Tag Archives: The Defining Success Podcast

Episode #5 – Having a Business Mind | Ashley Majeski from The Ashley’s Reality Roundup

Reality TV blogger Ashley Majeski tells us about how she got started in blogging and the opportunities it’s created. “It was random”, she says after watching an episode of ‘The Bachelor’ and her friends telling her she should write down all the quips she makes during the show. So she did. After googling her way through the startup process, Ashley began to figure out how to blog and how to have a business mind while doing it.

Ashley Majeski from The Ashley's Reality Roundup

Ashley Majeski from The Ashley’s Reality Roundup

Since she started writing at age 13, through to college where she covered sports and school activities, it seems Ashley has always had a pen to paper, only now it’s a keyboard but her drive has never dulled. She got an internship with the magazine Us Weekly and it was there she fine-tuned her writing toward celebrity journalism. Modeling her site after celebrity blogger Perez Hilton, Ashley narrowed her focus down even further to reality television.

So, you have your blog…now what? How do you get readers?  Ashley says that while trying to figure out this very question,  she discovered a niche of readers with the show ‘Teen Mom’. Every time she would write about this show, her hits would dramatically increase. Eventually, even some of the stars from the shows she was covering would read and generate even more traffic. Ashley quickly became the subject matter expert in reality TV, answering questions and fielding calls from major news outlets looking to her and her sight for information on the shows.

For Ashley, her blog has opened many doors, a far cry from the days of “googling her way through it”. She cautions however that this business is “ridiculously hard to get into” and once you’re in, you walk a very fine line between writing about people to poking fun at them. She says she never intends to be negative, rather she’s had the most success with keeping things positive.

Now people are reading your blog, can you make any money with it? Ashley admits she was spending all of her time working on the blog and decided to try her hand at making some money with it. She began to put ads on her blog and with a few key interviews with major news organizations, her readership skyrocketed and she started to see some positive cash flow. Ashley had developed a strong business mind when it came to managing her blog.

Ashley recommends using a self-hosted blog, meaning make sure you set up your own website with your own domain name because eventually you will be able to post your own ads on your blog page.

One of her favorite article’s was when she was working with the New York Post for a character on Teen Mom and it was picked up by outlets all over the country and it started the storm and because of the story it forced MTV to comment on the future of the show.  Ashley thought it was interesting to show how one story can have such a strong impact on our world.

She enjoys having reality TV stars contact her to post articles on their lives and how these people feel connected to these reality stars. And she’s able to help people to connect with others who they’ve found value in.  Ashley says in order to run a good blog, you have to be very consistent because people lose interest fast and so many other people are doing blog-writing now-a-days.  “Always be  prepared to work.”   Always be willing to ask for help and always give help when you’re asked.

When becoming a blog writer, it’s important to make a distinction for you blog.  Whether your blog is a for-fun blog or a for-profit blog because the strategy is entirely different.  A for-fun blog is a blog where you’re writing just for your own pleasure and a for-profit blog is a blog where your build readership and create things to sell.  Sometimes people post ads and in some cases they are trying to sell a product.

One of the biggest mistakes Ashley has made is being to brutal to some of the reality TV stars she’s written blogs about and she’s learned from her mistakes by being more light-hearted in her writing and does not resort to attacking a person’s character.  Her recent goals are to expand her writing to include more reality television.  All of these people say they are looking for love, but really they are looking for fame.  Ashley says the best reality TV show to watch now is the Bachelor.

Ashley believes that success is doing something you love to do every single day and that other people care about it.  She thought that if she could have picked any career this is what she would want to be able to do.  Success means you’re happy and Ashley is definitely happy.

To follow up with Ashley, go to www.theashleysrealityroundup.com or www.twitter.com/theashleysrr

Engaging Discussion Questions:

  • If you could write a blog on any topic, what topic would you choose?

Links to Great Stuff:

  • The Ashley’s Reality Roundup – I apologize for the mistake in the podcast where I said the name of the website wrong, but for those of you interested in following up with Ashley Majeski or learning more about reality TV shows like the Bachelor and Teen Mom, please visit www.theashleysrealityroundup.com
  • Welborn Media

Success Quotes:

“Always be prepared to work.” – Ashley Majeski

Special Requests:

 

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Episode 1 – An Introduction to the Defining Success Podcast by Zeb Welborn

Welcome to the Defining Success Podcast with Zeb Welborn. The Defining Success Podcast will be an interview style podcast, but for this episode, learn about Zeb Welborn, the man behind the podcast.

