We recently connected with Crystal Chadwick and have shared our conversation below.

Crystal, appreciate you joining us today. What’s the best or worst investment you’ve made?

I believe the very best investment I’ve ever made as a business owner is in myself. So many people and businesses are solely focused on monetary growth, growing their teams, their revenue, everything external. And while there is nothing wrong with that, I truly believe that you can only have sustainable external growth after you have done sufficient internal growth and healing. You are the leader of your business, and as a result, the business is a direct reflection of you. If you are not taking care of your mental and emotional health, as well as your physical health and wellbeing, you will not be in the best position to lead and grow your business and investments. If you want a strong, stable foundation that will not crumble underneath you, you have to start with investing in yourself as a whole person. I started my businesses as a single mom with no regular job, savings or backup plan. But I knew this was the path I was meant to go down, and owning a business would give me the most flexibility to be present for my daughter, as well as give me the most bang for my buck as far as monetary rewards. I have always had big dreams and plans for myself and my life, but many times I felt like my back was up against the wall with no idea how I was going to make it work or happen. For the last 15 years, I have invested significant time, money and energy into building my skillsets and healing from past traumas that were holding me back from reaching my full potential. While everyone around me seemed to be buying their first house much earlier than me and having more “real world” successes sooner, I knew that my path was going to be unique, and I needed to double down on my healing and learning; knowing that my external successes would possibly come a little later than others around me. But this way I would be able to create and build something really worthwhile for myself and my daughter.
Every time I had extra profit from my business, even the tiniest bit back in the beginning, I would either re-invest it into my business to buy another tool I needed, create a better website, go to another networking event, or eventually invest in advertising or programs/mentors. But during this same time, I spent a huge chunk of those profits investing into therapy, healers and alternative therapies, and continuing education, along with healing foods and a lot of body work. I had significant past traumas to work through that did a number on me, and it really affected the way I showed up. I wasn’t able to energetically hold very much in my system, and I also really struggled with my energy and vitality without many coping strategies in the past. I also learned that many of my past internal wounds would show up in my business and would reflect in my pricing, people I chose to work with that were not in my best interests, and ultimately what I felt like I deserved in success and life. I have since learned that manifesting what we want in life is pretty simple…. but it requires clarity and doing the inner/energetic healing work first before taking the required action steps to bring things into being.

