Hidden Gems: Meet Theresa Ashby, PhD, MBA of Kaleidoscope Media Services

Today we’d like to introduce you to Theresa Ashby, PhD, MBA.

Hi Theresa, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Well, my career hasn’t been a direct path, but it has been an incredible journey. I can remember when I was younger that I loved to build things. I built a super-cool treehouse! It wasn’t exactly up in the tree but more around the tree and on the ground. After all, I was only ten at the time. I just wanted a place to hide so I could read and create.

Now, I spend my time helping businesses build a scalable business model that allows them to have the freedom to do some of the things they love. I built my favorite thing when I was 12—a lectern. I am sure this is where I got my appetite for speaking from the stage. Of course, I had my two younger sisters and stuffed animals as my captive audience—now, I try to captivate consultants and coaches with stories of possibilities of building a sustainable and scalable business.

Before starting Kaleidoscope Media Services, I spent most of my career as an executive for corporations, where I led operations and multi-million dollar projects. As a leader, I focused on helping others be successful in their roles, driving business strategy, and maintaining fiscal accountability across departments. Although I enjoyed the work and the people, the only way to expand my influence and help more people, I felt, was to start a consulting business.

I wanted to serve more companies and business owners. A key to my decision was ensuring that no matter what consulting practice I started, I sought to be a conduit for others, helping them build a business that generates significant revenue and allows them to create the lifestyle they deserve. I researched the market, evaluated my experience, and where investors were putting their money. As I began to pivot and study the current landscape and verified where investors were investing, I co-founded Kaleidoscope Media Services.

Ultimately, my career has been about helping others succeed and create something unique.

Alright, 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?
Starting a business is no small feat for any entrepreneur, but scaling it up can be even more challenging. As someone who helps others grow their businesses, I also face the same obstacle of “when” and “how” I should take the next leap toward growth. Sometimes I have hit the nail on the head, and other times I completely missed the nail–and smashed my thumb. I am always contemplating balancing growth by asking if I have the right mix of services, if I need to create a new product or service, how I will maintain my high standard of customer service, and whether I will be profitable. I recognize that revenue doesn’t always equate to profitability.

Growing a business has to be an individual choice because the risk and reward are not the same for all of us. Scaling too soon could be detrimental to my business because it could stretch my resources too thin, causing my customer service to suffer. I have to look carefully at my resources and ask whether I have enough or the right resources to succeed. If I wait too long to scale, I’ll miss opportunities, and my competitors will swoop in. Yes, that has happened; they got there before I did!

I have learned over the years, usually from my mistakes, the choice to grow has to be a new choice each time–what worked yesterday will not work tomorrow.

To scale, scanning the environment for clues and where I am personally is how I decide—I can attest that the “business of entrepreneurship” isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. I have to keep asking myself, “Is it time to scale or time to hold steady?” my timing of scaling a business has always depended on many factors, such as what’s the competition doing, what’s happening on the world stage, what do my customers need now that they didn’t need yesterday. And quite frankly, do I have the energy, resources, and time to go for it. When it is a yes, it’s all systems go—take the risk—and be ready for success. And when it isn’t successful, and it hasn’t always been successful for me—then it comes down to knowing when I needed to pivot—yes, of course, I feel like I have pivoted too soon, and the flipside, pivoted too late. Ouch, that cost me money!

I know the question was about obstacles, but I feel as though I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that my decisions were not made in a silo. I am fortunate to seek advice from my mentors, coaches, and customers. Some people think because I have studied and worked with many clients helping them grow their businesses and I am known as the “Stratologist,” I can go it alone. Not even close to the truth—we all need input from others and to listen to their advice.

Ultimately it was up to me to decide how and when to make the shift—and take full ownership of the outcome—good, bad, or indifferent. And some have been very good, some bad, but never indifferent–owning my business is personal!

Let me close by saying being an entrepreneur has provided me with many adrenaline rushes; it has taught me to be patient with myself, be balanced in my approach to growth, and, most importantly, identify my priorities—my priorities are family, friends, and travel. That’s why I do what I do.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Imagine knowing exactly what you love to do and being able to do it every day. Well, I am fortunate and grateful to have co-founded Kaleidoscope Media Services, where I get to do precisely that every day.

I love to meet new people and listen to them share their life stories, business goals, and personal aspirations. I love to be a conduit to helping them achieve the ultimate satisfaction from owning a business. I love motivating and inspiring others through speaking, consulting, and coaching. I thrive when I have the opportunity to help others discover new concepts and methods of doing business, then help them figure out how to create great solutions so they can grow their business.

Throughout my career, I have always been able to see an organization’s big picture and then put the operations into practice–that is why I am known as the “Stratologist.” Knowing this about myself and wanting to help others, I have consulted leaders leveraging those strengths, from Fortune 500 companies to start-ups.

In 2018, I became COO and co-founder with Laura Neubauer of Kaleidoscope Media Services, where we followed the VC investments and realized that the Digital Product Industry and Technology Automation Industry would explode. As scalability experts, we knew these industries would change how business gets done.

We have positioned ourselves to meet the needs of entrepreneurs, speakers, coaches, and consultants. Kaleidoscope Media Services is a full-service agency with a culture of service and gratitude.

Today, other digital product creators will only teach you how to build an online course business where you must create many eLearning courses. They only teach you the Do-It-Yourself way.

So rather than compete with other digital product creators, we have created a full-service agency—our agency focuses on the growth of your business by adding digital products to your offerings. We focus on the business versus just creating a digital product such as an eLearning course to sell. We help companies deliver an extraordinary client experience, leverage their intellectual capital, generate additional income, plus show you how to use the product for scalability and sustainability. In addition, we help our clients systematize and automate their business through our KMS Powered technology, helping eliminate the overwhelm, get time back in the day, and build a lifestyle business.

Our agency supports our client’s projects through the values of exceptional vision, innovation, creativity, and expertise.

Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
This is an easy one: I took the leap from corporate executive to entrepreneur. When you go from a corporate job, with the large office, the comfort of a paycheck, benefits, and prestige, to how am I going to pay the mortgage, pay for my health insurance and people asking, “Who are you” and “why are you qualified”—that’s a risk.

But it’s all a calculated risk. I knew I wanted to do things bigger than myself, meaningfully give back, and make an impact; thus, I knew I could only make that happen if I wasn’t tied to the corporate systems and ideology.

Over the years, I have shifted my business strategies, removed or added a service or product, borrowed money, or gone for the dream client—all equating to taking a risk. Even though I will tell you I am not a risktaker by nature, I have learned that the reward I sought would not have come without seeking the risk.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kaleidoscopemediaservice.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theresa.ashby.980
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theresaashby/
• Other: www.KMSPowered.com

Image Credits
Starla Fortunato at https://starlafortunato.com/ Except for the speaking photo: Taken at the Indie Books International Conference