She Bet on Herself Before Anyone Else Would

What would you build if you stopped waiting for permission?

Krystal Jugarap knew she was meant for entrepreneurship since high school, but the path there looked nothing like she imagined. A career in fashion design was shut down by cultural expectations. Years of people-pleasing followed. And then one night, feeding her second daughter in a tiny apartment, she sketched an idea on the back of a diaper box that would change the direction of her entire life.

In this episode of The Designed Life, Krystal shares the full, honest arc of building two businesses while raising three young children. She talks about the manufacturing disaster that nearly broke her early on and how showing up with radical transparency in that moment became the foundation for everything she would build next. She opens up about leaving her government job in March 2025 with three kids in tow, choosing uncertainty over a paycheck that felt like survival, and what it actually looks like to commit to yourself when the evidence has not caught up yet.

We go deep on what community really means when life gets heavy, why vulnerability is not a weakness but one of your greatest leadership strengths, and the difference between balance (which does not exist) and the dance of showing up where it matters most on any given day.

If you are sitting at a crossroads right now, holding an idea you have not acted on, or wondering whether the timing will ever feel right, this conversation is going to meet you exactly where you are.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why Krystal committed to entrepreneurship before she had proof it would work

• The manufacturing disaster that became her biggest leadership lesson

• How radical vulnerability built a community of 120+ women across the US

• Leaving a stable government job with three kids and no safety net

• Why she calls it a dance, not a balance

• The difference between doing it messy and doing it perfectly (hint: one of them actually works)

• What designing your life really means when your days are full and your energy is finite

• Her advice for the woman sitting on the fence right now

Connect with Krystal:

Instagram: www.instagram.com/iamkrystalj

Website: empoweredbywomen.com

Connect With Ameera Virani

Website: www.ameeravirani.com
Instagram: @ameera.virani
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ameeravirani/

Join Wealth By Design

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New Intro Feb 2026 

Disclaimer

The Designed Life with Ameera Virani and all associated content is intended for general informational, educational, and inspirational purposes only. The insights shared on this podcast, as well as any linked resources or materials, are not a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This podcast is not intended to replace the guidance of a licensed therapist, medical professional, financial advisor, or other qualified professionals. Always seek the advice of your personal support team.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:51

Hello and welcome back to The Design Life. I'm so glad you're here because today I'm excited to introduce you to Crystal Jigarat. Crystal is the founder of Book of Bijou and Empowered by Women. She's an international award-winning speaker, a writer, podcast host, philanthropist, and a mom to three young children. Through her own entrepreneurial journey, Crystal discovered a deep passion for building community and celebrating the power of women. And that passion now leads the work she's creating in the world. Crystal, I am thrilled to have you here. I'd love to just hear what's leading you right now in your business and your life.

SPEAKER_01 1:27

Absolutely. Well, first of all, thank you, Amira, for having me. I'm so looking forward to whatever we're about to dive into in this conversation. And in response to your question, what's leading me? That's that's such a beautiful question to just sit with. It really is. There's so many beautiful things that we're working on with the community right now in terms of how we're growing. We're actually in the process of rebranding and rolling out a campaign next month. I'm not sure when this episode is even going live, but maybe by the time this is live, you will all be able to see what we've been working on behind the scenes.

SPEAKER_00 2:01

That is very exciting. Speaking of someone who recently went through building a new brand, I know how creatively exciting and fresh that can feel. And it really almost feels like a beginning or an evolution if you've been in business for a while. So that is very exciting. And I would love for you to just tell us a bit more about your entrepreneurial journey. Where did it start? What were some of the pivotal moments that brought you to the work that you're leading? Because I know you've led a business in the past, and now you have a new organization that you run. So tell us a little bit more about your background.

