We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Crystal Willis. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Crystal below.

Crystal, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

Often in life, we’re taught to do what is practical, logical and safe. I remember sitting in the office at my Fortune 500 job imagining what life would look like if I threw out the rule book and just took off to the other side of the world. I stumbled on a book called ‘The Four Hour Work Week’ and it blew my mind to read about author Tim Ferris’ journey to a freedom lifestyle.

During the Spring of 2016, I’d filed for divorce and was taking a medical leave of absence from my job to tend to my mental health. I faced a major decision to go back to the life that was familiar, but anxiety-inducing. I realized in that moment that the risk associated with the uncertainty of choosing freedom were far outweighed by the depression of accepting a life I knew didn’t fulfill me. Now, when I coach entrepreneurs, I don’t ever recommend leaping without a parachute (.ie months worth of savings or a profit-bearing side hustle already in place). In June 2016, I took the leap by quitting my job and cashing out my nominal 401K, then made it stretch as long as I could. By the grace and generosity of family and friends, I was able to make it to the other side of what inevitably became a period of housing and food insecurity. Facing homelessness will truly test the grit and determination of a person.

That risk wasn’t exceptionally calculated, and I’d venture to say I took the harder route. However, I wouldn’t change that decision for anything because it’s made me who I am now – resilient AF. Now in my eighth year of entrepreneurship, risk taking has become an essential aspect of my success in business and life. I’ve invested over $100,000 into my company and personal growth in various ways like courses and coaching, hiring staff when I didn’t have the money, and traveling around the country to expand my network. I now enjoy a great deal of time freedom, have a profitable business and travel every month or so. None of this would be possible if I chose to play it safe and not take any risks.

Crystal, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My journey has taken me from Hollywood Publicist working in Corporate Entertainment (music/film/television) for nearly two decades, to a life of entrepreneurship as a Marketing Consultant and Master Transformation Life Coach. I help visionary leaders and creatives, especially women, to own their story and leverage it to create massive impact and income. I envision a world where every purpose-driven leader can achieve the clarity and confidence they need to bring their gifts to the world and live a limitless life.

I own a Marketing and PR Consulting company, The Omni Firm, and a mentorship community called ‘Her Limitless Legacy’. Through digital marketing, public relations, and personal development coaching I help women to work through their trauma, leverage their story as their footstool and create the life they want. I’m super excited for 2025 because I’ll be hosting my first annual conference and retreat!

How did you build your audience on social media?

The most effective ways I’ve found to build an engaged and organic audience on social media has been to create consistent messaging, post often and get out and network. Speaking on aligned podcast platforms, public appearances and networking often results in nice boosts of aligned followers. My audience is not super large (yet) but I place a higher importance on quality over quantity. I think that is a great approach to choosing your circle in general.

At Omni Firm, we do offer a full suite of social media content strategy, content production and social media management. I work with some incredible young talent and preferred vendors to level up the quality of social platforms and leverage those platforms to tell stories that matter and connect you with your audience.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Absolutely! I used to think that staying relevant and being important meant I needed to be at every Hollywood event and make friends with a lot of celebrities. I allowed my career in entertainment to determine my worthiness. Once the lack of fulfillment in that approach finally set in, I got present with myself, hired a life coach and was willing to ask some hard questions. I discovered that my commitment to fulfilling my purpose as a coach, speaker and artist was the only true path to fulfillment for me. For the last couple years, I’ve been positioning myself to pivot into coaching and thought leadership full-time, and I feel genuine joy from seeing women glow from the realization of how worthy, capable and valuable they are.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://CrystalWillis.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/mscrystalwillis
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MsCrystalWillis
• Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/crystalwillis
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@mscrystalwillis
• Other: https://TheOmniFirmLA.com

Image Credits

Jarrod Maurice Williams
Aija Jackson, Jackson Visuals