We recently connected with Megan Ashley and have shared our conversation below.

Megan, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?

I am much happier as a business owner, although there was an adjustment period, for sure. I love the freedom and flexibility I have owning my own business, but you have to get into a routine where you work at the times that are best for you, otherwise you’ll be scrambling around playing catch up more often than you’d like. It took me a few years to find my best routine, and allowing myself to work when I feel the most inspired really helps.

Before I was a social media manager and blogger I was a preschool teacher for 12 years, as well as a birth doula and nanny off and on. I enjoyed working with children and their families so much, and I did have a long time of missing that and the structure that offered me. But now that I’ve learned to structure my days and weeks, I have no regrets about switching careers. I find working with all of my creative clients very rewarding, I am so grateful!

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

Hi, if you’ve never met me before, I’m Megan Ashley. I am a blogger, virtual assistant, and social media manager. I work from home and run my own small business. I love what I do, and I’ve been doing this since 2018. I got into this when an old friend had me do some admin work for her blog, and I realized just how fun social media was. I started writing a bit for her and running her socials, then thought, “I could make a career out of this!”

I currently work for podcasts, authors, and other creatives to help them get whatever they need done. I can pretty much do anything you might need virtually, from making dinner reservations, to managing email lists, to running your social media accounts (and many things in between!). I am a planning and organizational QUEEN so I thrive with this type of work.

I love to help people CREATE, whatever that might mean for them. If you’re an author, maybe you need someone to do all of the tasks you don’t have time for so you can focus on writing. If you’re a podcaster, you might need someone to schedule your guests and pitch you to other shows. I can do all of that and help you focus your time on what you love to do. I am always looking for more clients, so if you or someone you know might be looking, you can reach out to me for a free consultation! [email protected]

When I have down time I love to read and write, I just restarted my own blog you can find at MeganAshley.com, and my personal assistant/social media manager business at MeganAshleyPA.com Follow me on IG @XoMeganAshley & @MeganAshleyCreates.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I consider myself a creative. I’ve been sharing my life somehow- blogging, podcasting, youtube videos- since about 2015. I have had quite a life in my 35 years here, and I love to share it to help others not feel so alone in their struggles. I blog about my mother’s murder and my attempted murder, grief, healing, mental health, and so much more. I’m a member of the LGBTQIA+ community and sharing my coming out stories or stories from relationship struggles/wins has helped me find community. I find it very rewarding to share and love hearing feedback from folks who have found my sharing helpful. It makes it all worth it. I had a podcast from 2018-2022 called Queers Next Door with my co-host Leigh Montavon, that was such a fun project to be involved in and help other folks in their own journeys. You can find me at @XoMeganAshley and my podcast at @QueersNextDoor.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Something that really helped me get through the loneliness of working from home was participating and hosting writing and productivity sprints on youtube. If you search “Writing Sprints” on youtube.com you’ll see who is currently live, you join in and work alongside the host and whoever is in the chat room. They usually last about 25 minutes, then have a 5 minute break where you all chat about what you’re working on. I like to blog and write during them, but also just get my other work admin tasks done so I feel like I am working with a little team. I am much more productive when I do these sprints, in fact, I am doing one now as I type this!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.meganashley.com
• Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/XoMeganAshley
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/megan.ashleypa
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/xomeganashley/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/XoMeganAshley
• Other: http://www.kindawitchyblogger.com http://www.meganashleypa.com