When it comes to her work, Ashley Cleveland has found a happy medium.
Cleveland, now 41, spent much of her twenties hustling. Between jobs at radio stations, record labels and tech firms, among others — mostly in promotion and marketing — she says she typically worked long hours while raising two young children.
By 2020, it had taken a toll on her mental health. After receiving a diagnosis of depression and general anxiety disorder from her therapist, Cleveland made a claim on her long-term disability policy, which, along with some investment income, allowed her to embark on a sabbatical to Tanzania.
Despite living with fewer luxuries than she had in the States, Cleveland said her quality of life vastly improved.
“Because I wasn’t working, I got to spend tons of time with my children and tons of time with myself, really restoring my physical, my mental and my spiritual body,” she tells CNBC Make It.
Ashley Cleveland, 41, lives in Cape Town, South Africa. Her businesses bring in $122,000 a year.
Ollie Walker for CNBC Make It
Cleveland fell in love with Africa and has resided in South Africa in 2023. She and her daughters moved to their current home in Cape Town earlier this year.
She has also returned to work, this time for herself. Cleveland runs several companies aimed at people interested in traveling to and living in Africa or investing in African firms. She earns revenue from selling digital travel guides and providing consultations for people or businesses looking to invest on the continent. She also hosts in-person and online community events and earns money from her YouTube channel, which has 86,000 subscribers.
All told, her ventures have her on track to top $122,000 in revenue in 2025. That’s enough for her and her daughters to live a comfortable life that doesn’t feel overwhelming.
“I am very intentional about not hustling,” Cleveland says. “I used to work a lot of hours. It was very common for me to work 60-hour work weeks. But I definitely found a way to enjoy what I’m doing and the time that I spend on my work, as well as the time that I spend with myself and my family.”
‘Moving abroad has transformed my life for the better’
On a typical day, Cleveland wakes up around 6:30 and spends an hour or two writing about her work and life experiences before her children get up.
“Those writings typically turn into emails for our community of about 1,200 people on our email subscriber list, captions on our social media posts,” and scripts for YouTube videos, she says.
She starts the workday at around 10 a.m., when her virtual assistant comes online. “We come online and we have our group huddles to talk about what we’re working on for the week,” Cleveland says.
Cleveland says she typically works until about noon, when she breaks for lunch, a trip to the gym and to run any errands she might have. She goes back to work for another few hours from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., when many of her clients are online. If she has a group coaching session or a community event, she stretches her hours a little longer.
“I’d say on average I work about five hours a day on a light day,” she says. “On a heavy day … I’ll push about 10 hours.”
Cleveland plans to permanently reside in South Africa. She hopes to grow her revenues to more than $1 million next year.
Ollie Walker for CNBC Make It
Cleveland pays about $450 a month for a full-time housekeeper, which she says takes many time-consuming daily tasks off her plate. A tutor helps with her daughters’ homeschooling — a necessity until both can enroll in local schools at the start of term in January.
Paying for help allows Cleveland to be a more present mother to her children with time left over to enjoy a vibrant social life, which includes trips to local restaurants, wine tasting excursions and frequent spa visits with her friends, Cleveland says.
It’s the kind of work-life balance she says she never had in the States.
“Moving abroad has transformed my life for the better. It has given me so many things that I never even knew that I needed,” she says. “My mental health is far better than I could have ever imagined it would be.”
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