SPEAKER_01 2:37

Absolutely. So there have been so many pivotal moments, honestly, and we can dive into any of them. But I knew I would be an entrepreneur since high school. And I thought my route would take me into becoming a household fashion designer. That is what was in my mind on the vision board. And it just didn't pan out that way for reasons that we don't have to go into. But there was a moment that I like to reflect on in high school where I said, you know what? I'm just gonna go home. Like I'm feeling very creative. I went and bought just a plain t-shirt from like Beverly's or something. I made my own stencil. I bought some fabric paint and then I painted a cute little shirt with like my branding. It was called Jiggaraft, which is a combination of my last name, Jiggerap, and a giraffe, which was my favorite animal at the time. And I wore it to school the next day, and people loved it and actually like verbally said, Oh, sign me up. I want one. But back then I was very much in this perfectionist mindset. So I went home and I stared at that shirt for I don't know how long. And I was like, there's just something that's not quite right about it yet. So I'm not gonna put it out into the world unless it's perfect. Lo and behold, nothing happened with that. We didn't go anywhere. But there were always these kinds of jobs that I held that scratched that entrepreneurial itch for me, that gave me some kind of autonomy, that gave me some kind of ability to have some creative direction that allowed me to be very like people-facing, which is something that I love. And ultimately, fast forward, I was a new mom. And I, as you're a mom, you probably have experienced this as well as all the other moms that are listening. There's this point where you are itching to get back to who you were pre-baby, trying to find yourself again, right? Not to say that motherhood is not amazing and we don't love being moms, but there's also that craving to reconnect with the things that we used to do and the people that we used to be before we became moms. And creativity was that for me. So I started being really intentional with carving out time to allow myself to be creative again. Fast forward to then becoming a mom of two. I had this just idea to design a jewelry organizer in one of those stints when I was trying to scratch that entrepreneurial itch. I used to sell jewelry. And I had amassed so much jewelry because of that. And so I was like, okay, it's taking over my shelf. I need that shelf space back. We were in a very small apartment at the time. And having a kid, like, you just need a lot of space. So I couldn't find the right solution online. Having the creative background idea, I said, you know what? I'm just gonna like DIY something. And it was in the middle of the night when I was feeding my second daughter. I started brainstorming how I was gonna put this together. And I really realized the merit of the design. And I was like, you know what? This is it. This is the big idea. This is what my life has been leaning up to. And the next day I hit the ground running. I made a prototype after out of an empty diaper box, an old notebook, some rubber bands, some staples. I still have it with me today. And I was just so excited for it. Had no idea how to go into manufacturing, but just started making calls that day. And from there, it was really a lot of conversations with myself of okay, if I'm gonna go into business for myself, like truly go into business, and this is what I am declaring for my life, that I am finally gonna be stepping into this entrepreneurial life. I need to have an amazing community around me because I didn't have that network of entrepreneurs. So I simultaneously launched, empowered by women, not as a business, just as a fulfillment of this need for community. And in that manufacturing, in the weight of manufacturing, that just allowed me more time to figure out like, how do I get more women together? And how do I start building these relationships? And we had one market in May of 2022 that really solidified us as this emerging community. And slowly we just started building. We had the directory, and then we started hosting more networking events, and then we started deepening the layers of how are we supporting the women in our world. So now we're this beautiful hybrid community where we have mastermind calls, where we have virtual workshops, where we have in-person events, where we have more than 120 members across the US and in-person communities here in the Bay Area, in California, in LA, in Wisconsin, in Florida, and soon to be Arizona. And there's just so much more on the horizon. And it's taken over my life in the best way possible. And on top of that, I'm now supporting some of those women one-on-one through visibility strategy coaching.

SPEAKER_00 7:18

And I love how your journey, you stated that you really knew in high school that you had this sort of entrepreneurial spirit, that you were very creative and you needed something that where you could tap into that side of yourself. And so I want to go back to that place because I imagine maybe there's not a high school student listening, maybe there is, but maybe there's a mom listening and she's got a child at that age who's trying to figure out what's their life going to be about. And I don't know about you, but when I was growing up, I have parents who were entrepreneurs. And as immigrants to Canada, um, I shared this story before, where often like members of my family went to entrepreneurship, not because that's what they truly desired to do, but it was the only option for them. Because maybe they didn't have the education or qualifications to get a job, the study sort of nine to five corporate or government job, whatever it was. So they veered to entrepreneurship as a way of providing for their family, but it's certainly not what they ever envisioned their children going into. So when I was growing up in high school, it was be a doctor, be a lawyer, become a teacher. Like there were these categories, acceptable professions.

SPEAKER_01 8:31

Right.

SPEAKER_00 8:32

Would you experience that, or did you feel like you had support growing up in terms of venturing into entrepreneurship?

SPEAKER_01 8:38

No, I and I think that was the block. I feel like I because I'm of Asian descent, so we had some traditional Asian values. Luckily, not to the point where I had to go and be a nurse because I would not make it in the nursing world. I couldn't know what. But that was actually why I didn't go into fashion design. I wanted to go to the fashion design school that was local. But at the time, my mom didn't. It's interesting. As you were talking, we're gonna dive into it. But at the time, she thought that wasn't a real school. I wouldn't get a real job, or that wasn't a real college and I wouldn't get a real job from it. And so I just threw my hands in the air and said, you know what? I'm not even gonna fight with you. Just tell me which college you want to go to because I know my thinking is very untraditional. It's very unconventional. And I will just do whatever you need me to do. So just go ahead and lay it out for me. And I was very much in people pleasing, I was very much just checking everyone else's boxes. But the interesting thing is, I have been trying to figure out like where did this itch come from, this entrepreneurial itch. And there have been times my mom has mentioned, like back in the day when she was in the Philippines, like she would do these markets all the time. So I think there was that part of her that also like it was part of her DNA, but she grew out of it. Maybe it was because it was a survival thing at the time, right? And I think looking at my perspective right now, it's like going to a nine to five like that feels like a survival thing because you need the stable paycheck, right? You need the predictable paycheck. But entrepreneurship was always something that was meant to fulfill me. I was always someone that believed I'm not gonna do it for the money. Like I want to love whatever it is that I'm doing. That is going to make me have the most fulfilling life ever, right? So I again was just like checking the boxes and doing the things, and I didn't have those role models around me. That's why when I was selling jewelry and I had been able to go to that company's conferences and be surrounded by all of these other women that were like so incredibly ambitious and sharing their insights and sharing their strategies, it was a whole different world and it was so inspiring. And I needed to recreate that if I was going to go into business for myself. And now it really is that is part of my mission to show other women what's possible, to show other women like there are so many ways to do life. And it's okay it's not only okay, but you should absolutely go after. And especially as moms, where we're constantly telling our kids, like, dream big, you can do whatever you want. But then we're not, we're choosing not to be like living, breeding role models of that.

