"Don't let the fear of striking out, keep you from playing the game."
Crystal Statskey is a Repurposing and Visibility Strategist running her business remotely while blogging and traveling the world. She helps overwhelmed entrepreneurs expand their visibility through content repurposing strategies so they can reach a wider audience, grow their impact, & fast-track big results.
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Table of Contents
Let’s start with a brief introduction first. Introduce yourself to our readers.
Crystal Statskey: Hi, I’m Crystal, and I’m a repurposing and visibility strategist that’s been working alongside clients to streamline their content marketing strategies and automate sales for several years. I help my clients build an unmistakable online presence, master their consistency, and gain massive visibility so they can turn their followers into sales, and become leaders in their industry.
Our audience is interested to know about how you got started in the first place. Did you always want to become a CEO or was it something you were led to? Our readers would love to know your story!
Crystal Statskey: Growing up, I always had fun creating and designing my blogs, creating posters and cards on my parents’ computer, and displaying my life on social media. Creativity fueled me. Even when I was young, I had business ideas and would try to implement them from home and encourage my parents and friends to be my customers. Anything from a movie rental business, a lemonade stand, dog walking, and doing freelance photography. I knew I wanted to be a CEO but in my own business. Never working for someone else.
I never would have thought all that fun would land my first client 10 years ago when a family friend asked me to do these things for them. I designed their website, created print marketing materials, and have been running their social media and email marketing ever since. (yes, they’re still with me!) As the years went by, I gained more clients even while I traveled and held down full-time jobs. Each job I had never felt like a good fit for me. Working for someone else really seemed to suck the life out of me and I was always left feeling down and depressed because of how limiting the role was by not being able to show my creativity or the fact that I was just overworked and underpaid. So, moving into running my own business was a no-brainer for me.
“Selfmade” is a myth. We all received help, no doubt you love to show appreciation to those who supported you when the going got tough, who has been your most important professional inspiration?
Crystal Statskey: Honestly, my initial business coach is really what changed the game for me. Starting my own business was exciting and I knew the gist of how to get things running, but to accelerate that success and start bringing in more money, I knew I had to get some guidance. She helped me hone in my messaging, find my niche, and gave me a blueprint that I could follow to find clients and you know what, IT WORKED! I would not be where I am today without her help.
How did your journey lead you to become a CEO? What difficulties did you face along the way and what did you learn from them?
Crystal Statskey: As I mentioned, growing up I always looked for ways to be creative, and running my little businesses (no matter how small) excited me. It wasn’t until I was in college when I started my first official business where I booked gigs for local bands. I made tons of connections with booking agents and drafted my legal contracts. I did it all, and it felt so good! It didn’t pay the bills though and because I was still in college, it sort of fell to the wayside. After college, I worked for a few different companies and on the side, I ran my travel blog. The travel blog was fun because I received opportunities to blog for events, restaurants, and hotels. It pushed me to see a different perspective in the world of digital marketing and it encouraged me to pursue what I am doing today. I told myself, “once I make over $3000/month doing this, I’ll quit my day job.” Well, that day never came, and instead, I lost my day job. Losing that financial security put my a$$ in gear and forced me into starting my own company. It was difficult, to say the least, but the only thing I wish I did differently was not waited so long. If it wasn’t for me losing my job, I probably would still be there – miserable and depressed because fear was holding me back. Something I told myself I’ll never let happen again.
Tell us about your company. What does your business do and what are your responsibilities as a CEO?
Crystal Statskey: I help overwhelmed entrepreneurs expand their visibility through content repurposing strategies so they can reach a wider audience, grow their impact, and fast-track big results. I work alongside my clients to build an unmistakable online presence, master consistency and gain massive visibility so my clients can turn their followers into clients, and become the go-to authority in their niche. Need a little extra support in the back-end of your business so you can stay in your zone of genius? That’s what I’m here for! I give my clients back their time and freedom so they can focus on what they LOVE doing because they know the back-end operations in their business are taken care of behind-the-scenes.
I have two assistants that help me with small daily tasks such as content scheduling, social media engagement, and creating graphics. It’s my job to be the final eye on all the work that goes out to my clients. As a CEO I handle all my billing, taxes, content creation, lead generation tactics, and the list could go on and on. I also have a women’s networking group called Monetize Your Passion Society, so I plan monthly in-person and virtual events like workshops, lunches, happy hours, and more.
What does CEO stand for? Beyond the dictionary definition, how would you define it?
Crystal Statskey: A CEO is me. I’m a business owner, entrepreneur, and the face of my company – that’s what a CEO is in my book.
When you first became a CEO, how was it different from what you expected? What surprised you?
Crystal Statskey: Becoming my CEO has been challenging to say the least. However, that’s something you have to expect when going into business for yourself. It’s not going to be easy, it’s going to be hard. It’s what is going to be on your mind all the time, even on your “off” days, it’s still a part of your everyday life. It’s your baby. The one thing that has surprised me the most has been my schedule. Honestly, people say running your own business means you have to work every single day, but that’s just not true. That’s why I have assistants, that’s why I have boundaries with my clients. It’s been amazing to make my schedule and work exactly when I want so I can live the life I’ve dreamed of living which consists of freedom and travel.
