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

KRYSTAL, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

I want to preface this by saying that I love this question because it’s one I didn’t always feel proud to articulate. The story behind EM/POWEREDbyWMN isn’t one of meticulous business planning and a grand vision from the start. Instead, it’s a story of natural progression, learning by doing, harnessing a million ideas, and allowing intuition and joy to lead the way.

The lack of systems and strategies at the start of our story for a while led me to feel a bit of imposter syndrome-thinking who am I to position myself as a leader for other women in business when my own business wasn’t one built from traditional start-up norms and was still in its early stages where I’m still figuring things out for myself? However, I’ve come to love and share our story proudly because it’s real. I know our evolution isn’t the only one that grew from humble beginnings and thoughts of “We’ll see where the wind takes me.”

While the lack of structure in the beginning may have looked messy for any business strategist, it didn’t feel messy. In fact, it felt right…and in retrospect, I recognize that it was by design.

So, let me take you back to what that looked like.

EM/POWEREDbyWMN was actually the byproduct of my first business, BOOKofBIJOUX, an innovative jewelry storage line designed to look and function like a coffee table book. When I chose to go into business for myself, I knew I wanted to create an incredible community of support around me. They often say entrepreneurship is lonely, but I was adamant that would not be my story, and I had already committed to myself that I would start living life on my terms. One of those terms was having a network of amazing women around me who were also in the entrepreneurial space. Another one of those terms was that I would start welcoming in more joy now, not ten years down the line after working myself to the ground.

So, I started the EM/POWEREDbyWMN platform to create a space where women, myself included, could be inspired by other women’s stories, ambition, and determination. I wanted to create a space where women could connect, and social media could be more than a vanity, surface-level highlight reel. I wanted to create a space where I could have fun and love the people I was surrounded by. What I did not know I wanted was for this space to turn into an incredibly exciting business. That lightbulb took a few months to flicker on.

But since ideation, our growth has been organic and authentic. It feels intentional and grounded.

… and all that we’re building is happening through trial and error and allowing myself grace as we navigate our next step.

I’ve had to learn (and am still learning) what it takes, both on the front end and the back end, to make a membership work seamlessly and ensure it is as valuable as possible to the women we’re dedicated to serving. Part of that is getting really good at learning different platforms, technology, and automations. Every day, I’m learning the different functionality of programs like WIX, Notion, or Mighty Networks so that we can keep making the process easier and the perks more accessible. And as is the case for most of us, I’m only able to know what’s next and needed, because we’re still in the trenches of building. This process is constantly opening my eyes to where we’re lacking and where the holes in our processes are.

We’ve had to learn how to not just host events but maximize them, touching on all the points of fun, innovation, education, and fostering environments that allow the connections made to extend far beyond the event itself. This includes all of the communication that has to be done before, during and after the event. The way we speak about what we’re building has changed so much since we’ve started. Storytelling truly is an art and there is always opportunity to refine our messaging.

I’ve also had to get really good at discerning which ideas should be pursued, which opportunities aren’t aligned, and which tasks need to be delegated as soon as possible. As entrepreneurs, we tend to have so many ideas but realistically we can’t achieve all of them at once nor tend to them in the same capacity. This was hard for me to grapple with in the past because I truly do feel capable of achieving them all. But I’ve come to recognize the power of understanding your own bandwidth and being deliberate about where you’re pouring your energy and time.

For me, it hasn’t just been idea to execution. It’s a pattern of idea, community polling, trial, reflection, doubling down (or dropping/postponing the idea entirely), and refinement. This pattern has allowed me to keep showing up with intention and integrity, and I’ve loved where it’s taken us so far.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m a 2x founder, philanthropist, writer, speaker, small business hypewoman, and most importantly momma to the three sweetest little kiddos!

I grew up in a very creative household and knew I would be an entrepreneur since high school. So it’s been interesting to see how everything has unfolded until now.

The launch of BOOKofBIJOUX felt like a culmination of all the little facets and experiences of my life, from selling jewelry to having a love for interior design to gravitating towards jobs that offered me more autonomy and positioning myself into various leadership roles.

As I mentioned above, BOOKofBIJOUX ultimately led to the creation of EM/POWEREDbyWMN, which has now taken over my life in the best way possible.

