We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Crystal Beckel . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Crystal below.
Hi Crystal , thanks for joining us today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?
Success is a purpose, an aim and a goal in which is obtained with determination, drive, hard work, hustle and consistency. There is no specific recipe for success, however; achieving it can take you on a long journey full of whirlwind moments and stressful times. I started Avalon Blue out of my home garage in 2013, with the aim of building and refurbishing furniture. At the time this was more of a pipe dream and truthfully, looking back now I know that I didn’t have it in me to build what I now call Avalon Blue Home. Motivation can manifest in many forms, but one thing I would come to learn in the following years is that you must ignore the outside noise in order to fully chase your dreams. in 2013, having gone through a divorce at 28 years old, I had a dream – a dream of creating beautiful pieces to enhance a beautiful space. With the fallout of my personal life, this had been something I dreamed of since childhood and taking the first step towards that was an amazing achievement. What I didn’t know at the time was that people are negative and cruel, the ones who will tell you that “you can’t do it”, that it’s not sustainable income, etc. At first I threw caution to the wind, left my job and put all of my energy and focus into building my first business – I was excited as anyone would be. Soon thereafter though I quickly realized this harsh reality, that nothing happens overnight! I guess in my still immature mind, I figured I’d open up shop, have an e-commerce website for more sustainable income and all would be perfect out the gate. Needless to say – that is not what happens. I put energy into marketing (on a very small scale), pushed my products to people I knew and nothing happened. After a few short months of thinking I had it right, I felt defeated and discouraged while losing faith in my ability to make this dream happen. With bills piling up, solo payments on a mortgage and a dream of mine going no where; I threw in the towel and gave up. I needed a steady income and I also needed to rebuild my personal life post divorce, with so many personal and professional curveballs being thrown my way and I just didn’t know where to turn except to put my pride aside and put my dream on the back burner.
Fast forward to 2019, 6 years later – I was coming out of yet another relationship and decided; why not give it a go once more. I reinstated my LLC, rebranded my company to Avalon Blue Home and then crickets… I sat on it, not yet knowing what I wanted to do with it or where I wanted to take it – but I felt the fire deep inside once again and I promised myself that this time, I will take a different approach – problem was, I just didn’t quite know what that entailed. So there my LLC sat in waiting, with no goals or vision in mind. Just the feeling of I have a dream.
When 2020 came, the year we’d all like to forget; I was and had been employed by a large, well known tech company. Covid-19 lockdown went into effect late March and by late April, my employer had decided to layoff all field teams in the midst of an already chaotic time. While I had been unhappy with my supervisors in the months prior to this, I actually sent resumes for well over a month in search of my next journey up to the impending lockdown. Yet still, there my LLC sat, waiting in limbo and in the back of my mind but still in my heart.
After my layoff, I decided what next? With no one hiring at that time, Covid-19 was causing an economical crisis and with no one allowed to leave home – I thought what else is there to do? We all unfortunately know the answer – NOTHING… So that is when I finally started to think. Think about my future, what it is what I wanted out of my life and what is was that I knew I was the best at. There is one thing I have always been great at, but nothing I ever considered doing as a career and that is interior decorating. Whether you’re good or bad at the skill, what female doesn’t love home decor?
Since my prior employer had given me a generous severance package, I decided ya know what? This is going to be my time. With no clear business plan in place and zero clue where to even begin; there is one thing I did have and that was time, lots of it! I once again decided to throw caution to the wind and explore my options. At this point, in June of 2020 – what do I have to lose? We have all lost so much in essence by now. I knew I didn’t necessarily have an insane amount of capital – but I did have enough in personal funds to float me while I explored this new vision; which was most definitely something I did not have in 2013 when I decided to sporadically leave my job to jumpstart the original Avalon Blue.
Since time was of no issue, I signed up for online classes in interior design and home staging. My initial plan was to stage homes and do real estate photography. Why, I still don’t know but it felt right at that time. I also started building out the foundation of my brand, my company and my business plan. By September and the first official year of Avalon Blue Home, all I had accomplished was online school and back end business build out – but hey, I am further along than in 2013 so I was proud of that alone! Times were still tough, Florida had lifted lockdown over the summer, but everything was still closed up in regards to leaving the house. So there I was again, with time. By this point I had invested so much money into this vision and had yet to take on any projects; but I was making progress and that alone motivated me and drove me. I remember someone asking me around November of 2020, they asked “when are you going to go back to work?”. At the time I felt slightly offended, because in my mind; I had been working – granted no income as of then, but still… how dare them. haha I definitely know now they didn’t mean to offend me, but I was so full of pride that I didn’t understand what the people looking in saw versus what I saw. I simply said, I’m building a business! Up to then my vision was still very much home staging and real estate photography. That same month I had a friend approach me about helping her and her partner with their new home build; this was to be more of an opportunity for me and pro-bono to learn a little more about the industry, learn the different trades and to assist on a large scale luxury custom home. I absolutely jumped on this because for me, the opportunity to learn an industry that I still knew barely anything about was more valuable than my personal time. I knew that if I was going to make this business work, I needed opportunity – someone who believed in me enough to simply give me a chance to grow.
