Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ashley Johnson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Ashley, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
I am of mixed race and grew up in Hawaii, a place where cultures and races mix together naturally. I went to college at Santa Clara University, a segregated campus, where I often felt left out – instilling my lifelong passion for inclusivity and empathy for anyone who is not included. In Dec. 2017, I founded Mohala Eyewear an inclusive eyewear brand with 3 unique fits, various widths and adjustable frames to create the perfect fit for every woman. The film “Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide” deeply impacted me as I heard the stories of rape, sex trafficking and the lack of value in educating girls globally. I set up a partnership with Room to Read to send a girl to school for each pair sold. We have donated 78,000 days of school to date. I’m passionate about impacting gender equality through girls’ education.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I’m obsessed with leveling the playing field. Growing up as a Japanese, Chinese and white woman I often felt left out of the fashion and beauty world. Products were not always made for me, people in the media didn’t look like me and these experiences made me feel invisible and less valued. I believe inclusivity in business advances inclusivity in mass culture. We are creating a brand where everyone feels seen. Most U.S. eyewear is designed for a narrow, Eurocentric face, leaving millions of women with glasses that do not fit properly, are too tight, too narrow, slide down the face, hit cheeks, or touch lashes and that’s where Mohala Eyewear comes in! We solve these problems.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
a. Tenacity i. There will be so many challenges, adversity, unknown surprises along the entrepreneurial journey and so being tenacious to find solutions and really not giving up is a critical skill in building a business. Everything an ‘everything is figureoutable’ mindset (quoting Marie Forleo) is key. I say ‘everything is figureoutable’ five times every morning and then I write ‘everything is figureoutable especially X (my #1 goal of the year) five times in my journal. Tenacity can be a muscle too that you strengthen.
b. The One Thing
i. Being able to stay focused, not get pulled off course, and spend time on accomplishing the most impactful actions for your business is key to meaningful growth. Making smart decisions around how to spend your time and effort is key. There is a book called The One Thing that teaches the concept of what is the one thing I can do right now that will make everything else easier or irrelevant. I write this task down every morning and then I schedule to get this task done first in my day (even if it’s something I dread!) I try to accomplish all my most important and hardest tasks by noon each day as that is when my mind is fresh.
c. Understanding a P&L and cash flow
i. I am not a finance person so this is an area I need help in and continue to learn in. But I have found that understanding your cash in detail and where you cash is flowing on a weekly business is critical to growing a business. Businesses can sustain that are not profitable (obviously this is not the goal) but they cannot sustain without cash. Cash is Queen and if you need help putting a weekly cash flow report together or a cash conversion cycle report I recommend hiring a fractional CFO to help create these reports for you and teach you how to use them. They are not hard to run and are critical for scaling any business.
Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?
Yes I do a Purge and Prune exercise I learned from Marie Forleo. I write down everything on my to do list a huge brain dump list of all the tasks. Then I go through the list and focus on what are the most important items that if I did them would make everything else easier or irrelevant – I write a 1 next to these items. I cross anything off the list that isn’t a priority to accomplish right away. Then I prioritize the whole list and rank each task from 1 – 5 in order of priority. Then I start tackling the 1s first. If I’m feeling burned out, scattered, unproductive or my mental health isn’t doing well I schedule some time to do an activity that sparks joy like spending one on one time with my sister, mom or a girlfriend or reading books for pleasure. I also ensure I’m exercising 4x a week in the morning before I start work. I find exercising in the morning increases my energy 100%.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mohalaeyewear.com/blogs/press?page=1
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mohalaeyewear/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mohalaeyewear/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleymohalaeyewear/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC21m9zJLen8t2XzcIH0PIQQ
Image Credits
Photographer – Kenna Reed (@kennareed) Models – Wailana Medeiros (@vvailana) & Jade Alexis Ryusaki (@jadealexis) Makeup – Mariah Melanie (@makeupbymariahmelanie)
