Implementing CEO Days To Go From Chaos To Clarity with Ashley Kang | Episode 4

Purpose & Progress – Episode 4: Ashley Kang

Ashlee Sang  

Welcome to the Purpose & Progress podcast where values spark action. I’m your host, Ashlee Sang—a values aligned brand messaging strategist and consultant, wife & mama, thrifter, and traveler. And this is a podcast for women who want to lift up, learn from and work with each other as you build a business that feels and does good. 

All your passion, expertise, and ambition combine into the unique way you show up and stand out. So, let’s celebrate our paths for purpose and progress. Come for the anecdotes and advice. Leave with the motivation to take competent meaningful action toward your vision.

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Ashlee Sang  

Hello, hello! and welcome back to the Purpose & Progress Podcast. I am so excited to chat with CEO Day Coach Ashley Kang of AHK Business Management. Yes, our names rhyme. And yes, we love that. And I met Ashley through the Done in a Day Conference last year, I think. And she has cultivated this amazing community around her and her business and the community absolutely comes up during the episode. 

And when I think of Ashley, I think of values alignment, but in a really, really practical way. She’s also the queen of not only CEO days, but analogies so those shine through in the episode. And I absolutely encourage you to A) check out her reels on Instagram because they’re so fun and they make something like systems and planning and what the heck is a CEO day really, really fun and approachable. And then I highly recommend that you opt-in to her Becoming the CEO weekly email series. This covers everything from CEO days to mindset and time management and business strategy and the works. 

And then be sure to come back next week because we’ll be continuing this theme of clarity with imagining your dream work life. It’s going to be good. So now let’s dive into the interview with Ashley Kang.

[Interview]

Ashlee Sang  

Ashley, I’m so excited to have you here. Thank you so much for joining. 

Ashley Kang  

I’m very excited to be here and be part of this. 

Ashlee Sang 

Yeah, it’s always good. It’s always a good time when we get together to chat. So I would love for people to know the human behind the brand. Can you please share with us your personality type from any framework, or from any TV show, which I know is also something that comes up often with you?

Ashley Kang

Oh, my goodness. Now that you’re opening that up for me. On paper, I am an ISFJ on Myers Briggs, so that’s the defender. Or I’m an Enneagram one, wing two. So apparently, that’s like a mix of the reformer and the advocate. 

But for people who don’t really follow any of those personality tests, I’m basically that fun mix of Kate Sharma from Bridgerton, Captain America, and Hermione Granger. And I like to say, like a dash of like, Schmidt and Nick from New Girl in there, because I’m a little quirky. But I think that’s me in a nutshell.

Ashlee Sang

I feel like it is. I really feel like it is. So thank you for that. I think that really paints a picture for people. 

So on a slightly more serious note, I would love to know what’s your current trajectory in your business? I know it’s changed a lot since you started. So what’s your current trajectory? What’s your vision for your life? For your business? In general?

Ashley Kang 

Yeah, well, I’ve been in that kind of contemplative, reflective, vision-casting mindset a lot lately. I just turned 30. And so I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about for my life, and for my business, what that will look like. Yeah my business trajectory, right now, is to really build upon the platform of CEO days. 

And for context, I started in the online business world as an OBM. And that was great, but also realized very quickly, that was not where my passion and my energy was, and you know, some soul searching and trial and error later here I am – CEO Day lady. Because I’m really passionate about people being able to have the space and the time to reinvest in other things, not just their business, like to go do other things with their life. 

So for me, my vision for my business is really to continue building on that momentum. And I would love to be able to hit the six-figure business mark without, like, constantly hustling and continuing to work the four-day week that I do right now. I don’t really know what that offer suite looks like. I’m in that process of still building mine out. But for my business, that’s, it’s how can I grow and scale while still maintaining the life rhythms I have now. I guess this may be the best way to put it. 

Ashlee Sang   

Yeah, and I think you leading by example is so, so powerful, the fact that you stick to a four-week or a four-day workweek, and you are doing childcare for a friend of yours on Fridays. That’s so special and not everyone has that level of commitment to anything really. And then you share content around your own day in the life and you share content around your own CEO day. 

If you do not follow Ashley already I highly recommend you to her reels are always on point. And her emails are really really focused on the CEO day principle but they just run the gamut. Like there was a Sound of Music one. They’re all the things! Ashley is able to bring back to the CEO day and this idea of balance but on your own terms. So I really really appreciate that you are able to talk about something so niche and specific and position yourself in such a clear way. But then ideate to infinity from there. Yeah, I think that’s so special.

