Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Marietta.
Ashley, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I got started around 2010 in college radio which got me my first gig as a correspondent for SandraRose.com, a popular gossip blog back then. HotNewHipHop.com saw my reel and brought me on board as a correspondent for them and that helped me continue on as a freelancer in media until around 2015 where my focus shifted to events, branding and how I could amplify wellness in my endeavors after noticing there were a lot of people in the industry that weren’t happy or healthy. As far as my curiosity for all things health related, I was the biggest I’ve ever been, 180lbs, which for some isn’t a big deal but for me averaging 150, I felt crazy. I also had really bad asthma that my inhaler wasn’t doing anything for and a guy told me that if I stopped consuming dairy products for a month it could potentially cure it. It worked and that brought into perspective how big of a role food and diet play on our overall well-being and I’ve been obsessed with learning more ever since.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It hasn’t been a smooth road at all, I’ve had to start over many times. From being broke or associating with the wrong people to realizing that my heart was in a different place career wise… it’s always been a constant effort towards balance in my personal life vs that desire for success which can require a lot of sacrifice and discomfort, throwing me out of my idea of balance in the meantime
My advice for other women just starting out is 3 things; 1 – pursue what genuinely sparks your passion but approach it from a business perspective, what’s missing from the market that you can provide? How can you solve a problem or simplify a process? 2 – Don’t expect it to be easy, but DO expect it to be possible. The only thing I’ve seen that separates the successful from the failed is consistency, innovation and tenacity. Successful people are the ones who got knocked down but audited themselves on every fail and used that data to improve and kept going. They understand that failing doesn’t make you a failure, but quitting (tenacity) or failing to improve (innovate) and doing the same thing that didn’t yield you substantial results does. And 3 – don’t let people tell you there’s not enough room, not enough money or that your idea has been done before and therefore should not be executed. When you are amazing at what you do, there is always room and you will learn how to make money over time, which for me has been almost 10 years. Almost everything has been done before in some capacity but do it your way anyway, because at the very least, you’ll learn so much from even taking the time to execute your vision…
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into your business story. Tell us more about the business.
I am a host, wellness enthusiast and the creative catalyst to Atlanta’s multicultural millennial market. I do many things from creating and coordinating events, connecting people, brands & sponsors and helping ideas come to life. I think in the past people knew me as an interviewer and host especially in the music industry but as of the last few years my focus has been on food, wellness and partnerships.
Do you feel like there was something about the experiences you had growing up that played an outsized role in setting you up for success later in life?
If anything, it would be my family’s relationship to food, gardening and home remedies. I think this new phase of my life has been directly inspired by my grandfather having me pick field peas as a child, being chased by chickens on my summer visits to see family Alabama. My mother’s love for growing things as a certified master gardener with an extensive seed collection and vast knowledge of food history. My grandmother making me yellow root tea when I was sick, or carrot juice for her eyes. These are things I took for granted as a child but as an adult it’s become the fabric of my existence and my source of passion for these forthcoming endeavors in health.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.AshleyMarietta.com
- Email: info@Ashleymarietta.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/AshleyMarietta
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/likeashleymarietta
- Twitter: @AshleyMarietta
Image Credit:
Nicole Scarlett @NicoleScarlett_
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