"CEO, CREATIVE, QUEEN, KORINNE"
CEO, Creative, Queen…
From as early as remembered; life always presented opportunities that forced Korinne, CEO of Sleek Sales and Assist; virtual assistant and sales group, to catapult into greatness whether she was ready or not. During infancy her mother was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and forced her to grow up and learn how to care for herself very early on. Instead of being able to enjoy the freedoms of childhood she took on the responsibility of her mother’s overall care. She remembered how her mother would often fall and sometimes injure herself; and said “ for a child , seeing this was very traumatic”. There were times that the only food they had in the cabinets came from the government. So things were really hard. As Korinne recalled; she expressed that they were simply “very poor” until she was about 5 or 6 years old when her mom began dating again and was able to move them into a better neighborhood.
Growing Pains
With that pressure that came with having to be so responsible so young, Korinne began to misbehave . Her father lived in South Carolina and was often used as a weapon against her bad behavior. During one of her summer visits she was tricked into staying down south for her 10th grade school year as a way to change her behavior. She missed the freedom she had in Syracuse and found her way back up to New York the following summer. By the age of 16 she was working two jobs and living under the radar in an apartment on her own.
Two days after graduating high school Korinne decided to give Charleston, South Carolina another try. She felt that Syracuse no longer offered her the opportunity to grow or stay out of trouble. She booked a flight and took a leap of faith with two duffle bags full of her belongings. Once she settled in SC, she was able to step completely into her own freedom and began to form a healthy relationship with her father. While navigating through her next steps, Korinne enrolled into college and soon realized that school wasn’t where her interest was and decided to walk away from her undergrad program. While being in a place of not really knowing what she wanted to do with her life she decided to get married very young.
Career-based
Being married led her further south to Orlando, Florida where she started an 8 year career working for State Farm. Korinne began growing and confronting childhood traumas. After her divorce she acknowledged that she poured into her relationship and friendships as a healing mechanism for her need for stability. She took the time to do some healing and figured out what she wanted next in life. She continued thriving and reaching levels that others within her company couldn’t match in 5+ years to her short few. She started in sales and worked her way up to office manager at the age of 22. After meeting her wife through a mutual friend, Korinne decided that moving to Louisiana made more sense due to her wife’s career. Korinne continued thriving at State Farm and expressed that being able to guide and teach customers about banking and life insurance became something that really fulfilled her. During her tenure in Louisiana she held the #1 position in life insurance sales multiple quarters and was even on the path to opening her own office.
Becoming the Boss
Work became stagnant for Korninne once she realized that the company she made a lot of money for didn’t have her back the way she thought. She shared “ I’ll just say that we are in Lousiana and I am a queer black woman working in a field that was prodominantly white; so where situations that left both my wife and I feeling hurt.“ Before making the final decision to depart from State Farm Korinne started teaching a training course that taught thousands of agents how to sale insurance and product knowledge. Even though she was no longer working in the office she still felt that being connected to the company didn’t settle with her because of the lack of loyalty on personal levels. Korrine expressed “everything that I allow to take space in my life; I take personal and I think that is why I have been so successful in such a short timeframe with my business”. In three months; Korrine has successfully launched a company that caters to providing different companies/ brands with a virtual assistant, social media manager and now courses that help train people within the sales industry.
The Reward
When a life is truly changed or impacted one cannot hide the joy that accompanies success. Korinne’s life exemplifies this in two forms. First, she has moved her mother closer to Louisiana and now has the availability to be more present with both family and friends. She can literally work from anywhere so the restrictions of being stuck in the office no longer exist in her world. Secondly, clients find security in knowing that she truly cares about their individual needs and successes. She has had clients come back to her and tell her that she saved their business’ and them as individuals. As Korinne continues to grow her business; she expressed that she has the vision to have more employees to match the needs of her growing client list, possibly going global and offering training courses that will create powerhouse. It became apparent that Korinne genuinely thrives from being a blessing to others. Her natural talent and creativity allows her to excel at anything she puts her hands to. Korinne’s moto “Bet on You” is something she lives by daily. There was no room for doubt and fear to stunt her growth. Building an empire is the beginning of generational wealth that Korinne is building for her family.