SPEAKER_00 11:15

Yeah, that's so true. That is extremely powerful what you just shared, is that we do share with our children, dream big. What do you want to be when you grow up? We ask those questions. But then when they get into those sort of high school years where they're gonna make the next leap into the next season of their life, we start to say, well, dream big, but contain it within these parameters that are going to quote unquote you be financially stable for you and offer you the comfort and the security. But oftentimes dreaming big doesn't, well, most often, it doesn't include safety or any sort of guardrails because there's the uncertainty around the dreaming big, right? There's allowing yourself to flex into new new worlds and new realities and new creative pursuits. So for you now being in entrepreneurship, I know that you've built this incredible teenity. What would you say to the aspiring entrepreneur who, you know, maybe venturing, like sitting on the fence of maybe she's wants to leave her nine to five or she wants to start something while she's in her current role? What would you say to her? How what's what's the first thing you feel like she should do before making that leap?

SPEAKER_01 12:51

The first thing that I would say, and this is something that I also did for myself, is to make that commitment to yourself because it's going to be the biggest challenge that you ever have in life. Choosing to be an entrepreneur and then actually sticking with it time and time again. I had multiple pet talks with myself, like I've said to you, but one of the earliest ones was okay, if I'm gonna do this, I'm making the bet of my life, I'm gonna bet on myself, and that's not a bet that I can take lightly and I need to commit to it. And now that things are not gonna go my way, time and time again, and I need to go into it, knowing that's gonna happen and being okay with it, and knowing that I'm gonna figure it out and I'm gonna navigate through it and still keep going and still pursuing that. And I think that's the part that people miss. A lot of the advice people give is just start. Yes, just start, but don't make it easy for you to stop, also.

SPEAKER_00 13:49

Yes. That's so true because if you're if you're going to start but give up at the first sign of discomfort, it's you're not gonna get far into the entrepreneurial journey because those hurdles come pretty quickly and early on.

unknown 14:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:04

I mean it's overall full of ideas, right? Ideas are wonderful, but when you start to execute, you become painfully aware of all of the aspects of building a business. And it's so much more than just coming up with the idea.

SPEAKER_01 14:18

And you can really, it's really just a matter of figuring out how to refine the skill of shifting your perspective when those challenges come. Because it could be very much, oh, all of a sudden you're facing some kind of adversity, and it's okay, maybe this isn't meant for me. Maybe this is a sign from the universe that I'm on the wrong path. Or you could look at it as, okay, that's expected, but I've already committed that I'm gonna navigate through it because I'm resourceful, because I'm smart, because I know how to create solutions for my problem. And it becomes a whole different conversation.

SPEAKER_00 14:50

Yeah, it certainly does. One of the things I love you share at the beginning was you came up with in the middle of the night, which is often when I get my most brilliant ideas, this idea for a solution for a problem that you were facing. And that's usually where most businesses stem from, right? We're trying to create a solution to most often a problem that we're facing or that we've seen people face time and time again. So you came up with the idea of the jewelry solution. And what I loved about what you said is that the next day you prototyped it. What is that, is that how you operate? Do you always act right away, or do you let an idea sit? Do you ponder it a little bit, a little bit before you start actioning? Tell me more about your mindset around an idea to execution.

SPEAKER_01 15:35

I'm definitely refined my processes now, just because as you involve as we evolve in business, that is a part of the evolution, right? That you become more refined, that you become a little bit stricter with where your time and energy is being spent. And all of these ideas, while beautiful, they can't all be executed ever or at all at once, right? That's not to say your shiny objects, your shiny ideas aren't amazing, and maybe they'll find its place in your business ecosystem at some point, but they all can't be executed at the same time. Otherwise, you're just gonna leave yourself to burn out, your brand is gonna be confusing, all the things. So, in the beginning, yes, I think just overall, if you want to build momentum, you have to make moves. You have to get comfortable doing it messy. And I tell my clients this all the time: you get so much more clarity by doing, not by thinking, not by researching, not by twiddling your thumbs and like watching people and observing and comparing yourself to others. The only way that you're going to get closer and closer to your dream life, to the dream business that you want to create is by doing and allowing every single move you make to be data collection. It's not, oh, this idea didn't work. I'm a failure, I suck. It's okay, that didn't work. Why didn't it work? What did I love about it? What didn't I love about it? How can I take that idea and implement it maybe a little bit differently so I can take the parts that I love, amplify that, and make sure that it's still fully aligned. So in the beginning, I was saying yes to all these things, and then over time it's okay. That doesn't quite work. Spending a little too much time there. Ah, that's not actually bringing profit. And then refinement.

SPEAKER_00 17:20

I love that. What you've essentially just described is the whole design process, right? The design thinking process, the framework that really layers is the foundation of the design to life as well, is this idea that you don't have to have a perfect answer and you don't need to know the final outcome before you begin. And I love that you shared that it really is a process of trial and error, but rather than trial and error, it's trial and learning. So you're learning, you're getting the data, you're refining the process, you're trying, you're going again, you're going again. And it's, I love that our life, our business, can mirror very much how products are launched and how engineers go through projects and creating projects in their life. They use this process and it can be applied to both your business and your life. I appreciate that you shared the executing quickly, not sitting on an idea for too long, because often we can talk ourselves out of it. Or other people can talk ourselves out. But what I'd love to understand from you is because you talked about the fact that entrepreneurship is one of the most challenging things people do. So you really do need to commit to yourself more than anything, or more than you commit to the ideas, committing to yourself to keep showing up. Can you share with us a time in your business, in your life where you faced a setback? And how did you tap into your power for resilience and sticking with it?

