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Shine On Success
Shine on Success is a dynamic, story-driven podcast where extraordinary entrepreneurs, visionary leaders, and resilient change-makers share their journeys to success, revealing both the challenges and the strategies that led to their breakthroughs. Each episode offers a unique blend of inspiring personal stories, practical business insights, and actionable advice, allowing our guests to connect with an engaged, growth-oriented audience ready to be motivated and uplifted. By joining us, you’ll not only have the opportunity to showcase your expertise and inspire listeners but also to be part of a powerful platform that celebrates ambition, innovation, and the courage to turn dreams into reality.
Shine On Success
Unstoppable Resilience: A Journey from Humble Beginnings to Real Estate Marketing Powerhouse
In this episode of Shine on Success, host Dionne Malush interviews Ashley, co-founder of Surelink Marketing LLC. Together with her husband, Jimmy, Ashley has built a successful business that helps real estate professionals thrive online. Despite numerous challenges, Ashley’s story exemplifies resilience and determination.
Ashley shares her entrepreneurial journey, influenced by her parents' diverse ventures, and her own start in real estate at 18 during the recession. She talks about overcoming obstacles as a young woman in a competitive market and the early struggles of introducing social media marketing, eventually leading to the largest marketing company in Southwest Florida.
On a personal note, Ashley discusses the impact of motherhood on her drive and the crucial role of faith in navigating tough times. She highlights the importance of integrity, strategic business pivots, and continuous innovation. With nearly 6,000 customers, Ashley’s story is a testament to the power of support and teamwork.
Listeners will find inspiration in Ashley's journey, from hitting seven figures to balancing entrepreneurship and family life. Connect with Ashley on Facebook or visit agentwisedesign.com. Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share this episode to inspire others. Until next time, keep shining!
Connect with Dionne Malush
- Instagram: @dionnerealtyonepgh
- LinkedIN: /in/dionnemalush
- Website: www.dionnemalush.com
- Facebook: /dmalush
- LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/dionnemalush
Welcome to Shine on Success podcast, where we explore the journeys of those who have overcome adversity to achieve greatness. I'm your host, dionne Malish, here to bring you stories that inspire and empower. Today, we're joined by Ashley, co-founder of Shorelink Marketing LLC. Together with her husband, jimmy, ashley has faced and conquered numerous challenges on her path to helping real estate professionals thrive online. Let's dive into her story of resilience and success. Hi, ashley, welcome. Hi. Thank you for having me. I'm glad that you're here. We I know we tried to do this once before, but you know it didn't work. So today is the perfect day for us to do a podcast. Let's get back to the beginning. Tell me a little bit about your journey of entrepreneurship and starting your own business, right?
Speaker 2:So I guess we'll start with both of my parents. My dad actually owns about 50 different car lots all over the country. Did you say 50? 50. Yeah.
Speaker 1:I love cars. I don't know if you know that about me, but I freaking love cars.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they do a lot of the buy here, pay here. But my parents, they owned restaurants and gas stations and all kinds of businesses when I was little. So when I tell people I'm like, honestly, my first job I was eight years old. I was making these little construction hats for the ladies that would come into the store on Sunday and I would charge $10. Nice, I guess they're a young age. But yeah, I mean I'm 34 now. I actually got into real estate when I was 18. So that was during the recession. I had moved out of out of state. Right after high school I moved to Las Vegas. I was the number one place in the country for foreclosures. So when I tell you I've done it all within the world of real estate, I've got a couple of businesses. You know, when I was in college we had a cleaning business and you know it was good but then eventually failed. I had a very successful clothing business as well, and here we are. So I've always all I know is entrepreneurship.
Speaker 1:Me too. I actually tried to work for a couple of places and I knew right away that that was definitely not going to work. And they started telling me what to do and I was like I'm not doing that. I just am not that person. So that's probably why we recognize that in each other. So did you have hurdles?
Speaker 2:along the way, yeah, yeah. So when I first started this business, you know, you figure, I was just 22 years old and here I was. This is new, you know, newbie in town here in Southwest Florida. This is a very dominant part of the country as far as you know the realtors, you know in the market and whatnot. But when I started this, of course everyone's like, oh, little Ashley, and it was like I was trying to earn the respect of a woman and a grown up now, and but when I was talking about social media, I was going prior to Zoom, I would go office to office and everybody thought I was just, you know, speaking a different language, right, Because it's like what the heck you want to teach me Facebook? Who cares about it? I don't know how relevant it is, so I am going to say, at least in my local market, we are hands down the largest marketing company here.
Speaker 1:So you live in Florida now, right, yes, yeah, we're in Southwest Florida. So since we met, you've moved, and so you've moved, you have a new little girl. Yes, your life has totally changed since we met and you know, I think about that. You know, becoming a new mom and running a business.
