Business management

How Charlotte Ashley turned an unusual passion into business success – The NatWest Business Show

Charlotte, a farmer from Cumbria, rose to fame documenting everyday life on the farm.

25 Jul 2023 . 3 min read

From debunking misconceptions to truly finding her calling, Charlotte aka ‘The TikTok farmer’ reveals all about falling into farming and making it successful.

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Falling into farming and loving it

Cumbrian farmer Charlotte Ashley became famous on social media by showing the everyday trials and tribulations of running a farm.

She says that most of farming isn’t necessarily interesting enough to be shown on social, there’s a lot of office work for example, but taking videos all day, she always finds something to show. She says “throughout the day I video what I'm doing, which does add a lot of time on to my day, but it's worth doing”.

Charlotte Ashely’s Business Confession:

Unusually however, Charlotte wasn’t involved in farming before she met her husband at a party. She says: “I didn't do particularly well at school. I was a nondescript child. I never woke up and thought, oh I'm an entrepreneur and I'm going to go and start a business and do well. That was not on the cards for me.

“I was a carer and I did mobile care and went round to people's houses and looked after them and it was just by absolute fluke that I ended up falling into farming and thankfully, I know now, it was what I was meant to do.”

I think farming needs to move with the modern world. I think we have a responsibility to deliver what the public wants to see, but also make it a profitable business, which looks after the welfare of animals.

Charlotte Ashley

Watch the episode to find out more about Charlotte Ashley’s inspirational business journey.

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