SPEAKER_01 18:46

The one that I love sharing is the one that happens like very early on in my journey that really was this kind of turning point in the foundation that I was laying for myself as a leader. And it was while I was going through this manufacturing process. By the way, manufacturing, zero out of 10 would not recommend is like a nightmare. I thought, and I was very naive because I never had the experience, but I would have these calls overseas. I was literally on Zoom calls in the middle of the night working my with my manufacturer. And I am a very particular person. I'm very detail-oriented. And we probably went through six rounds of revisions and samples that they would send over, and I would take it apart, and I would pick out all these little things and point it out to them. And I was just reassured that, oh yeah, no worries. Once we go into mass production, like all of that is going to be taken care of because right now humans are making it, so there's bound to be human error, right? But once we have tooling in place, that's all gonna go away. Seems sounds like it makes sense, right? Doesn't that sound convincing? I was like, okay, yeah, that makes sense. Cool. And so I went with it. We go into the manufacturing process, I put in this very large investment into inventory, into our first purchase order. And I'm planning on launching. And I I realize now the lesson learned is if you're gonna go into manufacturing, you need to be checking in weekly. I did not do that. I was just assuming things were happening when they were supposed to be happening. And so coming closer and closer to our pre-launch, I check in and they're like, Oh, we haven't even started the project yet. And I'm like, What? Okay, so that's just the first part. Then they're like, Okay, we're gonna start it, and then okay, it's gonna come like several months late, and then I get it, and it is not what it's supposed to be. Almost every single book had something wrong with it. But here's the kicker they were all wrong in a different way, and it's okay, if you're expecting mass production, you would think they would all be wrong in the same way, but they were all wrong in a different way, as if 200 people made each book. And I'm like, how does this happen? And also, what do I do? So throughout this whole process, I am now like, wow, I knew things would go my not go my way, right? I had that conversation with myself. I accepted that as just part of the process. I didn't expect it to happen so early on. So it was yet another conversation with myself and saying, okay, what are we gonna do from here? How do we want to show up? Do we want to be a business that just shows like all the highlight reels that's this beautiful, shiny brand that people get to admire from afar? Or do we wanna just let people in on like the darker side of business and how hard it is and allow ourselves to be a little bit more vulnerable? And I made the choice to show up with that level of transparency and vulnerability. And I came onto our socials, I did like an IG story or a live, I don't remember which one. And it was hard to admit things aren't going my way. I'm really disappointed, I'm really frustrated. Like, how are you? I'm supposed to be this founder of this amazing company, and I'm gonna say that. That was a stretch for me. But I did it and had the most amazing realization because so many people reached out to me after that moment, people that I had not yet connected with and just shared their stories, right? They started resonating with me and they started sharing their support and saying, Oh my gosh, that's tough. I'm sorry you're going through that. I've gone through something similar and we're here for you, and we're cheering you on. And like the level of support that I felt like that is what community was about. I needed more of that. And to be able to build those beautiful relationships on something that's not superficial, that was amazing. And it was that point that I said, okay, that is my goal. I'm gonna continue to lead with this level of transparency and allow people to come on the journey with me. And that's allowed so much more I don't want to say loyalty, but loyalty, more genuine relationships, more there was just so. Much more sustenance there.

SPEAKER_00 23:15

Yes. Yeah, I that's such a beautiful story. What started out as I'm sure very nerve-wracking and stressful, because you're you like you say, you've invested a lot of time, energy, and money into this product, and it's not turning out the way you anticipated. But to turn that into a lesson, like a lesson learned, not just for you, but to build community around, I'm sure a lot of women felt seen in that moment as well, that they've probably encountered something similar, that they maybe didn't have anyone that they felt they could talk to. Because to your point, everyone's sharing the success story, the finished, glossy success, but not all the iterations that come before. And so I appreciate that. Is that where you felt like community really was something that you needed to continue to invest in? Is that was that one of the pivotal moments for you around community as well?

SPEAKER_01 24:10

Yeah, I think that really solidified it for me because I was already treading in that direction of wanting that for myself. And being able to have that moment just reminded me like how important it is. And also now with the community that we do have, how much more I want to encourage other women to allow that vulnerability to shine through. Because often, as women, we're trying to be so strong, we're trying to keep it together, we're trying not to show any weaknesses, quote unquote weaknesses. But really, we need to have those conversations. We need to be open about what we're being challenged on and the emotions that we're feeling and where it's feeling heavy, because then we're not, we're almost like we're delegating that those challenges to the people that can support us, that help us navigate through it. And then again, that allows us to just move a little bit faster, to know what the next step is and to feel comfortable taking it and to recognize that it's safe to do so.

SPEAKER_00 25:08

Yeah, I think you you hit the nail on the head with that, that it feels safe to do so. Because I imagine and I've encountered too, where you feel like you have to present this certain exterior. And it's not necessarily reflective of what's happening in your life or in your business or even how you're feeling, but you feel called to present that because that's what's considered acceptable. And I wonder for you, like when you came to that realization that, oh, I can share this story, I can be vulnerable. Why, like, what made you decide to share that piece at that moment? Was it more for you to bolster your sense of resilience? Or was it truly that, hey, I just want to build community and show people that it doesn't have to look perfect and that we're all just figuring things out. We're all just doing the best that we can. What was the motivator for you there?

