Today we’d like to introduce you to Crystal Victoria.
Crystal, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My story begins as a kid, and observing what appeared to be two completely different worlds and lifestyles in the same city. Back then, social media didn’t exist, so observing wealthy people’s lives required that you have access to certain networks and that you leave your community. My grandmother worked as a maid for an extremely wealthy family in Denton, Texas. Some days she would pick me up after school and take me to work with her to help out with house keeping duties and cleaning in the homes of this wealthy family, who owned several massive homes in the most expensive area of town. At the time, she had been their maid for over 25 years and also their Nanny, helping to care for their children and later their grandchildren.
My job was to iron bed linens and sheets, then neatly fold and stack them in the linen closets. After that, my job was to vacuum clean the stairs. One day, it occurred to me that this family lived a very different life than I did. It seemed much easier and not burdened with the challenges of having enough money for bills. They had a full-time Maid, Nanny, and other staff in their homes. My mom, aunts, and uncles all worked hard to provide a stable life and sometimes worked multiple jobs to pay bills.
My mother had a very good job at a local trucking company and made a decent middle class income, but we still struggled a lot. My father died in a car accident when I was six months old. My mother raised me as a single parent and was always at work to make sure I had a better life and education than she did. The interesting part is that I’m from a family who was not exposed to entrepreneurship nor business owners. I am the first and only entrepreneur in my family.
When I first observed the family my grandmother worked for living “more comfortably”, I wanted to help my mom and my family out. I started asking questions because I was a very smart and curious kid. I had questions like, “Why can’t we live like these people?”, “What are they doing that we’re not doing?”, “What do they do for a living?”. Neither my mother or grandmother could answer those questions, and some of the answers I got made me frustrated and confused. I didn’t understand. According to my mom and sometimes the rest of my family, I was “just too smart for my own good.” I never understood what that meant because I was praised for being a straight “A” student. But when I would get told “I’m too smart”, I thought it meant something was wrong with me, or that I was bad. The frustration from being confused, led me to getting in a whole lot of trouble at a young age. When I got to high school, I quit listening to most adults because I was living in a ton of contradictions by doing so, and it was driving me crazy. I could never figure out what they wanted me to do. Maybe I simply didn’t understand balance back then, but something didn’t make sense about life at all. I felt like I was missing some information.
Looking back, I realize being “too smart for your own good” really means your courageous, creative, and curious. I also think it means you are an entrepreneur. Being smart and asking questions as a kid can make adults uncomfortable. I asked questions that were sometimes uncomfortable, and hard for adults to answer and explain to a child. The answers I was seeking required knowledge of entrepreneurship, but also a harsh reality check. Although life isn’t fair, and being a minority female is difficult, in some cases it required that my mom and family accept responsibility and certain things about themselves that they may not have wanted to admit to me at that time. In addition, it was just a different time and generation. They didn’t have computers and cell phones or access to information the way I did growing up.
To sum it up, we live in a world of “haves and have nots”, but “Why is that?” was the question I was always confused about as a kid. I honestly believe our youth see this on a daily basis now due to social media, and the same frustrations and questions I had, there are now millions of kids with these same thoughts and who will suffer without having a program like what I’ve created with Target Evolution’s Teen Biz Camp. My family wanted the best for me and they all gave me the best they could with what they knew and had. Entrepreneurship education wasn’t a popular concept or even an educational subject back then, but now we have the power to change that and give equal access to entrepreneurial education to every child.
After getting into lots of trouble and navigating my way out through education and starting a business, I realized that the whole time I was an entrepreneur who didn’t know it or have guidance and neither did they. Nothing was wrong with me at all, but it was far to late for me to change some of the mistakes I’ve made. Those mistakes are some of my biggest regrets.
Every since I figured out that I’m a natural born entrepreneur, life has been completely amazing. I’m no longer confused and frustrated about life. I’ve built two successful companies in the last ten years and had a few failures too. Today, I’m a published author of 4 books and a college textbook, and Founder and Executive Director of Target Evolution (which is the #1 After-School & Summer Youth Entrepreneurship Program in Texas). I’ve been interviewed in magazines, radio shows, and news stations internationally, and I’m excited about the work I was born to do with youth and young adults.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road has NOT been smooth. My journey has been full of detours and learning curves. When I started Target Evolution in 2011, the entire concept of entrepreneurial ecosystems and education was still new. There were a lot of organizations that would only cater to certain types of entrepreneurs and businesses. As a young woman in this emerging demographic, it was very hard to be taken seriously. A lot of people had unrealistic expectations of what entrepreneurship was and who could teach it. There were even more doubts about whether it could be taught and if so, how to teach it, and if it was important. When I first started, a lot of people thought I was crazy, or it was “cute or nice” charity work. I always felt it was an important life skill that could improve economic mobility and lift people out of poverty. There are critical life skills that entrepreneurship education teaches. It’s way more important and needed than it was given credit for originally, but looking into the future of 21st Century Workforce and emerging “Gig Economy,” it is imperative that our youth learn and build these skills as early as possible.
The mistakes I’d once made were the only reason that I personally had the tenacity to keep going and building Target Evolution when it got tough. Because I wanted to quit and give up almost every month when I first started. This was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. In the words of a very good friend of mine, Antong Lucky, “I’m not perfect, but God saw I was available”. I was willing to do the work and work harder than anyone else, and for that, I’ve been rewarded, but not one day was easy.
Please tell us about your organization.
My organization is Target Evolution, Inc, which is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization established in 2011. Our mission is “Creating a successful, purposeful generation of young entrepreneurs prepared for life in the 21st Century”. We provide entrepreneurship education, resources, and access to opportunities for youth ages 12-24 to start a small business and earn money to help pay for college and other activities while learning financial literacy, leadership, and soft skills.
We are experts in entrepreneurship education and specialize in working with young individuals from disadvantaged communities, but we work with all kids. Currently, we have major partnerships with Houston Community College, Greater Houston Black Chamber of Commerce, Hire Houston Youth (Mayor’s Youth Workforce Council), Workforce Solutions Greater Dallas, and the University of Texas at Dallas.
What sets us apart and makes us the #1 program is our data-driven and evidence-based entrepreneurship education model and our Teen Biz Pop Up Shop store at Memorial City Mall Houston and soon launching in Dallas this summer!
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My favorite childhood memory is watching reruns of “I Love Lucy” and learning to embrace comedy with strategy. As a child, I studied Lucille Ball and took theater classes in school. I never really wanted to be an actress, but I wanted to be a dancer and comedian like Lucille Ball. What I found out later was that Lucille Ball was more than an actress and comedian. She was a powerhouse in Hollywood in the 50s & 60s, producing most of the films and TV Shows during that time through her company, Desilu Productions. She was the most powerful woman in Hollywood up until the time of her death. When I found that out, I realized exactly why I was so drawn to her as a child.
I’ve been known to make people laugh quite a bit, and it’s one of the main things I remember growing up. I was always funny and had a great idea that at times would end up in a complete disaster, but we’d have fun trying and get lots of laughs. Teens in my program have told their parents they have such a good time because I’m fun to work with. It’s not hard to make me giggle, so my foolishness works extremely well to shape our work with children. I also believe it’s part of the reason I’ve been blessed to build some incredible teams and been given the opportunity to work along side of some truly amazing people.
Pricing:
- The Entrepreneur’s Workbook- Textbook -$99
Contact Info:
- Website: targetevolution.org
- Phone: 214-830-4677
- Email: crystal@
targetevolution.org - Instagram: instagram.com/
crystalvictoria107 - Facebook: facebook.com/
targetevolution - Twitter: twitter.com/
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