The Power of Flexibility: Ashley Bryant: How I Was Able To Pivot To A New Exciting Opportunity Because Of The Pandemic

Stay agile & teachable. Things are constantly changing within the marketing world, but it’s at hyper-speed lately with the rise of AI. You have to keep honing your skills and remain teachable. If you don’t, you’ll get left behind.

As a part of this series called “How I Was Able To Pivot To A New Exciting Opportunity Because Of The Pandemic”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Ashley Bryant.

Ashley Bryant is a Certified eCommerce Copywriter and Digital Marketer based in Las Vegas, NV. Ashley has eight years of writing experience & helps holistic and sustainable 6 & 7-figure brands worldwide ignite their brand and messaging. She presently offers website, email, PPC Ad copy solutions, and consulting services. For more information, visit ashleybryantcopy.com.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we start, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory?

Hi, thank you for having me! My name is Ashley Bryant. I was born and raised in Las Vegas, and despite what most people would assume, my life was pretty normal. I went to private school, grew up in the church. I was put in dance classes (jazz, tap, ballet) when I was three, and at six, I was put on pointe and traveled around the West Coast for dance competitions. I was a shy and quiet kid. When I wasn’t competing or in school, I wrote stories about me and my friends going on random adventures.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“What you seek is seeking you.”

-Rumi

I was going through a big transition in my life when I first saw this quote. I moved to Houston to go back to school for Speech-Language Pathology — a year in, I knew that as much as I loved kids, it wasn’t the job for me. While I was happy to have that realization before getting into even more debt. Realizing that I had upended my life the year prior for this goal that no longer served me with no backup plan was scary. I was in limbo. I felt like I had to figure out what I wanted to do and where I wanted to be all over again. All I knew was I didn’t want to continue the life I was living- I wanted more.

Seeing that quote changed my perspective. Instead of trying to find an answer just to say I had an answer, I started exploring different fields and researching other cities and countries. I started journaling more and letting go at a time when I didn’t know how to.

Is there a particular book, podcast, or film that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?

You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero and Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. I read them both in the same year- I didn’t know it then, but they would be instrumental in catapulting me into my life now.

Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. Can you tell our readers about your career experience before the Pandemic began?

Before the Pandemic, I lived in Shanghai, China, teaching English to kids ages 3–9 and Adults; I had been there for about a year and a half and loved it.

When I wasn’t teaching or exploring, I hosted a lifestyle blog that focused on my life living with Multiple Sclerosis and ran my charity, dontmsme.

Dontmse was multifaceted, offering live streaming for MS Support Groups, a medical blog breaking down medical jargon for those living with MS and their caretakers, and events to spread awareness and raise money for those living with MS.

What did you do to pivot as a result of the Pandemic?

I came back to the US to visit family and get my MS treatment during Chinese New Year. I left Shanghai three days before they closed the border. I thought I would be back within a few months. But then, a few months passed, and I was still in Las Vegas with no clear path back home.

When it was clear that returning to China wasn’t an option, there were a lot of “Now what?” moments.

I was still hosting my blog and running dontmsme, but eventually, everything stopped- the MS Society moved to ZOOM, leaving my program irrelevant. There were no in-person events, and what was once fun started feeling forced, so I shut both down.

I started taking different classes to see what piqued my interest, but nothing stuck. Finally, after doom-scrolling Facebook one night. I came across the Copy Posse, an online copywriting community founded by Alex Cattoni. That was the start of my copywriting journey.

Can you tell us about the specific “Aha moment” that gave you the idea to start this new path?

There was no big “AHA moment.” It was more like many different moments leading to this new path.

In China, I would sit in coffee shops writing my blogs and think to myself — I would love to do this. I would love to just write for a living.

It took a while for me to realize it could become my reality, but when I did- I went for it!

How are things going with this new initiative?

It’s going well! I’ve worked with some fantastic people.

I love what I do and who I do it for — whether it’s increasing sales, brand awareness, or helping with their messaging. I love taking that part of the business off my client’s plates so they can stay in their zone of genius.

Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

There have been so many people who have helped me along the way to get where I am now. There’s no way I can narrow it down to just one person.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started in this new direction?

It’s not an interesting story but rather more of an inspirational one.

I started running Google Ads for one of my clients. In the middle of optimizing a particular ad, it hit me — I was finally doing what I wanted to do at a previous job — but I was always looked over. Not only was I doing it, I was doing it well and working for myself.

I realized I didn’t need anyone’s permission or approval to do this (job). I had everything I needed within myself.

So many of us have become anxious from the dramatic jolts of the news cycle. Can you share the strategies that you have used to optimize your mental wellness during this stressful period?

Turn off the TV and get off your phone!

As a recovering news junky (I always had a news program on in the background), I had to learn balance.

Instead of starting my day with world events, I start it with 5 minutes of gratitude. I try to get outside once a day- whether walking around my neighborhood, sitting in my backyard, or driving around the city. And I journal. A lot. It gets me out of my head and allows me to make sense of what’s happening around me.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me before I started leading my organization” and why? Please share a story or example for each.

1. Everything you don’t deal with will show up in your business. Imposter syndrome, jealousy, inner child, the list goes on. I had to step back, look at some of my beliefs, and remove the ones that no longer served me.
2. What is meant for you won’t miss you. Being in the first years of my business, it’s easy to get frustrated when I think things should go a different way. But I’ve noticed that when I let go and not try to force the outcome, things work out better than I could have planned. I’ve had jobs lined up that were changed or canceled at the 11th hour for various reasons. Whenever that happens, I’ll get a different opportunity. I would’ve had to turn it down if the prior plan had worked out.
3. You will fail. A LOT. It’s normal- learn from those mistakes and keep going. I’ve had Ads flop, emails not convert, you name it. But I look at the data, try a different approach, and keep going to get to the winning emails, Ads, etc.
4. Stay agile & teachable. Things are constantly changing within the marketing world, but it’s at hyper-speed lately with the rise of AI. You have to keep honing your skills and remain teachable. If you don’t, you’ll get left behind.
5. Take care of yourself. Running a business with two chronic illnesses can be challenging. Getting enough sleep, eating well, and establishing boundaries isn’t an option. Unfortunately, I didn’t always follow that advice- I’m a recovering people pleaser and worked seven days a week at one point. I wasn’t getting enough sleep or eating right and was headed straight to burnout. Luckily, I saw the signs and made some changes before my work and health started to suffer.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?

I would say to be bold. Life is hard, and so many things will come, and try to drag you down, don’t let it. Be bold in what you believe in, be bold in kindness, be bold in strength. Be bold for your future.

Is there a person in the world whom you would love to have lunch with, and why? Maybe we can tag them and see what happens!

This was a difficult question to answer- If I had to pick one person to meet, it would be author Luvvie Ajayi Jones- I love her grace, writing, and style.

How can our readers follow you online?

Follow me on Instagram @ashleybryantcopy

Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!

Thank you! I appreciate the opportunity to share my story.