We’re celebrating Social Native creators with our new series: The Creator Journey.
Celebrating Female Creators: Meet Crystal Ngumezi
To celebrate Women’s History month, we want to shine the spotlight on some of our extraordinary female creators who are following their passions to positively impact our community. These ambitious women are using their platforms to support, encourage, and empower the next generation of women leaders.
Crystal Ngumezi is a talented entrepreneur, influential creator, and the CEO/Founder of The Proverbs 31, Women’s Organization. As a former engineer, Crystal has dedicated her career to mentoring future women leaders in STEM and business training. In addition to her day-to-day as a CEO, Crystal has established herself as a successful creator, curating content for popular brands like Intel, Vitamin Shoppe, and Clinique. In her online and in-person communities, Crystal is equipping women with the training and confidence to achieve their dreams in business.
Q: As the CEO of the 501(c)(3) non-profit, The Proverbs 31 Women’s Organization (centered on mentorship, discipleship, STEM, and business training), what do you wish you could tell your younger self?
I wish I could tell my younger self that,
“Your dreams are worth reaching for.”
As a young girl, I was very timid and shy, and I really didn’t believe in my self-worth. I was a natural born leader, but I didn’t have a lot of self-confidence to make my own decisions. I would tell my younger self to,
“Trust your instincts and believe in what inspires you – because God put it there for a reason.”
Q: As an entrepreneur coach, what are two key skills women need to be successful in launching a non-profit?
As a coach, I recommend two things for women interested in starting their own non-profit organizations:
1. Gain knowledge and wisdom from CEOs in the non-profit industry. Nothing beats hands-on experience! You will need this kind of first-person insight to start and run a successful non-profit organization.
2. Start with the highest “need-based” priority first.
The kind of women I consult with that are ready to launch their own non-profits either have multiple services they want to supply, or multiple communities they want to serve. My recommendation is to start with the highest “need-based” service first, and to serve the community that is the easiest to reach and raise funding for. Once this is done, that individual can then integrate additional services, programming and communities into their business model along the way.
“I feel like the life of a creator is to make the kind of art that inspires and impacts the world – and I feel like I’m doing that in my own way.” @crystalngumezi
Q: What is your favorite campaign that you have worked on with Social Native and why?
My favorite Social Native campaign has been the campaign I did in collaboration with Macy’s. I’m a fashion girl, and I love Macy’s, so this was the perfect collaboration for me. I loved being able to creatively direct my own shoot using the look I picked out from their site. It was a cool project.
Q: What is your favorite part in the content creation process?
My favorite parts in the content creation process are the idea and execution phases. I love coming up with new fun and creative ideas to tell a story, and being able to execute my ideas in ways that get my audience excited to support the brands I share. I’ve always loved being challenged mentally and creatively, and being able to share my love for photography in new ways. Creating content allows me to stimulate both parts of my brain (the creative and analytical sides), which keeps things fun and interesting for me as a creative and entrepreneur.
Q: What’s one piece of advice you would like to give aspiring female creators?
One piece of advice I would like to give to aspiring female creators is to develop a business-mind. I know that as creatives, it can sometimes be challenging to think “business” when creating art – but it’s paramount when trying to run a successful brand. Your brand is a business, and therefore, should be run as one. If you are not that “business savvy”, look into hiring a manager to help you with the business side of things so that you can focus on creating the art.
Q: What does “female mentorship” mean to you?
To me, female mentorship means having a female advisor and/or accountability partner that is going to stretch you mentally, educationally, and spiritually. A mentor should enhance your quality of life in some way by expanding your capacity. The best mentors I’ve had have inspired me, and evoked some kind of positive change in my life that led me further towards purpose. I believe female mentors should evoke this same kind of change in the lives of young women, and this is why I created my non-profit organization, The Proverbs 31 Women’s Organization.
Q: How do you balance content creation along with coaching, your ministry podcast, and your work as a non-profit CEO?
I am a very big proponent of prioritization. I don’t really believe in the concept of “balance”, however, I do believe that having a healthy prioritized schedule can create the kind of “balance” that allows a person to live a very productive life.
As a content creator, coach, podcast host, and non-profit CEO, I use Google Calendar, Asana, and a couple of other helpful planning tools to help me prioritize my days so that I can efficiently and effectively execute my daily/weekly/monthly tasks and assignments.
I believe that we are all called to a higher purpose, and that in order to achieve that purpose, we must first become better stewards of our time. In doing so, I believe that God will add to our territories so that we can have more fulfilling lives. I am not living in all of the “titles and roles” I’m supposed to just yet, but I do believe that in honoring the roles and commitments I do have, God will add more.
Q: What did you dream of doing as a career when you were a little girl?
As a little girl, I dreamed of becoming a singer! Very far from what I actually do now lol (but I’m okay with that). I transitioned from working as a mechanical engineer in corporate America, to running and managing my own brands and businesses as a non-profit CEO and entrepreneur (but who knows, singing professionally may still be in my future).
As a little girl, I loved to perform. I was singing, dancing, writing songs, and leading/directing my own singing groups. Now, I perform online through my various brands and lead women towards purpose, so I guess I’m not too far off from my “performing” dreams.
Q: Has there been a highlight moment in your career as a creator where you felt you made an impact?
I share a lot of my personal testimony and journey through my content as a creator. I have “highlight moments” that make me feel like I’m making an impact in my career when people reach out to me about how I’ve impacted them in some way. Whether through sharing my story online as a content creator, helping women start new brands and businesses as a coach, speaking life into others as a Christian podcast host, or mentoring young girls as a non-profit CEO, I know that my life is making an impact because of these personal testimonies.
I feel like the life of a creator is to make the kind of art that inspires and impacts the world – and I feel like I’m doing that in my own way.
