We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ashley Petrone. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ashley below.

Ashley, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

Success can mean so many different things. For some to be successful it means having time to live life without restriction. For some it’s money. For some it’s a status. For me it’s a mix of knowing that I’ve worked hard regardless of my circumstances, while staying true to who I am. I’ve always been a grinder. I like to think outside of the box and dream big. And I’m willing to put the work in to see where I can go. I actually don’t even really set goals… it’s just this is what I’m gonna do and then believing that it’s gonna be successful. Sometimes things fall flatter than others and their are bumps along the way. But for the most part, the success is either the outcome of a profitable business or venture. Or it’s successful because of what I learned along the way.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I started out as a stay at home, homeschool mom with a desire to do more. Just an itch to be creative and stretch myself. So a few years ago I started a blog and Instagram and started sharing things that I loved to do. I was pretty good at finding deals on Craigslist like an old coffee table, then I’d refinish it and sell it. Then about 6 months into this, my family and I decided to sell everything we owned and our 5 bedroom home and move into a trailer on some land. My husband Dino and I renovated it in 3 weeks and made it feel like a home. I shared the whole process on line and our journey of living in a trailer and it kinda exploded online. People were intrigued in what we were doing and my design work. That turned into me doing design jobs for clients, then moving on and designing and renovating an airstream and a few more houses. Which then brings us to 2021 where we bought an old run down Inn on Anna Maria Island. We renovated the whole thing in 6 months and I again shared the whole process on my Instagram and blog. People loved watching the process and it was so fun to share. We opened in October of 2021 and Joie Inn @joieinn (French word for Joy) has been booked pretty solid since. My goal was to make our Inn feel like an experience. Details down to your favorite drinks and what you’re celebrating and we cater your stay to your specific needs. Their are 4 units and each is a different color, which all represent the Island. The Sage room, the blush room, the terra-cotta room and the Sun room. And in the last few months I’ve opened up an online shop that kinda ties all my lives together. My love for beautiful, simple and adorable home decor and design spurred me to open up The Fox Mercantile @thefoxmercantile . It’s been something I’ve shared on my Instagram @arrowsandbow and has also taken off. I love what I do and that I’m able to share some joy through my work daily.

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

As I mentioned before, I started a few years ago with a blog and Instagram. It was a way different beast back then… but some of the rules still apply. For me it was a reminder to always stay true to me. Which was a constant check in with myself because with every move we had and life change, I was growing as a person. But as we all know, social media has a way of making you feel less than or like you need to be like the girl/guy next door. It was my goal to connect online. Not just grow into an influencer… I actually had no desire to even do that. I truly wanted to connect. I learned peoples name and called them by that, I responded to every DM and made even made some amazing real friends out of all that connection. I also shared real life. While things needed to be beautiful to get seen, people also wanted to see reality and to truly connect they needed to see us in raw imperfect moments. From sharing those things, people can relate to you more, which furthers that connection. And while you can do all these things, you still need to have something of value you’re sharing. I think everyone just wants to be famous now and thinks they can just start an instrham or TikTok and share themselves doing dumb things… lol while that does work for some, figure out what your why is. What your mission or purpose is and then find a unique way to share that.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

Genuine connection, trust and hard work. All the work and time it took me for years sharing our story and journey and every project we worked on… all played a role into building an audience that trusted and respected what we share.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.arrowsandbow.com
• Instagram: @arrowsandbow
• Other: @joieinn www.joieinn.com @thefoxmercantile www.thefoxmercantile.com