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

Alright, Ashley thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

I grew up in a small, rural town. The only child of two parents with very limited resources but an abundance of love, creativity and an appreciation for the little things in life. Holidays and other special occasions were celebrated mostly with experiences instead of gifts. As an adult juggling careers, responsibilities, children and marriage, my appreciation for experiential events and quality time together continued to grow. When I was introduced to the idea of luxury picnics, it was obvious that this aligned perfectly with my focus on slowing down and creating memories. I knew right away that I wanted to bring this experience to the beautiful Lake Norman area!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

With the support and encouragement of my husband, I launched Lake Norman Luxury Picnics in May 2024. Although I had spent 20 years in banking, I never abandoned my creative interests. For many years, I spent my free time during the months of November and December helping clients decorate their homes and offices for the holidays. As I grew older, I began to embrace the idea of a new career path that merged my organizational and problem-solving skills with my passion. Lake Norman Luxury Picnics has been a dream come true and I am so humbled and honored by the amazing response from my community.

It brings me so much joy to be able to help others celebrate life’s special moments and create lasting memories. Each event is highly personalized with great attention to detail. A luxury picnic is no ordinary outing! Think luxury meets nature! It allows each guest the opportunity to relax, unwind, connect and indulge in a luxurious outdoor setting. As a host, you are able to sit back, relax and enjoy the occasion without all the hassle of planning, setup, take down and cleanup.

Have you ever had to pivot?

My transition from banking to entrepreneur wasn’t exactly smooth or easy. Like many others, change scared me. But change was happening whether I liked it or not. My mother suffered a fall and I took a leave of absence to help care for her. At the end of 3 months, her health was declining, and I began to reflect on my priorities and values. Although I loved my career in banking, I found myself desiring a more flexible and less stressful work arrangement with a better work-life balance. I knew in my heart it was time for a change. Since then, it’s been a long, challenging and rewarding journey. I am so thankful from the support of my family and friends. Their encouragement has been invaluable.
After losing my mother and then eventually my father, I have a greater appreciation for the finite nature of time and want to pursue the things that bring me joy. If you find yourself in a similar season of life, I hope my story brings you hope and inspires you to be bold and renew your perspective on life and work.

How did you build your audience on social media?

As soon as we decided to move forward with the idea of bringing the luxury picnic experience to our area, we began looking for a marketing team who could help bring our vision to life. We were lucky enough to partner with an experienced team who was attentive and responsive and helped us to establish a strong brand identity and a social media following. They have been instrumental at creating engaging content on Instagram and Facebook throughout the stages of our business launch. Without the use of paid ads, we are organically increasing our following across both platforms and it’s been the source of many of our new business opportunities.

We knew that our target audience was looking for an instagrammable experience and that a strong presence on social media would be pivotal to our success at attracting customers. However, we did not feel confident in our ability to create and share content on our own, so marketing was not an expense we could forgo! Best advice is to seek out help from knowledgeable marketing professionals because social media is here to stay and it has become an indispensable tool for new businesses.

Contact Info:

• Facebook: LKN luxury picnics
• Other: Instagram – lknluxpicnics

Image Credits

LKN Images – headshot