Meet Ashley Verma Founder Of Bizzimumzi

Meet Ashley Verma Founder Of Bizzimumzi. Hello everyone, I hope you are well. In today’s post, I would like you to meet Ashley Verma, Founder of Bizzimumzi. The Bizzimumzi website is an online community sharing the wild world of parenting. The Bizzimumzi Podcast is your weekly dose of parenting ups and downs. Every Wednesday Ashley Verma is joined in conversation by fellow striving, thriving and surviving Bizzimumzis. Ashley is joined from parents globally sharing their perspectives and how they juggle it all.

Meet Ashley Verma Founder Of Bizzimumzi

Hello Ashley, It Is A Pleasure To Interview You. Tell Me Something Important About Yourself.

Hi! My name is Ashley Verma, I am the self- proclaimed coffee-infused podcast host and Mom to my darling baby girl, Adiya. I was born and raised in Moundsville, West Virginia (USA). I began a professional Broadway career at just 19, performing on Broadway and around the globe with shows such as “Footloose”, “Cats”, “Chicago”, “The Producers”, “Pippin”, “Follies”, “A Chorus Line” and “Gigi”. It was while performing that my fitness career began in New York City, when I found myself teaching sold-out classes and personal training the elite.

When I jumped the pond with my British husband, I went on to launch my first fitness business, Define London. Define London is a multi-faceted fitness platform redefining the way we achieve ultimate body confidence. Assisting you to become a stronger, leaner version of yourself. A Powerhouse within the field of barre, Define London’s workouts are designed to empower a stronger, leaner and more inspired YOU. My fitness was thriving pre-covid and I was very lucky to be the go-to personal trainer for celebrities like Jourdan Dunn, Pippa Middleton, Lorena Rae, Lisa Snowden – who are all just fab!

What Inspired You To Start Bizzimumzi?

Everyone experienced the quick slap of reality when the global pandemic shook us. For me, I found my Define London bricks and mortar business closing down but swiftly pivoting to virtual, after I had just given birth to my daughter, Adiya. Like everyone, I was trying to keep my business alive as well as desperately trying to navigate being a first time Mom with postpartum depression.

As a new mom, the strong sense of loneliness, the constant self-doubting and, well, trying to “identify” yourself again in this new post baby body was emotionally crippling.  I was overwhelmed and found it a great struggle at times. I began to combat my postpartum depression by sharing Mommy and Me workouts and blogging adventures with my extremely sassy baby girl on the Bizzimumzi Youtube channel. Honestly, I had the best time filling our lockdown days filming.

My husband and I were celebrating my daughter’s first birthday in a lockdown, when we received the news that we would be expecting baby number 2. Of course, there is the panic of 2 under 2 but we were ready for the next challenge. Well things took on a greater challenge at 12 weeks when we received news that I miscarried and would have to forego a D&C.

Motherhood, parenting… It’s bananas!

One day it’s shiny and the next day it slaps you silly. I again found myself spiraling, depressed with the miscarriage news. My husband had to be away and I was doing my best to be the best for Adiya while I was grieving the loss of my child. There is no baby book for this. It’s life!

Once I was finding my mojo again, I was encouraged by a friend to start a podcast to speak up about all the ups, downs and all-arounds of parenting. I immersed myself in the challenge and absolutely fell in love with the opportunity to speak with parents from around the globe.

My inspiration to build Bizzimumzi was firstly my daughter and secondly based around this glorious opportunity to learn and grow from other Bizzimumzis across the globe. I am a very luck Bizzimumzi.

Why Should Visit The Bizzimumzi? What Is Your Favourite Thing About The Website?

I love the podcast and I love the Bizzi Chatter Blog. These two spaces are shared with fellow striving, thriving and surviving Bizzimumzi’s. We are not shiny, perfect nor unapologetic with our parenting. We all make it happen, we make mistakes and that is inspiring! When I feel like absolute rubbish, I listen to an old episode. Instantly it switches my mood and gives me better perspective on my day. Same with the Bizzi Chatter blog. No-one is perfect! Yes, an Instagram square may be perfect… but day-to-day it’s not. The Bizzi Chatter section again is real, authentic and a safe place to truly share parenting experience.

What Does The Future Hold For Bizzimumzi?

