The WhizKid Files: Ashley Qualls
dan tynan on Mar 09 2008 at 7:26 am | Filed under: Da Web, PC World
In researching my PCworld.com story on wunderkids, I asked Ashley Qualls (AshBo to her friends) how it felt like to build a site to give away her MySpace designs and turn it into a thriving business. Whateverlife.com now pulls in more than $1 million a year in ad revenue. Did I mention that Ashley started Whateverlife.com two and a half years ago when she was just 15? I asked the Detroit teentrepreneur a few questions via email. Here’s what she had to say.
TOT: What inspired you to start WhateverLife.com?
Well, I had always wanted my own ‘.com’. When I created WhateverLife.com it was just my hobby,
I created it as a personal portfolio site showcasing my work from different art programs. It was August 2005 when I officially decided to begin adding MySpace designs to the website, and so it began growing virally.
TOT: Are you doing what you saw yourself doing as a small child? Are you living your dream? Or has your career path been more serendipitous?
I think it’s a mixture of both being serendipity and a dream of mine. I have always wanted to do something creative and when I was younger I was fascinated with businesses, as long as I could be creative. I think in the business aspect of how fast WhateverLife has grown, I have been very lucky, but as far as the overall running of the business, it is something I have steered in the way I want. And for that I am thankful. 
TOT: What’s a typical day like?
Well, that really depends. It’s a blessing really to be able to run my own creative company. Some days I can wake up early and work during the day, leaving the evening for myself. Other days, if it’s a creative day, I’ll spend most of my nights awake (it’s quiet and I’m most inspired after midnight). It varies depending on meetings and whether or not I am traveling, and other plans I have. Some days can be as short as a few hours, while others can just be a constant work day. I love it!
TOT: Where do you see yourself in 10 or 20 years? Do you think you’ll be doing the same thing?
I actually see myself expanding the business. I’d like to hopefully some day have my own IN-store shop. I’d like to do a lot of things aside from the web world. The web world is great, but there are so many other ideas I have floating around in my head, and now is the time to give it a go. I want to change things up a bit for the future.
TOT: What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far? What challenges do you anticipate?
I think the biggest challenge I have had is my age being a big factor in anything and everything I do. I am now legally emancipated by the state, so I can finally sign contracts on my own. However, it wasn’t always so easy. It’s sometimes can be difficult to have business owners take a 17 year old seriously, but it has been a fun challenge to say the least. I’m just glad I am finally LEGALLY turning 18 this year. I think it makes things quite a lot less complicated. Other challenges I anticipate? I expect the business to grow larger, so I expect longer work days (especially if we expand to a store, office space, etc.). I know it will be hard just diving right into the business world (as I did in the beginning), but for me it’s the best way to learn. There will be a lot of new aspects I’ll have to learn and handle, but that’s the exciting part, right?
TOT: Do you feel like you’ve had to sacrifice what it typically means to be a kid to achieve what you’ve achieved? What has been the biggest sacrifice? What do you miss?
Sometimes of course. I was a 3.8 average student when I was back IN my high school. It was odd leaving it all together. I don’t miss high school as much as I used to, because I have been given amazing opportunities and it has been such a wonderful experience. I do miss the fact that I won’t be graduating with my friends this year. They’re all getting excited, and it’s sad to know I won’t be a part of that exact moment. BUT, they are here with me and I’m still going to my prom! So I try my best to stay as normal as I can when I can as well.
TOT: What advice do you have for other young people who may be looking to follow a similar path?
Don’t let others discourage you. It can be hard being young and wanting to jump and create your own business. It’s full of risks. If you have the passion, you can achieve. That’s my opinion. It is hard work, you have to know your audience and you have to relate to them, other wise, people will just walk away. Just don’t take no for an answer.
TOT: What else would you like to say to our readers?
Don’t ever give up. If people think running WhateverLife has always been easy, they are easily mistaken. There have been ups and downs and everywhere in betweens running this company. Luckily, I have always stuck everything through and made it as fun as I possibly could because after all, I love being creative and it has made it easier solving any issues that arise. Just because something goes wrong does NOT mean it can’t be fixed. Just don’t give up so easily.
