Check Out Ryan LaShay’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryan LaShay.

Hi Ryan, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My story has been one of reinvention, resilience, and learning how to trust the vision God placed on my life even before I fully understood it myself. I’m originally from Jackson, Mississippi, and I’ve always been someone with big dreams, deep creativity, and a strong desire to build a life bigger than my circumstances.

Before entrepreneurship fully took over my life, I was a collegiate athlete and later moved to Atlanta to pursue my MBA and chase the bigger vision I had for myself. Over the years, I’ve worn many hats, but one thing that remained consistent was my ability to connect with people, create experiences, and lead with authenticity.

I officially stepped into entrepreneurship through hospitality and built my bartending company, BartenderRyan, from the ground up. What started as bartending eventually evolved into much more — event operations, consulting, staffing, brand partnerships, and helping execute high-volume experiences across Mississippi. Along the way, I realized I wasn’t just serving drinks — I was building systems, leading teams, solving problems under pressure, and creating opportunities for other people to earn income and grow as well.

At the same time, I was also going through a lot personally. Like many women, I experienced seasons of self-doubt, heartbreak, outgrowing environments, and trying to rediscover myself while still showing up for everyone else. Instead of hiding those experiences, I started turning them into purpose through my digital platform and wellness brand, N My Glow Era, where I speak openly about confidence, healing, self-worth, discipline, and becoming the woman you were always meant to be.

Today, I’m building multiple brands that reflect different parts of my journey — hospitality, consulting, lifestyle, wellness, content creation, and community leadership. I’ve learned that success isn’t always linear, and sometimes the most beautiful thing you can do is keep showing up anyway. My mission now is bigger than business. I want people — especially women from places like mine — to see what’s possible when you stay focused, work hard, remain consistent, and believe in your vision enough to see it all the way through.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It definitely has not been a smooth road, but I truly believe the challenges shaped me into the woman and entrepreneur I am today. One of the biggest struggles was learning how to believe in myself consistently, especially during seasons where the support, recognition, or opportunities didn’t always match the amount of work I was putting in behind the scenes.

Like many entrepreneurs, I’ve experienced moments of burnout, financial pressure, self-doubt, and having to build while simultaneously healing and navigating real life. There were times I felt overlooked, misunderstood, or questioned whether I was truly on the right path — especially being a woman from a smaller city trying to think beyond what I saw around me growing up.

Another challenge was learning not to shrink myself. I spent a lot of time pouring into other people, overextending myself, and trying to prove my value instead of fully standing in it. Entrepreneurship forced me to develop boundaries, discipline, confidence, and a stronger mindset overall.

Professionally, building a business from the ground up came with a huge learning curve. I had to learn branding, operations, leadership, networking, marketing, and how to pivot when things didn’t go as planned. There are still seasons where I juggle long shifts, building my companies, creating content, and trying to maintain balance mentally and emotionally.

But through it all, I stay committed to the vision. Every setback has taught me something valuable, and every challenge has pushed me to evolve. Looking back now, I’m grateful the road wasn’t easy because it taught me resilience, consistency, and how to trust the process even when I couldn’t fully see the outcome yet.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I consider myself a multi-dimensional creative and entrepreneur. My work sits at the intersection of hospitality, lifestyle, storytelling, wellness, and community building. Professionally, I’m the founder of BartenderRyan, a hospitality and event brand that has allowed me to create elevated experiences, lead teams, and work on everything from luxury private events to large-scale festivals and community activations throughout Mississippi.

Beyond hospitality, I’m also building my digital platform and lifestyle brand centered around confidence, healing, discipline, self-worth, and becoming the highest version of yourself. Through content creation, speaking, storytelling, and my YouTube series GlowTalk, I’ve been able to connect with people in a very honest and authentic way. A lot of my work is rooted in helping people feel seen, motivated, and empowered to keep going, even during difficult seasons of life.

What I specialize in most is creating experiences and conversations that feel real. Whether it’s behind the bar, behind the camera, or through my digital platforms, I’ve always had the ability to connect with people emotionally and create environments where people feel energy, authenticity, and intention.

What I’m most proud of is building everything from the ground up while staying true to who I am. I didn’t come from a huge market or have a blueprint laid out for me, so every opportunity, partnership, platform, and brand I’ve built came through consistency, creativity, faith, and persistence.

I believe what sets me apart is that I’m not afraid to evolve publicly. I allow people to see the process — the growth, the lessons, the rebuilding, and the vision in real time. I blend leadership, creativity, hospitality, and vulnerability in a way that feels relatable while still inspiring people to dream bigger for themselves.

Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
I’d just like readers to know that growth rarely happens overnight, and sometimes the people with the biggest vision are also the ones quietly fighting the hardest battles behind the scenes. If there’s one thing my journey has taught me, it’s that consistency, faith, and self-belief can completely change your life over time.

I hope people understand that you don’t have to come from the “perfect” environment or have everything figured out to start building the life you want. Sometimes all you need is the courage to keep showing up, even when the results aren’t immediate.

I’m still evolving, still learning, and still building — and I think that’s important to share because social media can often make success look instant or effortless when it’s really built through discipline, sacrifice, setbacks, and persistence.

Most importantly, I want people — especially women — to know that it’s okay to reinvent yourself. It’s okay to outgrow old versions of yourself, dream bigger, and pursue more for your life. Stay focused, stay consistent, trust your vision, and don’t be afraid to become who you were always meant to be.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://stan.store/ogthediva
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ogthediva/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@OGglowtalk