Today we’d like to introduce you to Crystal Hughes.
Hi Crystal, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My story started long before I had the titles I have today. I became a mother at just 16 years old. I was young, ambitious, and determined, but being a young entrepreneur came with challenges. People didn’t always take me seriously. Sometimes it felt like others believed I was too young to have the things I wanted or to build the kind of life I envisioned for myself. But becoming a young mother didn’t stop my dreams—it gave me another reason to pursue them.
I became a licensed cosmetologist and started my first business at 21. I literally raised my oldest daughter in the salon. She grew up watching me work, build, struggle, create, and keep going. Today, she has built her own successful career as a celebrity hairstylist and influencer. Watching her create her own path has been one of the greatest full-circle moments of my life.
Another dream I always had was to become an author. That dream became even more real after I met **Wahida Clark**, whose story inspired me because she became a New York Times bestselling author after beginning her writing career while incarcerated. Seeing someone turn difficult circumstances into literary success showed me that your environment does not have to determine how your story ends.
I went on to write my first novel, *Money N My Garter*, a hood novel about a country girl who moves to the city and finds herself pulled into a fast, dangerous lifestyle that eventually takes her so far that only God can save her. Writing that book allowed me to accomplish something I had wanted to do for years while also telling a story about choices, survival, transformation, and faith. Today, I have continued writing and have several e-books available on Amazon.
Media and storytelling have also become an important part of my journey. I am the creator and host of **Today’s Focus with Crystal**, a podcast I started about 10 years ago. The platform gives entrepreneurs, community leaders, creatives, and everyday people an opportunity to share their stories, businesses, experiences, and expertise. Today, *Today’s Focus with Crystal* has grown into a daily live podcast, allowing me to use my voice and platform to help amplify the voices of others.
Years later, I became a mother again to my youngest daughter, Saniyah. While I was pregnant with her, I created the Saniyah 5-Minute Ponytail, building a business inspired by my daughter before she was even born. I am also the creator of Crystal’s Hat Wigs, another innovation designed to make beauty and hair solutions more convenient and accessible.
My life changed forever when I lost Saniyah following what I believe was medical malpractice. That loss caused me to seek God even harder and changed the direction of my purpose. For years, I had already been doing what I now recognize as missionary work—visiting churches, collecting wigs, donating wigs, and serving people in need. I was eventually called into ministry and became an ordained minister.
Our wig mission grew tremendously. In our first year, we collected more than 5,000 wigs. What began as collecting, refurbishing, and donating wigs has now evolved into a much larger environmental and economic mission.
Today, we are working in partnership with Matter of Trust, a nonprofit organization known for finding environmental uses for donated hair, including hair mats and mulch. We are expanding beyond wigs by collecting hair that can be used to address environmental needs—from local water and runoff issues to large oil spills, soil restoration, and other environmental applications.
That evolution inspired my vision for Circle of Life Solutions: creating a circular system where hair and wigs that would normally become waste can instead become resources. My goal is not only to help the environment, but also to create jobs, educate communities, develop new products, and build an entirely new economic ecosystem around materials the beauty industry has historically thrown away.
As a largely self-funded entrepreneur, one of my greatest challenges has always been capital. I’ve had to become extremely creative about generating revenue and raising money to fund my visions instead of waiting for someone else to believe in them.
One of our upcoming fundraising initiatives combines entrepreneurship, entertainment, and community impact: **MJ Twins: A Michael Jackson Birthday Celebration Musical Tribute**, featuring the MJ Twins. I am serving as executive producer, and our goal is to bring the production to an arena in Washington, D.C., on Michael Jackson’s birthday, August 29, 2027. The production will also serve as a creative fundraising platform supporting the larger mission.
Today, I’m a licensed cosmetologist, entrepreneur, published author, ordained minister, motivational speaker, host and creator of *Today’s Focus with Crystal*, nonprofit leader, environmental innovator, and executive producer. But more important than any title is the journey behind them.
I have learned how to turn obstacles into opportunities, grief into purpose, and ideas into action. The teenage mother people may not have taken seriously grew into a woman building businesses, writing books, creating platforms, creating opportunities for others, and developing a mission that now reaches from beauty and ministry to media, entertainment, workforce development, and environmental sustainability.
And I’m still building.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
One of my biggest challenges has been getting people to take my vision seriously. I became a mother at 16 and started my first business at 21, so I learned very early what it felt like to be underestimated. I was young, ambitious, and often had ideas much bigger than the resources I had available to me.
Funding has probably been the most consistent obstacle throughout my entrepreneurial journey. I have largely been a self-funded entrepreneur, so I’ve had to learn how to be creative, generate my own revenue, build partnerships, organize fundraisers, and sometimes start with what I had instead of waiting until I had everything I needed.
I’ve also experienced tremendous personal loss. Losing my youngest daughter, Saniyah, following what I believe was medical malpractice changed my life. Grief could have stopped me, but instead it strengthened my relationship with God and gave even greater purpose to the work I was already doing in the community. Eventually, I answered my call to ministry and became an ordained minister.
Another challenge has been having a vision that people don’t always understand immediately. When you tell people you want to take discarded wigs and hair and turn them into environmental resources, create jobs, manufacture products, address water and soil issues, and build an entire circular economy around hair waste, not everyone can see what you see.
I’ve learned that sometimes you have to build enough of the vision for people to finally recognize what was there all along.
My challenges have taught me resilience, creativity, faith, and resourcefulness. I’ve learned how to hear “no” without allowing it to become my final answer. I may have to change the route, find another resource, create another opportunity, or build the door myself—but I keep going.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Crystal Hughes Ministry?
