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Ashley - Creative Virtual Assistant for Creators + Small Biz

@hearthside.virtual

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👩🏻‍💻Your behind-the-scenes creative bestie
📸Bringing personality back to your content
☕️Sharing Solopreneur life so we feel less alone
🇨🇦AB

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Hi, I’m Ashley! 👋🏻 I’m the owner of Hearthside Virtual, and also well overdue for a re-introduction post.

I’m a Creative VA who is extremely passionate about supporting other small business owners. What started as a side hustle is now my full-time career, and I absolutely love what I do, whether I’m helping with creation or keeping up with the admin behind-the-scenes.

A few things about me:

🧡 I was a hairstylist for 14 years, but officially put down my shears in 2025 to go all-in on my business

🧡 My husband and I are happily childfree with a dog, a cat, 20-ish chickens, and about 50,000 honeybees

🧡 My favourite bands of all time are Florence + The Machine and Fleetwood Mac

🧡 I’m a lifelong runner and I completed my 7th half marathon in Scotland last year

🧡 I’ve never met a cheese I didn’t want to marry

🧡 My love of travel is one of the main reasons I built a remote business

🧡 If I’d chosen another career path, I’d probably be a private chef

🧡 I spend a ton of time working on social media for my clients and am notoriously neglectful of my own

Over to YOU… tell me something about you or your business (or both!) in the comments 🫶🏻

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#canadiansmallbusiness #womensupportingwomen #solopreneurlife by @hearthside.virtual

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6 months ago

How lucky am I to have had the opportunity to work with so many inspiring, incredible, brilliant people over the past few years?

Maybe it’s got something to do with the 14 years I spent as a hairstylist, but I absolutely love helping people. Taking things off their plate, making their lives easier, or helping bring something creative to life that they were a little too “zoomed in” to fully see themselves.

To everyone who has loved and supported this sweet little biz over the years, thank you so much. It’s an honour to support you. 🧡 by @hearthside.virtual

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2 months ago

Turns out a couple of self-employed creative girlies with free will, wifi, access to sunshine, and schedule freedom spend their time more or less the same on a Monday.

Thank you to @2am.illustrations for the inspo and super cute idea! 🙇🏻‍♀️🙇🏼‍♀️

#solopreneurlife #womensupportingwomen #wfhlife by @hearthside.virtual

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a month ago

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2 months ago

I’m all for a lean business, especially in the beginning. In fact, I think a lot of solopreneurs and freelancers are wayyy oversubscribed to bloated tech stacks that don’t get used very much.

But you can pry these 5 things out of my cold dead hands 🙇🏻‍♀️

Honourable mentions: my heated blanket, my Nespresso machine, and the jungle of house plants in my office 🪴

WFH besties, what are your non-negotiables? by @hearthside.virtual

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2 months ago

In all seriousness… @bluegrassreddeer put on such a fun event last night and if you ever have the chance to go to plant bingo…do it 🪴🫶🏻 #thisis35 by @hearthside.virtual

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2 months ago

Something I don’t think we talk about enough as business owners is the uncertainty that comes with all the freedom.

It’s easy to romanticize the time, schedule, and location freedom that running our own business affords us. And while I’ll never take that for granted, I’d be lying if I said that being on my own out here isn’t scary sometimes.

Personally, I oscillate between “omg I can do whatever I want! 😍🤩🥳” and “omg…I can do whatever I want? 😱🫣👹“

Maybe the adventure thrills you, but if you’re an anxious girlie like I am, uncertainty can be a huge hurdle. For me, it’s always a little bit of both.

I’m learning to accept that uncertainty is actually a part of the journey. Most of the time, it feels limitless and exciting. It’s expansive and such a gift to know that I can take my life and business in any direction I want.

But once in a while I find myself wishing that someone would just tell me what to do, ya know? 😅

What are your thoughts? by @hearthside.virtual

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2 months ago

The hardest part of entrepreneurship for me isn’t the instability, the bookkeeping, or even finding clients. It’s the fear of making a mistake.

I’m not sure if it’s because we live in such a polished, perfectionistic world…but it seems that getting it wrong keeps a lot of us from even trying.

We all know that a huge part of business ownership is trial and error, testing and adjusting, and yes…sometimes straight up mucking it up along the way.

But what we forget is that our “mistakes” are HUGE teachers. Personally, I’ve learned way more from my errors than my trials.

Go easy on yourself when things don’t exactly go to plan. You’re going to figure it out…you always do. 🫶🏻 by @hearthside.virtual

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2 months ago

When business owners share their “why”, especially when it comes to time freedom, it’s often about travel or the ability to work from anywhere.

And honestly, same. One of the main reasons I built my business was to be able to take it with me…from the comfort of my sister’s couch in BC to European cafés.

But I’m in a stage of life right now where time freedom looks like this. Picking peas in my garden in the middle of the day with my cat. Planning my runs whenever the weather is best. Working from bed on a low energy day. Snagging a last minute dentist appointment on a Tuesday afternoon because I can.

It’s easy to play the comparison game on this app…especially when you see other people working from exotic locales while you’re hunched over your desk in last night’s PJs at 3pm.

But I’m here to remind you that BOTH of those scenarios represent freedom. What it looks like is totally up to you. 🫶🏻

#solopreneurlife #locationfreedom #smallbusinessalberta by @hearthside.virtual

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2 months ago

Strategic repurposing is one of the biggest business hacks when it comes to making content creation easier. And if you feel like you’re repeating yourself over and over again in your content…I’m here to tell you that’s actually the point. 😘

When you’re feeling creatively blocked and tight on time, you don’t have to overthink your content.

#smallbusinessalberta #solopreneurlife #womensupportingwomen by @hearthside.virtual

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2 months ago

Do you have trouble celebrating the milestones in your business (or life) too? Why do you think we’re like this?

For me, it’s part “forgetting” to put it on the calendar (apparently I don’t think it’s important enough to add?) and it’s part not wanting to brag, or worse…be seen celebrating something that isn’t a “big deal”.

Now that I actually see that typed out, it sounds pretty silly. 😂

Anyway. Happy belated 2nd birthday to this beautiful little biz of mine that provides a life I love, helps me build relationships with the most incredible people, and supports other small business owners so they don’t have to face it all alone.

Let’s all be better at celebrating our wins. If you have one (even if it’s “small”) please share it in the comments. 🥰

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#smallbusinesswins #albertasmallbusiness #womeninbusinesscanada #solopreneurlife by @hearthside.virtual

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2 months ago

July ☀️ Ran all the miles, are all the things.

I’m bringing back the monthly recap because I think it’s really important to show the human outside of the business.

July was hot, busy, and playful. The summer months always fly by so quickly, and if you’re like me, you try to pack in as many things as possible into 2 months.

I hope you’re all taking some time to enjoy this fleeting season 🫶🏻 by @hearthside.virtual

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3 months ago