Meet Mrs. Corrinn Chishimba

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Mrs. Corrinn Chishimba. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Mrs. Corrinn below.

Mrs. Corrinn, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?

I come from a long lineage of women who made Lemonade from lemons. My grandmother, Mildred H. Archie, was born in the South post The Great Depression and she knew the necessity of arduous work, making something from nothing and the reward of resilience. Post high-school, she became a domestic to ensure that her college tuition at Winston Salem State University was paid in full. Her advocacy for education, innovation, and integrity were character traits instilled in my Mother, Anita Archie-Christian and thus instilled in me. My grandmother, was never short of valuable and character building tutelage; she’d often share the adage “I don’t care if you choose to sweep floors for a living, you must be the best floor sweeper there is.” I’ve held this close in all of my endeavors; both entrepreneurial and educational. Building a professional portfolio of collaborations and productions that all stem from the idea that anything is possible with hard work, innovation and integrity. It is imperative to me that I maintain my grandmother’s and mother’s legacy of not allowing a meager start to stifle or determine my destiny. My work ethic is as much a benefit to me as it is a tribute to them both.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

My earliest memory of using my creative abilities to help ameliorate customer engagement and experience, was 14 years of age. My church had an elementary school and childcare center and there was a long hallway when you’d get off of the elevator that led you to the dining hall. For Vacation Bible School, the theme one year, was “He’s Got The Whole World in His Hands” and I transformed the hallway into an immersive outer space design. The director of the program was so enamored with that initial design, she allocated an ongoing budget for me to implement numerous other designs that would engage the students, parents and parishioners alike for key events like Back To School Night, Holidays etc. While I didn’t understand this then, it would be the launching pad for allowing me to see that my creativity could be much more than a hobby.

Throughout high school and my post secondary education journey, I would find my love for fashion and design. My undergraduate studies in Public Relations and Communications helped me to learn the impact of a well curated image and professional presentation. After graduation, I began helping others find that marriage between style and strategy to achieve their corporate and entrepreneurial goals. I leveraged wardrobe styling, makeup artistry, narrative building, design and event activation to do so.

Over the years, I’ve shown up professionally creative in several different spaces. For 15 years I dedicated my skills to wardrobe styling and makeup artistry. As a result, in 2021, I was awarded the “Outstanding Female Stylist” Award at the The Full Figured Industry Awards presented by Queen Size Magazine. This was an honor that I was exceptionally thankful to receive not because of the notoriety but because of the passion I hold for helping others identify the power of their personal brand and leveraging it for the advancement of their personal and professional goals. The award was recognition for that work.

Currently, I employ a large part of my creativity to produce and design immersive event design that helps attendees of both social and corporate events better connect with the brand or individuals hosting the event. My designs are intentional in setting the tone of the event whether formal or casual, celebratory or informative. I put an emphasis on attendee engagement because events are an investment that the brand or individuals make for building customer loyalty or connection. Events are an opportunity for brands and individuals to truly wow their guests and show gratitude, or introduce company culture, or further relay brand goals and ideals. We take a lot of pride in creating from that space.

As a Creative Brand Strategist, I leverage words, wardrobe and a bit of whimsy to help individuals and businesses create & curate polished and profitable brand experiences. From event and photoshoot set design, visual merchandising to interior design; I use my creative abilities to help individuals and brands more effectively communicate with their audience through design. While many may see it as merely ornamental, design helps us connect and engage in a way that is easy inspiring and often times uplifting. In consumerism, my skills often lead to impulse purchases, unguarded decision making and connecting with the customer.

In this season, I am currently putting an investment on emphasizing intimate events, corporate event stage design and activations ; as well as curated creative strategy for businesses and individuals. We are preparing to launch a new program called “Wonderfully Made” that is designed to help small business owners find their brand voice, style and personal brand identity to stand out more effectively and INTENTIONALLY in the marketplace and connect with their respective customers. This Program launches in September 2024 and I are so excited to see the impact that is will have on how small business owners show up for success.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

I can truly attest that building a business/career without a blueprint or compass to success has been a unique and rewarding experience. However, in times where you’re uncertain of what’s next or when the tide has changed, it is imperative to have built a network of individuals who genuinely want to see you succeed, know the power of pivoting and have a clear and concise understanding of what you do and how are you can leverage it in multiple ways.