This version makes the answer about your **full entrepreneurial portfolio**, while still identifying the brands and work you are most proud of.
My business journey has never been limited to one industry. I am a serial entrepreneur, creator, licensed cosmetologist, author, media entrepreneur, and nonprofit leader. What I specialize in is taking an idea, finding a creative way to bring it to life, and figuring out how to generate revenue around it—even when I don’t have traditional funding.
Beauty has been the foundation of much of my entrepreneurial journey. I have more than 20 years of experience and am a licensed cosmetologist in **Alabama, Florida, Washington, D.C., Virginia, and Maryland**. I am also a mink lash technician and have created several beauty concepts and products.
I created **Crystal’s Hat Wigs**, a convenient beauty solution combining a hat and wig, as well as the **Saniyah 5-Minute Ponytail**, which I started while pregnant with my youngest daughter, Saniyah.
I also created the **CNH Cosmetic Line**, which expanded beyond traditional cosmetics into creative beauty concepts, including **coffee-inspired hair products and tattoo-related beauty products**. I have always enjoyed looking at beauty differently and developing products around things people may not expect.
But entrepreneurship for me has never stopped at beauty.
I created **The Pastry Bar**, another example of how I learned to think creatively about generating income and funding my own ideas. One of the concepts was a **Build-Your-Own-Donut Family Fun experience**, giving families an interactive activity instead of simply selling them a pastry. That represents how I approach business: I don’t just think about the product—I think about the experience and how to turn something simple into another revenue opportunity.
I also entered publishing and media by creating **Gen X Media Group**, which grew to include **five publications**. Media became another way for me to create platforms, tell stories, promote businesses, and give people exposure. That experience eventually connected naturally with my podcast, **Today’s Focus with Crystal**, which I started about 10 years ago and now host as a daily live platform featuring entrepreneurs, professionals, creatives, community leaders, and everyday people with stories worth hearing.
Publishing is personal to me as well. I am a published author, and my primary book is **Money N My Garter**. It is a hood novel about a country girl who moves to the city, becomes caught up in a fast and dangerous lifestyle, and eventually reaches a place where only God can save her. I have several e-books available on Amazon, but *Money N My Garter* remains especially important to me. And I personally sell my books. You might see me at an event, inside a business, or even out on the street with copies in my hand. I believe entrepreneurs should never be ashamed to sell what they created.
One of the things I am most proud of is how my beauty background eventually developed into a mission much larger than beauty.
Through **Crystal Hughes Ministries**, my 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, we collect, refurbish, and donate wigs to people and communities in need. During our first year, we collected more than **5,000 wigs**.
Today, that mission has expanded into environmental sustainability. Through our partnership with **Matter of Trust**, we are collecting hair that can be repurposed for environmental applications, including addressing oil spills, water pollution, soil restoration, mulch, and other environmental needs.
That work is now growing through **Circle of Life Solutions**, my vision for creating a circular economy around hair and wig waste. Instead of allowing wigs, extensions, braiding hair, and salon hair to simply enter landfills, I envision systems for collecting, sorting, refurbishing, recycling, repurposing, and eventually manufacturing with these materials while creating jobs and educating communities.
What sets me apart is **innovation and resourcefulness**. I have learned how to build without waiting for perfect circumstances. If I need funding, I think about what I can create, sell, produce, or organize to generate it. That could mean selling books, creating beauty products, operating a pastry concept, producing media, organizing an event, developing a fundraiser, or building an entirely new business model.
That same thinking is behind one of our newest fundraising ventures, **MJ Twins: A Michael Jackson Birthday Celebration Musical Tribute**, which I am executive producing with the goal of presenting the production in Washington, D.C., on Michael Jackson’s birthday, August 29, 2027.
Brand-wise, I am proud of the entire journey because every business represents a different stage of my growth: **Crystal’s Hat Wigs, the Saniyah 5-Minute Ponytail, CNH Cosmetic Line, The Pastry Bar, Gen X Media Group, Money N My Garter, Today’s Focus with Crystal, Crystal Hughes Ministries, and Circle of Life Solutions.**
I want Voyage readers to know that I don’t believe entrepreneurship means you have to fit into one box. I have created businesses in beauty, food, publishing, media, entertainment, and environmental sustainability. Some succeeded, some taught me lessons, and some evolved into something completely different.
My specialty is seeing an opportunity, creating something from it, and figuring out how to make it work. **I build, I create, I sell, I serve, and when necessary, I reinvent.**
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
Some of my favorite childhood memories are the simple moments I shared with my grandfather and my family. I remember being about six years old, walking and talking with my grandfather and asking him if we could open a grocery store or a motel together. Even at that young age, I was already thinking about business! I remember him taking the time to explain to me why he wouldn’t open one, and I cherish those walks and conversations with him to this day.
I also remember watching him birth a calf, which was an experience I’ll never forget. And some of my happiest memories are of my uncles carrying me around on their necks. Looking back, it wasn’t anything extravagant that made my childhood memories special. It was being surrounded by my grandfather, my uncles, and family—walking, talking, learning, laughing, and feeling loved.
Pricing:
- $100- Hat Wig (Customize)
- $175 – MJ: Michael Jackson Birthday Tribute Play
- $100 – Donation
- $20 Money n My Garter (Book)
- $35 – 5 Min Ponytails by Saniyah monthly subscription
Contact Info:
- Website: https://beacons.ai/crystalhughesministry/programs
- Instagram: @therealcrystalhughes
- Youtube: @todaysfocuswithcrystalpodcast
- Other: https://grow-with-crystal.crystalhughes161.chatgpt.site/
