Meet Dr. Theresa Ashby | Stratologist, Podcast Host & Creator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dr. Theresa Ashby and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dr. Theresa, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I wanted to be of service to more companies and business owners. I spent the majority of my career working as an executive for corporations, where I led operations and multi-million dollar projects.

I desired to be of greater service to more business leaders during my tenure. As a leader, I focused on helping others be successful in their roles, drive business strategy and maintain fiscal accountability across departments. I knew the only way to expand my influence was to start my own consulting business.

Once I decided to start my consulting practice, I researched the market, evaluated my experience, and where investors were putting their money. A key to my decision was ensuring that no matter what consulting practice, 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.

As I began to pivot and study the current landscape and verified where investors were investing, I co-founded Kaleidoscope Media Services.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I love looking at new concepts and methods of doing business and figuring out how to overcome barriers to accomplish goals. Throughout my career, I have always been able to see an organization’s big picture and then put the operations into practice. Knowing this about me and wanting to help others, I have consulted leaders leveraging my strengths.

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 eLearning industry was going to explode. As scalability experts, we knew the eLearning industry would change how business gets done.
We wanted to position ourselves to meet the needs of entrepreneurs, speakers, coaches, and consultants. We then began a full-service agency.

Today, other course creators will teach you how to build an online course business where you have to create many eLearning courses. But rather than competing with other course creators, we have created a full-service agency—our agency focus on the growth of your business by adding digital products to your offerings. We focus on the business versus just the creation of a course. We will help develop and produce your online courses and training, plus show you how to use the online course for scalability and sustainability. In addition, we help our clients systematize and automate their business through our KMS Powered technology.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I am fortunate to live in Long Beach, California, where we have easy access to many beautiful activities. There is no dought one of the first activities would be to enjoy a warm afternoon Duffy boat ride through Alamitos Bay and the calm Naples Canals–eating from a charcuterie board and drinking our favorite libations–as we watch the sunset. For those who like speed, I could take them out on the ski boat in Marine Stadium or a jet ski ride from Long Beach to Seal Beach and back.

When not on the sea but land, we have to try several great restaurants–from the Steak House to Italian to California cuisine at the Bungalow.

I would have to entertain my guests by finding the perfect show at one of the many theaters. We could go to Los Angels to the historic Pantages Theater, the Segrestroom in Orange County, or stay local and go to the Terrace Theater. There is also always the option to go laugh it up at one of the many comedy clubs–we love a good laugh.

Some of my friends would like a visit to the Getty Museum in Los Angels, while others would like to spend the day at the Los Angeles County Museum. Others would want to go to San Diego and try their hand at the blackjack table at one of the casinos. I have friends who love hiking, so I would send them off to one of the many trails we have in Southern California. I don’t mind a good walk, but a hike isn’t my thing.

We would wrap the week up by having a small intimate dinner party at my house with other local close friends, where we would enjoy bantering and swapping life stories.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
The family has been a constant in my life! They make me laugh and encourage me to go after my dreams. The nieces and nephews see life with such fresh eyes that it reminds me not to let barriers get in the way of going after my dreams.

I love reading. I devour the content of a new book every week. It isn’t easy to pick a book that has shaped my life; however, I will share my top two.

“Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It” by Chris Voss, a former international hostage negotiator for the FBI. Chris Voss provides the tools needed to negotiate successfully. He explains that negotiations happen on an emotional level, not on a national level. Because I am one not to put fear or the scarcity tactic, his style of empathy is spot on when it comes to selling.

“Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action” is a book by Simon Sinek. His work shows that focusing on the WHY an organization exists is more important than the WHAT. He teaches people to lead through the WHY to help them be more innovative, influential, and profitable.

Website: www.Kaleidoscopemediaservices.com

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theresaashby/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theresa.ashby.980

Other: Podcast: Heart, Hustle, Humor: https://pod.link/hearthustlehumor

Image Credits
Starla Fortunato