Ashlee Sturme is the She Owns It Community manager and a woman’s wellbeing coach. What many don’t know is that Ashlee runs a small publishing company as her side hustle. Here she shares what that means for her goals and how she juggles all the hats.

What’s your biz?

Maia Publishing House - a small private little imprint publishing little stories with big heart!

Who do you work with?

On one hand, we’re working with women who have a story to share, and giving them voice in our publications.

And on the other, we’re serving women in Aotearoa with beautiful and inspiring words.

When you put the two together, we get a sense of community, of healing, and of connection.

I want our books to inspire women to pause a little in their day and pick up a book again. Too many of us say we ‘should’ read more, or that we used to read lots and don’t now! So our publications are bite-sized - you can read an article or short story with one cuppa, or just before bed, and all of a sudden it’s achievable.

What sparked the idea behind your business?

I don’t think I intended to set up a publishing house when I did but I had an opportunity and I made it work! But maybe it was inevitable in a way, because I am a writer and I always do things my way!

I wanted to give more voice to women writers. Lots of people tell me they have a story, but so few will take it further. Maybe instead of feeling like we need to write a whole novel or memoir, we just need to start with a poem, short story, song lyrics, some prose.

My own novel is sitting with a different publisher and I’m proud it’s there. I’m not here to compete with anyone else - NZ publishers do what they do very well, and they know their markets well.

I want MAIA to publish something different. So far we’ve created two anthologies of women’s writing and are working on a third, and we’re hosting the Enspirited Wellness women’s wellbeing journal Inspire. Those aren’t financially-sound good-market decisions for publishers and that is why we’re doing them.

What does a typical day look like for you as a business owner?

Welll….. to be honest, Maia Publishing doesn’t get much air time! It’s a side hustle because I do other things and they always take precedent.

But, once or twice a year, I pick MAIA up and we create some magic. Because I use the intensive approach, I tend to go all in editing, formatting, designing and then launching with marketing alllllll day. And this suits me well! It’s a couple weeks of intensive focus creating a product, and it is so exciting to get the manuscript to the printers.

Getting the final books is just the coolest feeling and so is knowing they go out into the world!

I don’t love logistics of sending parcels out so doing it in the space of a couple weeks suits me better and I hope one day I can outsource this out!

So like many other project-based businesses, it’s a bit of a late-night, all-on gig and then nothing for months.

And you know what? Even though I know that in some ways, more time and focus and consistency could see MAIA shaped into a different business - I know that right now she’s meant to be a side hustle and I’m okay with that. I’ve learnt that giving my all for short periods suits the way I like to focus and creates great output.

What are some of the key milestones in your business journey so far?

When we launched INHALE, we jumped on a zoom call and read passages from our work and chatted and laughed. It was in the covid chaos so it was cool to do something that felt connected. You can see some excepts of that call on our website.

When we released PAUSE, we went all in and launched at the Ages of Pages book fair. It’s one of the biggest book signings in the country and there are so many independent, self-published authors so it was super cool to be a part of. And then some of our writers attended so we got to meet in person!

I’m really proud of Inspire too - its a gorgeous magazine. It feels positive and uplifting and it showcases work from some really passionate and talented health coaches and professionals.

What have been some of the biggest challenges you've faced so far?

Last year I wanted to launch PAUSE at Ages of Pages, but I had delays getting the manuscript to the printers. They came back and they didn’t have the same paper that we’d used for INHALE, but with the time pressure I opted out of getting a proof sent.

When PAUSE arrived, it looked absolutely beautiful… but the writing is much smaller than INHALE. I don’t even know why - the files were set up the same, the text size was identical. A proof would have caught that. It’s not a deal breaker - it’s still a gorgeous book, and at twice the size of INHALE, I find PAUSE to look very impressive.

But it did teach me that sometimes some things are worth getting right. This year I haven’t pushed to launch EXHALE at Ages of Pages and am taking the time to set it up properly instead.

