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

Ashley, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

Dropping out of college! I was in school for three years for elementary education! Growing up I thought I wanted to be a teacher so bad because in small towns having a plan is very pushed as well as a conventional job! I transferred throughout three different colleges, even played collegiate soccer to try to make it work. One day I woke up with a gut feeling that it just wasn’t for me anymore. That same day I completely dropped out and started pursuing a creative path. I didn’t know what exactly I was going to do but knew that teaching was not for me. A year later I started doing makeup and did one of my first weddings. Started tapping into social media more and doing creative makeup.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

Hi, my name is Ashley Richter (@aaashleyrichter) and I am a makeup artist, beauty influencer, and model from Minnesota! I grew up not being allowed to wear a lot of makeup, no one in my family really wore makeup either. My best friend told me in 7th grade she was going to teach me how to put eyeliner on because we were getting old and I needed to do it hahaha! I sat down with one of my best friends (Kid Quill in 2018 and he told me I have creativity in me and I need to find my niche and run with it! I decided on makeup! I practiced and practiced and practiced. I invested everything into it and made it my main priority. I offer bridal makeup, creative makeup, and makeup lessons. I do a lot of creative makeup on instagram and tik tok. Using mainly transition videos for before and after looks! I think what sets me apart from other is my versatility. I can work with many different faces, skin tones, eye shapes, etc. with ease. Also, my color theory is on point! The thing that I am most proud of is just my personal growth. I know there’s a lot of stigma with social media, but it has truly saved my life. Given me an outlet to see others that relate to me and pushed me to do everything outside of the norm. I’ve also ran for the inked magazine cover girl contest and made it into the semi finals out of thousands of other contestants! I’ve worked with major brands sold in sephora and ulta, and been able to do events and collaborations with business’s through social media! I am forever thankful for the opportunities that i’ve recieved

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

SEEING YOUR OWN GROWTH AND PROGRESS! I cannot stress this enough and I personally think this is the best part about social media, being able to look back and see how you’ve progressed. I feel like I sometimes forget what my creative looks were like when I first started and being able to see those and see the artistry just progress is amazing.

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

CONSISTENCY. It sounds so simple, but it’s truly what helped. Posting often and consistently. The algorithm’s of these platforms LOVE when you’re active constantly, so utilize that. Make your content and message clear and concise. Give your audience a reason to come back and want more. In 2018, I started posting all the time. I had a saying “come back for creative looks 4x a week” so I constantly did 4 creative looks and posted them on the same days every week for almost 2 years. Consumers knew when to come back and what to be excited for. I think that drew them in more than anything.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @aaashleyrichter
• Other: tik tok: @aaashleyrichter

Image Credits
@forgetsarah @ebphoto651