In having to build an audience from scratch for BOOKofBIJOUX, I started by simply hosting joint giveaways to leverage the established audiences of other brands. That process triggered my desire to get to know the women I collaborated with on a deeper level. So, I would interview them. Those interviews would later turn into the official EM/POWEREDbyWMN podcast. From there, the desire to connect with even more women intensified. The question went from “How can I get to know these women better?” to “How do I get these women in person?” Fast forward a few months from launch and we hosted our very first Women’s Empowerment Market in May of 2022. We had 20 women-owned businesses, two photo ops, more than 10 raffle prizes donated to us, and we raised more than $2,000 for the Ann-Jeanette Change(ing) Lives Scholarship Fund with Contra Costa College.

That event catapulted a new trajectory for our organization and for my life.

That event solidified us as an emerging community and solidified in me the path I was destined to journey on.

That event started funneling the electricity that would later lead to my lightbulb moment of what I would soon create.

Ever since that first market, it’s been a whirlwind of revelations, synergisms, collaborations, brainstorming, and community feedback that has allowed us to build a strong foundation for what EM/POWEREDbyWMN is all about-connection, support, and visibility.

So many women have such incredible stories to tell and mind-blowing talents to share but don’t feel worthy of taking up the space to share it or don’t even know where to begin, even if they do. We create stages to give them the platform to share those stories whether that’s through the EM/POWEREDbyWMN podcast, one of our virtual workshops, or an in-person summit. We also help position them into press and speaking opportunities by leveraging our media partnerships and various relationships we’re building with other event organizers and community leaders.

So many women have lived the narrative that entrepreneurship is lonely. We’re actively combatting that narrative by creating more spaces for connection and showing them what’s possible when you allow yourself to be in the room… a room which, yes, you are welcome in regardless of how long you’ve been in business. I’ve already seen so many beautiful friendships and collaborations form between the women in our community, and that alone is powerful.

So many women feel stuck because their resources are limited. We’re on a mission to make resources more accessible and help others recognize the power of pooling our knowledge and being the facilitators for the connections each other is seeking. We offer biweekly workshops touching on multiple topics led by industry experts. We’ve partnered with incredible platforms and organizations to provide our Members with exclusive discounts on the things they need to run their businesses effectively. We also host weekly Mastermind calls to offer group coaching. 1:1 coaching is often out of the question for a lot of small business owners because of the associated costs. What’s amazing about our calls, aside from the accessibility, is that our women come from so many different industries, so we’re constantly learning from each other and finding those golden nuggets that support our own work.

All of that leads me to say, I’m most proud of the integrity and authenticity of our community. We’ve been attracting the most incredible women into this space—women genuinely who want to see each other win, who don’t hesitate to share their knowledge, who want to get involved in the mission of the person next to them, and who actively seek out opportunities to shop, refer or collaborate with one another.

When you walk into an EM/POWEREDbyWMN space, you can feel the difference. The energy is more than just welcoming. We celebrate you in all of your accomplishments and hold space for you in all of your challenges. You have the opportunity to take up space or to sit back and soak in the energy and insights of the women around you. Either way, you know the support is there, and we’re cheering you on whether you prefer we do that quietly or out loud.

This also isn’t a community where one leader holds all of the answers, and you only get to speak about your work on a “promotional Friday”. You truly get to come and showcase everything you’re working on to the rest of the community because we want people to know what you’ve got going on! We want you to bring your magic into the space.

Another thing that truly sets us apart is our online Woman-Owned Small Business Directory, which now has more than 70 woman-owned brands across the U.S. This Directory is accessible to the public—not just Members of our community. That means anyone can check it out to find their new favorite local woman-owned shops and professionals to support.

Our Directory is designed to be very user-friendly and diverse so that our site visitors and Members alike can shop with intention. For instance, if I wanted to connect with an AAPI-owned jewelry brand, I could do that easily using our search features. This is especially nice for certain holidays or months where you want to be really specific about who you’re supporting like looking for mom-owned businesses to support for Mother’s Day or black-owned businesses for Black History Month. We are also specifically not a marketplace because we want the profits of any sales to go directly into the pockets of the women behind the brands.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Reflecting on our journey thus far, social media has been so much more than a vanity platform. It’s been a powerful tool to intertwine the lives of so many women from across the world who share my passion for supporting other women in the entrepreneurial space.

