Law now a back-to-back SBOY finalist

Published 11:28 am Friday, June 2, 2023

Editor’s note: This is the second in a four-part series featuring the Milledgeville-Baldwin County Chamber of Commerce’s finalists for 2023 Small Business of the Year. The winner will be announced Saturday, June 10, at the Chamber Awards Gala.

Crystal Law was an Edward Jones client before joining the company as a financial advisor herself.

The Buckhead native — the real Buckhead, not the non-municipality in Atlanta — had a comfortable decade-long career in the banking industry going, but a shift occurred soon after she sold her home near Lake Oconee. She met with an Edward Jones advisor who encouraged her to take the leap out of banking and into financial advising.

“I actually was in line to be one of the top five to run the bank, so it was a big decision because I went from comfort to an unknown,” Law said.

Athens and Milledgeville were her given options when joining Edward Jones. She chose Georgia’s Antebellum Capital, home to her college alma mater, Georgia College & State University. Law is also a graduate of Georgia Military College’s Madison campus.

“I didn’t know anybody in Milledgeville really because it had been awhile since I graduated from college,” she said. “I kind of started fresh here, but the Chamber was one of the first places I went to introduce myself.”

And the Chamber’s wasn’t the only door on which she knocked. Some clients may have met Law inside her office on Old Montgomeryville Road near Kroger or out on the golf course. But others may remember her knocking on their door to rustle up business when she got started in her current career. Now she’s had her independent office, Edward Jones – Financial Advisor: Crystal Law, for five years and is already a two-time finalist for the Chamber’s Small Business of the Year award. This is the second consecutive year Law has been chosen as a finalist, a fact that isn’t lost on her.

“To be in the top four is a really huge honor because there are so many wonderful businesses in Milledgeville,” she said.

Law calls the work she does for clients “life planning with financial advice.”

“I want to understand what’s most important to them,” said Law. “Financial advice can go in several different directions based on what their goal is, whether its retirement, putting their kid in school, or buying that second home. Whatever the goal, I help guide them through that process.”

Just like when she started out knocking on doors, Law continues to find ways to not only reach clients, but also to teach them about the services she provides to help them reach those important life and financial goals.

“Whenever you start as an advisor, you can go in any direction you decide,” she said. “You have the option to host seminars, coffee clubs, and things like that. It’s just something I felt worked for me. I like educating my clients on investing. I’m actually hosting a workshop in July that’s kind of the nuts and bolts of investing and I have a coffee club where I let my clients gear me in the direction of what they want to talk about.”

When not educating clients on financial matters, Law stays plugged in to the local community through several different avenues. She serves on the board for Lockerly Arboretum and is a member of the Rotary Club, Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), and Ladies Golf Association.