We recently connected with Christina Ashley Peterson and have shared our conversation below.
Christina 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?
I owe my work ethic to my mom. My mom was 17 years old when she she found out she was pregnant. Imagine, a teenage girl, a senior in high school, and pregnant in 1985. Mom said she quickly found out who her true friends were. She said back then it was still heavily frowned upon. She also told me that I was all that mattered to her, she said she buckled down made straight As her senior year, walked across the Spartan High auditorium stage at 17 years old in June of 1985 and graduated high school 6 months pregnant. Mom told me stories of how she worked as a teenager driving a school bus for district 7 both pregnant with me and then after having me. She said she always got up before 5:00am to take me to my grandmother who kept me while she went to work driving the school bus and picking up the first kids by 6:00am. Growing up I watched my mom start and run her own business for awhile, always getting up and going to her shop, never telling me she didn’t feel like it. She always worked. Later, when she sold her business I still watched how she was always up first, getting dressed never missing a day of work, She would always tell me to always be 5 minutes early and that’s actually on time. It was rare that she was ever late and calling out of work was just un heard of. I watched my mom go from working on a plant floor behind machines to moving into positions of having her own desk and office. Something I have never forgotten my mom say is to always dress for the job you want not the job you have, Mom always put her make up on even if she worked in a hot plant. I also remember things that she said like “never act like your too good to do the work you did before. So I have witnessed my mom dressed in pearls still running circles around the plant, mixing ink and pulling squeegees. For about 22 years my mom was screen printing and had done everything from working on the line, cleaning screens, mixing ink to running the business as the manager and even owning her own print shop for a time.
When those jobs started to die out and move overseas similar to the mills back in the day, another poor turn of events happened, and mom ended up going through a divorce which basically left her with almost nothing. I’m the oldest of her 4 children and her ex husband had walked off and left her with me as a teenager, Cody and Kelli-Anne who were elementary aged and then Gregory the 3 month old baby. With a measly paying job and no education beyond high school. Mom made the choice to go back to school. She took several jobs and enrolled in courses for nursing. I watched my mom work 2 shift jobs, a night job and a weekend job, we kind of never really saw her and if she was home she slept all day. I never saw her work less than 2 jobs ever during that time period and she was always and I mean always studying. I watched life go from rock bottom to a smidge better, she would take us to a play ground but she was always carrying college textbooks. She eventually worked to becoming a basic EMT, to an intermediate EMT all the way to Paramedic but she didn’t stop there, She finished her courses and applied for the nursing program, she got in, she got her associates, kept going for her bachelors and it didn’t stop there. She ended up getting a nursing job at Spartanburg Regional and said she wanted to go all the way. My mom is now a Clemson University graduate as a Registered Nurse Practitioner. It’s hard to tell this story without tearing up because my mom is the biggest influence in my life. She kept me, she took care of me, she provided for me to a point where I didn’t even realize we were going without, she worked hard, and her faith in God never wavered. As the oldest child I witnessed it all and words can’t describe how thankful I am for her proud of her and so glad that her unwavering faith and work ethic has been bestowed upon 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?
We are often mistaken for painters, installers, and even home builders! Even though we did that work before and that’s what got us to where we are now; we are primarily retailers. We knew we wanted to own our business as store owners. We also knew that we wanted to put our skills at helping people, serving one another, teaching, and offering exceptional customer service to use. We took our love for the construction and design industry and created Blue Mist Homes Corporation. During a year of exploring what people need and want in our community, and what we felt like we did well for both others as well as ourselves we began to hone in and scale our business to what we feel we do simply the best. We decided to move our business just beyond a stoplight to a more visible location and tag lined our store name Blue Mist Paint and Flooring. We sell a solution to your problem when it comes to flooring and walls. Water damage causing your floor to buckle, we can fix that. Got mold in your shower, Let’s address this the right way and fix it for good. Dingy old hardwoods? Our team has the best hardwood refinishers, they have been doing it their whole life and he is local to our hometown, grew up here and all. Dry wall in bad shape? We have the best team in wall repair. Ready to liven up the house and make your home a reflection of you, come see us because I am an international professional color consultant and I am confident enough to say that together we know more about paint, coatings, stains, and lacquers than anyone else.