It CAN be done!
[...] Cook – myYearbook.com Andrew Sutherland – Quizlet.com Ben Casnocha – Comcate Inc. Ashley Qualls – WhateverLife.com Matt Wegrzyn – [...]
I am so proud of Ashley Qualls, I am for sure will be applying for a job with whateverlife.com. Very proud of her accomplishments. Go Ashley Go!
Wow, very skilled full.
I respect that, very do.
“It CAN be done”
It can be done, but only for a few handfull of lucky people. Yes, I said “lucky”. Dont get me wrong. I’m sure that Ashley worked long and hard, but there are very good reasons why this happens so rarely. There are people out there who are better than her at what she does, but without the same success.
hi, am badr elddin awad from sudan ( darfur state ) so am very glad for that , and all i need to say that god bless you , go on . regards .
Hi Ashley,
I am in my 30’s and wow, you are quite a young lady! I am inspired at my age to take on the world! I do not have the same ambitions such as running a business, but your story is inspiring. What an example you are, unlike the ‘Brittany Spears’ of the world.
Ash, please make certain to go to college. I know you are successful early on, and some people are successful without it, but what if your company fades with time and the money starts to dwindle? You are a novelty right now because you are young. As you get older, people don’t take you seriously without an education. You are bright, smart, and your Mom could run things or you could hire people with the qualifications you deem necessary to run your businesses.
Ultimately it is your choice, and if I did not care enough to say this, I wouldn’t have. In fact, I don’t think I have ever commented like this on a site before.
Take care, and wow, I am impressed:)
hi Ashely,
you have set a read map to success,
bravo Ashely
best wishes.
I first read about Ashley’s story in Seventeen magazine. Part of the excitement in Ashley’s story seems to be missing in the PC world interview. Apparently Ashley and her family were short on cash. Then she added advertising to her web site. First month income was a whopping $2500 or so. It kept going up to reach the $1M current figure. Go Ashley.
- Black of Hat
http://black-of-hat.blogspot.com/
wow…that’s all I can say.
I hope my four year old son can be as successful as you are some day.
(He is already a little artist in his own right).
I wish you the best
…want to add: good job to your parents, they obviously raised a great kid
goon girl and prove to the world what a girl can do.
Why some do suceed is because, those who have a dream and believe in it will not let anyone or anything get in the way of making it happen you are the equation. You made it happen, you had faith and belief, your hard work paid off Luck is hitting the lotto, no effort just by the ticket. Your consistency and effort regardless of the obstacle paid off. Great Job! I wish the were more people like you. Remember with greatness, comes great responsibility. Blessings
WOW KEEP GOING GIRL,THIS AGE – GREAT BUSINESS
YOU HAVE TAKEN LIFE’S CHALLENGES IN THE BEST WAY.
MAKE THE LIGHT GLOW MORE BRIGHTER !!! MAKE IT POSSIBLE TO COMPLETE YOUR STUDIES REAL QUICK THOUGH IT IS HARD IT CAN BE DONE-GOD E WITH YOU AND YOU DEEDS,CHEERS!!!!!
GOD BE WITH YOU
I disagree with calling Ashley’s success “luck.” It wasn’t luck, it was pure ambition, determination and hard work. The true equation for success doesn’t include “luck” it includes:
ambition + determination + ACTION = success
Sure, there probably are people out there who are better at this than she is that aren’t as successful, but that’s because those people aren’t taking action. They have great ideas and determination, but they don’t act enough. They sit around talking about things and never doing them.
I am a great example of this. I want to write a novel, and I’m a great writer, but when it comes down to it, I always find something else that just “has to be done right now” instead of sitting down and writing. Which is why authors who really can’t write are publishing books and people like me who are better writers than them aren’t.
Same thing with musicians. There are lots of bands and singers out there who aren’t that good, but they made it because they were determined and they took action.
Action is the key to the success equation. Without action, you will never be successful. So don’t try undermining successful people just because “there’s people out there better than them at what they do.”
