We had the good fortune of connecting with Hannah Ashton and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Hannah, what habits do you feel helped you succeed?
A pillar of Dream Daily products is habit building, so I am a huge fan of putting habits in place that make me feel my best. I start my morning with journaling in my brand’s Dreamer Journal. I fill the blank pages with gratitude, thoughts, or ideas. Lately, I’ve been using the practice of Morning Pages where you write constantly for three pages straight and brain dump whatever is on your mind.

The next habit in my day is walking outside and listening to a podcast. I always look forward to getting fresh air and exercise to help break up my day.

When it comes to planning my day, I use the strategy of time-blocking. Time-blocking allows me to make time for my healthy habits along with tackling the never-ending to-do list.

The last habit in my day is reading fiction before bed. This is a habit I started in college to help me wind down and calm my mind. Being immersed in a fictional story stops me from picking up my phone to mindlessly scroll and helps me unplug from the work day. If you are an entrepreneur who struggles to “turn your mind off work” when going to sleep, I highly recommend this habit!

 

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?
Dream Daily creates aesthetic and effective stationery tools for driven individuals. Our planners and journals are designed to help users improve their productivity while making time for healthy habits. I designed my first planner while in college because I couldn’t find a student planner that allowed me to manage not only school but also my social media career and personal development goals. I was also teaching other college students how to manage their time to succeed in college and knew there was a need for more resources for my Gen Z peers. However, I wanted the planners to not look like other stationery competitors. They are minimal, solid colors with linen hardcovers and gold foiling accents. Instead of offering dozens of colors and patterns, I am very particular about each new color and product launch.

Starting and running a business in college was challenging. I was putting all the money I made from social media into Dream Daily and had to divide my time between school, my social media career, Dream Daily, and still make time to see family and have a social life. I was very overwhelmed and leaned on my daily routines, habits, and Christian faith to help me feel less stressed. However, I believe my busy college years were worth it to be able to work for myself full-time upon graduating!

Now I look forward to building Dream Daily, expanding our product line, cultivating a positive workplace for future team members, and aiding other student entrepreneurs in their own journeys!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Nashville has so much to offer and I love giving friends itineraries that don’t include drinking! Here are a few of my favorite fun activities:

Packing a picnic for Centennial Park
Coffee Shop Hopping on 12 South
Nightlight 615 Outdoor Movie Nights
The Franklin Factory Saturday Farmer’s Market
Going to a Nashville Sounds Baseball or NSC Soccer Game
Pouring your own candle at Paddywax
Ice Skating at Cenntennial Sports Plex
Renting a boat for a lake day on Percy Priest
Shopping local boutiques in Germantown

I am still finding my way through the Nashville food scene but here are some of my favorite local spots:

Adele’s
Burger Up
51st Deli
The Loading Dock
Lady Bird Taco
Redheaded Stranger

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I am shouting out Elizabeth Gortmaker who is the Executive Director of the Thomas F. Cone Sr. Center for Entrepreneurship at Belmont Unversity. I arrived at Belmont in 2018 eager to major in entrepreneurship. Even before meeting a business professor, I was introduced to Elizabeth who makes it her mission to aid all students in their entrepreneurial journeys. She organized events where we could meet emerging and successful business owners. I still brag about how I met Payal Kadakia the founder of ClassPass and Shiza Shadid the founder of Our Place at school. I am still a regular customer of the companies those women founded and their inspirational stories made me excited to expand my education. Elizabeth is a professional but also personable woman who always made me feel welcome in rooms with impressive entrepreneurs. I’m so thankful she was an integral part of my college experience.

Website: shopdreamdaily.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/misshannahashton/

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

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/missinnerbeauty2

Image Credits
Jessica Steddom

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutTennessee is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.