Recent Positively West Virginia guest, Ashton Critchley, uses her skills and background to bring new life to Fayette County, West Virginia. Instead of working for someone else, the pandemic inspired Ashton to go out and find her own entrepreneurial journey.
Ashton’s new journey has led her to purchase a long-loved business in Oak Hill known as Bessie’s Floral Designs and the Wolverstone Development Company. The floral shop was a new endeavor to help keep a local business around and expand it to offer more event planning services to the community. Similar to the floral shop, the new development company is being created to help bring in and keep people in the Fayetteville area.
Ashton has spent almost 15 years in the hospitality and tourism industry and loves combining this background with her newfound degree in communications. While Ashton is making some significant changes, she’s actually been in the area for quite some time. She says that growing up in the region has given her a unique look into what the area really needs and what it has to offer. She enjoys helping grow the place that she has called home for so long.
While things are looking good, the growth has been slow. Ashton said that transitioning ownership of such a long-standing business has been a tricky balance. Still, she’s ready to start facilitating the growth she knows is necessary to keep going. The development company has proposed its own set of challenges but is overall a smoother venture so far.
Ashton is far from finished with these two fantastic projects but is excited for the challenges they are both presenting in her life. With time and persistence, Ashton hopes to turn her home into a place where people can stay and grow for longer without having to worry about housing or opportunity. The way things are going now, it looks like she’s setting herself and her community up for success.
If you want to learn more about Bessie’s Floral Designs, check out their website here: https://bessiesfloraldesignsinc.com/
Listen to Ashton’s full podcast episode here: https://positivelywv.com/podcast/episode-172-ashton-critchley-bessies-floral-designs/
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- RECOMMENDED RESOURCE: Losing My Virginity by Richard Branson
- PIECE OF ADVICE: “Get connected; reach out to your network and the local state agencies that promote these types of programs,” advised Ashton.