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

Hi Ashley-Victoria, thanks for joining us today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

Voglia means “wish” and/or “desire” in Italian – I decided to go with the “wish” aspect as not only do I wish for World Peace, I also wish for a cleaner, healthier, better world for all of us. Taking elements of Universal Law, by sharing this wish with others, I know it can and will be granted.

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

I am an internationally published model, former pageant Beauty Queen and a serial entrepreneur – I’ve been in this industry (modeling, fashion) since I was four and as much as I wanted to escape it, it’s too much a part of me. I actually started doing fashion shows with local malls back in 2010 then working with a fashion show company before starting my own fashion show production company specializing in luxury lingerie & swimwear – I did that for nearly ten years!

Come late 2017 I knew I need to shift gears and sure enough this swimwear brand came to me in a dream.

I literally dreamt models walking on the catwalk with NASA inspired swimwear, with steam coming from the runway as if the rocket ship had just landed and Nicki Minaj’s song “Starships” was playing in the background and the smell of coconuts lingered the air and that’s when I woke up – that was my vision and I knew I had to bring it to life.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I remember it clearly, I was the Director of Marketing for a local modeling school and agency and poured my heart into my work as I attended the school myself when I was younger, so I genuinely believed in the brand and know that the tools and resourced provided are proven to work when utilized properly.

Anyway, back to the point – I was there for sometime and kept telling my boss that not only that I needed more help, more funds for the marketing department and better equipment and they just kept brushing my request aside until one day I just knew that I couldn’t continue to work in an environment where I didn’t feel respected and/or appreciated so I quit.

I was 27.

I walked out a salaried, desk job – from a job that I loved dearly but knew it was the best decision for me if I wanted to grow not only as a person but also a businesswoman. Knowing my value, what I brought to the table, and never underestimating my worth was something that took many years to build within and that was the first step.

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

Quite a few:

Everything is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo
Leave Your Mark by Aliza Licht
Girlboss by Sophia Amoruso
WorkParty by Jaclyn Johnson

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.vogliaswim.com
• Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/vogliaswimwear
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/avluvsu/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@vogliaswimwear