Crystal, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a female General Contractor with an award-winning remodeling business, Yin & Yang Construction, and I am also a Holistic Health, Love and Success Coach! I am passionate about transformation, feminine and masculine balance and harmony, and holistic wellbeing. I have always been passionate about health, wellness and transformation since a very young age. As a young teenager, I struggled with depression and self-image issues, and exercise and nutrition became a significant tool for me. I originally went to college to become a Personal Trainer because I wanted to share my passion with others, but while doing my schooling, I ended up becoming a mother at 19 years old and decided to put that on hold. I immediately got a business license and started a business in home transformations instead. I grew up working for my dad’s cleaning and construction business, and I was always interested in interior design, so I felt like this was the best way for me to financially provide for my daughter at that time. I wasn’t sure how seriously I would be taken as a young female in the construction industry, and for the first several years, I blended into the background and didn’t get much traction. It wasn’t until I started owning who I was and the fact that being a female set me apart and I started seeing that as an advantage instead of a disadvantage that others did as well! We are a small, boutique remodeling and handyman business that has won several awards over the last few years, and we have become a leader in Salt Lake City for bathroom remodels in particular.
While I was growing and building Yin & Yang (formerly Facelift Renovations), I invested a lot of time, energy and money into my personal healing and growth. Because of past traumas, I had developed chronic fatigue and an autoimmune kidney disease on top of debilitating depression and anxiety. I had tried many medications (some that helped temporarily and some that did not), but I felt a deep calling to try and heal naturally and at the core of what was going on with me. This led me down the path to become a Holistic Health Coach through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. I also went back to college and worked with several mentors and programs to deepen my learning on all things regarding business, relationships, and health and wellness. This ultimately led me to create my Holistic Coaching business, which I truly feel is my ultimate career passion and purpose. I feel like everything I have been through in my personal and professional life has led to me to the point where I can really impact others, especially women, with the wisdom I have learned (most of it the hard way!).
I am so passionate about helping women create freedom for themselves and their families. Freedom in their passions and businesses to be able to create and provide a quality income doing what they love. Freedom in their bodies to have the energy and health to sustain them and their endeavors, as well as creating a body they can be present in and nurture, appreciate and love. Freedom in their relationships and love, where they can attract and build passionate, healthy relationships that are reciprocal and life-giving. I believe many women have been trapped for too long in careers/positions they don’t love, in bodies that are working against them, and in relationships that they feel trapped and caged in. I love to support them in setting themselves free.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I feel like every business owner gets severely challenged in business, numerous times over; and it’s these challenges that make you prove yourself if you really have what it takes to be an entrepreneur. There is a level of risk in business, and in really anything worthwhile (relationships etc.), and these challenges that inevitably come with the risk show what you’re really make of. Usually you will feel like you’re about to break and completely fall apart just before the breakthrough! But it seems to be an honorary step in the process we all have to go through. I remember when I first started my very first business, it was just before the housing recession began. And the construction and real estate markets were hit the hardest. Everyone is these industries had lots of work coming in, to almost overnight, there was literally no work for anyone. I had a brand new baby, very little real world work or business experience because I was very young, but I had a baby to feed and it was time to get scrappy. Everyone I knew in our industry had zero work, it was famine; and people were losing their jobs and houses left and right. It was very scary times. But I started scouring the internet, looking on online listings and platforms, trying to find any crumbs for work I could get. I ended up finding a small contract to do clean outs on HUD and foreclosure homes, that eventually led into regular work, doing about 20 a month. During this time, I got a couple temporary jobs to help buy groceries, and in the meantime, I spent all my extra hours trying to find work anywhere I could. I started reading every self help book I could about personal growth and business, I joined a network marketing company to learn more about sales, etc. I literally followed every intuitive hit I had, and I ultimately truly started and founded my first remodeling business during the Great Recession when there was literally no work to go around, and I previously had no brand or business to my name. So many times I wanted to quit and wondered what I was doing and if I was crazy, but I really believe you do have to be a little crazy to go into business for yourself!
When this business partnership fell apart a few years later, I started the remodeling business I have now with no money, my credit went from perfect to tanked, and I had to completely rebuild my business, my brand, my self and my life. It was incredibly risky, but again, I felt deep inside my gut this is what I was supposed to do. I feel like when you follow your intuitive nudges and guidance, you are supported by the Universe to bring these things into existence, no matter what is stacked against you. With little risk comes little reward, and that’s not to say to be stupidly risky, but you can take risks that you believe are right for you, even if others around you don’t necessarily understand. I also feel like many of the best successes and lessons in life come from the situations that were the hardest and maybe you wondered if you were going to make it!

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I think your reputation is built upon your track record. Do you have staying power? Do you have testimonials and client reviews? Do you have any certifications, special licenses, awards? And do you do what you say you’re going to do? Also, how do you manage customer complaints and frustrations? How is your customer service and quality of the product or service you offer? When you’re first starting out, you usually don’t have much of a reputation for that business, if any; but maybe you have a personal reputation, or a professional reputation in some other position or career/industry that you can lean on in the beginning. But it’s important to keep your reputation in mind as you’re building your business and making important decisions.
Ultimately, building my reputation has been a mixture of networking, branding, testimonials and reviews. I try and make sure we deliver quality services, provide clear communication and contracts whenever possible to try and eliminate potential problems and confusion, and if there are any customer complaints, try and address them in a fair way for all parties involved. I make sure we are up to do date on certificates and licensing, have the proper insurances, and have great ratings with the Better Business Bureau and online directories.
For me, even though reputation is extremely important, sometimes it can conflict with your personal integrity, so I’ve found that you can’t care too much of what others or the public thinks of you. There will always be people who don’t like you and clients you can’t please or just have personality differences with. I think it’s important to just ultimately make decisions based on what you can live with at the end of the day; sometimes you can’t please everyone, and some decisions won’t please anyone, but it’s important that you live within your integrity so you can look in the mirror and know you did your best.
Ultimately, people like to do business with people they Know, Like and Trust. So it’s important to work on those 3 things personally and professionally.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.yinandyangconstruction.com ; www.crystal-chadwick.com
• Instagram: @crystal_chadwick ; @yinandyangconstruction
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/crystalmchadwick ; https://www.facebook.com/yinandyangconstruction
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/crystal-chadwick/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/yin-and-yang-construction-salt-lake-city-3

Image Credits
I own all the rights to these photos.