SPEAKER_01 26:03

It was definitely a little bit for me because it just naturally I'm more of an open book. Friction there for me was how do I want to present myself right? I had this kind of superficial perception of what a founder is supposed to be and what are we what we're supposed to look like. So there was that hesitation there. But then also I had to communicate something because we've already announced like we're pre-launching and then we're not gonna meet that date. So, what exactly was I gonna be sharing and how much of the truth was I gonna be sharing?

SPEAKER_00 26:34

Right. Yeah. I've been in those situations too. So back in the day, my career was really around building events. And there were times where we may have had to postpone an event or cancel an event if a speaker couldn't come. And that was like those were some of the toughest moments where you're like, how do I go and dis essentially disappoint a whole bunch of people? Because that's what it felt like. But I find that especially with women, I think this is true of men too, but especially of women, there's something about that honest connection and that opening that vis that door or that window into your world that just builds trust. Where it's like, I'm just being open and honest with you and showing you the real and raw behind the scenes. And I feel like there's so much appreciation and understanding and empathy that comes from women. Did you feel that when you shared this particular story, or have you felt it throughout your journey where you've maybe encountered a difficult moment and shared it in your community?

SPEAKER_01 27:36

Yeah, I felt it in that moment. And that's again, that that has led me to continuing to choose that level of vulnerability time and time again. And it keeps on happening. The most amazing women come and just cheer me on. 2025, in particular, for one, was a weird year for all of us. But it was definitely a roller coaster for me. I had left my day job in March of last year. And with three kids in tow, like that is the heavy decision to me. I had already planned on leaving. That was the goal. But with what the administration looked like, I worked for the government, it was a very tumultuous time. And I was back into a corner and left significantly earlier than I ever planned to. And I'm not even a crier, but I cried so much that week. And so that just that year of recognizing that I said no to that stable paycheck. And in order to be able to say yes to myself and my dreams and also to being present with my family, like there were ups and downs, like the wildest roller coaster. I we had amazing achievements, but at the same time, like I still need to make a ton of money if I'm gonna take care of my kids and my household. I said, I'm not gonna quit my job if that means changing everyone's life like next month. Like I want to try to maintain our quality of life as much as possible. And it was hard. It was hard not seeing the rapid momentum that I felt like I needed to see to feel confident in my path. And in those moments, we had already established such an incredible community. And some of those women I've gotten so close to that I've been able to lean on. And they are the ones that present to me the evidence of everything that we've done so far, right? Of how far I've come, of how much we've accomplished and how much we're doing together, and really what reminding me what the vision is. And as much as I will say to everyone listening, you don't need anyone's validation. You have everything that you need, but at the same time, like you do need just people and support in your corner. Like community is such an important aspect of business. And without them, I probably would have had a couple of meltdowns. But it's allowed me to continue just like standing in that type of leadership where it is okay to be vulnerable because that's not a weakness. It's actually one of your biggest strengths.

SPEAKER_00 30:01

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 30:02

I love that.

SPEAKER_00 30:02

I think that's a beautiful core belief to hold because I don't think any of us are meant to do, go through this life or the journey that we choose on our own, that the strength is in our community. And I think, but the time of recording this, if you're listening in, like we're recording this in early February 2026. So there's a lot happening in the world. There's a lot of communities being galvanized together to stand up for each other and to be there for one another and to support our more vulnerable communities and people in the population. And I think it's just a testament to what humanity is really about, whether it's in business or just in everyday life. So I really love that you're placing an emphasis and investing your time and energy in building community because that's going to ripple out. And it's not just impacting you and your family, but it's impacting all of the women who join, join your community as well. When you when you think about what you're building today and for the future, you said you have a lot on the horizon for 2026 and beyond. What are you most excited about in terms of life, business, family, community? What's really got you excited? What is it that's fueling, continuing to fuel your passion for your business?

SPEAKER_01 31:10

On the business and community side of things, it really is just seeing all of the women in our network just getting all of those opportunities that they've been craving. These few months in particular, we're pouring a lot back into a handful of women, whether that's financially, whether that's plugging them into opportunities that they were really creating, that they were hoping to create themselves. But it just felt very aligned with our organization that we're like, well, let's just slot you in. So being able to see even just that, like their individual transformations, and then coming together as a collective every day to just celebrate that and to keep achieving more and to keep celebrating more and to keep like just recognizing that the sky's the limit. There really is no limit. That's beautiful in just the everyday. And what we're building towards is such a beautiful vision. We want 20,000 plus women in the US in the community and to feel so incredibly supported when they walk in. Whether that's like wanting to get on more podcasts, amazing, we got you, wanting to get into press, amazing, we got you, meeting financial support, amazing, we got you. Meeting a shoulder to cry on because motherhood was hard today, amazing, we got you. To be able to create that sense of belonging and that sense of excitement is just really special. And this the community side of things has really brought out like the spiritual side of me that I didn't know that I had. I use the word like sacred a lot now, which has never been in my vocabulary, but the space that we're creating is just so special that even the building phase of it is something I'm so incredibly grateful for. On the personal side, it's just I I can see all of the amazing opportunities that are gonna come for my family that are like the time freedom, being able to take them on vacation. And the girls are in cheer and holy moly, they're constantly traveling for like sheer competitions. And I was like, I was not prepared for this. But to be able to create the time and financial space to do that is gonna be amazing, and then hopefully get my partner out of his job, which is making him absolutely miserable. So that is also fuel to the fire.

