Meet Ashley OFerrell | Notary, Estimator, Entrepreneur and DJ

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

Hi Ashley, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I am originally from Mobile, Alabama. I came from a complicated background that led to me mainly raising myself, my sister for a time, and then at 8 i was held for about 10 years under a very restrictive and often abusive home. When I escaped at 18 i hadn’t thought very far past just escaping. I had a scholarship and a grant that would have coevered my entire 4 years at Univerity of South Alabma , but the same family member i ran from took a loan out in my name and I lost it all. It ended up being a good thing; I was 18 and now homeless( couch surfing between friends), unmedicated (adhd), and trying to work 3 jobs at the same time as school with no car. so instead i spent years working in restaurants in cites in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas and finally Colorado. I mostly stayed with friends and was unable to reach out to a lot of my family as i was still trying to stay hidden from my old guardian and not bring any trouble to another family member as well.

I came from below the poverty line. Knowing how much I and my family worked and had to budget, I learned first hand that you can’t work your way from nothing on your own. It takes a mentor; a community; networking. Education.
Growing up how I did taught me to be independent, resourceful, and perceptive, but it took just as much kindness from strangers and friends to get me where i am today. I have lived with so many people; from a trap house to grand homes. “bad” and “good” people alike,
I’ve always tried my best to keep a good attitude and it was easy to appreciate the small things in life because it was better to live than be where i came from.
Good people come from all walks of life and I wish I could express it better how grateful i am to everyone of them that helped me even when they didn’t have much.

1. if i think you know everything, I don’t. There could always be another perspective to learn.
2. Life is unpredictable; Flexibility in what goals and dreams i have is crucial to accepting change and managing chaos.
3. It’s never too late to find something to enjoy in life.
4. Time goes by so quickly. Never miss a chance to be with those you love when it’s possible.
5. I can learn how to do anything I have an interest in if I just stay patient and begin with square one. Having little formal education doesn’t make me less.
6. It doesn’t matter what’s “unfair,” the only way to change it is to believe it can be and persist to find solutions.

To the person doing this interview-
I’m so sorry this answer is all over the place. Patrick Dimarcco recommended me because he knows i have a very unique and as he would say “inspiring” story that I have wanted to share. Many people have told me I should write a book, but if my answer to this question shows anything is that I’m not a very good writer and with so much to my background, it’s hard to know how to sum it up.
I look froward to reviewing and making this comprehensible.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Professional/ Creative. I currently have 3 types of self employment.

1. mobile public notary for title and loan companies dealing with mostly refinances, purchases , etc.
I love this job. I accept offers from multiple companies to present paperwork to clients at their homes or another place of convenience. I’ve been a notary since 2019. I had mostly only restaurant jobs as a server before the switch. Working wages were usually $2 to $5 an hour. so when i made 10k my first year and 60k my second, I was shocked,
Margaret Desch, who I consider to be another mother to me, and Sean Fredinburg are who taught me how to set up an LLC and contact companies for employment.
Business has slowed drastically in the past year and a half and this is no longer my main income but while it was, it was the first time in life i could afford to go out to shows, buy things i didn’t really need, and pay for trips to visit home.

2.I’ve started a company with Adam and Sean Fredinburg, Colorado Estimates LLC, where my part is to take measurements and photos for inspections relating to commercial and residential property damage as well enter this data in our software begin any estimations. It’s slow since we are just starting out but I’m excited to be able to work with people i consider family. we’re work well together because our work ethic is the same. We genuinely want to help the people we come in contact with and believe everyone wins when focus on communication and doing a job properly. These guys have always motivated me to do my best and be proud of my work. Associating with like minded individuals like these are why I try my best in anything i do in my professional or personal life.

