How Ashira Jones Built Perfect Ten Coaching by Rethinking Leadership

In her work as founder and CEO of Perfect Ten Coaching, Ashira Jones partners with a very specific kind of leader: the one who looks exceptional on paper, yet quietly questions their voice as the stakes rise. Her clients are thoughtful, capable, and often underestimated—stepping into bigger rooms, navigating sharper power dynamics, and carrying decisions that suddenly matter more than ever. 

Ashira’s work lives in those high-pressure moments—board meetings, senior conversations, difficult feedback—where even the most capable leaders can feel a flicker of doubt. Rather than pushing performance, she helps them return to something more grounded: trust in their voice, clarity in their thinking, and a steady sense of authority that doesn’t require force. With more than two decades of experience across tech, financial services, higher education, and the public sector, she brings a perspective that is both deeply practical and deeply human. Ashira’s approach is often described as calm, thoughtful, and direct—creating space for insight while asking the questions that cut through noise and lead to real, lasting shifts.

Here, Ashira shares more about becoming a founder and the journey to Perfect Ten Coaching.

Have you ever felt like you’re “different”? In what ways has this contributed to your journey as an entrepreneur?

As a college student, I was selected for a competitive internship program for students of color and was eager to prove myself. Separately, in my personal journal, I wrote about how out of place I felt in traditional corporate environments. Coming from a low-income household, doing all the “right” things to secure financial stability felt essential, so I pushed that feeling aside. Instead, I learned the skills, earned promotions, and later completed my MBA, continuing to build a successful corporate path. On paper, I was thriving. Internally, I still felt misaligned. For years, I thought the discomfort meant I needed to assimilate better, but eventually, I realized it was pointing me toward autonomy. Becoming an entrepreneur in my forties allowed me to finally honor that value and build success on my own terms.

Did you always know that you wanted to be an entrepreneur?

Growing up, I associated entrepreneurship with risk, scarcity, and financial stress. My father was a painter and sculptor who worked across many artistic mediums, and he also used skills like auto repair and welding to support our family alongside my mother’s steady work. While we always had enough, it often felt like just enough. As an adult, I wanted to know exactly where my paycheck was coming from every two weeks. The traditional path offered real benefits, stability, structure, and growth, and I pursued it intentionally, especially since no one in my world ever encouraged entrepreneurship as an option. Every mentor, resource, and opportunity pointed me toward conventional success—but over time, my deeper longing caught up with me. I wanted work that felt important, aligned with my values, and surrounded me with colleagues who energized me. Ultimately, entrepreneurship became the most honest way to build that life.

Has your definition of success evolved throughout your journey as a founder?

When I first left my W-2 job, success meant survival and earning enough to pay rent and buy groceries. Along the way, I realized I could also consistently cover my health insurance, save, and invest, which made me proud because I had created the kind of stability I craved growing up. Over time, I understood that success also meant building a legitimate, sustainable business with strong systems and trusted (ethical) advisors behind it. There was a season when I equated success with scale and wondered if I could build something that generated a million dollars, but when the economy shifted, I felt disappointed and grew quiet and reflective as I redefined what “enough” truly meant for me. I wasn’t shrinking my ambition; I was refining it. Now, nearly five years in, success means walking my talk, building revenue that supports my life, earning my clients’ trust, and designing offerings that energize me and position the business for long-term impact.

What were the most difficult and most impactful lessons you’ve learned since starting and running a company?

One of the hardest lessons of entrepreneurship has been learning to create my own sense of certainty. In a traditional job, stability is external. As a founder, there are seasons of feast and seasons of famine, and no one can predict exactly what’s coming next. I’ve had to build a vision for my business that’s compelling enough to carry me through those shifts and trust deeply in the value I bring to my clients. That trust doesn’t mean blind optimism, but continuing to show up, refine, and adapt. The most rewarding part is watching that belief translate into real impact, collaborating with clients and partners who energize me, and building work that feels both meaningful and alive. When things do come together, there’s a deep satisfaction in knowing I created that momentum myself.

What’s one thing you wish you had known before starting your company?

Higher fees don’t automatically mean higher standards. In just over four and a half years, I’ve worked with three bookkeepers and three accountants because getting it right really mattered to me. Some of the most expensive professionals I hired early on made costly mistakes that I later had to clean up. The advisors I work with now are detail-oriented, thoughtful, and far more reasonably priced. That experience taught me that price is not proof of quality. Due diligence and discernment matter far more than a premium invoice.

What’s next for you and your company?

We’re launching The Leadership Presence Studio, my signature experiential workshop and the most creatively ambitious work I’ve built to date. It emerged from a quiet, reflective season at the end of 2025 and into 2026, when I stepped back and asked how leadership development could move beyond theory and into lived practice. Using watercolor as the medium, the workshop reveals how leaders actually respond when clarity is limited and stakes are high, surfacing patterns like hesitation, overcontrol, urgency, alignment, and restraint in real time. It’s unlike anything I’ve seen in the leadership space, a hands-on leadership lab where insight comes from doing and the learning carries directly into high-stakes moments at work.

What would you tell your younger self if you were to start your entrepreneurial journey all over again?

Trust your gut and don’t default to the path that feels socially accepted or expected. If there’s a whisper that another direction might be right, explore it with curiosity instead of dismissing it. You don’t have to abandon stability overnight, but you do get to take your inner signals seriously.