SPEAKER_00 33:26

Yes, you have so many reasons to keep investing, keep growing, keep succeeding. That's beautiful. I noticed obviously during the during years ago in the pandemic, everything moved to online. So it was really we lost that sense of in-person community. And now it feels like that's finally being, again, like rebuilt and we're breathing life back into getting together in person. I mentioned that I come from an events background, so I know what it takes to put on an event to build a community. And it's a lot of hard work for someone who is thinking, hey, I would love to start to cultivate community. Maybe not necessarily as a business, but just a place and a space where women can come together, feel seen, share their stories, share their vulnerabilities and their successes and support one another. How would you recommend someone start? Is it as simple as inviting the people you know? Do you how how did you go about that first step of building community? And what would you recommend someone do if they're looking to create something?

SPEAKER_01 34:30

I put a lot of effort into our very first event. A lot of effort because nobody knew who I was, right? I had no reason for people to trust me, for people to buy into the first event that we were having. And I literally created this like digital brochure, like the three-page, three-fold brochure, and started sending it to people that I really loved. And what I will say to those that are like, well, like I don't have a business, nobody knows my brand. Like, why would people want to work with me? Sell them on the vision of what you're trying to create. That's what I did. I didn't have any social proof either. I didn't have a reputation to back me. I didn't have any accolades in my belt, but I sold them on the vision that they get to be a part of something bigger. So, whatever reason it is that you want community, there are people out there that share that same reasoning with you and then are waiting for someone like you to start creating those spaces. So sell them on the vision and also bring your magic to filter yourself. That is what makes a strong community when people come in and they can see the real you. And it doesn't feel so stiff, so corporate, so like rigid. It's wow, this is really just a safe space for me to come in and we can have fun and we can have real conversations. That's what I'm craving, right? In this age, like you said, of being in the virtual world for so long, and then also being bombarded by AI videos and AI content and like talking to bots and all the things. Like, we want real conversations and real people. It's so easy to try to fit yourself into some kind of box of what makes a good community, right? How should I launch a community? But you can't filter yourself to the point where your community or potential of your community loses its spark and people don't invest.

SPEAKER_00 36:23

Right. Yeah. I think that's you make a very valid point, is that your community doesn't have to look like what all what's out there already or what someone else is doing, because it has to contain your vision. It has to have your heart and soul in it as well. For women who listen into this podcast, and I think just women who are either in entrepreneurship or even in career, they may not be founders, but they're navigating career and leadership and motherhood in a lot of cases. And depending on what stage of life you're in, perhaps they're even caregivers. They've become caregivers to parents who are aging. When life feels really full, or you feel like you're being stretched across everything super thin, what do you say to yourself? What do you do to anchor yourself when self-doubt?

SPEAKER_01 37:14

So, in response to like when life is feeling very full and you're feeling very stretched thin, that's when I would encourage you to really take a hard reflection on everything that you've got going on, right? And something that I heard last year that I love, because I think more people need to say it, women especially, is that it's okay to drop the ball in certain areas. We don't have to have all the plates in the air spinning. We can take, choose to take some of those plates and set it aside and focus on the two and three that matter the most, right? And so for me, like sometimes the house is absolute chaos. And I'll clean a little section here and I've checked off my box of okay, I've poured into the house a little bit, but I've also been able to allocate time to spend with my family, to spend on building business, right? Because I didn't spend the whole day cleaning the house because I feel like, oh my gosh, the house needs to be completely wiped down from top to bottom. It's okay to drop the ball sometimes. It's okay to have a day where maybe you can't show up in your business because you're so emotionally drained from lugging around five kids that have been screaming at you all day. That's okay too. When people ask me, like, how do you balance it all? I don't refer to it as a balance. I refer to it as a dance. Like sometimes you're here, sometimes you're there, sometimes you're doing a little two-step with your partner, sometimes you're on the floor twerking, and it's all okay. It's all beautiful. Have to give yourself grace. Right. So, for the part where you ask about what do I do when I have those moments of self-doubt, it's really presenting my mind with the evidence. Because we tend to create these false narratives in our head of we're on the wrong path, we're not good at it, we weren't meant for this life, like nothing is going my way. But if you actually allow yourself to honestly look back at everything you accomplished, you'd probably be pretty impressed with yourself. We made it pretty far. Wow, I did that. And you get to keep showing up and choosing to do it, right? You get to choose really what your heart is. Is it showing up for your business or is it just settling for a job that you actually hate because it's a little bit easier? What's your heart? And what's your sacrifice? When I had my day job and was trying to build a business and have the kids in town, my sacrifice was I'm gonna sleep a little bit less. I would rather sacrifice my sleep than my dream. Right. We all have choices.

SPEAKER_00 39:42

Yes. Yes. A hundred percent I agree. So, so well said. So well said. Thank you for saying that because it is true. You do choose your heart. It's hard to be in a job that you dislike. And it's also hard to choose the uncertainty of entrepreneurship. But you have to choose what really aligns with your vision and your heart. I appreciate you sharing that. When you hear the phrase designing your life, what does that mean to you? And how would you say you're actively doing that right now?

SPEAKER_01 40:13

I love that phrase, honestly, because it really just speaks to the power that we all innately have to craft the life that we desire. Whether that's you wanting to be an entrepreneur, you like rocking an amazing corporate career, or you being an amazing stay-at-home mom that makes sourdough bread would never be me, but love that for you. That's what you want. It's about choosing alignment over and over again. And again, recognizing that you do get the choice. Even if it's not big choices of, okay, I'm gonna quit my job and I'm gonna start a business. It's the choices in the little day. Okay, how am I gonna show up today? How am I gonna speak to my peers today? What kind of lunch am I gonna have? That's designing your life. Understanding that every little moment, every choice you make, gets to be a choice where you're honoring yourself and the people around you and the body that you have and the life that you're building towards.

