“This is your blessing”
From social work to entrepreneurship, a guaranteed income story
As a social worker, Crystal Crawford was used to being the one helping people in crisis find the assistance they needed. But when her job was cut during the pandemic, she faced a crisis of her own. After being selected for Atlanta’s IMPACT guaranteed income program, Crystal focused on making a transition, learning about entrepreneurship and launching her businesses.
Today, she’s a workforce consultant and strategist helping executives and senior leaders drive business outcomes. She’s also a public speaker, inspiring thousands of leaders worldwide–and even speaking at an event with President Joe Biden.
Tomas Vargas, Jr. sat down with Crystal to learn more about her experience, and why guaranteed income programs are an important safety net for everybody–not just those who we traditionally think of as needing support.
Guaranteed Income Works: Tell me a little bit about yourself and your family and where you’re from.
Crystal: I was born and raised in the Augusta area, near the border of Georgia and South Carolina. I am the oldest of two daughters. I come from a family where I am a first generation college graduate student, and so I am one of the first to attend and graduate college as well.
My dad is military and my mom–neither one of them went to college, so high school diplomas–but they have done very well for themselves and they put me and my sister through school.
Guaranteed Income Works: How did you hear about the Guaranteed Income Program, and then how did you feel when you found out that you were selected?
Crystal: I heard about the Guaranteed Income Program from one of my case managers at the Urban League of Greater Atlanta. They actually called me, because I was participating in one of their coaching programs for finances. And when she called me, she said, “Hey, I have this opportunity for you. Would you be interested?”
So how did I feel about it? I initially said no, and the reason why I said no was because at the time I was a social worker. I had just lost my position during the pandemic, but because I was a social worker, I knew if it got really bad, I knew how to get resources, and I figured why take a spot from someone that could probably use it more than I could?
And so I told them no initially, and then I talked to my mentor. I told her about the opportunity. She said, “Call them back. This is your blessing.” And it was up from there. I called them back and I said, “Hey, I think I feel comfortable enough to move forward.” And so I went through the program, and all was well.
Guaranteed Income Works: That’s beautiful. Did you have any plans for how you would use the money?
Crystal: I absolutely had plans on how I was going to use the money. The biggest thing was for me to get ahead of bills–to catch up and get ahead of the bills. That was the main thing. But the other thing was that I had other opportunities that kind of fell in my lap, because I wasn’t getting a lot of traction to get hired again for another position.
I figured, I said, “Hey, this is your opportunity to start your business.” And so I ended up using some of that money to start my consulting firm, which I’m very grateful for right now because it not only allowed me to start my consulting firm, but I was also able to start up another product-based business, so I was a true entrepreneur because of the added income that I now had.
Guaranteed Income Works: What was the biggest change you experienced coming from the Guaranteed Income Program?
Crystal: Ooh, the biggest change that I believe came from it was the mindset around these individual programs. Because I had that social worker mindset, I understood what it felt to be a consumer and what those programs really meant for people. Like, they’re life-changing programs. And so as a social worker, we are often the ones that are giving, and we’re like, “Oh, they’re not showing up.” Honey, they’re in the middle of a crisis. What barriers are you putting in place that prevent them from showing up?
And so that made me think as a consumer, like, there were a couple of hurdles that were happening at the time, and I had to make sure that I stayed on my Ps and Qs. And I was like, “A-ha, now I understand what my clients were going through at the time.” And it was no longer about me, it’s about how could I become a better server, whether I was going back to social work or I was gonna be a true entrepreneur, which I truly understood.
Now it’s definitely “we” over “me”. That’s what really changed for me, it’s like I got to see what it was like to receive the service instead of providing the service, and it made me become a better service provider.
Guaranteed Income Works: That’s amazing. So, what did you do after the program ended? Are you in a different financial position than you were before?
Crystal: Yeah, absolutely. After the program ended, I did a little crying. Of course, I wanted it to last forever, but I realized that they had another cohort that came after us. I would have loved to have been in all the cohorts, because it really is a great safety net.
Regardless if you have a regular, consistent income, having that extra safety net really, really, really made a difference. And am I different in a financial position? Absolutely, because I went into entrepreneurship. It gave me endless capabilities. Like, there’s no longer a cap on my income now.
And so having that pocket of money there every month, it provided me with the opportunity to say, “You know what? I don’t need the 9:00 to 5:00.” I can go get the 9:00 to 5:00, but I no longer needed it. And it made me realize that with entrepreneurship, you can make as much money or as little money as you want to.
And so for me, it absolutely changed things. I am in a different financial position. So I’m forever grateful for just having that mindset shift, but also the opportunity to really, truly build out my clientele during that time.
Guaranteed Income Works: What’s your response to critics that say guaranteed income recipients just need to work harder?
Crystal: To the critics that say that guaranteed income folks need to work harder, I say, “Watch your mouth.”
But honestly, I remind them that there’s individuals like me. I tell everyone that asks me this type of question: I don’t fit the mold. I don’t have children. I’m not married. I live in a metro city. I’m educated. I don’t fit the mold that they’re typically, you know, advertising this and marketing this to.
However, I was in the same situation that a lot of people in the program were in. I needed it. And so I remind them and tell them, like, “Hey, needing guaranteed income could happen to anyone.” I feel like everyone needs that safety net–single, married, with kids or no kids, living in a metro area, or living in a rural area. With the economy right now, we all need a safety net.
And so for the critics, I need you to take 10 steps back and look at what’s going around you right now, especially in today’s world. Everyone needs to have that opportunity if they need it, okay? If they need it. And encourage them to say, “Hey, even if you don’t think you need it, let’s give it a try and see what you can do with an extra $500 to $800 a month.”
Guaranteed Income Works: Anything else you would tell folks about your story?
Crystal: Yeah, absolutely. One thing that I want people to remember about my story is that, number one, when the opportunities come and present themselves, don’t be afraid to say yes. That yes could be the one yes that changes your life. And so I want people that are running these programs to understand that there’s people like me that will say no. Figure out why they told you no.
There’ll be people that say yes. Provide the services, the wraparound services that are going to make them succeed day one to whenever the program ends. And so that’s basically what I want them to know, is that because I did not fit the mold, don’t count those people out.