I like to feel and believe that the future is super bright for Bizzimumzi. I love this process and I’m grateful for the journey. My goal is to grow the Bizzimumzi community and expand to Bizzimumzi products like apparel, food and beverage. We shall see. I’m a huge dreamer and have that NYC hustle always pumping through my veins.

How Do You Stay Motivated In Your Business?

I have always been a firm believer in doing what you love, and loving what you do. The minute it becomes a chore and a thorn in your day, that is when you should stop. I personally have had some very low days in business but never have I ever wanted to pack it up and quit. I have a huge passion for what I do and I feel very lucky to be able to work on Bizzimumzi daily.

What Challenges Do You Face The Most?

Balance! I struggle balancing my work schedule and being a present Mom. I personal train clients virtually 6 days a week, I am working so hard at building Bizzimumzi and I want to be the most present Mom to Adiya… finding the balance is bananas! And I wish I had a louder voice to ask for more help. As a kid, my brother and I were passed around like a football from one family member to the next. My mom was a stay-at-home mom and that was a lot. That is a job! We always had family around helping. I don’t have that huge support living in another country. My in-laws are wonderful but they both work full-time and travel. For me, finding the right balance for it all is my greatest challenge. But please don’t be fooled. I am not complaining… I love a challenge!

How Do You Handle The Challenges Along With Family Life?

Family challenges will always ebb and flow. It’s life. My husband and I have been working hard at better communication. Especially as he is away traveling for work constantly. I am very close with to my Mom. Even though there is a huge pond between us, she is simply a phone call away. Just hearing her voice can be enough for me at times to help calm and solve issues. That mother-daughter bond has been going strong for us for 41 years and I don’t see that fading anytime soon. It’s the type of bond I can only hope I have with my daughter.

What Do You Do For Self-Care?

Ha! When I figure out how to self-care, I will get back to you!

I can confess I’m very good at giving the advice on this but very bad at actually taking it. Switching off / slowing down has never been a part of me. Even as a kid, I was very driven and, as they say, had my “eye on the prize”.

I love a wine, cheese and Netflix night. That is a fab self-care evening for me. I love long walks. Being out and about taking in fresh air is always a part of my day so I guess I am doing some self-care daily without even knowing it. I will never say no to a deep-tissue massage. Sign me up for that any day of the week.

I know at the end of the day, little self-care moments can and will enhance your mood and simply make you feel better. As a Mom, trying to be at my best for my daughter is top priority so I know I need to treat myself with love.

What Does Leadership And Success Mean To You?

I try to be the best leader I can be for both Define London and Bizzimumzi. I am not shiny and perfect… Simply giving my best each day.

As far as success goes, I was born and raised in a very competitive field, dance. I am grateful for my training and what I learned through all my years dancing and performing on Broadway but I now have a new perspective and approach to what success is.

My main success is my daughter and her health and happiness. Sound silly? Absolutely not. She is the heartbeat of what I do. She is the strength and reasoning behind it all. With that drive and the passion I know the success of Bizzimumzi is going to be next level.

I Am Sure Some Aspiring Entrepreneurs Are Reading This. What Advice Would You Give Them?

Go for it! Stop doubting and simply do.

I am diving into another business with Bizzimumzi and its a field very saturated with a million and one influential Moms and Dads with huge Instagram accounts. Does that scare me? NO! It inspires me to go further. I have a voice and a purpose. It’s important to find that confidence and let it shine. Don’t let the outside noise tell you, you can’t. You absolutely can.

Can You Advise The Audience On How To Support Each Other During The Global Pandemic?

In life and in general… Show up for your people. If there is one thing we have learned from the pandemic is that life can be taken from you in a blink of an eye. Reach out to friends, family and Be Present. You have no idea what you can learn and attain by just simply being present for that person.

Last But Not Least, Do You Have Any Questions For Me?

Thanks so much for allowing me to share my journey! xx

Thank you Ashley

A huge shout out to Ashley Verma for taking time to do this interview with me. I wish her unlimited success on her journey.

I hope you enjoyed that.

Talk soon.

You can follow Ashley on here:

Website: Bizzimumzi

Instagram: @Bizzimumzi

Facebook: Ashley Verma

YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCst5I0-1vfvfxKSJzbskEcA

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashley-verma-475a667/?originalSubdomain=uk