Ashley Kang   

Well, and that’s and that’s the reason why I love CEO days. And you know, there’s, you know, the initial layer of what you can learn about a CEO day and how to use it. And then once you start diving deeper, it really can go from there and that’s what I love about it. And yeah, it’s really, I really appreciate the freedom and the flexibility it has given me to spend time with my bonus niece, and in turn, spending time with a two-year-old for a whole day, you know. 

She looks at the world very differently, and she’s discovering the world. And that in turn is like such a, like a balm for my soul too and even though it’s like physically exhausting, as you know, being a mom. Just as a bonus auntie, it’s exhausting. But then it reinvigorates me to come back to my business on the following week. So it’s like this beautiful circle of life and energy. And I want other people to be able to experience that.

Ashlee Sang     

Yeah, yeah. I really, really appreciate that. And yes, I totally understand being both reinvigorated and absolutely exhausted by a tiny, tiny child. So I feel you’re there. 

So I would love to know, what was the one decision or experience that changed the trajectory of your life?

Ashley Kang 

Life not business, right?

Ashlee Sang  

Either both. They’re the same, right? They’re one in the same. 

Ashley Kang 

Yeah.

Ashlee Sang

Or they’re completely separate. However you view that.

Ashley Kang  

So I think for life, generally, this was like pre-joining the online business world pre-entrepreneurship for me. I worked at the community college system for the city of Chicago for several years. And that was the job that I had when the pandemic started. But working there, working in city colleges, I learned so much about myself, about management, about organizational leadership, equity, social equity issues, socio-economic issues, because Chicago, hello, racial issues. 

And it just pulled on every single string for me and I developed a lot of tangible skills, but just a lot of good life exposure, life lessons. And that actually, ultimately did push me into the online business world where I am today. So like, but since joining the online business world, I think the big thing was joining the Done in a Day program by Systems Saved Me. And the program looks different today than it did you know a year ago when I was in it, but that really just revolutionized how I operate as a business owner. 

And the big, big thing was, I have built a really wonderful business community because of that program. So it’s been, you know, I feel like, it’s been like my mid to late 20s, where just a lot of things started falling into place. And being part of different organizations or different groups has really revolutionized how I do business and how I do life.

Ashlee Sang  

Yeah, and it’s amazing how it’s finding that one community or it’s finding that one change in worldview, or whatever, or even that one intro, right, that can just unlock all your next steps, or suddenly unleash that vision that was in the very back of your mind. And yeah, I mean, that’s how we met each other too right, is through that. 

Ashley Kang  

Yeah.

Ashlee Sang

I didn’t do the Done in Day program but we met through that community and I now know so many wonderful people, because you’re so great at introductions, you’re so great at creating community. But then also, being in and around like-minded business owners, you meet more of those people, too, right? 

Ashley Kang  

Yep.

Ashlee Sang

That’s the value of knowing your values. That’s the value of knowing how you want to move through the world. And yeah, so I’m so glad you mentioned that program and that community.

Ashley Kang 

Yeah. It’s a huge piece of who I am as a business owner today.

Ashlee Sang 

Yeah, so along those lines, what are some of your guiding values that you live out in your business?

Ashley Kang

I think the big overarching one for me is something that, like maybe is not an outwardly thing that I paste all over the place. But for me, it’s family and life come first. You are not your business. Like your business is a big part, but it’s not your end all, be all and shouldn’t be. Which is why like, even though like yeah, I miss out on a full regular work day to be with my bonus niece. 

But taking that day off makes me a better business owner. If a family emergency happens or if, at the drop of a hat, I need to be somewhere else and not at my desk. I can do that and I should do that. So I want to serve my clients with excellence but really it’s the family and like life comes before the business. But that also makes me a better business owner, weirdly enough. And that kind of pulls me into like my second kind of general overarching value is service and communication. 

Because in order to have that flexibility, in order to run my business the way that I want to, and take the time that I want to, I have to think about servicing clients in a way that is sustainable for me, good for them, communicate with people, both in my personal life and my business life. And those are just things that, I’m pretty good at those generally speaking, but I like to be very intentional about it. 