The most exciting thing about what we do isn’t about us at all. It’s what we do for you. We want to help you make a home you are proud of, a bathroom that is safe from mold for your pets and children, A home that withstand your furry friends. We are also finding ways to get involved more with the community.. We are currently looking at opportunities to help Hope Center for Children, Wofford College and we are happy to announce that products from our flooring store was chosen for BMW! We are truly honored by that and we couldn’t thank our team enough for all pulling together to make that dream a reality! To say the least its a pretty proud moment for a couple of young retailers just getting started to say we put some beautiful quality flooring down for the prominent BMW manufacturing company.
If you haven’t already visited our store, please stop in and look around our beautiful showroom and get you questions asked by real professionals in the flooring and paint industry. We will be bringing in new lines of stunning tile in the most dreamy colors, the newest technology in laminates; this ain’t your mamas laminate from days of old with chipping and water swelling. No! We are talking about durability at its finest, a key can’t even scratch it, beautiful wide planks and water resistant to name a few. Also, we have a surprise coming to our paint department…if you are a cabinet refinisher, or even a DIYer and looking for the best of the best in the industries top products for cabinetry and furniture….Look no further than Blue Mist Paint and Flooring. We will be revealing this product line in our store mid- February! I’m so excited!!
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
1. A Desire to Learn. 2. Knowing when to Hold’em
3. Unwavering Faith
Looking back, which really isn’t that far I feel these three qualities have been impactful in our journey of being the best paint and flooring retailers in our community. This is what I would tell any new up and coming business entrepreneur.
A desire to learn:
I always knew I wanted to learn more about the in’s and out’s of construction, I knew if I learned what could be done or not done that I could design better.
I also wanted to do more than choose pretty tile for a bathroom and coordinate the paint colors to your cushions. I have always been curious and have a willingness to learn new things.
I’d say don’t be afraid to ask questions even if you feel they are silly. These days there are enough books and videos to help you too. Another option is to start looking for classes or ask local stores such as ours where you can gain experience in trade work.
For me, taking classes on building a waterproof shower was a key learning experience that helps me everyday. Also, going on measurements and being taught what to look for when beginning a renovation. Practicing, start somewhere, and don’t give up. I wanted to learn to lay hard surface flooring so I found someone to teach me, and I listened and I made sure I acquired the proper tools and I practiced. Find good mentors who will teach you also.
Knowing when to Hold’em
We don’t have deep pockets, We are a real life couple of boot strappers trying to build a company with our own two hands and every ounce of our heart for what we do and offer. Anything we have had to pay for we have saved up to purchase. We live on a pretty tight budget and put a lot back into our business while we are still growing. We would love to own our own commercial space, invest in a fancy wrapped truck and trailer, have a larger showroom with big oversized comfy chairs and large windows. There’s a couple of west coast trade shows we would love to attend and many product lines we would love to bring in but, you got to know when to Hold’em! That old saying “build it and they will come” is wrong, many people in the community still don’t know we exist. I would say start small, get your vendors to help you and if they don’t help you, find another one who will. You gotta learn to hold your cards until the time is right, Start weighing your options and what kind of risks you can take. Go talk to people already in business and see what they say they would have done differently or advise you to do the same. It is a balancing act of taking risks and knowing when to hold your cards and be patient before making business decisions that end up closing your doors.
Unwavering Faith
Then anyone who chooses to go into business for themselves needs to develop strong roots and hold onto an unwavering faith. Its hard! It is one of the biggest sacrifices I have ever made in my life. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy but I didn’t expect it to be this hard. As a business owner in my industry I hear through the grapevine that our paint products are talked down upon but I say don’t take someone else word until you come find out for yourself. Stand up for yourself and the quality products you offer and provide the best service to all. If you are a retailer selling a top quality product, that people haven’t really heard of, just keep your head up, stand behind it, don’t get into the mix of social media wars trying to prove yourself…..oneday someone will try out your product and it will speak for itself and you’ll be standing on solid ground. There was a time when no one had ever heard of ebay or Amazon and now look at them.
What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?
Our number one obstacle for the retail aspect is customer awareness and willingness to have an open mind. The paint side of our business is our number one challenge. We don’t sell a top of mind brand. This challenge is a daily battle to develop brand awareness and client willingness to try something new. We partnered with a top independent paint manufacture that operates in over 500 stores. The Richards Paint line is a premium paint that can out perform the competition. The challenge is to get both painting companies and homeowners to be aware of the quality and lower price than the other top brands. We continually educate and demonstrate the difference both in store and out in the field. Our network of painter and homeowners who see the difference grows every month.
Contact Info:
- Website: Bluemistpaintandflooring.com
- Instagram: Bluemistpaintandflooring
- Facebook: Bluemistpaintandflooring
- Linkedin: Ashleysgoingplaces
