We recently connected with Asia Golden and have shared our conversation below.

Asia, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

My life took a turn in June of 2019. Even before that I felt things were changing, I felt sad and empty but didn’t know why. My thoughts were dark and I felt so misunderstood. Something was happening to me spiritually and I didnt know it at the time but it greatly affected the woman I was becoming. I had a mental breakdown after breaking up with my boyfriend and bestfriend on the same day. I looked at them both as my support system and when that was gone I felt I had nothing left. In a strange turn though after releasing them both from my life things became clearer to me. I started looking at the world and people differently. I re-evaluated all my relationships, even the ones I didn’t choose to be in – like family. Everything I thought I knew now felt foreign to me. At this point I made the decision to let go of everything and start fresh. With this new clarity and spiritual awakening I realized all I thought I knew was only an illusion. I was trying to be a part of the world instead of creating my own world within it.

I’m not sure if the mission was clear to me at this point but I had a strong need to want to help others see things for what they really are. My way of helping to achieve this was by using what I already knew and was good at – Branding. A process I believe is truly underrated. Whether you’re actively working on your brand or believe you don’t have one, EVERYONE is a brand. Your brand is what the world sees when you walk outside.

Asia, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Hi, I’m Asia Golden

I am a Brand Designer, Brand Strategist and Creative Director. For as long as I can remember I’ve always had the “Do It Yourself” mentality. This way of thinking forced me to push my creativity as far as it could go. Anything I wanted to buy but could not afford, I just created. No matter what I ended up making, I always managed to amaze myself and others. Creating just felt second nature to me and I wanted to explore more of it.

Let’s rewind a bit though …

When I was in 1st grade I had an art assignment to complete during class. The teacher put down a bucket of crayons and all the kids went running to choose their colors. At the time all the kids were twice my size, bum rushing past me to get to the crayons. By the time I got to the bucket the only colors that were left were black, white, gray and brown. I guess they thought those were the “Ugly Colors”, but to me it was something to create with. I sat at my desk and created a drawing to which my teacher would consider “An Interesting Masterpiece” (whatever that meant). Later that day I was sent to the guidance counselor’s office where she called my mom. She stared at me in amazement while we spoke about irrelevant things like my favorite snacks and what I liked to do for fun. To this day I still don’t know why I was called into the office, but what I DO know is not long after they changed my class and BOOM! I was in a gifted program.

By the time I was in High School

I thought there was something seriously wrong with me. My entire life I would see numbers as colors, sounds as shapes, facial features in patterns of inanimate objects, feel everything super intensely – the list goes on. My dreams would explain things I couldn’t make sense of and dictate my every move. While I was awake, the world seemed like a place I lived before but I could no longer recognize. People would look at me like I was crazy when I shared what was going on. I realized there were so many people who didn’t share the same experiences which made me feel even more alone in the world. With no one to speak to about these bizarre experiences, I had to find ways to cope, expel and express these unique abilities.

That’s what got me interested in the business of Branding.

By 10th Grade I started focusing on a lifetime project – Branding myself. My main goal was to figure out how I wanted others to perceive me. I started obsessing over details like what the color palette of my wardrobe would look like, how I wanted my hair to look, how I spoke, what my core values were – the list was endless. I went through so many phases of my life, I constantly kept rebranding but one thing always stayed the same – My love for GOLD. That’s how I came up with the name Asia Golden.

I started exploring how to help others work through their own personal branding journey. I was so eager to help people be more intentional about themselves. I also needed to prove to MYSELF that this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I became even more obsessed as the years went by. I kept looking for projects and people l could help develop during their infancy stages. I ended up wasting so much time assisting and convincing people who had no interest much less patience – understand why branding was so important. At this point, I put in so much effort to kickstart many peoples’ branding journeys, and felt as though I had nothing to show for it. I told myself it was time to take a break from everyone and everything to reevaluate what my goals were.

Little did we all know, a worldwide pandemic was on its way.

I finally had the silence and stillness I so desperately needed for clarity. I realized during this time that my passion never died, it just manifested itself into something far greater than I could have imagined. I started focusing on my business fulltime and catering to those who understood the value of what I was providing. I even opened a new department focusing on production. We now are able to create visuals as content for our clients. After helping my first “Intentional” client, I knew this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

So allow me to reintroduce myself.

I am Asia Golden

A Brand Designer, Brand Strategist and Creative Director. I am the owner and creator of AGLDN, a Branding & Design Agency orchestrated by the cosmos. My passion and primary focus is to help create, develop, maintain and improve brands. My methods are a bit eccentric seeing as though my creative process is greatly influenced by divine intervention.

It took me a while to fully embrace the fact that I am highly gifted and spiritual. All that I have experienced throughout my personal branding journey has empowered me to be my true authentic self, incorporating spirituality within my business.

In a world that is now so heavily influenced by quick trends and going viral, It is my soul’s mission — as an Indigo child of the starseed community to take my time helping others embrace what truly makes them unique.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

I believe one thing most non-creatives might struggle to understand is what it takes for us to create. What does that process even look like?

Although every creative has their own unique process, we all kind of go through a stage in what I like to call ”The Trance”. This stage feels outer body, Euphoric, calm but yet certain. This feeling isn’t always manufactured by stimulants, it can easily be activated if a creator is in a space charged with high vibrational frequencies. All senses are immediately heightened by the energy of that environment. Oftentimes most creators may have LED lights on, dim lighting, candles, diffusers, incense, shoes off, nature elements, music playing, anything that will help charge the space for them to create. What starts to happen during this time is an expansion of consciousness. By the time we complete our creation, we too are surprised at the outcome.

And one last thing I believe non-creatives may not understand about being creative is that there is no right or wrong when it comes to creativity. Not having any right or wrong answers in creation makes the art itself “Subjective”. This is why for some artists, it is difficult for them to monetize their work. They may put a price tag on what they believe their work should be valued by the time, effort and cost they put into it – but if whoever they are selling to sees no value or necessity for it they will not pay for it. Most creators have this problem which creates a vicious cycle of them compromising their craft, constantly tailoring it to the consumer.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

Learn and study everyone on your team’s strengths and weaknesses. A person might come into the company thinking they are providing the most value in the position they came in with, but in actuality it may be room for them to grow in a different position.

Create incentives that add to the growth of each individual. Winning a $10 gift card at Starbucks may come in clutch on those “I’m on a Budget” days but it doesn’t really make people want to do more than what they are already doing. Offering something like, A leadership position on a future project, a promotion with a raise or let them tell you what incentives they wouldn’t mind working towards (within reason of course).

Monthly Team Building Activities. There are so many industries that naturally create a competitive environment, especially those with huge commissions. Having monthly team building activities not only allows for everyone an opportunity for open dialogue but an opportunity that allows them to see each other as humans.

I have so many ways I could answer this question, but ultimately I believe managing and maintaining a high morale for any team comes from the wisdom, resilience and compassion of its leader. A great leader will cultivate a space that reminds everyone of the collective goal and makes room for each individual to grow

Contact Info:

• Website: COMING SOON!
• Instagram: @asiagolden @agldnbrand