Also, there were a bunch of public holidays before Ages of Pages (thanks April!) and we were cutting it too fine to get the books couriered in time. My poor mum had to drive up to Auckland and pick them up.

So yeah, I really was relieved to have the books at the fair and have the authors sign them, and sell them, and feel relief that it was all worth it!

What are your future goals in your business?

I think MAIA has a lot of potential. I would like to keep developing different book projects for her to launch. In the background I’ve got a couple underway but they’re a couple years from the shelf. Who knows - maybe I will help other women publish more of their work, maybe we will do more of the same.

Regardless, I want MAIA to keep giving voice to women, and to keep supporting women in NZ, and to keep adding to the richness of NZ publishing. I don’t think mainstream readers soak up enough of NZ writers and we have some amazing work out there to read!!!

I definitely challenge you to make your next five books by New Zealand authors!

It’s strange but unlike my other businesses, I don’t feel a drive to make MAIA bigger. She’s doing exactly what she needs to at the pace we need her to.

What’s worked best for you to build brand awareness and get customers?

This has not been my biggest strength in this business - but this is the beautiful thing about collaboration.

Whilst I have been busy bringing the books to something we can hold in our hands, our writers do the magic of spreading the word.

Each time our authors or featured writers posts that they’ve got the book in their hand, each time they give them to their clients, send them to their friends - our books get noticed.

We have been excited to feature INHALE in a monthly subscription from Romance Realm in 2024, and at a Māori small business conference in 2025.

Showing up to Ages of Pages puts us in front of readers AND writers. It’s a big day and you’ve got to be brave to do face-to-face events like this, but the non-measurable returns are fabulous.

Each time I do a consistent stint on Facebook helps - but again, not my strength!

But mostly, it is my gorgeous friend Olivia, who is a talented writer (go read her book The Eldest Girl) and artist. Her work is featured on PAUSE’s cover. She’s been the powerhouse behind getting MAIA books out into the world!

What is one of the important lessons you've learnt as a business owner? What advice would you share to someone starting out?

When it comes to Maia Publishing House, I have learnt to slow down because the business values are different.

Like I said, with my other business hats the world I’m operating in is different. It’s fast, it’s consistent, it’s goal focused and it’s profit based.

With MAIA, it’s about women and our stories, and they need to be handled with care. It’s about sharing, and being intentional and thoughtful. The focus is different - and that’s why the ‘seasons’ work for the business.

And of course, when I tried to speed it up, it didn’t work.

To be clear, I do think we can run businesses with people first, high quality and making profit - I have just chosen not to make that my focus with MAIA. and I think that’s the advice I would say to someone starting out:

Get super clear on who you are serving.

Absolutely know your why - it’s what ge’s you through the tough times.

AND sort your values out early. They’ll guide you when you have to make decisions.

Because the values for MAIA were based on our goals of supporting wahine writers by providing a platform to share their work; enhancing the publishing scene in Aotearoa with our stories; and printing stories that challenge our perceptions.

When it came to accepting stories for our anthologies, decisions were much easier. Unless our editor had a problem with the overall content, then we accepted.

Just because I might not love a story, it doesn’t mean someone else mightn’t - perception is everything. And I say that with love to every woman who is writing. Your story might be great - and not everyone will love it. And that is okay - just share your words with the world!

And that all came down to our values of inclusivity and giving voice.

What does being a part of She Owns It mean for you and your business?

Well as you know, I am the Community Manager for She Owns It so I can shout about the benefits until the cows come home! But being a part of something where other women also have strong business values as a focus is both my inspiration and grounding as I work on MAIA.

⚡️ FAST 5:

1. One thing you’d tell your younger self starting out?
You have everything you need.

2. Your favourite biz or personal development books or podcasts?
Save the Cat is the book I recomend to those who want to write!

3. How many tabs do you have open right now?
100’s, no exageration.

4. What's your go-to power song?
To be fair, I’m in a mellow mood these days - Survive by Lewis Capaldi has been on a bit.

5. A quote you love?
Just bloody do it. Just get out there and dance and forget how you look - just focus on how good you feel!