There are many schools of thought as to what a CEO’s core roles and responsibilities are. Based on your experience, what are the main things a CEO should focus on? Explain and please share examples or stories to illustrate your vision.
Crystal Statskey: As a CEO, the main thing you need to focus on its quality. Let me explain…No matter if you work for a large company or yourself, quality in the work you and your company put out means everything. Sure, I work for myself, but that doesn’t mean I work by myself. Other people are working in the background helping me run my business and grow. I never let them put out anything sub-par. Everything needs to look top-notch as if I had done the task myself.
Share with us one of the most difficult decisions you had to make for your company that benefited your employees or customers. What made this decision so difficult and what were the positive impacts?
Crystal Statskey: One of the most difficult decisions I have to make in my business is my pricing and in particular, raising my rates. Starting I had no idea how the heck to price out my packages and services. This is something else my business coach helped me with. Due to the way I work, and the services I have, I bill my clients hourly retainers. This means I have an hourly rate that my clients go by and as time goes on, I raise my rates every few months as any normal business does. It helps me grow and serve my clients better. It also helps me pay my assistants what they deserve. It’s always a difficult decision to raise rates because you never know how the client may react. Some of my clients never bat an eye because they realize the quality of work I do for them, and they wouldn’t want anyone else in their corner. Then I have other clients who have walked away because of my pricing increase. This is always a really tough decision and difficult situation, but it’s something in a business that has to be done. The clients who appreciate you and the work you do, are the ones who will stay with you no matter what.
How would you define success? Does it mean generating a certain amount of wealth, gaining a certain level of popularity, or helping a certain number of people?
Crystal Statskey: Success to me is being able to work a job that I enjoy and one that gives me the freedom to live the life I want. I’ve had the jobs that drain the life out of you, who work you to the bone and don’t show enough appreciation. You get 2 weeks of vacation a year and barely make enough to pay the bills. Success to me was always reaching a goal of having my own business, being able to work the hours I want to work, travel the world, and take as much vacation time as I want while being able to pay my bills comfortably and never having to stress about it. That’s what success has always meant to me.
Some leadership skills are innate while others can be learned. What leadership skills do you possess innately and what skills have you cultivated over the years as a CEO?
Crystal Statskey: There are many leadership skills I have found that I possess naturally because I’ve always felt that I am a born leader. I’ve been the one known to lead a group discussion, delegate tasks, and take ownership of the project at hand. I’m a very motivated woman and I’ve always loved teaching others things that I excel at. Over the years, I’ve had to focus on perseverance. Being a solopreneur, if something knocks you down, you’re on your own. You have to find a way to get back up and get back to running your business. You can’t let fear or difficulty delay you in achieving success.
How did your role as a CEO help your business overcome challenges caused by the pandemic? Explain with practical examples.
Crystal Statskey: I hate to admit, but 2020 was the BEST year I’ve ever had in my business. Talk about being in the right place at the right time. Establishing myself in the online space before the pandemic allowed me to be there for businesses that had to make a fast transition from doing everything in-person to having to do everything digitally. I had clients come to me because they saw something I had posted in a Facebook group weeks ago and they suddenly needed help because their business couldn’t do in-person events, they could only do virtual events which they had no experience doing let alone knowing how to market it. That’s exactly what I helped them with, being their extra support as they transitioned into the online space. This was also when I finally hired my assistants so I could have extra support on the back end because of the influx of clientele.
Do you have any advice for aspiring CEOs and future leaders? What advice would you give a CEO that is just starting on their journey?
Crystal Statskey: My advice to someone just starting on their journey as a CEO is to persevere. Don’t let the fear of striking out, keep you from playing the game. Fear holds you back from stepping fully into a leadership role. Whether that means working for someone or running your own company, you just have to do it.
Thank you for sharing some of your knowledge with our readers! They would also like to know, what is one skill that you’ve always wanted to acquire but never really could?
Crystal Statskey: I’ve always wanted to become fluent in sign language. I know, very random. I remember in 6th grade, there were a few weeks in my science class that we learned the alphabet in sign language and my whole world felt like it opened up. I found it to be a lot of fun and it’s still something I remember very well. I’ve learned a few sayings in sign language, and I can say, “thank you” to the cashier at Home Depot, but to have an actual conversation – I am not even close. I would enjoy becoming fluent and surprise someone the next time I have to write what I want down on a sheet of paper just to talk to them.
Before we finish things off, we have one final question for you. If you wrote a book about your life today, what would the title be?
Crystal Statskey: I love the book, “You’re a Badass at Making Money” by Jen Sincero. That book changed my mindset when I first started my business. So I would want my book to be something like… “I’m a Badass at Building my Business”. I don’t know…lame?
Jed Morley, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Crystal Statskey for taking the time to do this interview and share her knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Crystal Statskey or her company, you can do it through her – Linkedin Page
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