As I mentioned previously, we started our brand with zero audience so I had to get really creative about how I would start building. With BOOKofBIJOUX, we had this beautiful product line, but one that only organized jewelry and didn’t actually manufacture it. So, it felt like an obvious first step to collaborate with brands that were complementary to our business—brands that did, in fact, manufacture or sell jewelry.

These giveaways were my first step in the doorway to the power of collaboration and opened my eyes to the idea that you move faster when you move with other people.

We were going to build our audience by leveraging the power of people. This is a concept we carried into EM/POWEREDbyWMN.

I learned very quickly that while we’re trying to build an audience, so are most of the people around us. For some reason, we get so in our heads convincing ourselves that no one would want to work with us. Yet, the opposite is true. There are so many people out there waiting for an opportunity to join forces with people like you and people like me. It’s on us to present them with that opportunity. When we do, the yes often comes easier than we anticipate. And those collaborations are what begin compounding your brand presence.

Aside from joint giveaways, we also have guests on our podcast (or I guest on other podcasts), host events, cohost events, and spotlight different Members of our community. These are all opportunities for collaboration, and through things like this, you naturally have shared posts because you’re both working to bring something to light. When you do, take advantage of Instagram’s collaboration feature. This allows your post to not only live on your Instagram feed but also the feed(s) of your collaborator(s), who ideally already have a built-in audience with your client avatar.

If collaboration isn’t an option, you can still create shareable content. Maybe you’re at an event with a large amount of people. Create content from the event (bonus points if you can squeeze in a teaser or two of who you are and/or what you do) and tag who you connected with. There’s a large chance they will repost your content. And as nature has it, people love being curious! If someone from their audience sees the content they reposted from you, they may just dig a little deeper to figure out who you are.

Other shareable content ideas can be educational items like how to save money on taxes, your favorite holiday recipe that’s both healthy and fun, or a really powerful quote (everyone loves to share a good quote).

From there, my next top tip would be to be authentic. Truly show up as yourself. Share the ideas you’re actually thinking. Show the behind-the-scenes of your life. Give people a sneak peek into the debates you have with yourself or your loved ones and, more importantly, invite them into the conversation. Give yourself the grace to be raw and transparent. All of this opens the door to genuine engagement which then leads to a loyal audience.

People want to support other people. People resonate with real. Your audience will build on your authenticity. That’s not strategy, that’s just the truth. Once you come to terms with that, it’s such a refreshing feeling because you allow yourself to show up the way you were always meant to. This then triggers a really beautiful cyclical effect because the more you show up really grounded in your mission and message, the harder it will hit home for people and the louder it will be to hear. So, you begin attracting a larger, more aligned, audience into what you’re building.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I’m so incredibly passionate about what we’re building, and I know that shines through in the way I show up and speak about our community and platform. Excitement is contagious. When you show up excited, people want to get excited with you. When you bring good energy, people enjoy themselves more and then naturally want more of it. The energy from our very first event was palpable and really was a defining moment for our organization and the reputation we’ve built since.

The women we’ve been attracting into our community have truly been energetic alignment. The way you show up in your business is the way it will grow (or not). I made a conscious choice at the beginning of my journey to lead in a way where the people in our community could be a part of what I’m building, not just an onlooker or stranger in the crowd. When people speak about EM/POWEREDbyWMN, they literally refer to it as our community–not Krystal’s community–and that’s something I’m so proud of. Community isn’t just a buzzword for us. It’s the heart of everything we do and people see that.

Our testimonials have also helped us immensely. A lot of our growth can be attributed to word of mouth, but that word was inspired by the experience and support we give our Members. It’s a testament to our leadership which is grounded in integrity, authenticity, and service.

As I dove into quite a bit above, collaboration has also been a driving force in building our reputation. Building trust is a huge part of building an audience. By partnering with other incredible brands and well-respected individuals in our community, that automatically creates more credibility for our own brand and further strengthens our reputation as a powerful and trustworthy platform.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.empoweredbywmn.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/empoweredbywmn
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/empoweredbywmn
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/krystaljugarap/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@empoweredbywmn
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/show/1rJbuAI7YB0Zy2qd0aXZme?si=f22eb486093b4459

Image Credits
PINK SALT PHOTOS, HAZEL LUNA, DELARA KIANI