Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ashley Miller. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Ashley , thanks for joining us today. Can you tell us a story about a time you failed?

In many ways, I’ve failed the last four years entirely. I took a chance four years ago and relocated from Suburban Minneapolis to Las Vegas, Nevada, after receiving a job offer from a start-up company. I packed up my life, drove across the country, and moved in with a friend to start over. After two months of working over forty hours in a back corner cubical, where headphones were forcefully encouraged and talking to my coworkers was strongly discouraged. I went into a surprise HR meeting and was fired. The reasoning, I didn’t seem happy enough.

After a few months of unemployment, I found a job working in events. That was November 2019; the pandemic would shut down the company before Saint Patrick’s Day 2020, leaving me jobless again. My employment was not the only thing failing, as the man I was dating received notice that his visa was expired. As a result, he had to move back to his European hometown. Our relationship couldn’t survive the distance, especially with the new pandemic restrictions, and shortly ended. By April 2020, I was jobless, heartbroken, and financially struggling.

Sitting in a hot apartment all day; with a roommate who unexpectedly moved his girlfriend into our apartment months early was wearing me down mentally and emotionally. Fighting depression and weight gain, I decided to take my stimulus check and start my first online business, Smashleisure. It was equal parts spite for those who doubted me and determination that if I lost another job, it would be my fault. The skills and business understanding I learned while building Smashleisure resulted in multiple job offers and, eventually, the growth and ownership of two other companies, including States Gifts. It was the time I gained during the pandemic, working on building and e-commerce store, growing a social media following, and creating a brand that allowed me to find my entrepreneurial spirit and change my life.

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?

Hi, I’m Ashley. I’m a 31 year old Las Vegas transplant, originally from suburban Minneapolis. I spend the majority of my life taking jobs in retail, events, and tech to fund my travels during my 20s. Four years ago, I took a chance and moved to Las Vegas, only to have things go wrong over and over again. I took my combined experiences to create and grow my now three small businesses.

Becoming my own business owner was never something I was interested in. My motivation was a mixture of arrogance and annoyance. At my core, I wanted to make something better, more fun, and mine. I combined years of learning and resilience to built my dream. I am happy to be the owner of three small businesses. States Gifts was the result of Smashleisure’s most successful product; a t-shirt with the outline of Nevada on it. Those sales encouraged me to see if the popularity of State Pride was nationwide and I was happily proved right with States Gifts.

States Gifts is an e-commerce store selling t-shirts, sweatshirts, and mugs with State designs. It is a great way to celebrate your State pride or share it with a newly relocated friend. I have a lot of fun creating our products, and learning about all the different States. People have responded so positively to the shirts and have shared their stories and memories of their favorite spot or their hometown.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

Codie Sanchez, she is absolutely incredible. Her newsletter, youtube channel, and instagram feed changed everything for me. I’ve taken courses, signed up for challenges, attended virtual workshops but nothing rang as true as what Codie was doing. Having learned what I could from others, I felt I needed a new direction and Codie’s Contrarian Thinking videos had me hooked. I signed up for her newsletter, subscribed to her Youtube channel, and eventually signed up for 2 of her courses. The idea of having multiple small business and focusing on ‘boring businesses’ became the foundation for my choices. Over the last year and a half I’ve followed her guidance and bought my first ‘boring’ service business which is on track to replace my income from my last nine-to-five in six months.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I was able to build my reputation with States Gifts from the experience I had with my first business, Smashleisure. Everything went faster, smoother, and cheaper the second time around. I learned from my mistakes and my successes. When I bought my service business, I took the time to learn and practice with the owner. I asked for step-by-step guides and training and if I could call him for anything that came up in the future. He was impressed with my process and introduced me to resources so I could figure things out on my own. I quickly learned two pieces of advice for building a reputation or a client base are to learn from those already in the space and not to reinvent the wheel. Other people are doing what you do; there is no need to recreate everything from scratch. Join Facebook groups, watch Youtube videos, and ask your friends who work in marketing or social media. Utilize others skills. Don’t make things harder on yourself. Give yourself back all that time and have someone teach you.   

Contact Info:

• Website: statesgifts.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/statesgifts/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StatesGifts/
• Other: https://www.pinterest.com/statesgifts/