Read time: 3.9 minutes
Welcome to Spotlight Hustle, my weekly newsletter, where I celebrate Black women making bold strides in life and business.
What’s Inside Today’s Newsletter:
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Free Ticket Alert → Claim your spot at the Top 100 Most Powerful Women Summit (yes, it’s free!)
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Feature Story → Ashley Aggrey’s journey: from Jerusalem to Ghana, from fashion retail to global mentorship
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Routines & Hustle → The rituals that keep Ashley productive and balanced
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Wisdom & Advice → Myths to bust, lessons for women in business, and what she’d tell her younger self
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Looking Ahead → Ashley’s bold vision for 2030 and beyond
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Rapid-Fire Round → Tea or coffee? Night owl or morning bird? Her mantra for this season
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Summit Spotlight → Why we can’t wait to hear Ashley live at the Top 100 Most Powerful Women Summit
Quick one:
🎉 Your Ticket is on Us! 🎉
We’re thrilled to announce that tickets to the Top 100 Most Powerful Women Summit are FREE this year! This is your moment to connect with powerhouse women, hear inspiring stories like Ashley Aggrey’s, and walk away with strategies that can transform your business and life.
👉 Reserve your free spot now — and don’t come alone. Forward this to a sister, colleague, or friend who needs to be in the room.
Now to Ashley Aggrey’s story.
“I made the decision early that my background would not limit me; instead, it would empower me.”
Ashley Aggrey says these words as she tells us her story, one where a bright, young girl is raised in the midst of lack, and is learning resilience and contentment firsthand.
Born in Jerusalem, Israel, Ashley later moved with her family to Kumasi, Ghana. One of her earliest encounters with lack was being sent home from school because of incomplete fees. She wasn’t too young to feel the weight, but also to pick up the resilience from her mother, whose small provisions store somehow carried the family through.
By university, Ashley had inherited that industrious spirit. She tried her hand at fashion retail, posting items online, sourcing them from suppliers, and delivering them to customers, even if it meant roaming all day to find a sold-out item. The money was small, but the confidence it gave her was huge.
Soon after, she ventured into cake doughnuts, something she had long been fascinated by. On Mother’s Day 2021, her first order came in, and she stayed up all night to fulfil it.
And just like that, Ashley was tripling as an Industrial Engineering major, fashion retailer, and doughnut baker!
That experience showed her how well-equipped she was to guide other women. Two years later, she launched a Mentorship Program for businesswomen, now a global community of over 200 women across 5 countries. Recently, she’s also launched a tech startup helping women-owned businesses maximise digital tools.
Of course, not every venture has been easy. A Christmas event she invested in didn’t turn out well, and she had to return money while facing disappointment. But instead of letting it break her, Ashley leaned into her faith in God and discovered new strength in vulnerability, realising failure is not the opposite of success— it’s part of the journey.
Routines & Practical Hustle
Ashley’s days are full, moving from one project to the next. But she thrives on structure and discipline.
Her rituals for focus:
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To-do lists to calm the chaos.
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An organised workspace to boost productivity.
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Pause-and-breathe breaks to reset.
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Evening strolls to clear her mind after long days indoors.
She’s learned the importance of balance: “Chasing your dreams should never mean neglecting self-care, family, or community.” Boundaries are non-negotiable, and saying “no” is part of protecting her energy.
Wisdom & Advice
If she could talk to her younger self, Ashley would say:
“Keep working diligently at whatever is in your hands, even when you don’t know where it’s leading. Every experience, every skill, every act of commitment will eventually pay off in ways you can’t yet see.”
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Myth to bust: Entrepreneurship doesn’t guarantee instant financial freedom. It takes years of reinvestment, patience, and persistence.
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Advice to women in business: Don’t hide behind your business. You are a brand too. Build yourself while you build your venture.
Looking Ahead
Ashley’s vision for the future is bold and crystal clear:
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Scaling the Ashley Aggrey Network into a global community of 10,000 women, creating platforms for mentorship, growth, and collaboration.
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Building strategic partnerships across continents to design programs that solve real problems.
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Growing Ashruby Technologies to help women-led businesses leverage digital tools.
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By 2030, directly impacting 5,000 young people with skills and confidence to own their futures.
Her ultimate vision?
A world where women are seen, heard, and impossible to ignore. We come, we conquer!
Rapid-Fire Round
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Coffee or Tea? Tea
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Morning person or night owl? Night owl
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One word for this season? Growth
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Mantra? “Once you take it up, do it to the best of your abilities.”
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Discipline hacks? Checklists ✅ + Environment design ✨
Why We’re Excited
Our favourite part of Ashley’s story?
She’s recently signed up as a speaker for the Top 100 Most Powerful Women Summit, and we can’t wait to hear her share her genius in business and passion for women.
Ashley will be sharing more of her brilliance live at the Top 100 Most Powerful Women Summit.
👉 Want to be the first to watch live when Ashley goes on stage?
Tickets are FREE — but seats are limited.
Save your spot now and join us at the Summit
Can’t wait to see you there.
Here’s to building, dreaming, and conquering together.
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