That same opportunity opened my eyes! This friend took me to builder meetings, specialty trade vendor meetings, you name it and she included me in it. Granted, she knew I was too green to even hold the discussions with these people but I followed her lead and she coached me through the entire experience. So by January 2021, I knew what direction Avalon Blue Home was headed and it wasn’t with home staging and RE photography. The experience I had in the Fall made me realize why in the world did I not follow my heart, pursue my best abilities and why am I not decorating other peoples homes???
I picked up my first paid client in 2021, slow out the gate once again; I kept a positive attitude and worked my tail off to try and market this exciting new adventure. There were so many times I started to feel that same defeat, that same lack of motivation only this time – I wasn’t quitting and I wasn’t slowing down. 2021 would go on to became the wildest year of my life! I can’t tell you how many times I would look at my bank account for the first half of the year and just pray; pray for a miracle, pray that opportunity comes my way and pray that someone will have that same confidence my friend had in me to give me opportunity. Asking strangers to trust you and pay you frivolous amounts of money is no easy fete by the way when you have nothing to show for your portfolio. I spent the earlier part of 2021 begging friends and family to hire me at discounted rates. While I knew my skills, they did not and so once again – I had the opportunity to learn but this time with some income and I was sold on the project. I started to pick up projects with slow months in between – but I was making progress, I kept the hustle alive and I kept fighting the urges of defeat.
Mindset and hustle are extremely crucial during your first year – people told me “you’re never going to make it”, that it was unrealistic to even think that building a business from scratch post Covid was sustainable, you name the insult – I definitely heard it all. This is when I started shut everyone out mentally, learned that not everyone will support your dreams, not everyone wants what is best for you and also learned the most valuable lesson of all – ignore all of the outside noise. This was a game changer! Once I trained myself to ignore all outside negative noise – my entire life changed.
By late Summer I would head off on the beginning of a whirlwind ride in which I’m still living in. I was slow moving in Florida, still unestablished by my standards, hungry for opportunity and willing to do anything to get this business off the ground and running. I reconnected with a middle school friend who also happened to be a designer, she was up and coming in Nashville, TN and we instantly picked back up talking about our work, experiences with projects and what it was we had going on. I had very minimal in Florida, meanwhile she was getting busy in Nashville with Airbnb designs. She needed extra hands and said hey, I have some small things I need done for these projects; one being wallpaper and by that point – I was a wallpaper pro (something I never imagined I’d say) – so she invited me to TN for a week to work for her, I had never been so I jumped at the chance for something fun and new.
When I say, whirlwind – Nashville sucked me in and has yet to spit me out. It was late August, I had just got to Tennessee when I broke both of my ankles. Of all times to break bones, why this, why now – why me? Stuck in an unknown city with no work, little income and no where to go – because I couldn’t walk; my friend was so kind to let me move into her home while I healed, she hired me to work on her projects to help keep me afloat and it doesn’t matter how many times I tried; I couldn’t seem to get out of Nashville to head back home. I am a huge believer that everything happens for a reason. Not only did I break both ankles 2 days into my Nashville trip, I got into a car accident 1 month later and kept getting bumped off flights back to Florida due to airline overbooking. By the fourth attempt to leave, I cried – I was so defeated and at a loss as to why this insane scenario was happening. With $200 in my bank account, I prayed – I prayed harder than I had in the months before. Scared that my dreams were passing me by outside of my control, I was devastated.
Only then did it hit me – I have worked far too hard and came far too long to let Nashville ruin me! I have been in this city for almost 3 months, why have I not thought of this and why am I now seeing the gravity of this situation?! That’s it! I am going to open a satellite office in Nashville! I can take on my own projects here under my own terms and from living with my designer friend this whole time; I already knew that this city was booming and the potential here was off the charts. What I truly needed prior to this realization, was the inspiration and I hate to admit that it took 3 months – but better late than never. With any new business, you have the ebb and flow, highs and lows and when you can learn to balance those thoughts to avoid negative thinking; you can conquer anything!