Speaker 2:How do you do that? Because I've never had kids, so I have no idea what you go through. But I know it's not easy. It is not easy and I will tell you this. So I've always been a strong businesswoman Okay. But when you have children, or your why is just magnified. I don't even know how to explain it without crying, but everything I do I do for that little girl, okay. So when I tell agents, I'm like look, you know, I put my name behind everything I say, and I mean it because I just think about my daughter in the back of my head. I'm building her future and hoping to shape other people's futures as well. But it's hard. But I will say this I have eight employees. We run like an assembly line. Without them I do not exist actually.
Speaker 1:By far, your work is a standout.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we have close to 6,000 customers now, and so without them, I really don't exist.
Speaker 1:That's a lot of customers and, like I said, your work stands out. It's beautifully done. Thank you, I'm very impressed about that. So success of your business speaks volumes about persistence, and that's something we talk about a lot on the show. What personal principles have guided you through tough times?
Speaker 2:So I am a Christian and I think, at the end of the day, I mean I feel like we all, I mean we all have one life right on this earth, and I think for me is I stand real strong in my faith and I think again, just standing behind integrity and just being and doing, showing up and doing what you say you're going to do every single day, and just being a people person, right, I think, at the end of the day, everybody's selling something to each other, whether it's White Risk or whoever it is. But I think if you get down to the nitty gritty and you realize like, okay, they're people too, they're buying a service. You're selling a service and whatnot? Just treating people how you want to be treated the golden rule, right?
Speaker 1:For sure. So if you could hold one memory for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Speaker 2:Oh, definitely when I had my daughter. Definitely that was one of those surreal I had to. I had a C-section actually. So it was one of those those moments where I'm like, oh my gosh, I'm in a movie right now. Am I in a movie right now or is this going to be a great thing? That was a great moment. But you know, just so, Jimmy and I, we, when we hit our seven figures in our business too, that was another. I was 28 years old when we first hit our seven figures and I remember sitting in our kitchen table, which we still have I won't get rid of it because it's just like a hunk of junk, but that's where we formed our ideas and we went through college and cried and laughed and all that, that table. And I remember sitting there with Jimmy and we just were like, oh my gosh, we did this. It was just a surreal moment.
Speaker 1:It's beautiful. I love it. How do you maintain motivation and drive during periods when things don't go as planned or you have the pressures of running a business? How do you do it?
Speaker 2:Well, how do I run the business and the pressures of the real estate world right?
Speaker 1:It's so cyclical and it's so like a rollercoaster ride.
Speaker 2:It really is, and it's one of those things that, if any realtors are listening to this, it's one of those things that you know you pivot in your business. Everybody has to, and when everybody's going left, I'm going right and vice versa. I've just always been a leader and I think when everybody else is panicking around me, you have to have leaders. You know people that are strong and you know just leading the way. Essentially, you know, I just again, I think about my family and I think about why am I doing this? When we all die one day, what do I want to leave behind for my family and my legacy, you know? So that's where I go with that. But yeah, I think that you know a lot of people are scared right now in their business and I think it's just one of those things that you have to learn to accept that change is the only constant and you just have to. You know you have to do something different that's going to make you stand out and grow your business.
Speaker 1:That makes a lot of sense to me, and you know you talked about your parents, and my parents, too, were entrepreneurial. So you know, my whole life I've lived this, and if you have to look and say who's the most influential person in your life and why, who would that be?
Speaker 2:Honestly, my grandmother, so my grandmother. She invented the water baby. It's a very successful doll behind Barbie. She had her invention stolen, however, you know she got a percentage of you know lawsuits or whatever, but she's just such a strong woman in her faith. She could have been a multi-multi-millionaire and she's like, no, it wasn't God's plan, but she's just the strongest lady I know. Honestly, my grandma.
Speaker 1:It's pretty cool. Grandparents are definitely a unique breed and just you know, you do learn a lot from them, and so I'm glad to hear that that was a you know, a good person in your life. So where do you see yourself in five years from now? Honestly, retired.
Speaker 2:I know that's so funny. Well did you say you are. How old are you? I'm 34, but by the time I'm 40 I do want to be retired.
Speaker 1:So 40 years old and retired. I love, love it. What do you do? You like to work, so what will you do?
Speaker 2:Probably charity things and then honestly just traveling. So we that's another thing that you know a lot of people don't realize but when you own a business you don't really take a vacation and my laptop goes everywhere with me. So the last 12 years I haven't had a true vacation without working.
Speaker 1:So I'm so many years. In the last couple of years, I've taken a couple where I've actually went away, and most of the time I go to events, I always have something to do, right? I think one time in the last three or four years that I didn't have an event to go to and it was great. But I do love learning and I love being around successful people and learning from them. It's really. It's just an awesome thing to do. So let's talk about what's the biggest takeaway you hope that listeners can find out about you, like, what is something you want everyone to know about, ashley?