So yes, IT CAN HAPPEN! Go Ashley!
Ashley here! I just wanted to say thank you to everyone offering up encouragement, it really keeps me going! This has been the best few years of my life, and also the most stressful. I have learned so much and the business has taught me more than my last year in high school would have taught me (home economics and year book shouldn’t have to be my main focus, when I was trying to pitch ad sales to companies!)- I like to make that a point because while high school is important, it ended up not being for me in my last years. It goes with the individual
. Also, I wish more interviews were more thorough, if they had been, you all would know I have been accepted to an amazing art school here in Michigan, and we’re actually furthering the business to an in-store shopping experience!
And as far as “luck”. Maybe some of it was luck (it all DID happen very fast), but I can’t help but take some offense to that. I worked very hard, my family had no connections, I had a connection with my audience. Anyone can build a successful business, you just have to work for it. You have to have faith in yourself, and believe in what you’re doing. You CAN be successful
Thank you so much everyone.
It is great to hear positive comments.
-Ashley Qualls!!!
From what I’ve learned about Ashley is that, despite what these puff pieces about her would lead you to believe, her success can be credited to sheer dumb luck. Not to any business acumen. Quite frankly, reading stories treating her like she’s some sort of financial business wizard is making me sick.
Yes, she worked hard on her designs, yes they are nice ones too. But it was luck that got her wealth. There are thousands of sites out there that have provided myspace layouts for free as well. Out of all of them (many of which are better designed), it was hers that alot of people chose to gravitate towards, not because she convinced them to, or because her designs are better, but because it just happened that way. Out of all of those freebie myspace layouts, out of all the websites out there that offer free myspace layouts, hers is not on top. Hers is not the most favored one. There are quite a few that get more hits/traffic than hers. She just managed to get enough hits/traffic to earn the money she does. Quite a few freebie myspace layout sites get many more hits than hers. Ashley, and her site, and the money she earned, got alot of attention because of her young age.
This started out as a fun hobby for her (you can see previous incarnations of her site through http://www.archive.org). She was not even thinking of making money, much less millions, this way. She was using the services of a hosting company, the cheapest account they offered, that allotted her only a certain amount of space for her website. When all the hits were coming in, combined with all of the layouts she was creating and uploading, they were eating up her precious bandwith. She was unable to pay for all the additional bandwith, so the hosting company rep suggested to her that she put up a google adsense advert on her site in order to help her pay for it. She did that, and all those hits was translated into big bucks, much to her shock. This may sound like sour grapes, maybe it is, but she is no business genius. She did not plan this from the start. She is just a VERY lucky girl. I regard her “success” not much different than from the success of becoming a lottery winner. No one plans to become a lottery winner. One just lucks into it, same way Ashley didnt plan to earn that much with her website. She just lucked into her millions.
there’s an element of luck in all success. I don’t know who Larry is or what he knows about Ashley, but imagine any 15 or 16 year old who puts up a site, puts some ads on it, and starts getting checks for $2400 a pop. how would most of them react? by buying some great clothes, stereo gear, maybe a car. ashley built a business that employs her friends and family members, and is growing rapidly. she’s got plans for magazines, retail outlets and more. that’s not luck. that’s hard work and business savvy.
cheers,
dt
“I worked very hard,”
I believe that.
“my family had no connections,”
I believe that too.
“I had a connection with my audience.”
No question about that.
“Anyone can build a successful business,”
Not too sure about that. True, anyone can start a business. Anyone can TRY to start a successful business. But not ANYONE can succeed at their business. Because if that was true, there’d be no such thing as failing businesses. EVERYONE would succeed at their business. The final element is luck. Which no one can work for. It either comes to you or it doesnt.
“she’s got plans for magazines, retail outlets and more. that’s not luck. that’s hard work and business savvy.”
You’re kind of twisting what I said, admin. Who said that more plans for her future businesss ventures is luck? I never even mentioned her future endeavors. I never said that she didnt work hard at building her website. I said that the way her website eventually attracted enough traffic to generate that kind of revenue, a bit of luck is involved. Thats the way it is for ALL businesses. Hard work is indeed always involved, but hard work does not necessarilly guarantee success. Many people who work hard at their business, are devoted to their business, still fail.
