Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Ward.
Ashley, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My journey began as a journalist back in 2011. I attended Humboldt State University to become a journalist, where I dreamed of writing hard-hitting news and eventually writing for publications like National Geographic. During my studies I quickly saw the decline of the print era and the rise of digital.
It became even more clear when my insurance agent asked if I knew anything about social media and could manage his profiles, oh and also help build him a website. Since I was currently managing the university’s social media and had plenty of experience with my own, I happily accepted and signed on my first client.
Fast forward a couple of years and I now had worked for various businesses and agencies helping grow their social media presence while managing a handful of other digital marketing tasks like website development, blogging, email marketing, landing page design, and more.
What I loved most was that this opportunity still gave me the chance to write, and be creative doing so. It wasn’t exactly the hard-hitting news I had always dreamed of, but it was an opportunity that fell into my lap and I made the best of.
After about 5 years and dozens of clients later, I went full-time with my company and grew it to become a social media and advertising agency. I absolutely love what I do, being able to help companies and customers bridge their gap and create a means of communication unlike any other.
Along the road, I’ve learned a LOT about being a business owner. Like many entrepreneurs, I’ve made more mistakes than milestones, but it’s those mistakes that have taught me how to be the business owner that I am today and better my clients.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
A smooth road? What road?!
Being an entrepreneur is all over the place. You wake up one day feeling on top of the world, as if you just conquered it all, and then the next day you can receive one email that tosses that feeling out the window.
Though to me, that is one of the best parts of the experience though. You learn SO much, so much more than you would just as an employee and you’re able to constantly better yourself and your business. You’re given a choice each day to keep on keeping on, or give up.
Many times, I wanted to give up and start working on my resume again, heck I even hired someone to redo my resume at one point.
But, what kept me going was the success from my clients. Each time I was able to surpass a new goal for a client and see ROI for them, it helped push me through the rough patches and keep doing what I love doing, which is being a business owner.
You have to keep on even when times are the toughest and the road is so unclear.
Please tell us about Madhouse Matters.
My business specializes in social media, social media advertising, and content marketing. Each of these three things includes my original goals and allows me to 100% still be myself in doing what I love. I’m also good at these three things.
The fun part about being in the digital marketing industry is that it’s changing, A LOT. So, it keeps me on my toes, and keeps me learning something new each day. Plus, businesses need a way to communicate to their customers on a more personal level, not a 1-800 level.
Social media and content marketing provide that type of communication.
The other part of my business is that I get to speak around the world teaching social media and content marketing tactics. You can catch me speaking in Vegas, Sydney Australia, or even Berlin.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.MadhouseMatters.com
- Email: ashley@madhousematters.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ashleywardsmm/
- Twitter: @Ashleymadhatter
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