We recently connected with Ashley Dixon and have shared our conversation below.

Ashley, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

Took a risk and bet on myself and it has paid off! 2022 marked my first year as a full time entrepreneur, content creator and speaker. I made 2x my entire 6 figure corporate salary in the first three months of the year, doing what I love home decor, DIY and organizing. To date, I have more than tripled my salary bringing in over $300,000. It is wild to think this is my journey and I run a six figure business because I just knew my path was destined to be in the corporate sector plugging away for the next 30 years.

In 2018, I started an Instagram page, Alexander Renee Design with hopes of showcasing my home build and design journey. I wanted to share tips and tricks on things to avoid when building since I had done it before and things I learned about designing a home. The page grew slowly and I quit and I doubted what I was doing, but I kept restarting because it was fun and I loved it. By the end of 2020, my community of friends had grown and I realized I could help additional people by launching a virtual design service to help those who needed help decorating their home to be the space they deserved. I loved offering virtual design services and doing content creation to make some additional side hustle money–no idea a living could be made from it at that point! In 2021, I was overwhelmed with my day job, juggling that and creating content and made a plan to save as much as I could to hopefully save enough to go part time at work and continue with Alexander Renee Design. I ramped up my e-design business, branched out to Tiktok as well, and pitched brands I knew and loved and by August 2021 I made more than my corporate salary and then moved up my plan to go work for myself.

I was so nervous to go out as an entrepreneur especially one focusing on social media. The hardest part was believing I could do it. I knew it was going to take discipline and hard work to make it happen. I learned it is important to have systems in place to become the best version of yourself and your business. I also think it is important to note I work much harder and longer now than I did in a 9-5, the difference being it is what I want to do. I’m at a point now where I’m wondering why I didn’t do this sooner? I wish I knew three things before. 1. Fear is common, but it’s important to push through that fear and do it anyway 2. Plans and life goals change and that’s okay! You can always change who and what you want your life to be–you’re the architect of your life. 3. The biggest opportunities are on the other side of your biggest fears. If I knew and believed that sooner I could be much further along than I am today.

Ashley, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am your Decor & DIY BFF. Through interior design, DIY projects, organization and other home related tutorials I work to show and inspire you to create the life and home you deserve. I oftentimes focus on sharing products I love, tips and hacks to save or do things easier over on Instagram and Tiktok. My hope is that in sharing my experiences and things I found and learned it can be useful for someone looking to decorate a home for the first time or pick up that power tool. My passion is to lead and demonstrate me doing my absolute best, even when I am afraid to let others know they can do it too!

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

My business was born from developing a relationship with my audience and making it my goal to serve them. You cannot operate from a space of taking or focusing solely on money it won’t work. Focus on learning what your audience wants to learn from you and perfecting yourself and craft within that space. Produce high quality content you yourself would want to watch. Video is king so the more you can share videos over still photos you will reach a wider audience. Being on multiple social platforms is a great way to grow your audience as well (cross promotion). Consistency and doing what you love are the keys to grow. And most importantly, have fun.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Social media can be a very dark and negative space. I want to put out more light and good vibes into the world through my platforms. /i don’t want you to fall into the comparison trap of what I may have or someone else, but for you to feel empowered that you can create beautiful home spaces, or you don’t have to buy something you can make it, you can declutter to reduce chaos. Our home is a reflection of us and my goal is to provide help to get everyone I encounter to a place where they love their home and what they have created. I also find it important to shout if I am 36 and can have just recently discovered my passion in my 30s, it is never too late to begin a new journey and redefine happy.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: www.instagram.com/alexanderreneedesign
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/alexanderreneedesign
• Other: Tiktok: @alexanderreneedesign

Image Credits
David Mahone Photography