“checks for $2400 a pop”
Well, from what i’ve read, the first check was 2700, the next one was 5000, the next one was 10000.
“how would most of them react? by buying some great clothes, stereo gear, maybe a car.”
Well, according to Ashley, thats just exactly what she did, minus the car…which is to come in the near future, if she hasnt already done that. I think she mentioned in one of her interviews she went out and bought about 600 bucks (I think thats the amount she gave) worth of stuff with her first check. I think she also mentioned something about buying ten pairs of jeans (or shirts, I cant exactly recall). Though she obviously didnt go overboard.
For the record, I dont know Ashley personally. I just know from what I’ve read about her so far.
“she’s got plans for magazines, retail outlets and more. that’s not luck. that’s hard work and business savvy.”
AFTER the luck already came into play. She did hire a business manager, or consultant. To me, THATS business savvy. It’s true what you said that most teens would have blown their earning. Would have wasted it on frivilous things. They wouldnt even think of re-investing their money into other projects and/or hiring consultants, in order to make more money.
Dont mean to insult you Ashley, but thats the way I see it. I KNOW you worked hard, I KNOW you and your family didnt have any connections. But whether you know it or not, a bit of luck did come your way.
all these people spending their time hoping to prove that Ashley’s success is luck… they’re just doing it to convince themselves there must be a good reason why THEY aren’t successful. Pathetic! Comparing this girl’s story to winning a lottery? Sounds like a bad case of JEALOUSY to me.
Go Ashley, and the people of the world who are optimists enough to TRY!!!
It’s amazing how there are so many myspace layout sites on the internet and she still manages to bring in $1 million in ads. That is hard work and ambition at it’s best!
Hi Ashley,
You remind me of my daughter. Hard working,
dedicated to what you are doing, quite capable.
Way to go!
My comment is in response that you must go to college. For some individuals that is not so.
There are many professors that are acamedians without being in touch with reality. They are sincere about what they believe but grind their students to a pulp in the name of developing them. With your dedication and energy it is possible for you to find an education counselor that can recommend not just classes at some university; but, instead fields of study for you to round out your life education. Degrees can be awarded for proof of knowledge.
Best of luck,
Eddie
I like cake…a lot.
congrats on your successes Ashley. You are a very bright girl and I wish I had even half the marketing skills you have! I wish you all the best at WEL.com
[]De@cE!
Calling a 17-year-old self-made millionaire “lucky” defies common sense and can only be explained by jealousy. No one could have possibly achieved what she did at her age without 1) a high level of intelligence; and 2) a high level of motivation.
“No one could have possibly achieved what she did at her age without 1) a high level of intelligence; and 2) a high level of motivation’”
There are THOUSANDS, maybe tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, of people out there of ALL ages who have high levels of intelligence AND high levels of motiviation. Who have worked just as long or even longer and harder than Ashley. Yet do NOT have Ashley’s fat bank account. Do not have anything to show for it. No one can possibly achieve what she did without the third element: Luck. And luck comes to very few people. Lets face it, if it took only your two elements, and no luck at all, then the majority of the population should have just as much money as Ashley now does, instead of a tiny minority.
She did what others cant do. She now has a head of steam which might very well last her a lifetime.
I have my own business, and started it myself.
As a 70 year old person, I want to say that she
has extreme talent for being balanced.
Luck has almost nothing to do with it, btw.
If you focus and genuinely relate to your clients (as she clearly repeatedly states) you take luck
almost out of the equation.
Instead I would say that she is very well rounded
given what she tried to do, and if she expands
slowly, there is very little risk of her failing. Of course she now has the advantage
that she can self finance herself.
Many young persons have not a clue, as to how to make real cash flow, off of a business idea.
Arthur
I agree with Jennifer 110%. Action breeds success. My career coach tells me this all the time. It’s better to do one action than to think about 10 actions. Good for you Ashley. You inspired me.
Speaking of action, I better get back to work!!