, I find happiness in building bouquets, running my business, and connecting with the small business community through Thrive Local. In many ways, I still feel like this is just the beginning of my story.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

1) Find the good in all things, especially during the worst of times
2) Surround yourself with people who want to see you win
3) Be vulnerable when its safe to do so, your connections will be deeper

What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?

As you can imagine I get overwhelmed often doing so many different things with my life, but when I find myself overwhelmed I try to remember to pause and find something good. Even if its fleeting – like a butterfly flying by, or a pretty flower in bloom, or feeling the wind blow through your hair, or the sun on your skin. There is beauty in all moments, and the more you practice pausing and noticing them – the more easily you will see them. And the more you focus on the little things, the more you realize that everything is fleeting. Even the bad things. This always helps remind me that my problems are temporary. And so is the good, so pause and enjoy it now.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Www.repixs.com
• Instagram: @maggiesgreenhouses @re_pixs