This is when my business really began! I came back to Florida early November of 2021 and within 3 days my phone was ringing off the hook! Within one month I had to hire 2 part time employees to help me with the workload, but it wasn’t just in Florida – I was taking on projects in Tennessee too! So here I am jet setting back and forth between two states well into 2022. At first it was just every other week and then by early 2022 I was in both states every single week because the workload was insane. I was working hard and I mean harder than I had every worked in my entire life but I was happy – so happy! I was finally living in the midst of my dreams and even though I had to travel intensely and work 7 days a week – I knew I couldn’t stop; why? Because things in motion will always stay in motion. I’ve wanted this so bad for 9 years up to now and even after a year and half of navigating rough waters; nothing was going to stop me from taking it full force and seeing this through.
Opportunity, a word I’ve mentioned multiple times because what we all need in life is opportunity. But what I think a lot of people misinterpret is the fact that we must work for these opportunities in life. During all of the times that I was slow in Florida or feeling helpless and stranded in Nashville – I was still working. Working towards opportunities, that may have meant that I was in the trenches of my industry doing the smallest of projects, accepting less than desirable profits or even offering free help as a trade off to learn something new from someone who could push one step further in my career – I was working. Opportunities aren’t handed to any of us, those who have the true grit to do whatever it takes to succeed are the ones who will reap the rewards of being presented with opportunities.
By May of this year, Florida had once again slowed up for the summer and the Nashville busy season began. I loaded up a truck and I moved to Nashville full time, ironically! I know I cursed this city less than a year ago, but truthfully; I’m still baffled as to how I made this happen – after all, I have no roots in this state, let alone this city. It was merely by accidental chance that I ended up in TN less than a year ago! Nashville busy season has come and gone and I’m preparing to head back to Florida for the winter to tackle a few of the largest projects I have ever booked to date. It is a full circle moment for me, because this November, which is only two days away – marks 1 entire year since I went from watching the dreams that I had been working so hard towards; slip away and now I am jet setting back and forth with two office locations in two states and designing luxury properties. A year ago, I didn’t know if/when I’d see work again but the bottom line is – I NEVER gave up!
Whirlwind is an understatement – ride of my life is more appropriate by my standards and I truly and whole heartedly know in my bones that I am where I was meant to be in life. This wasn’t an easy ride and I’m sure will have it’s rough moments in the future and even though it was turbulent in the beginning, stressful beyond measure, defeating and exhausting – at the end of the day what it really is, is rewarding!
You want to know my secret?! Drive. Nothing will drive you more than motivation, hunger, determination and straight hustle. Hustle is a HUGE piece of the puzzle, but it’s truly the internal capacity to navigate these risks, navigate the hard times and ignore the outside noise. I firmly believe that each and every one of us has the ability to achieve absolutely anything and everything our hearts and dreams desire. But in order to succeed – you need the drive to succeed and you can never give up!
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Hi New Friends!
First and foremost, I’d love to introduce myself, I am Crystal Beckel and I am the principal designer and owner of Avalon Blue Home. I can help you create a space that reflects your lifestyle and dream details! No job is too small or big. I work with all styles and love unique and challenging projects. Our team will always stick with the project through completion and project timing is up to you!
Fully Insured and servicing a wide range of residential projects all throughout the Southeast US ranging from home remodel design, decorative design and concierge one-off design. Our streamlined and personalized approach to design has become our company signature for catering to both your budget and your home interior dreams.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
For myself and the Avalon Blue Home team, integrity and transparency are two heavily crucial components to building trust and a solid reputation within the brand. I always want my clients to feel confident and comfortable with our team, our services and our brand. I put heavy focus on ensuring quality control throughout every project from start to finish; whether that be with the outside vendors and/or subcontractors we hire down to the products we source,
In my opinion, there is nothing worse than treating your company and your clients with a lack of dignity and respect. Clients will catch on to this via bad business practices and the last thing any company wants or even needs are the negative reviews. I am grateful to have been put in some situations and have the opportunity where I can improve over time as this helped me to fine tune my standards of service that I stand by to this day.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
I know this is dependent upon which industry you are in, but for me personally; word of mouth is a huge contributor to growing clientele. Social media is necessary by today’s standards, but seeing a visual representation of ones work doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re credible in regards to business practices. Positive word of mouth references are based on personal client experiences. In the Interior Design industry; positive word of mouth is generally the key to growing and scaling your business at a standard rate.
Networking, I have personally found to be a close second. Depending on the city you’re in, who you network with can definitely help to increase the rate of opportunities coming forward. While it’s no easy fete in terms to building business relationships with people whom you’ve never personally done work for or even anyone they personally know – having the confidence to sell your product in a verbal setting can absolutely help to grow your client base.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.avalonbluehome.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/avalon_bluehome
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/crystal-beckel-047b5312a/