So just because it’s a, maybe a gifting or a talent that I have, I still want to be intentional with it. And whether that’s like an auto-responder on my email inbox on Fridays, when I’m out of the office. Whether that’s, you know, I say that I’m going to send something to a client within 24 hours, I tried to get it to them a little sooner, things like that. But those are the big things. I’m sure there’s a bunch of smaller values and pieces but those are like my three big umbrella spokes, I guess.

Ashlee Sang  

Yeah and what’s really cool is you have this system, operations background and mindset and skill set and you’re not afraid to lean into those values. I know we have a shared client and through my values-aligned Brand Messaging VIP Day, you were able to take those values and literally map them out into a CEO day and into an entire system around how can you run your business more smoothly, more values aligned in a way that feels better. 

So I really, really love that. You’re part of this month of clarity, right? The theme is clarity. And I think you are so skilled at finding the clarity in some of these sort of nebulous concepts that values could be, right? So communication, right, like, what does that even mean? All right, well, let me break that down for you. All right, I have an autoresponder. I say 24 hours and it’s always sooner than that. Like, those are very concrete, clear ways that values show up. So I love that that is one element that you’re bringing to the world.

Ashley Kang

I’m always, you know, we’ve had this conversation, Ashlee, before, of you love a lot of the visionary components and like creative thinking, and I’m more like, “Okay, give that to me,” I’m like, “Let’s go make a plan. Let’s go.” Like, what’s the practical application? And I think in the entrepreneurship world, there are, you’re either like, there’s a scale of really creative people and then like, there’s the implementers of the world. 

And the really creative people will hire the implementers to execute on their vision And then implementers will hire the creatives to help kind of create a bigger story and tie things together. And I like to think I’m kinda, I live, I exist in the middle space somewhere. Which means I’m not super, super good at one or the other thing, but you have to be able to straddle it in order to, I think, have a really well, like, you need to have both pieces. 

So for people who can’t, or are camped out in the middle, it’s like a blessing and a curse. But again, it’s all about how do you take that vision that you have, and then apply it and make it a reality? And what are the systems and operational things you can do to support your vision? And make it come alive? Because that’s the reason why we all started our businesses, right? Because we had that dream, we had that idea you’re putting into practice, but how can you make it even better than, and then it’s just like this beautiful cycle? 

Ashlee Sang  

Exactly. Yeah, taking those pie-in-the-sky ideas, letting yourself imagine letting yourself dream a little. But then, I always say a strategy is only as good as it is implemented, right? Because if you only sit and dream, then nothing’s ever going to get done. 

Ashley Kang

Exactly.

Ashlee Sang  

If you only live in the weeds and only live in “Alright, I just checked off this task,” but you don’t have any sort of context for what that task is building toward. 

Ashley Kang 

Right. 

Ashlee Sang 

And you’re just churning out things on the hamster wheel for no reason. Right? 

Ashley Kang

Exactly, exactly.

Ashlee Sang

So it really is that in between. Whether you learn those skills, whether you hire people on each side or anything in between, it really is both those elements. 

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Ashlee Sang  

Hi, Ashlee here. I’m coming in quickly to remind you that if you want a business that feels and does good, aligning your values is the most important step. It’s how you show up consistently, how you stand out, and how you connect with clients and partners on a human level. Whether you need brand messaging strategy, ongoing consulting or anything in between. I’m here for the empathetic accountability you need to take confident meaningful action toward your vision. Reach out at podcast@ashleesang.com to chat more. Now, back to the interview.

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Ashlee Sang 

That leads me to my next question, which is, how have your values sparked action in your business? We sort of covered it but anything specific that comes to mind when you think of values sparking action in your business.

Ashley Kang  

Yeah, something that I really value, you know, along the lines of communication and like family and life, well, let me put it this way. Because I value family and life but also still serving with excellence, that’s really where I latched on to the idea of CEO days. Because I’d been practicing one before it became my main offer. But as I was really leaning into that, and listening to my clients and other colleagues talk about the challenges that came with it, of trying to find that like life and business balance, I was like, “Well, CEO days have really helped me, let’s really hone in on that.” 

So that value, my personal values, then basically pushed me to creating what is now my main shtick, as you would call it, of CEO days. But then on another aspect, another value that I have, that I really should have mentioned earlier, is community. And I’m really passionate about it. I know some really, really amazing people in this online space. 

