Meet Ashlee Ilg | Entrepreneur, Writer, Mom

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

Hi Ashlee, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
Over the past two decades that we have started businesses, grown our companies, and raised our family of five, the idea of “work-life-balance” has changed significantly. To be clear, balance has never been the goal. When you are pursuing an idea and goals bigger than you, it will require more than you think you can give. It takes a level of faith and trust to sacrifice what you want NOW for what you want MOST. We always kept this in mind when starting and building our companies, knowing that our children were always watching. We have always wanted them to see that a dream is worth chasing and that they are a big part of our family vision. For context, when we started our first business, we did not yet have any children and were working corporate careers alongside our new venture. We knew our business needed a lot of creative energy and time, and we were committed to doing that. When we started Big O’s Golf Carts, we had our first son Owen (the inspiration behind the “O!”) and were expecting our second son Dylan. Our time was considerably more limited, but we had learned from our experience in our first business that our golf cart dealership would require a serious commitment of time. And we knew the sacrifice of time would be worth it. We got creative with our daytime hours – making the most of car-time, park-time, and the kids’ naptime – and willingly gave up *some* hours of sleep at night to give our new dealership the attention it required. Our children have always loved “working at the shop” and feeling like they’re contributing to our family business. Today, Owen & Dylan are very involved at the shop and still love finding ways to help there. With our newest business in golf cart manufacturing, we still hold the belief that balance isn’t the goal. Our children (we now have 5, ages 13 to 2) are being taught that we all have gifts and creative ideas that are meant for serving others and leaving a positive impact. As a family, we continually look for ways to creatively and productively help others. This might be through financial gifts from business profits, teaching others entrepreneurship through a podcast, or providing inspiration at our annual Kids Business Day event. We often overhear their conversations with friends sharing encouragement and a “can-do attitude.” They know the goal is to help as many people as we can, and give glory to our Creator.
This may not always look like “balance” according to the world’s standards, but our family has always been about pursuing dreams, finding solutions, overcoming challenges, and using our gifts to serve others. And that, we believe, is a life in balance.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
We have multiple businesses and they all center around the idea of living BIG and chasing adventures on the roads less traveled. Our business brands are also our personal brands, as we live each day seeking to re-write what is possible. Andy’s background is in aerospace engineering (he’s a legit Rocket Scientist!), so we like to say that ‘The sky isn’t the limit – it’s only the beginning!’ We love to share this idea with our customers and encourage them to also use their unique gifts and stories to pursue their big dreams. Our success has come with, of course, hard work, being willing to shift as the industries have, building long-term relationships of win-wins every chance we get, and honoring God in all we do. We give Him all the glory for what we have achieved and all that we still aspire to do.
We are not afraid to fail and have learned that failure is actually required to be successful. The faster we can fail – AND learn from it – the faster we will succeed.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
A golf cart adventure of course! Cruising around on the paths of Peachtree City would be the best time ever! We would be sure to hit the local shops like Heirloom Boutique and Blume Organics for a hot chai and dessert. We’d turn up our favorite playlist on our golf cart’s multimedia player and hopefully get lost on the trails. When we found our way again, we’d stop for pizza at Your Pie, burgers and sweet potato fries at Grazing Here or pasta and garlic bread at Italian Oven. We’d be sure to catch the sunset overlooking Lake Peachtree.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
We can’t talk about our businesses without giving a shoutout to our best friends and business mentors, Jeff & Mary Clarice Hathaway. They have been the faith-filled voice of guidance, the steady example of living for purpose, and unconditional hugs of encouragement. Our family and businesses wouldn’t be the same without their love and friendship.

Website: BigOsGolfCarts.com, VoyagerVehicles.com, ashleeilg.com

Instagram: @ashleeilg, @bigosgolfcarts, @voyager_electric_vehicles

Facebook: Ashlee Fiser-Ilg, Big O’s Golf Carts, Kids Business Day

Youtube: @VoyagerElectricVehicles, Big Ideas Podcast with Ashlee Ilg

Image Credits
All photos by me, except current photo of our family walking and holding hands – photo credit Brooklyn Harrison, photographer.