Toifie Queen Crystal Lim’s journey epitomises how curiosity, observation and enthusiasm are ingredients that create opportunities no fixed plan could predict. That clarity has given her room to explore, learn through experience, recognise opportunities as they emerge, and meet Lionel Messi and Taylor Swift in person.
By Aileen Anthony, Executive Editor, MALAYSIA SME
Crystal’s curiosity appeared long before it became pertinent professionally. She studied audio engineering because listening to music was not enough. “I wanted to know how people make music and movies,” was her reason. Teenage acne prompted a similar response. Instead of focusing only on treatment, she enrolled in a beauty course because she wanted to understand skin health.
These interests were not part of a career strategy. They reflected how Crystal approached the world. When something caught her attention, she looked behind the surface. That instinct has helped her enter unfamiliar businesses, understand what they do and translate technical ideas into stories people can follow.
As a child, Crystal developed a fondness for competitions. There were slogan contests, magazine competitions, radio call-ins and creative challenges. Her parents could not afford overseas holidays and Crystal wanted to travel. “I wanted to go on holiday overseas.”
Competitions offered another route. “Winning prizes motivates me.” Eventually, competitions took her overseas. She attended a FIFA World Cup final in Russia, met Taylor Swift in London and, through a creative video competition involving her brother, travelled to Barcelona and met Lionel Messi.
The competitions trained skills she would use later. For the Barcelona entry, Crystal shot and edited the video while her brother acted. She learnt editing software and worked out how to make an entry stand out. Looking back, she recognises the connection to content. Writing that made people notice.
Crystal spent about 13 years employed, working in business development, corporate sales, and marketing. “Not everyone wants to be on their own. Not everyone needs to be a business owner,” she said. Working in a smaller company gave her broad exposure. She learnt B2B sales, client management and marketing while observing how business owners made decisions. During the pandemic, she watched her boss pivot when circumstances changed.
She absorbed how businesses responded and found ways forward. As her professional network widened, exposure to other business owners expanded her own sense of what was possible. Crystal’s employer had developed its own skincare and supplement brand. She wanted to build awareness and reach potential distributors, which led her to LinkedIn.
Her early content focused on products, features and benefits. But experience taught her that audiences responded more when content connected with their concerns and experiences. “No one cares about your product until they feel that your content can really resonate with them.” So I just improved bit by bit.” At first, she posted only every few months. As she experimented and observed responses, LinkedIn became a regular practice and today, her audience grew to 40,000 followers. That number gives her visibility, but it is not her purpose.
“My philosophy is that as long as the content I put out is of good quality and I think that people can take back something, I will do just that.”
One of Crystal’s most recognisable content ideas emerged unexpectedly. About three years ago, someone approached her in a toilet and asked, “Are you, Crystal?” They got talking and discovered that the person has been following her content on LinkedIn. To put a face to the name, they took a selfie. Crystal posted the photograph believing the encounter was the story. Her audience noticed the toilet instead, with one person commenting that it looked better than a bedroom.
She began paying attention to toilets and discovered how much design and personality some establishments put into them. The toilet selfies, endearingly known as ‘toifies’, became content and the content became conversation. People travelling overseas began sending her toilet photographs, while business leaders would invite her to see theirs. The toifie became part of her personal brand because Crystal allowed the audience’s response to teach her something.
As Crystal’s presence on LinkedIn grew, people began asking how she did it. She received requests like, “Crystal, can you teach my sales team?” Business owners wanted to understand her approach. After 13 years of employment, she stepped out on her own. But she didn’t pretend to have every stage mapped out. “I just knew that I had to listen, be flexible and adapt.” Her network became central to what followed.
Companies approached her for content and event coverage. Other opportunities emerged in speaking and moderating. When someone suggested that she become an emcee, Crystal responded, “No way! I’ve never done it before!” She tried it anyway, and the rest is history. Her work expanded into corporate storytelling and business KOL engagements. A LinkedIn connection later encouraged her to become an accredited HRDC trainer, thus she now trains corporate on LinkedIn personal branding, thought leadership and leadership visibility.
Her growing expertise in personal branding and leadership visibility also opened doors to the speaking stage. In 2025, Crystal was invited to speak at TEDx, where she shared a talk titled “How a Toilet Selfie Sparks Conversation & Creates Opportunities.” Her talk highlighted how something as simple as a selfie could spark meaningful conversations, build connections and create unexpected opportunities.
Crystal is also the co-host of The CEO Coffee Podcast alongside Andrew Khoo, CEO & Chairman of The MUI Group. The roving podcast features conversations with entrepreneurs, business leaders, and interesting personalities, exploring their inspiring stories and experiences.
Today, Crystal works with companies and brands to tell stories around businesses, events, initiatives, founders and leaders. Her starting point is simple. “People want to know the human behind the story.” When she enters a technical industry, she approaches it as an ordinary person trying to understand. That perspective helps her identify what matters, remove unnecessary complexity and find an angle people can relate to.
The same thinking shapes her view of thought leadership. Business owners, she believes, do not need to become influencers simply for attention. Their advantage lies in perspectives accumulated through experience. “These thoughts can only come from your experience. And no one else can take it from you.”
Conversation matters too. Crystal sees networking as more than exchanging contacts or talking about a business. A useful conversation requires knowing when to speak, when to listen and whether what you are saying matters to the person in front of you. It also explains why she readily credits the people around her. “I’ve learned a lot from the people around me.”
Crystal remains comfortable not knowing exactly what the next few years will look like. “It’s hard to say what I’ll be doing in five years’ time, or even five months from now,” she quips. Importantly, she pays attention, keeps learning and acts when an opportunity makes sense. For Crystal, that has been enough to keep opening the next door.
At the heart of her work is a belief in humanising brands and companies by bringing the people, stories and values behind them to the forefront. Through personal branding, storytelling and authenticity, Crystal will continue to help businesses connect with their audiences on a more personal level, building trust and relationships that go beyond products and services.