And so one of those things that has sparked action for me was now I co-host, a weekly mastermind with my friend Colie James. And it’s just us and eight other women in the online business space. And we come together, we ask questions, we discuss different topics, we support each other, and it’s been so good. So my values kind of turned into something, whether it’s an offer, or it’s a mastermind, or what have you.

Ashlee Sang

Yeah, yeah. Those are really good examples. So, along those lines, you’ve talked about your journey getting here, and how there’s still so much ahead of you. What’s one of the biggest lessons you’ve learned as an entrepreneur?

Ashley Kang 

It’s kind of like a two-pronged thing. The big one, like the kind of the main idea here is, you just have to try things, and it can be scrappy, it definitely does not need to be perfect. Like you just need to go. Don’t overthink it. Get out of your own head. Which for me, back to my personality types, is very hard sometimes. You know, there’s a reason why Hermione is not the main character in Harry Potter. And there’s a reason why Harry doesn’t survive without Hermione and Ron. You need those other people in your life that balance you out. So you don’t overthink and you don’t stay in your head. 

So it kind of brings me to my second point of community is key. I have a couple people in my corner who are constantly telling me, “Ashley, just try it. Just go do. Make a decision, run with it. If you fail, take the data, pivot, go try again.” So I think the biggest lesson is like, do that trying. Do it scrappy. Don’t overthink it. And then also have the people who are going to like speak that truth to you, and pull you out of your head. Because entrepreneurship is both exciting and also if you don’t have a community around you, it can be very isolating. So it’s a two-pronged answer, I guess.

Ashlee Sang 

Yeah. Okay. So many thoughts. First, you are the second guest in a row to reference Harry Potter. So, love that for this show. Second, this idea of having people in your corner and having that outside perspective is so important. 

Ashley Kang

Yes.

Ashlee Sang  

Because we do get stuck in our heads, we are so close to this. We have so much invested in this and in our identity, for better or worse, right? And also in our livelihood and in our passion for what it is that we’re building. So to have, I like to call it “empathetic accountability.” To have that available to you in whatever capacity is. Whether it is a free Facebook group, whether it is a mastermind that you’ve very intentionally formed, whether you hire a consultant or a coach, or however you find it in business or in life. Having that outside perspective, to cheer you on when you need it, to ask the tough questions when you need it, and everything in between is so so valuable. So I’m really glad you mentioned that. 

Ashley Kang  

Yeah. 

Ashlee Sang 

So what advice do you have for people who want to take confident, meaningful action?

Ashley Kang

I think I’m going to have a theme going here, so we’ll just stick with it. When you have that idea then you need to like, actually make a plan. Because the people who run headlong without a plan, you can still accomplish a lot of great things, it might just take you longer. 

And even if like, you know, again, we’ll reference Harry Potter, there’s a great little bit at the last movie and Harry saying “We gotta go, we gotta go to Hogwarts,” and Hermione is like, “We can’t go, we don’t have a plan.” And the Harry’s like, “When have any of our plans ever worked? We plan, we get there, all hell breaks loose.” And I’m like, yes. But having a plan gives you some sort of framework. And even if that plan, like, blows up in your face, you have something to go back and be like, “Okay, what worked? What didn’t work? How can I tweak this maybe?” 

So like, you’re not starting from scratch. So when you have that idea, even if it’s not like a fully beautiful 10-step plan, have something, have something to be able to compare to, to work off of, and hopefully like springboard you. And something for you to stay accountable to. You can change it all you want, you can be flexible, but you should have something. And then like, added to that is have that accountability buddy who will make sure you’re, you know, making progress. And I would also be remiss to say like, you should also have a CEO day. Because that’s your self-accountability for yourself. 

Ashlee Sang

Yeah.

Ashley Kang

Have the plan, yeah, have the plan, have an accountability buddy, and then be accountable to yourself with the CEO day.

Ashlee Sang

Yeah, and I know that your CEO day is all about templatizing it but remaining flexible and doing what you need and want in that day. And I know you have a framework specifically for your CEO day. And so that is a perfect segue into that advice you just gave. 

And that’s exactly how I view brand messaging strategy. And that’s why when I create a brand messaging guide, it’s a living breathing document, right? Like, right, yes, it is your roadmap. Yes, it does map out your mission and your values and your audience. But all of those are subject to change as long as it’s intentional. 

