Ashley Bailey, the owner of Ashley Bailey Designs, met with me for coffee at Panera in Evans, GA today. Ashley allowed me to interview her for a few minutes and get to know her a little better.
Me: Are you originally from the Augusta area?
Ashley: No, I’m originally from Winston-Salem, NC. Winston-Salem is home to several major corporations that are world-renowned: RJ Reynolds Tobacco, Hanes Hosiery, and Krispy Kreme. Winston-Salem is part of a larger area of North Carolina called the Triad.
Me: So, what brought you to Augusta?
Ashley: I came to Augusta for a marketing consulting opportunity for a SaaS firm in 2017.
Me: How does this area compare to Winston-Salem?
Ashley: It’s very similar in size and feel. Winston-Salem is part of a larger metropolitan area called the Triad much like the CSRA brings the three counties of Aiken, Richmond County and Columbia County together to form a single community. The cities complement each other, and the people are very similar too.
Me: What do you do?
Ashley: I work in digital marketing and have performed a variety of functions within my industry. My favorite things to do within my industry is content creation, website design (including ecommerce – who doesn’t love to shop?) and Google Analytics. I also enjoy graphic design and copywriting. I own my own marketing consulting business, Ashley Bailey Designs.
Me: Technology goes over my head. I’m glad you know these things and can help me!
Ashley: I love what I do. To help businesses reach their customer base, business owners need to be aware that more and more of our communication will be through websites, email, text, and social media. This shift in our culture is so important that I even taught digital media classes for Middle School and High School students at Community Christian Academy this past year to spend more time with my daughter and to fully understand the younger generation and how they are influenced by marketing campaigns.
Me: What is Community Christian Academy?
Ashley: It is a private, Christian school affiliated with and supported by Trinity Baptist Ministries.
Me: So, what is your favorite activity to do in the Augusta area?
Ashley: I like eating! Ha, ha! I like traveling domestically and abroad. I also enjoy theatre, movies, TV, and books. More than anything, I love a good, non-fiction story.
Me: Well, where do you like to eat?
Ashley: I like Zoë’s Kitchen. The food is really fresh Mediterranean food. Even though it’s a chain, I do like it. I also really like Cork & Flame and Brinkley’s Chop House.
Me: What do you order?
Ashley: Steaks and salads. I love vegetables, and I could easily be a vegetarian, except I really like steak! Ha!
Me: What is something you were pleasantly surprised to find here in the Augusta, Georgia community?
Ashley: My son is autistic, and I was excited to find that the public schools in the Augusta, Georgia area have programs specifically designed for students like him. These programs will allow my son to receive a high school diploma or an equivalent that would not have been available to him in North Carolina.
Me: Do you have any hobbies?
Ashley: I absolutely love doing graphic design, photography, and videos. I like getting out and taking photos. I’m working on my videography skills right now. I am a perpetual student who loves to take on new challenges.
Me: What is one thing on your bucket list you haven’t done yet?
Ashley: I’d like to see Italy and Greece. That would be wonderful.
Me: What is one of your long-term goals, and how are you working toward it?
Ashley: I’d like to expand my business, Ashley Bailey Designs, to showcase the creative work of my daughter and son. Both my children are amazingly talented artists and computer programmers. I’d like to ultimately pass down this digital marketing agency to my children when they are old enough to take the helm.
Me: Are you originally from the Augusta area?
Ashley: No. I’m originally from Winston-Salem, NC. Winston-Salem is home to several major corporations that are world-renowned: RJ Reynolds Tobacco, Hanes Hosiery, and Krispy Kreme. Winston-Salem is part of a larger area of North Carolina called the Triad.
Me: So, what brought you to Augusta?
Ashley: I came to Augusta for a marketing consulting opportunity in 2017.
Me: How does this area compare to Winston-Salem?
Ashley: It’s very similar. I’m from an area that’s called the Triad. The Triad refers to three major cities in central North Carolina: Winston-Salem, High Point, and Greensboro which form a larger area much the same way Richmond County and Columbia County make a single community from two counties. The cities complement each other. The people are very similar too.
Me: What do you do?
Ashley: I work in digital marketing and have performed a variety of functions within my industry. My favorite things to do within my industry are content creation and Google Analytics. I also enjoy graphic design and copywriting. I own my own marketing consulting business, Ashley Bailey Designs.
Me: Technology goes over my head. I’m glad you know these things and can help me!
Ashley: I love what I do. To help businesses reach their customer base, more and more of our communication will be through websites and social media. I even teach digital media classes for Middle School and High School students at Community Christian Academy.
Me: What is Community Christian Academy?
Ashley: It is a private, Christian school affiliated with and supported by Trinity Baptist Ministries.
Me: So, what is your favorite activity to do in the Augusta area?
Ashley: I like eating! Ha, ha! I like traveling domestically and abroad. I also enjoy theatre, movies, TV, and books. More than anything, I love a good, non-fiction story.
Me: Well, where do you like to eat?
Ashley: I like Zoë’s Kitchen. The food is really fresh Mediterranean food. Even though it’s a chain, I do like it. I also really like Cork & Flame, and Brinkley’s Chop House.
Me: What do you order?
Ashley: Steaks and salads. I love vegetables and I could easily be a vegetarian, except I really like steak! Ha!
Me: What is something you were pleasantly surprised to find here?
Ashley: My son is autistic and I was excited to find that the public schools in the Augusta, Georgia area have programs specifically designed by students like him. These programs will allow my son to receive a high school diploma or an equivalent, that would not have been available to him in North Carolina.
Me: Do you have any hobbies?
Ashley: I absolutely love doing graphic design, photography, and videos. I like getting out and taking photos. I’m working on my videography skills right now. I am a perpetual student who loves to take on new challenges.
Me: What is one thing on your bucket list you haven’t done yet?
Ashley: I’d like to see Italy and Greece. That would be wonderful.
Me: What is one of your long-term goals and how are you working toward it?
Ashley: I’d like to expand my business, Ashley Bailey Designs, to house the creative work of my daughter and son. Both my children are amazingly talented artists and computer programmers. I’d like to ultimately hand off this website to them so that they can showcase their work to the world and provide a location where their work can be sold.
I’ve been working on my website, tweaking it, updating it, and working on Google Analytics in order to make the work that’s featured there more visible for my children.
Me: What is one thing you’ve done that you are proud of, or glad that you did?
Ashley: Hmmm…well, all the women in my family were entrepreneurs. The spirit of entrepreneurship, independence, and creativity was ingrained in my upbringing. I am really proud of taking the opportunity to learn everything I have learned and applying my creativity to go on to build my own business and become the marketer I am today.
Me: Name one thing that makes you unique, interesting, or special.
Ashley: I never stop learning. I love to learn. I will pick up something new and learn everything I can about it and not stop until I know all that I can about that particular subject matter.
Me: Thank you, Ashley, for taking the time to meet with me today. If businesses in the local Augusta, Georgia area are in need of marketing consultations, I will be sure to send them to your website so that you can connect with them and help them. Or they can contact me and I will happily forward them to you.