Conversations with the Inspiring Ashley Renne

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Renne.

So, before we jump into specific questions about what you do, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I became obsessed with video production when I was in high school and decided to pursue a career in that. I graduated in 3.5 years and got a job as a producer at The Weather Channel, then a video editor at The Home Depot, and finally a senior video editor and on-camera host at WebMD. While I loved video, there was something missing. I became obsessed with travel after studying abroad in Egypt in college and my limited vacation days in corporate were starting to get to me. I started a travel blog in 2013 as my creative outlet, and eventually, I started incorporating my video and photography skills too–I started sharing my travel photos on Instagram and travel videos on YouTube.

A few months after I started publishing my videos, someone pitched me to The Travel Channel! Although they ultimately decided they wanted hosts with TV experience, I was still inspired by the fact that someone thought I was good enough to be presented to a television network, so I quit corporate to become a full-time travel content creator. To make money while I worked on my content creator career, I launched a video production company and most of my clients were in California! Eventually, my personal brand also took off and now I am able to make a full-time living from that alone. #hooray

“Sustainability” is ultimately the overall theme of what my personal brand as a content creator evolved into. Whether I’m at home working on my energy efficient smart home, exploring the country in my electric car, or uncovering the hippest vegan restaurants around the world, I share my personal experiences to help others travel and live sustainably, find the tastiest vegan eats, rock the best cruelty-free brands, get the latest smart technology, & live an adventurously green life.

Great, 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?
Being an entrepreneur is never smooth, but conquering the bumps in the road is what makes your success sweeter. I’ve made plenty of mistakes; not reviewing contracts properly, failing to negotiate my worth, wasting time on the wrong things, attempting business collaborations without properly vetting people, and getting so excited by all my ideas that I tried to do them all at once instead of taking my time to build each one.

I have plenty of advice to give based on all my experiences:

1. Get rid of any limiting beliefs.
A motivational speaker by the name of Mel Robbins says you typically have a 5-second window to make a decision before your brain’s defense mechanism kicks in to tell you not to do that thing or pursue that idea that you want to go after. That 5 seconds of hesitation sends a stress signal to your brain and because the brain is designed to protect you from harm—it will tell you not to go down that path to following your dreams. Because at the end of the day the pursuit of dreams is often risky and the road to get there is usually a bumpy one. The truth is you are one decision away from having everything you wanted – but you have to take advantage of all those little micro-moments, those 5-second windows where you have to make a decision about whether or not you’re going to make a productive move or allow your brain’s defense system to activate and cause you to limit yourself.

2. Get rid of a fixed intelligence mindset.
Think about how many times you may have talked yourself out of doing something because you were convinced that you didn’t have the personality for it. There are so many skill sets that you will need to get good at in order to be an entrepreneur and you will have a very difficult time getting your business off the ground if you approach things that make you uncomfortable with a fixed intelligence mindset. For example, things like confidence, networking, negotiation—you might say to yourself “oh I’m an introvert, only extroverts are confident.” Or “I don’t do networking.” Or “I suck at negotiating.” Stop it. That’s not true. These are skillsets, not personality traits. Skillsets can be learned.

3. Financially prepare yourself.
I think sometimes people settle on this idea that being broke while pursuing your dreams is normal. You don’t have to be a struggling artist. Do everything you can to save up before you quit your job. If you’re already working for yourself, then find additional ways to support yourself while you’re working on your dreams. For example, I saved up 1.5 years of living expenses from my corporate job and side hustles before I quit corporate.

Please tell us more about what you do, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I’m a vegan travel, sustainable lifestyle, and smart tech content creator teaching people how to live an adventurously green life. I’m proud that I created something that genuinely helps people and the planet.

When I first started, I didn’t know what I was doing, what I stood for, or how to stand out from the crowd. I didn’t know what my “why” was for blogging. Why was I doing this? Why was I unique? Why should people listen to me? I was spending too much time trying to be like every other travel influencer and not enough time figuring out what made my voice special.

A trip to Bali changed everything for me. While there I visited a beach that was littered in huge piles of trash. I was never the same after that. With a newfound passion for environmentalism, I became motivated to travel sustainably and live my best green life. I began incorporating eco-friendly habits into my daily routine, switched to a completely vegan lifestyle, bought an electric car (Tesla Model S), built an energy-efficient smart home, and started staying at sustainable hotels.

My personal brand transformed from a travel blog with no particular direction into an online source for eco-travel, smart tech, and vegan lifestyle inspiration. And now that I have an audience, I also constantly find additional ways to spread important messages and help people–in my Instagram stories, I give advice on everything from personal finance to the best tools and tech for creatives. From inspiring people to be more conscious of the environment to help people better themselves in different ways, I found my why and it feels good.

It would be great to hear about any apps, books, podcasts or other resources that you’ve used and would recommend to others.
I am a big fan of listening to podcasts, YouTube videos, and audiobooks these days! It’s so easy to turn one on while I’m driving, cleaning, cooking, or traveling. The topics I like to learn about most are personal finance, entrepreneurship, influencer advice, sustainability, and personal development.

The Financial Diet is a great YouTube resource for learning about money.

Side Hustle Pro introduces you to successful women entrepreneurs of color who scaled their business from side hustle to profit.

The Influencer Podcast with Julie Solomon gives great advice for aspiring and seasoned bloggers, content creators, and influencers.

Sustainability Defined breaks down the different topics of sustainability concept by concept, teaching people who are new to sustainability better define it, as well as delivering additional insight to people who are already familiar with sustainable topics.

For personal development, I generally turn to YouTube for a particular topic I need help with at the time.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.heyashleyrenne.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heyashleyrenne
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeyAshleyRenne/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/HeyAshleyRenne
• Other: https://www.youtube.com/heyashleyrenne

Image Credit:
Ashley Renne

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