SPEAKER_00 41:05

Yeah, that's so true. I've actually said a few times now that I don't believe designing your life is really optional. I don't think it is anymore. I think that it's almost a responsibility because we are shaping not only our lives, but we're shaping the community, we're shaping the society, we're shaping culture, and all of that is essentially plays a part in our legacy, but also what we leave behind for future generations. So I almost feel like if you're in a society at least, and you have the privilege of making those choices, then it it is a responsibility that you step up to own. And as a result, you get to live a life of alignment and fulfillment, joy and peace. And so that's the reward. That's the reward of choosing.

SPEAKER_01 41:51

Regardless, like your life is being designed every second your day. So you can either choose to be reactive about it or you could choose to be a little bit more proactive about it.

SPEAKER_00 42:00

Yes. What does your day-to-day look like? What is the discipline that's required in your day to make progress?

SPEAKER_01 42:07

Well, for one, notion has been game-changing. So I've spent the last couple of months hyper-organizing my notion because obviously, like building a community, not everyone's not everyone has the same vision that I have for the organization that I'm building, right? Maybe you don't want a team and that's okay, and you don't need nearly as much structure. But because of how many moving parts we have with our organization, how many people we have in place that we're trying to put in certain roles, there needs to be a lot of foundational structure with that. There needs to be a lot of SLPs, there needs to be templates, there needs to be guidelines and guardrails to make sure that we are still honoring our vision and our principles and our values and still setting ourselves up for success and for the women in our network. So now that I am full-time in entrepreneurship, my time absolutely is blocked out. I've gotten really strict. I feel like I can get a little bit more strict with my calendar, but I've definitely reduced my availability in terms of who's getting on my calendar and how often they're getting on my calendar because I need time to be carved out to be able to actually build the business. There was a time early on where I was just on calls like all the time, and then I found myself never actually getting any work done. So it's that refining process, right? I have there's quite a few things that I'm working on with Book of Bijou is still there. It's definitely a back burner business now, but it's definitely still there. There's the community, there's my coaching. I'm trying to do more speaking and build my speaking business. So there's a lot of things that I'm working on. So I have themed days and certain days that are blocked out where I don't take any calls, where I take only certain calls, and everything has its time and place. And that allows me to stay on track and not get lost in the noise and the chaos of it all and remember what are we building towards? How can we prioritize today and make sure that our my time is being spent very wisely?

SPEAKER_00 44:10

Yeah. Thank you for sharing that. I think I love to ask that question because I think a lot of people feel like, oh, you know, it has to feel right. It has to feel aligned and it's supposed to feel a certain way. And sometimes it just doesn't feel good. Like sometimes you don't want to get up and do the things that are required to make your business run. But at the end of the day, you're still running a business. There's still foundation, there's still structure. Yeah. You know, it it's not just show up when you feel like it.

SPEAKER_01 44:38

But you have to hold yourself accountable. But there's still ways that you can bring in that energetic alignment to how you're showing up in those parts that might not necessarily light you up.

SPEAKER_00 44:48

I've been having a lot of conversations with women who are at this like crossroads in their life. Maybe they're doing going through a career transition. Maybe they're even looking at their business from a different light and they want to try something new or different. What would you say to someone who's at that crossroads, who's not sure where to go, or maybe they've got an idea and they're just they don't have the confidence yet to take that leap? Have you? Can you relate to it having been there yourself before? And or what advice would you give to that person?

SPEAKER_01 45:20

Aside from like quitting my job, there's no like big moment that I can really think of because I've been allowing myself to just tap into my intuition as our business has grown. For those that are feeling at the crossroads, what I would say is that not everything is some like big dramatic decision, as we tend to make it out to be. Like just because you like all of a sudden have this dream and you want to be a painter and you go buy a canvas and some paint, like your life is not gonna end if you decide I don't want to finish that painting. That was horrible. It's okay to allow ourselves to play and to try new things. And again, everything is data. Okay, you threw an event, you hated it, but you made some amazing connections, and you're never gonna throw an event again. Okay, wonderful. That's a great learning experience. Yeah. You don't have to make some big like show of every little decision. Same with like how we've been building the community. I wasn't like, hey everyone, we're a brand new community. This is exactly what we're gonna have, and all the things. Like, you guys had a problem. Here's my solution. Let me know what you think. And with the corner, let's have fun.

SPEAKER_00 46:29

When did we get so serious? Thank you for saying that. It's so true. And I'm guilty of it. I'm guilty of taking things very seriously and trying to be very intense, like being very intentional about things. But I also think there's time to just play. Yeah. And that's one of the things I love to talk about in coaching as well, is just if you're curious about something, go dabble with it. Go like with it. If you want to tap into your creativity, it doesn't mean you have to leave your job. You love to sing, you love to play piano, you love to dance, take a class. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 47:00

Think about it all day. Am I gonna like it? Am I not gonna like it? And pick the stems off the flowers and wait until you have some kind of like revelation in your mind, or you can just go do it and see for yourself.

SPEAKER_00 47:10

Yeah. I love it. I love it. As a parting message, I think just go have more fun is just a really good lesson.

