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

Ashley, appreciate you joining us today. Any thoughts about whether to ask friends and family to support your business. What’s okay in your view?

When it comes to family & friends supporting my business. I have taken the approach of showing & then telling. I have worked in sales for so long that I didn’t want to come off as pushy. I ultimately wanted genuine support. I started attending pop up events and festivals, showcasing my products and learning how to create a vibrant environment for new clients. As my social media grew I would pay attention to certain reactions from family and friends. The ones who would give unsolicited advice or input slowly started swallowing their words. It means a lot to me when people see my vision. What amazes me is the connections you can build with complete strangers. A stranger is likely to support you way more than family will. I have hired family members for events and pop ups shops. Thankfully, I can count on a handful of them who I know represent me and who I can trust with my business if I have to step away.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Ashley, I grew up in the San Fernando valley. I am a wife, auntie and puppy mom. I love to cook, immerse myself in crafting and run a small business called Shop Flye. F.L.Y.E is actually an acronym for: “For the Life You Earn”. I am a firm believer in working hard towards your goals and making each moment count. If you worked it, You earned it.

During the pandemic, I lost my “secure” job. I loved talking to people, connecting and working in the insurance business for over 10 years. My thought was if I can manage an office, hire people and make a company a substantial amount in profits. I can also do the same for myself while doing what I love most. Playing in Jewelry. Of course, research goes a long way. I had a new found freedom with time. I learned so much via youtube University. lol. I am a self taught designer, I make handcrafted items and learned how to sew too.

Back in 2020, I invested in gold plated items like rings, bracelets & earrings to start. I love styling jewelry with certain outfits. I would get complimented on pieces I would wear. I invested $300 in my first big purchase. It was a risk! but it was the best bet I made to this day. My business took off. I was known to be the gold plated dealer. Word of mouth goes a long way in this industry. I love to cater to different walks of life. I have added accessories from time to time but jewelry is what I know best. Things have been evolving and I have incorporated a “personal shopping experience” to my business. Sort of like Avon with a catalog. except I call it “Pre Ordering” with a digital component and I have been able to work for myself since 2020.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to learn quickly that what I do is a niche. You have to not care about others opinions. “One week people will love you and the next week people can hate you but just make sure you are getting paid both weeks” is my motto. I started doing live sales on Instagram since everyone at time was on lockdown due to the pandemic. I had to get used to hearing my own voice and talking to a screen, making it my own interactive experience. I realized quickly it’s like talking to your bestie on facetime. Building connections with other women who want to be part of the chat, the chisme and everything else in between while shopping from the comforts of their home was pretty cool. I like to share bit and parts of my life through collections and seasons because my brand grows with me.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

My journey has been full of many lessons. Recently, I was diagnosed with Bells Palsy. Turning my world upside down and inside out. I have realized that slowing down is important. People think that running a business is like a 9-5 and you get to clock out. A lot of business owners work from home, we tend to be our own worst critics sometimes and balancing life is key. When it comes to business, “shes a jealous girl”. She will give you as much as you put in. No one will care about your business as much as you do. As much as I crave the hustle and bustle that this involves. I’ve had to step away and have thrown in towel. Everything happens for a reason. I am blessed to have my business as an outlet where I can share and be vocal about my circumstances in hopes to help someone who needs to know that money makes the world go around but YOU are so much valuable to your tribe. YOU are enough, YOU matter and YOU need to take care of YOU in order to be able to take care of anyone else. The support has been unimaginable, I have been receiving so many beautiful words of encouragement. It has made me appreciate the little things again.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Shopflye