44: How to balance an expanding business, raising a family, and staying healthy with Ashley Reeves

Ashley Reeves, of Ashley's Fresh Fix, is a wife, mother to four, blogger, health food enthusiast, and business extraordinaire. She successfully runs a blog and Instagram account full of recipes, body positivity, acceptance, and healthy food tips and tricks. Her feed is full of something for everyone; family, food, and fun! Journey… 2:00 Ashley started blogging dieting tips around ten years ago after her own weight loss journey of 70lbs! She was blogging for fun and overtime, it significantly grew. With two children and a tutoring company, it became too much to handle. However, when Instagram become popular, she started up again; sharing her tips and tricks. She found this to be quicker and easier to handle than blogging. It turned into a business when she randomly met a man who worked in social media (he was looking to buy her house!). He told her to monetize her brand, and it is a good thing she did! Since then she focuses on her social media as her full-time job. Her community is made of tons of moms and busy parents. How do you manage it all?...5:25 'A balanced day is impossible, but a balanced life is.' On different days, Ashley focuses on different things. Sometimes Ashley has a babysitter so she can get work done, while other days she focuses completely on the family. She has found this schedule to work best for her. What were some challenges?...7:10 Ashley didn't always take social media seriously and felt like she was not experienced enough to make it work long term. Her degrees aren't in business or anything of the like, so she often undervalued herself. She self-taught much of what she knows today through books, conferences, and following other women. She was very hesitant to put herself out there as a healthy blogger. Her struggle with weight after having four kids is constant, but she works her hardest and encourages women in all walks of life to do the same. Her example is inspiring to many and her community thrives off of connecting with her. Is there a time you knew this was going to become your job?...9:40 Ashley's degree is in elementary education so it took her a while to see this as a real job. She had it in her head that it would be more of a short-term deal. In the last year and a half, she has realized that this is the place for her. She has dabbled in tons of business opportunities but found the doors to eventually close. In this realm of social media, doors continue to open for her. She continues to walk through those open doors and came to realize how good she is at what she does! What keeps you going?…11:30 When Ashley focused on the community that followed her, she kept going back to a vision of a huge kitchen table. She loves facilitating feelings of love, acceptance, body positivity and food over this 'table!' Her goal is to reach just one person on each picture or video she posts. Being vulnerable and sharing herself allows her community to respond and interact with her in a massive way. What takes away from a balanced life?…13:45 Ashley has to be intentional. Without intention, she feels like her life is a bit thrown off. She and her husband sit down every Sunday to figure out scheduling, organizing, and how their week will look. Being intentional with her time is key to productivity. Another aspect that takes away from productivity, seen especially in social media, is that of the comparison trap. There is a constant flow of images, accounts, and people that make it hard to keep your sights on what's ahead. Advice for a busy person?…19:00 Give yourself grace. Remember that you are trying the best you can and focus on the saying 'progress over perfection.' Take the shortcuts that will still keep you on track and maximize your time. Contact…21:10 Instagram: @ashleysfreshfix

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44: How to balance an expanding business, raising a family, and staying healthy with Ashley Reeves is an episode from The Too Busy To Eat Show by Greg Zuffelato.

This episode is 22:29 long.

This episode was published on Oct 2, 2017.

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