We recently connected with Krystal Portorreal and have shared our conversation below.

Krystal, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What do you think it takes to be successful?

I learned very quickly after leaving the military that success is so very relative. When I joined the military in 2002, I felt like it was going to be my ticket to “success”. At the time, to me, success meant a stable job and steady paycheck. During my time in the military as I became more and more unsatisfied, I often wondered why the steady job and paycheck wasn’t making me feel successful. It wasn’t fulfilling that true need we all have to feel accomplished.

So, in 2012, I separated from the military and started my own business. When I did that, my measure of “success” became how much money I was making in my business. That was the beginning of a dark time in my life honestly. Because business didn’t pick up right away, I spend years thinking I wasn’t successful. And as a result, I spent years wishing I could go back into the military.

You see, when our measures of success are dependent on outside factors, we often want to go backwards or suffer from “the grass is always greener” syndrome!

Fast forward to now, after my company has done more revenue in the last 3 years than the entire 8 years I’ve been in business, I’m not realizing that success isn’t measured by money, or a job, or how big your home is, or any of those outside things.

For me, success is measured in character, relationships, peace, kindness, and most of all self-love.

Without these things, no amount of money or things will make one feel truly successful.

Krystal, 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?

Helping others turn dreams to reality is a labor of love for Mrs. Krystal Kaye, Christian Content Creator, Brand Strategist, and owner of ADER Branding Company. Krystal loves to inspire with humor, scripture, and experience, and has worked with hundreds of clients to help them build their own brands since launching her business in 2014. Her passion for sharing with relatable and humorous content comes matched only by her desire to see other women go after what they desire most out of life! She believes we can all have success if we understand how it is measured.

Prior to becoming a designer, Krystal served in the U.S. Air Force for ten years, directly serving the US Secretary of Defense. When she’s not working or creating hilarious memes, Krystal loves spending time with her husband and their pup, Charlie, in their quiet cabin in the woods.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

A major thing I had to unlearn, was that I needed to hire every coach that knew more than me during my entrepreneurship journey.

Over the last 1.5yrs I have invested almost $100k in coaching. While some of it was very useful, most of it was me having insecurities about what I was capable of on my own.

I highly encourage entrepreneurs getting help when it’s needed, but we have to stop believing that we are not capable! Stop and take a breath before you over-invest and think about WHY you are investing. Do you really need the coaching, or are you simply insecure about what you are capable on your own.

Unfortunately there are those that will take advantage of your insecurity of you let them! Be sure to vet, and never be too quick with your investments.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

The best source of new clients for me hands-down has been referrals. Up until now, referrals have been about 80% of my revenue. Some of those referrals are direct word of mouth, but many of them also just saw our company name at the bottom of a website and contacted us from there.

This is an important lesson for all creatives! You should not be just depending on social media to get new clients. Ask for referrals on a regular basis from your current clients. If they are happy, they will be more than willing to share.

As a caveat to this, be sure you are only asking for referrals from clients that you actually enjoyed working with! You don’t want to attract more problem clients.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.mrskrystalkaye.com/social
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrskrystalkaye/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/krystal-portorreal-9088a7a2
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWVZ1xu5c0KgUptwuA6vUfg

Image Credits
Photographer: Denise Benson