Speaker 2:About me or our business, About you and our industry. So me I mean again, I think, just knowing that there really are some some good quote, unquote sales people out there and we're not all there to just take your money and just, you know, run with it. There are people that are truly willing to help and willing, you know, ready to just make a change, and just the marketplace and the world. Really, the bulk of our business is real estate marketing, but we have so many small businesses in between home inspectors, you know whoever in between but I think at the end of the day, when I get on a zoom call with agents, some people, you get that little, you know, just the back and forth, like, oh, I've done this before, it doesn't work for me. And I'm like, oh, you haven't worked with us before. So and then in regards to our business, you guys, we are building something Dion kind of knows, but we're building money pretty soon. So we're launching a new product in the fall, so hopefully I can come back on, and I'm sure they would too.
Speaker 1:So let's talk about a career failure. Let's talk about something that went wrong, and you picked up the pieces and move forward.
Speaker 2:Well, like I said, I had a cleaning business. That was, you know, not in regard to this, but we had a cleaning business that I thought, oh, we can do all the commercial cleaning out there. And then I got a 60,000 square foot building and it was like me and my husband we're like we can't do this Kind of embarrassing. But you know, when I'm younger, when I first started this, you know, I thought, hey, we can do XYZ, and I actually signed up an entire real estate office. And the problem with that is is they all are buddy buddy and they were kind of upset with this and that. So we've learned over the years we can't have too many in one area because we don't want to be able to look the same. So I feel like that was kind of a failure. It's just more of a learning lesson for us to do that. One more thing too I am very innovative with our, with our business, and unfortunately I had somebody steal our ideas and sell them for a couple million dollars.
Speaker 1:So for a couple million dollars. So a couple million? Did you say million? That wasn't, wasn't good. Yeah, listen, learn. Yeah, yours is coming, it's definitely coming. So how about hobbies? Yeah, is there anything you do? I know you say you don't vacation a lot, but is there anything you love to do? I?
Speaker 2:love cooking and I actually sing. I love singing, yeah, just being with our family, and we do have an rv, so we travel, but, like I said, the laptop goes with me.
Speaker 1:RV is like one of the worst experiences. Last time we had an RV like I couldn't wait till it left our driveway. I was like goodbye. And I remember driving down the highway away from our house because I was like I couldn't stand it anymore. Worst vacation ever. But until that point I loved it. Until that one. I know you're proud of your little girl. What is your most proud moment outside of having a child?
Speaker 2:Well, honestly, just probably just seeing, you know, just all of my family succeed. You know I I'm the oldest of seven kids also, technically I guess there's 10 because it's a blended family, but seven, you know, siblings and just watching them all go through their different things in life, I've always kind of been like a motherly figure to my siblings as well. I'm just watching them all do their thing and you know my husband and I both putting ourselves through college, nobody helping us, you know, while owning two businesses. I mean, it was, it was a feat. So I hold two bachelor degrees, a finance degree and a marketing degree. So I double majored, I had two businesses. It was a lot A lot for sure.
Speaker 1:Well, you're not afraid of that. I can see you definitely fill your plate a lot, and so you're someone that supports others in achieving their dreams. How important has support from others been in your own success story? So you have a lot of support.
Speaker 2:Oh, yes, yeah. So, matter of fact, I have so much support that I had to build an entire program called a brand ambassador program. Behind it, we get a ton of referrals from agents, you know, and I thought, okay, instead of just saying, hey, thank you, here's a Starbucks card, I wanted to reward agents. So I actually built a business within our business where we have and I'd love to have you on it, but it's a brand ambassador program and from that I'm actually trying to branch off something where the agents will have all kinds of referral passing opportunities too. So I'm always thinking, and always thinking, hey, how can we all win, not just us, right?
Speaker 1:So yeah, people get their dreams, and all of your dreams will come true. Is that correct? Yes, ma'am. So how can people reach out to you and connect with you?
Speaker 2:I am very easily accessed on Facebook, of course, and my cell phone. I can give you that number on my cell phone. I can give you that number it's 239-247-4205. And you can visit us on agentwisedesigncom. So it's. We're actually getting a revamp on our website July 1st.
Speaker 1:So I want to say thank you for inspiring me with your story and I'm glad that we finally got to talk, and I want everyone to remember to engage with her. Reach out to her. We have enough agents that are listening to this real estate agents, realty one group, gold standard agents. Reach out to Ashley. She can help you in your business. Don't forget to like, subscribe and share this episode with anyone you know who's facing adversity. If we help just one person, this podcast is a success. So until next time, keep shining. And, Ashley, thank you. Let's get back together in a couple months. I'd like to see how these dreams are coming true.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, you got it for sure. Thank you so much. We'll be in touch, okay.
