Small Business
Oct 11, 2018
Crystal Darby
Small Business

Crystal Darby is a Senior Certified Business Advisor and Certified Technology Commercialization Consultant at the UTSA Small Business Development Center.  She provides her clients with advice on all facets of starting or expanding a business, with expertise in start-ups, business plan development, marketing (including website, social media, and search engine optimization), proposal writing, technology commercialization, and small business certification.

Crystal holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Texas and a Masters in Public Administration from the University of New Orleans. For the 12 years prior to joining the SBDC, Crystal owned a consulting, training and writing business, working primarily with small businesses.  She provided one-on-one coaching and group training on communication-related topics: business networking, business etiquette, business writing, customer service, dealing with difficult people, interpersonal skills, team building and managing change

As a result of her work with small businesses, Crystal was recognized as 2001 Home Based Business Advocate of the Year by the San Antonio District of the U. S. Small Business Administration. The district encompasses 55 Texas counties. In 2005 she was honored by the U. S. Small Business Administration again, this time as Women in Business Advocate of the Year for the District and for Region VI (Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas). She was the 2012 and 2013 Business Advisor of the Year and 2014 Senior Business Advisor of the Year for the San Antonio Small Business Development Center.  She also was recognized by the Institute of Economic Development at UTSA with the Kathi Homan Award for Team Player of the Year in 2014.

Crystal has served on the Bexar County Small, Minority, and Women-Owned Business Enterprise Program Advisory Committee since 2001. She has coordinated the volunteers for the County’s annual Contracting Conference for 16 of its 18 years.