Hi everyone,
This week I want to introduce Ashley Klimek to the blog. Ashley joined my team about a month or so ago and has been doing a fantastic job behind the scenes assisting me with multiple tasks. As a small business owner, it's often very difficult to continuously keep up on everything on your own and I'm grateful Ashley has accepted this part time role as my "Executive Assistant." She's been a tremendous help and is a very driven, goal oriented individual who isn't afraid to think outside of the box, this also works well with my goofy eccentricities as a person and business owner. With that, heres Ashley's blog...
Introducing...ME!
Hello everyone, I'm Ashley Klimek, Executive Assistant at Drakulic Photography LLC. I'm very excited to be on the blog this week, and first and foremost would like to thank Bobby Drakulic for allowing me this opportunity to introduce myself to you...thanks Bobby!
Some of you may already know me as your friendly neighborhood bartender at Ski's and Nick's Lounge Inc., where you'll find me 3-4 days a week slinging cocktails and helping make memories. If you haven't been there, stop by sometime to visit me (it's like Cheers, but better!) When I found out that I'd be doing the blog this week, I couldn't help but brainstorm what sort of business related topics I could discuss with you ( I have a few, but we'll save them for future posts.) After much deliberation I decided I will just give you a little about my background and how I came to be here, working for a photographer.
Last month Bobby gave me the opportunity to branch out and try something new, to get out of my comfort zone, so to speak. I've spent the last 12 years in the service industry and while it's a job I really enjoy and am pretty darn good at it, I needed a new adventure and challenge. This challenge also had to fit around my other most important job, being a mother to my 2 beautifully awesome children. They are my heart and soul and the reason for my being. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't trade 12 episodes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse a day or playing "find the sippy cup" with my kids for anything in the world. However, I was missing something, something intellectually stimulating that I'd had in college 6+ years ago. I needed to dive back into the intellectual pool head first, no matter how daunting or scary it seemed at first.
So, this is what I've done. In spite of not having any prior professional experience in marketing, web design, or SEO marketing, these are some areas I've been focusing on trying to find new ways of helping Drakulic Photography maintain current business and grow to reach its fullest potential, and at the same time this helps me reach mine. As it turns out, I have a knack for this sort of thing. I believe in what I'm doing, I believe in the Arts, and photography is one of the most important artistic commodities we have available to us. A photograph, if properly taken, can tell us a story, show us the essence of a person, increase business sales, give us a glimpse into the history of a building, or help us to remember someone special. For most of us, I'm certain photographs have captured the most important milestones of our lives; births, vacations, family or big corporate events, weddings, and many other special moments in between. And to this end, Bobby Drakulic is exceptionally skilled at this. He has the talent, desire, education, and most importantly, the PASSION for his work. This allows him to always over deliver for every job or project he takes on. He truly loves what he does, and that is inspiring.
So this is me in a tiny nutshell. Someday very soon I will be returning to school to combine my passion for helping others and their business, and hopefully build a career out of what I love. In the meantime, I'm doing work that I'm proud of on all 3 fronts. I enjoy every single second watching my kids grow, and the rare date night with my wonderful fiancé, Josh. All in all, life is pretty good right now and I'm looking forward to whatever new excitement the future brings. Thanks for reading and I'm sure you will hear more from me soon.
Sincerely,
Ashley Klimek
Executive Assistant
Drakulic Photography LLC