Ashley Kang 

Right.

Ashlee Sang 

As long as it’s based on progress that you’re making, feedback that you’re getting. As long as you have this base to work from, you’re so much better off than if you’re just floating through the air. “What should I post today? What conference should I attend today? How should I have a conversation with this teammate?” If you have frameworks like a CEO day, like a Values Aligned Brand Messaging Strategy, like a workflow for your client onboarding. Like all these things, you are so much better off and so much more equipped to take that confident, meaningful action.

Ashley Kang

Right, and the longer you go, I mean, I use this other analogy of when you go bowling, right? A really good bowler, they don’t need the kiddie bumpers, right? They can just throw that bowling ball down and it goes down and like you get a strike every single time. But if you, they can still bowl on the same lane that like a kid is bowling on with the bumpers. Because they don’t need it, but it is like just in case. 

Or like people who are like meh at bowling like me, I can throw it down and it will still hit some of the pins. But it’s nice to know that there are the bumpers when I bowl because I’m like at least I won’t hit the gutter. So it’s the same idea. Like when you have plans, when you have this framework, when you have a process, systems. Like they’re there for when you really need them or, you know when your energy is crap, or things are just all happening at once. It’s good to have them there. 

But there’s some seasons when you don’t need them because you’ve perfected the art, right? 

Ashlee Sang

Yeah.

Ashley Kang

You’re still able to hit, but even if you are not having a good day, because you have the framework there, you’re still gonna hit some pins. You might not hit all of them. 

Ashlee Sang

Yeah, okay, well, first of all, that is why this podcast is called Purpose and Progress because it’s all about those little steps. It’s not about the strike every time. It’s about, “Alright, how close can we get?” Second of all, you are the queen of analogies. You’re the queen of CEO days, but that was such a golden analogy. So thank you for that. 

And then third of all that’s just so random because I was literally saying to my husband like yesterday, “We should go bowling,” and it’s been ages since we have bowled so thank you for continuing the bowling train in my life.

Ashley Kang

My pleasure. My pleasure. That’s what I’m here for.

Ashlee Sang

Alright, so I would love to know, what is a message that matters to you?

Ashley Kang

I’m just laughing here because again, I feel like I’m a broken record. So for those of you listening, this is not gonna come as a surprise, but really like, the value of like your community is everything. And like surround yourself with the right people because they are the people who are going to speak truth back at you. 

They’re gonna pull you out of your own brain, and maybe sometimes deliver the truth in a hard, but good way. They are your cheerleaders. They are the people, we’re going to pump you up, they’re going to be your champions, they’re going to talk about you, they’re going to connect you, celebrate with you. And I don’t know if that’s necessarily like a message, but it’s more of a value that I’m, like, you really need community. But you can’t put a price tag on those people and those relationships. And yeah, I mean, again, broken record here, but true.

Ashlee Sang

No, I absolutely think that is a message and a very powerful one at that. So thank you for sharing that. All right, well, now I’m sure people love everything that you’re laying down. So can you tell us how they can continue to connect with you?

Ashley Kang

Yeah, I mean, I think there’s the obvious, you know, come hang out with me on Instagram @AHKBusinessManagement. Like Ashlee said, I do reels and other fun things over there. I’m also on LinkedIn, trying to lean into that this year – Ashley H. Kang. And I also have my Becoming the CEO email series, Ashlee mentioned that earlier, but that is a smaller subset community that I’ve been nurturing and cultivating and really enjoying. So if you want to learn more about CEO days, and how do you just run a more sustainable, enjoyable business that is a great way to be connected. Because you’ll be hearing from me at least once a week and then you can always reply back. That’s always a great way to stay connected is that email community.

Ashlee Sang

Yeah, sustainable and enjoyable. Yes, please. More of that in our lives. Yes. All right. Well, thank you so, so much for sharing all your insight. And yeah, I really enjoyed this.

Ashley Kang

Thank you.

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Ashlee Sang  

Thanks so much for listening in. It’s a privilege to be in your ear and on your mind. This is the place where values spark action. So hopefully after today’s episode, you’re inspired to take confident, meaningful action toward your vision. If you want more rants, reflections, and resources straight to your inbox every Tuesday, head to AshleySang.com/Newsletter. It’s linked in the show notes and the description. And remember, your message matters. Thanks again, and I’ll catch you next week.