Crawford grew up in Detroit, attended Detroit Public Schools, and began working in the construction industry following graduation. Her experience as a construction assistant on major construction projects in both Michigan and Florida required that Crawford hone her project management skills.
She held positions with Wharton-Smith Construction assisting with a water treatment project, then returned to Detroit to work with Inland Waters Pollution Control.
Crawford served as a construction coordinator for Little Caesars before taking her passion for promoting small businesses full-time in 2014.
“I always wanted to learn the ins and outs of the business and always ready to go to the next level and when I started to feel that I would only go so far working for someone else that is when I realized I wanted to be my own boss,” said Crawford.
As a self-taught entrepreneur, Crawford works twice as hard to master and stay current in her industry. As an event planner and consultant, she found she uses all of the skills she acquired in her previous work. Crawford prides herself on her ability to manage projects, teams, and details.
She officially founded Ask Jennyfer in 2012, while still working in direct sales part-time. Crawford started hosting small events – first at home, and within months at larger and larger venues. “As the events continued to grow I knew that this is what I wanted to do full-time,” she said.
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Among other services at Ask Jennyfer, she conceptualizes, manages and executes the successful small business showcase All Things Detroit, which draws more than 12,000 attendees and connects them to more than 250 small businesses. The signature event is held each fall and spring.
The event earned its own national holiday in 2020 – National All Things Detroit Day. It is celebrated annually on the Sunday before the Easter holiday.
Crawford-Williams expanded her small business services by creating an online shopping community - All Things Marketplace. In 2020 she opened All Things Marketplace in Detroit’s historic Corktown district. More than a storefront, it is a place where small business owners can sell goods, host business or community events, create promotional content and obtain shipping and fulfillment services for orders.
In 2018, Crawford-Williams proved she’s invested in the stories behind the small businesses she works to promote. She launched Conversations, an independent web series, and Ask Jennyfer: The Podcast. Then, she developed All Things Ticketing, a small business-based ticketing hub.
With a fine blend of formal business practices and in-the-trenches experience and execution, Ask Jennyfer aims to parlay our expertise as well as proprietary approaches to help small business owners start or grow their business to the next level.