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

Ashley, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about a time you helped a customer really get an amazing result through their work with you.

I remember having a solo brunch sitting at a bar and a group of young ladies were visiting from Washington, D.C. They asked me for recommendations of places to attend throughout the city and the one who sat right next to me talked about her job in tech. From there, she and I engaged in more conversation about her goals and I mentioned my experiences helping people with their resumes. I provided my email to her and she sent her resume to me that same day.

A service offered through my firm, Payne Sciences is resume revisions. A consultation is scheduled and a series of questions are answered and I do my magic! My work and calls are more personable because I try to get to know the person and feed positivity into them. I want to ensure that good rapport is built and trust is maintained throughout the process.

The young lady kept in contact with me with the updates that she had been receiving more interviews since the resume revision. She was able to obtain a $15,000 salary increase! Not only that, but her confidence in her communication skills skyrocketed. Things like this make me so happy to see others thrive.

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?

Sure, originally I am from Houston, TX., born and raised, and currently have been in Atlanta, GA., going on four years. I come from a large family and I’m the third youngest of all of my siblings. My personality was always more serious, even at a young age. It was instilled in me that my education is important and necessary. After a long journey in school, I earned my PhD in Health Psychology. Think of it as epidemiology – the study of disease distribution amongst different populations. I have more than 12 years of experience in clinical, public health, and health equity science research. Right now, I am a scientist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, in the Division of Parasitic Disease and Malaria.

I’ve always had a curious mind. I love to read and write and my passion is scientific research. I’m good at explaining things and creatively providing the full picture. I can offer more than enough information and still come up with new and innovative strategies and ideas. All of this is what a scientist represents and also represents the mission of Payne Sciences. I know that one of my life’s purposes is to help others reach their best selves personally, professionally, and academically. I’m not your average scientist, my approach is different, and out of the box. No, I don’t portray myself as a therapist; my mission is to help fill others with confidence and perseverance by guiding them to know that everything is possible, regardless of their past and temporary circumstances.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

Some time ago I had imposter syndrome really bad. I was always book smart and would escape in those pages in multiple genres, so it was tough dealing with reality. I didn’t know how to navigate being myself, so I would try to fit in as much as I could. Did it work in my favor? At times, yes, but imagine feeling so uncomfortable that you cringe daily. I was told to fake it until you make it, but shoutout to my First Lady Pastor D, she said “Faith it until you make it”. It literally doesn’t make sense to be fake when you’re trying to become your best and higher self. That’s a contradiction and a disservice to yourself.

I mentioned before that I’m not your average scientist. To me what that means is that I am my authentic self. I am comfortable with the woman I am and very proud of myself and I don’t feel bad for showing it. My Texas accent is thick. I have many tattoos, I love colorful nails, and the way I dress is nice – it’s with style and good fashion. I no longer turn off who I am. Me being comfortable with who I am, I’ve opened myself up more to the public on my social media accounts, my demeanor makes me approachable and my appearance makes me relatable. So I started to promote my business and work accomplishments more online. All of this mixed together brought people to me requesting my services, and they feel comfortable with me. I’m happy about that.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

I have an open-door policy for my clients. They have my work email and phone number. I encourage them to keep in contact with me on any updates because every accomplishment is a victory. I try to do quarterly check-ins with them via email to see how things are going. I offer advice without judgment which has led to them returning for other services and sending referrals. I’m very solution-focused by incorporating my clients’ goals into any plan we come up with together.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.paynesciences.com
• Instagram: ayepayne_

Image Credits

@swishsnapshots_
@thekeilanscott
@phacez.photography