SPEAKER_01 47:15

No one's really no one's paying attention to us nearly as as much as we You're so right.

SPEAKER_00 47:21

You're so right. We're taking ourselves too seriously sometimes. So to end things off on a lighter note as a segue, I'd love to ask you a few rapid fire questions of your game. Yeah. What's one activity that you love to enjoy with your family?

SPEAKER_01 47:36

Okay, so for a while it was they like brought me into robot Roblox. Uh but and there was like a couple of months where I was pretty obsessed with it. But that has now faded. So now it's like just going out on trips, honestly, and just exploring. We like to go to the aquarium occasionally. We do now that they're in sheer, we go to different places. So being able to explore and allow them to experience different things is like one of my favorite things.

SPEAKER_00 48:04

I love that. What's one belief you want to help cultivate in your children as they grow up?

SPEAKER_01 48:11

That they really actually can do anything that they want. And obviously, I'm in the entrepreneurial space, and I do think my oldest daughter is going to get there. She's showing signs of a future business owner. But one of the coolest things that someone said to me after our very first summit, and obviously, since I'm the host, I'm on the mic, I'm on stage, and someone said to me, like, you're showing your kids that this is normal, that they get to be on stage, that they get to be in front of a crowd, that they get to host amazing events. Like you're showing them how accessible that is.

SPEAKER_00 48:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 48:45

And I'm like, I never thought about it that way. For that is true. They love coming to events with me. And now I like love bringing them because I have that in my mind. So, really, if you want to be an astronaut, like that's probably easy. Go do it.

SPEAKER_00 48:59

Yeah. Yeah. I love that. I love that our, and I don't mean to exclude our sons, but our daughters are gonna grow up with a very different vision of what's possible.

SPEAKER_01 49:09

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 49:10

Because of the way their moms or their aunts or their grandmas are leading. So I love that you're exposing them to that. That's beautiful. What's a practice for you personally? Just it's just for you, that keeps you connected and grounded, especially if like you're coming off a really hectic day. Is there like a ritual or practice that's just yours that you go to every day?

SPEAKER_01 49:30

The gym is usually what gets my hand back on straight when I'm feeling the doubt or the pressure or the overwhelm. And I have MM just like scream through.

SPEAKER_00 49:44

My son's big into MM. So he has a way of getting you going. He does. I'm like, okay, I got it.

unknown 49:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 49:53

And that's a pretty consistent pattern. Like I I've asked that question of a lot of people, and it usually always is something physical in nature, like a walk, getting into nature, going to the gym, something to move the energy through the body is usually a pretty common response. And I always ask this question. I'm compiling a list and maybe it become a book club one day. I don't know. Do you have a favorite book that you think all women must read?

SPEAKER_01 50:16

I knew you were gonna ask this question just because I feel like everyone asks this in rapid fire questions. The last time someone asked me this, I was like, I don't have a favorite book. And I was like, was that our knowing lame answer? Why not there was a book that I really loved. I think it's called The Light Between Oceans. It has nothing to do with business, it was just something that remember reading maybe like a decade ago. And I was like, that was really good. Well, you remember so that's profoundly wise. I think I'm just in this space where, first of all, my dream is to have a library. Fun fact, you need 500 books in your house to be able to call it a library. I think I'm there. Are you? I might be there. Yeah. I'm not nearly there, but I am collecting all of the books, like signed copies of books from all the authors that I'm meeting. And obviously a lot of them are women. So that's really exciting. And I think I'm just in this space of just like appreciating everything around me. And I'm like, oh, that's good. I love that. Everything again, data collection. I'm just enjoying it.

SPEAKER_00 51:17

Yes. So no. Okay, well, thank you for the book recommendation. I haven't heard of that one. I will add it to my collection. I think I have a library, but I'm terrible at lending out books. Really am. Unless I'm not gonna read it again. But otherwise I mark up my books. Like I highlight and I take notes and and so nobody wants my books, first off. And I'm really I won't part with them because I usually go back to them at some point or another. But I love that you share that one because I hadn't heard of that. So it's a title.

SPEAKER_01 51:44

I don't remember what it's about. I just remember the feeling of liking.

SPEAKER_00 51:47

Thank you. I love everything you said about your your founder beginnings, where it came from, how it started, how it didn't start necessarily the way you imagined it would. It rarely does, right? Listening, it's not always gonna unfold the way you expect it to. But I love how community has also really shaped your business and the way you're leading in your life and your business. So thank you for such a meaningful conversation and for your sharing your story and your heart and your vulnerability around how you lead. I truly believe the work you're doing is so important. Building community now more than ever truly matters. Before we wrap up, please share how people can connect. Like how can they get engaged in your community or learn more about what you're doing in the world?

SPEAKER_01 52:31

Perfect. So, community-wise, depending on when this goes live, we might have a completely different Instagram handle. But bro, it is empowered by women spelled W M N. And I will send you the new one once it's there. Okay. That's also our website, empoweredbywomen.com. And then if you're interested in more coaching support, you can find me on Instagram at I am CrystalJ, Crystal with a K. And that links back to all the things.

SPEAKER_00 52:58

Thank you. We will make sure we link all of that in the show notes as well. So for anyone who would like to get in touch with Crystal, you can find that in the show notes. And to all of you listening, thanks for spending your time with us today. If something in today's conversation resonated for you, please leave a review for Crystal. That is such an act of generosity. We will see you next time on the Design Life.