Meet Krista Banaag | Creator, kaybcollective

We had the good fortune of connecting with Krista Banaag and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Krista, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
Work-life balance has played such an integral role from me moving away from the standard 9-5 to freelancing. I’ve been working since the age of 16, and I’ve held anywhere from 1-3 jobs at a time since then. I’ve particularly worked within the startup space as of the last 6 years, and as most know, hours can be super demanding and the workload can be overwhelming with such small teams. My last full-time job, I found myself averaging 12-16 hour work days with 1 day off a week. I had such little energy to enjoy my personal life and found myself sacrificing my mental and physical health for my job. This was a huge wake up call for me. I left the best paying job I’ve ever held and took some time off to reassess. Since then, I’ve made it a priority to move away from the “workaholic/hustler” lifestyle so that I can make more time for the things that I enjoy for my wellbeing. It’s made an immense difference for my mental and physical state of being.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
To be completely honest, kaybcollective started without even really having a full vision of what I wanted it to be. Throughout my work history, I’ve developed a knack in being able to build something from the ground up. This is something that I came to love about working in the events industry for some years – starting with a blank slate, being able to plan each step in the process, and then create an experience out of that. The more I was placed in leadership roles, the more that I knew that I wanted to eventually develop my own thing and have a team of my own one day. I’m still working on getting there, but just getting started and putting yourself out there was the hardest part for me. I think that you’ll always try to convince yourself that the timing isn’t right, or things aren’t perfect, but the truth is that they will never be perfect, and you’ll never fully be ready.

Initially, I launched kaybcollective as a way to offer virtual assistance in everything that I knew how to do, professionally and creatively. As I am begining to work with different clients, I am able to recognize and develop more of a vision of what I want it to be. I’m still offering virutal administrative services, but would love to focus closely on working with brands that align with my beliefs and passions (such as: mental health, bipoc owned businesses, giving back to underserved communities, leadership) whether that be through assisting them on the development of their own businesses, organizing community events, authentic storytelling, or any sort of creative collaboration. This is mostly why the “collective” part was added to my brand – I just knew that I wanted to work with other talented people that want to bring some positive change to their communities.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’m a pretty lowkey type of person, so when people come to visit me I love for them to just take advantage of the weather! Definitely a hike – I love taking people to the Corral Canyon Loop Trail because it has great views of the ocean and isn’t too difficult for people that don’t hike a lot. Heading to the beach is obviously required – I love Will Rogers State Beach because it’s less crowded than the other go-to beaches. Food – I would take them to Park’s Finest for some Filipino food. Cute coffee shops are a must: Obet & Del’s and Coffee MCO are my favorites to take friends to. For nights out – definitely Lock & Key for some dancing!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My best friend and sister, Kristy! We’ve been in each other’s corners for 25 years and have continuously supported each other’s endeavors regardless of the distance between us. I think it’s so important to have someone to give you that little push of encouragement when things get tough, or support your decision to take a risk and go after the things that you want in life. We’ve always wanted what is best for each other throughout our entire friendship, and it has set such a standard for relationships in my life in general. I wouldn’t be who I am without her!

Website: www.kaybcollective.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bykaybcollective

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/krista-banaag

Image Credits
Christian Herrera