3. I never dreamed I’d be a DJ, let alone making a career out of it. This has been the most fulfilling job I’ve ever had.
With the notary business not being nearly as busy and the estimating company needing time to be built, my work partners/close friends/housemates Sean and Adam, have been encouraging me to pursue what I really want to do.
After so many years of just working to survive, I never spent much time figuring out what I liked to do.
I liked listening to music; that turned into playing songs during parties from a playlist and being complimented on keeping everyone entertained for hours. I made a few DJ friends through mutual friends at small parties and one in particular was always praising me for my song choices. Eventually I started daydreaming that I was DJing. Once Patrick DiMarcco bought me the DDJ-400 and DJ Charisma offered me to play Bingo night at Temple, I fell in love with it.
Nothing is more fun to me than dancing with people and now I get to be the one to get them dancing.
When I first started, it felt weird calling myself a DJ. I felt silly. I’ve always wanted to express myself but to actually do it leaves you feeling exposed.so at first being around quite a lot of experienced Dj’s was nerve racking.
I eventually found my own way though.
I’m goofy. I dance crazy. I love playing songs you might not know but you’ll want to sing along and dance with me before it’s over. I don’t have a lot of impressive transitions I can do, but I know how to keep the energy up and for me, it’s just about making sure everyone is having fun.

I’d say if you take anything away from this, know that you’re capable of more than you think you are. You can always learn more, you’re adaptable.
If one dream doesn’t work out and you poured your all into it, take time to replenish yourself and find a new one. There can be so much more to life than you can imagine. Take chances, get out and get connected all while being yourself. be prepared to not be well received by everyone and learn to let it go. Life is always going to have challenges and set backs, it’s how you choose to handle them that gives it purpose .

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
There are so many amazing places to take a friend. I’d take them to Cherry Creek for some time by the lake, Happy Meadows for some tubing, and Chatfield to paddle board.
We would check out the new mini golf place, Putt Shack that has a fun new spin on the game by making the winner the one with the most points at the end.
The nights would be filled with music as I take them to Beacon, Temple, VillaDenver, Your Mom’s House, Club Lexi, The Jaguar Room, Cervantes Master Piece Ballroom, The Other Side, The Mission Ballroom, The Ogden Theater, and The Gothic.
There are so many great choices for shows weather you’re into House, Bluegrass, Hip hop, Jazz, etc.

Joey Parms Pizza that’s right outside of Beacon is a must for them to try. Full Afterburner Calzones is perfect to go to when we realize it’s after 2am and we are starving.
No trip would be complete if they didn’t visit a show at Red Rocks as well or at least take the day hike through it.
I would hope we would catch a free show at City Park and take a boat ride on the lake or dance to a free show at Levitt Pavillon; There are options for any budget.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My Mom and Dad for always supporting the choices I make, being honest and building a healthy relationship out of our collective past challenges. My younger Sister for taking care of the family for so many years and being there for me.
My younger Brother for stepping up as well.
Charlie, my first boss who treated me with respect and cared for me in really troubling times.
My friend Kenny Williams who helped me escape and Matt Marciana and his family for sheltering me.
Jenni Stever, Tamara Ballard, Dan Magee, Cheryl Lowery, Jeanne Wells, Ashley Butler, and others I have not named (sorry) who gave me places to stay as I moved around.
To Jason Bova who’s constant enthusiasm over my song selections encouraged me to want to become a DJ; As well as giving me one of my first gigs.
To Patrick DiMarcco for buying me my first DJ controller and pushing me to chase a passion. I wouldn’t have gotten started as quickly as I did without you. Thank you for caring about me and always doing your best to make me feel like I am amazing and listening to me as went through therapy.
To: Caitlin, Liz, and Amanda.
3 of the best friends anyone could ever be lucky enough to have.
Thank you for taking checking in on my mom, for always coming by and hanging out with me, for the car rides to and from work, for being there at my lowest, for always loving me, for cleaning all the time and keeping me organized, and for still to this day, staying in touch in our chats even with so many miles between us,

To Margaret and Eric Desch and Sean, Adam, and Mike Fredingburg.
Thank you for adopting me into your family when I came to Colorado.
Because of Y’all I was able to learn how to be a notary, how to stay self employed, how to do my taxes, save money, budget, how to build credit, etc,
You gave me the boost up that I needed to grow financially and honestly have taught me so much that i never was able to learn before.
Thank you for investing me and seeing my worth when i was unsure i had any. Thank you for helping me out of poverty.

I love all of yall so very much and there are so many more i wish i could list and name. Y’all are always with me no matter where i am

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