Recap:

This is the introductory episode for The Defining Success Podcast with Zeb Welborn.  My goal with the introductory podcast was to introduce myself to future listeners. . . (aka YOU!)

In 2007, I thought I had become a success.  I achieved everything I wanted to when I was younger, I found a career, got married and bought my first house.  Just two years later I found myself divorced, jobless and living at my parents.

After some time, I found a job tutoring one student in Norco, CA.  I found tutoring to be so fulfilling that I decided to make a business out of it, while at the same time my sister, Lacey was learning to design websites.  She helped design the website for The Tutoring Solution and we never looked back.

Tutoring to me became very fulfilling as I was charged with helping to motivate students who seemed to lack motivation.  In the process of helping students achieve their goals, I became much more aware of my own belief systems and began changing my habits which helped me become more and more successful.

A year after starting the tutoring business, Lacey and I started a new business venture, Welborn Social Media.  An interesting fact, the mother of Nick, the first parent who hired me for tutoring was also the owner of Scrapbook Expo who became our first client.

Lacey and I loved working with business owners, because business owners were some of the most passionate people I have come across . . . and even more so with successful business owners.

It has become my mission to help business owners become successful because I’ve found that business owners are, more often than not, passionate individuals.  They are passionate because they feel they are providing a valuable service to others.  This passion and service to others has made them happier as a result.

As a student, I performed adequately in school.  Mostly A’s and B’s with a few C’s thrown in for good measure, but I mostly just floated through life with no clear direction or purpose.  Becoming a business owner has helped me develop a clearly defined purpose and I am happier as a result.

I want to share that happiness with others.  I want to encourage people who are passionate about something to pursue their dreams.  The road will not be easy, but if it is something you truly desire than nothing can stop you but yourself.

Thank you for listening to the Defining Success Podcast with Zeb Welborn.  If you are passionate, and excited about what you do, please let me know how I can help you.

Engaging Discussion Questions:

  • Define Success . . . Are You Successful?  Why or Why Not?
  • How Are You Sabotaging Your Success?

Links to Great Stuff:

  • The Tutoring Solution – A Fond Farewell from Zeb Welborn – Zeb Welborn passes the reigns of The Tutoring Solution into the very capable hands of Cynthia De La Torre
  • Welborn Media – The Story of Welborn Social Media – The first blog post of Welborn Social Media
  • Scrapbook Expo – Welcome Scrapbookers! – Because of our strong relationship with Scrapbook Expo we’ve been able to work with numerous local and national scrapbooking companies.
  • Mike Jiminez – If you’d like more information on podcasting or podcasting equipment, Mike Jiminez is an excellent resource.  You can email him at slightreturn@gmail.com

Quote of the Episode:

“Looking forward to better things to come.”

Special Requests:

  • Please download, review and subscribe to the Defining Success Podcast on iTunes.
  • Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
  • If you are a business owner who wants to unleash the power of the Internet please visit the Welborn Media website.
  • Sign Up for the Defining Success Podcast Newsletter to keep you updated on new episodes, upcoming guests and exciting opportunities.

Special Thank You’s:

  • Mike Jiminez – Thank you for conducting our podcasts and for getting us started.  We’re excited to be working with you for the duration of the podcast.
  • Richard McKinnon – Thank you for adding the intro music to our podcasts.  Thanks for using our services at Welborn Media for your acoustic ceiling removal business, System 1.  And thanks for being a great friend.
  • Brian Roberts – Thank you for the amazing introductory skills you’ve lended to the Defining Success Podcast if anyone out there needs voice work for anything I encourage you to contact Brain.  Brian is also the owner of In-Store Radio which creates a customized radio station for any retail shopping environment.  Please visit In-Store Radio for more information about Brian Roberts.
  • Jennifer Davis – Thank you for hiring me to tutor you son and for hiring my sister and I to jump start our businesses.  Thank you for your guidance and support.  And thank you for being a great friend.
  • Nick Cianflocco – Thank you for the work you put into becoming a better person.  Thank you for giving me the opportunity to work with you.  And thank you for teaching me as much, or more than I taught you.
  • Cindy De La Torre – Thank you for being the most amazing woman a guy could ask for.
  • Lacey Welborn – Thank you for being awesome!
  • Rocky Welborn – Thank you for being a good brother.
  • Annie & Larry Welborn (aka Mom & Dad) – Thank you for being there for your oldest son when he needed you most.
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