Building a network is a skill that if not attained early can make or break your business or career. Whether leveraged for collaboration or just for mentorship and encouragement; our ability to go to the next level often requires help and support. My husband often says to me ” Success leaves clues” and this adage is true when surrounding yourself with individuals who can put into you and give you good sound advice. Thinking that we can do it alone will slow our progress because our perspective is limited to our experiences. Early in your journey, take the time to build mutual relationships that enlighten, encourage and inspire you to keep growing and going for the opportunities that your fear or limited access may prevent you from going after.

The only thing that you can count on in any business is CHANGE. You can plan and prepare for multiple scenarios to success; but the reality is, sometimes things just don’t go according to plan. Quitting is not an option so understanding the power in pivoting is key. Whether it is changing who you serve, where you serve or how you serve, identifying a new way of achieving the same goal is a great skill and will give you the longevity all businesses and careers want and need. A pivot is necessary WHEN your greatest resources (TIME, TALENT, & MONEY) are being expunged with little to no return on investment. Determining HOW to best pivot depends on which of those resources are being expunged more. So if it is time, then you may need to pivot and find a more efficient way of execution. etc. But pivoting too late could introduce total ruin, so don’t allow ego and pride to make you stay in water that you are drowning in.

Finally, “purpose” is a buzz word that is often the cause of stagnancy for so many in their journeys. ” What am I doing? Why am I doing this?” The truth is, often times, you’ll be able to learn your niche, target audience and how to serve them, before you learn your purpose. The key is to get clear on what you’re good at, what you can duplicate over and over again and MASTER THAT. Become the best at doing that, so much so your name becomes synonymous with that ability. Then take that knowledge and skill and serve multiple communities and industries with it. That’s how you grow a business and net worth. When your head is down and focused on doing the work serving those industries and communities; your purpose becomes clear. By then, you can leverage your net worth to make a purpose driven difference.

Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?

I believe the Bible is the best book ever written. The wisdom and truth it imparts is transformative, enlightening & uplifting.

When I was questioning my access to success based on my humble upbringing and being consistently shown the excess and wealth of those who may’ve had more exposure and opportunities than me Ecclesiastes 9:11 reminds me “under the sun the race is not given to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to the skillful; but TIME and CHANCE happen to everyone.” It instilled in me to keep my eyes on my own tests because I have the same time and chance as anyone else. That strengthened my work ethic even more; because the playing field is level if I am wiling to consistently show up and not allow quitting to be an option.

I’ve always felt that my reputation was more valuable than anything. It is the best “currency” in relationships especially as it pertains to collaborations and opportunities. I learned this early on from Proverbs 22:1 “A good name is to be chosen rather than riches, and favor is better than silver and gold.” Your wealth means very little if you aren’t trustworthy, honest, reliable etc.

Believing that something will come to pass without intentionally doing what needs to be done for it to happen leads to disappointment and resentment of the journey and the process. “For just as the body without spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” James 2:26 Our plans, goals, desires and actions require work, dedication, intention AND FAITH. I stand on this and have been told numerous times that my optimism and work ethic is infectious. I learned this whole way of thinking and BEING from the BIBLE.

My approach to life and business is very optimistic. I truly and wholeheartedly believe in the promises of God. I’ve tested it and tried it for myself and the consistency has been “Happy is everyone who reverences the Lord, who walks in his ways. You shalll eat from the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be happy, and it shall go well with you.” Psalms 128:1-2.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://bit.ly/BrandingWithCorrinn
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/BrandingWithCorrinn

Image Credits

Photographer: Zakiyah Caldwell-Burroughs