Community Highlights: Meet Hannah Ashton of Dream Daily LLC

Today we’d like to introduce you to Hannah Ashton.

Hi Hannah, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
Like most young girls, I had a love for American Girl Dolls. However, I took my passion further and created a dedicated YouTube channel for them! Starting my first YouTube channel at age ten has led me to where I am today as a 22-year-old business owner and content creator. For the past 12 years, I’ve consistently posted videos to YouTube.com. Now, my content revolves around entrepreneurship, wellness, and navigating my life post-grad. Along with being a social media creator, I discovered my passion for entrepreneurship in high school and knew I wanted it to be my major in college. I attended Belmont University and graduated this past May with a degree in Entrepreneurship. I had the idea for Dream Daily as a freshman at Belmont. My YouTube audience was looking for guidance on managing school, extracurriculars, and side hustles like I was doing. So, I created my business’s first hero product, The Dream Achieve Workbook–a six-month undated planner to help young women achieve their goals while preventing burnout. I created this product for my online audience, but it started gaining attention from customers outside my sphere. That’s when I knew I could turn this one product into a whole business that provides stationery tools for driven young women. Over the past three years, Dream Daily has created a post-grad version of the workbook, a daily journal, and digital versions of the products. Now, as I’m able to pour all my time and heart into the business as it’s my full-time job, I can’t wait to scale the business to provide even more young women with the tools, content, and inspiration to achieve their dreams.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a smooth road?
From professors to family to friends, I’m so grateful to have a support system cheering me on along the way. However, being a full-time college student while trying to get a business off the ground came with some challenges. I often had to choose between fun social activities, staying in to work on a cash-flow statement, or contacting USPS because an international order got lost. I tell other college students that even though starting a business while in school is super fulfilling, it also comes with compromise and knowing you won’t have the same college experience as your peers. I am also 100% self-funded so far. Thankfully, the money I had made through creating YouTube content allowed me to fund Dream Daily, but as we grow, it’s getting harder and harder to make large business purchases out of pocket. I’ve also had many hiccups over the past three years, such as a viral TikTok selling me out of my inventory in a weekend (super amazing!) but not managing my inventory ordering correctly and completely out-of-stock for three months. I’m sure the biggest obstacles my business will face are still ahead of me. Yet, I’m hopeful that I can lean on my mentors and support system to get through each decision with clarity as I face them.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Dream Daily LLC?
Dream Daily’s Mission is to create stunning and effective stationery products to help women discover & achieve their biggest dreams. Our Why is to show young women their life is filled with possibility and that no dream is too big. We inspire but also offer tactile tools to help them achieve and feel their best.

Two things set our products apart from others. The first is that they guide customers through achieving their goals. For example, The Dream Achieve Workbook teaches time-blocking, how to create routines, and more to increase productivity. Meanwhile, the Dreamer Journal teaches how to use daily journaling to stay centered and prioritize your mental health. The second is that the products’ aesthetic is unique in the market. In an Instagram-driven era, I was surprised I couldn’t find a student planner that looked chic. Therefore, Dream Daily’s products are luxurious but also functional. The books have hard-bound linen covers with gold foil titles, and the inner pages are high-quality mixed recycled paper. Our branding is cool girl meets ethereal dreamer.

What do you like and dislike about the city?
Nashville was the perfect city for me to grow in and explore in college. And although I love all the new restaurants and coffee shops that pop up, I decided to stay in Nashville after graduating because of the city’s entrepreneurial spirit. The connections I’ve made with fellow creative entrepreneurs here are unmatched. Everyone is welcoming, encouraging, and so supportive. From networking events to coffee meetings, I feel like I’m always meeting someone open to giving their expertise to help me on my business journey, and I could not be more grateful. As for what I least like about the city, can I say rent prices? Moving into my first solo apartment while working for myself full-time has been a big challenge this summer, and Nashville rent prices have not been helping my budget, haha!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://shopdreamdaily.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/misshannahashton/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/missinnerbeauty2

Image Credits
Jessica Steddom