Chrishon - Roadmap to a Negociant

What do you do for a living?

I'm a negociant - someone who sources wine of my own creation. I work with vineyards that make and house the wine for me. I'm also founder and CEO of Love Cork Screw, a wine and lifestyle brand.

What does a normal day look like?

Chaos. Lots of moving parts, including: communicating and answering questions of

ambassadors, managing all social media, conversations with distributers, making plans with my creative director, website maintenance, running my wine club, sending emails, meeting with sales staff and packing, sorting and shipping wine

What path did you take to get here?

Graduated high school --> went to college at Western IL and Fashion Institute of Technology in NY-->worked in high-end sales and distribution-->bought and owned my own art gallery-->the gallery flooded when the condo owners living above it flushed baby wipes down a toilet that backed up into gallery-->with no insurance coverage, I lost everything and had to close the gallery-->created Love Cork Screw blog-->created Love Cork Screw radio-->created Love Cork Screw line of wines-->grew the brand by adding entertainment, candles, body butter, a cookbook, speaking engagements, and an upcoming e-learning course.

What are the challenges of your job?

1. Being taken seriously in this industry as a Black woman...we represent less than 1% of the market.

2. Marketing liquor is so highly regulated that getting new clients can be a challenge at times.

What are the blessings of your job?

1. I love talking to customers and working with people day to day. I love the chaos.

2. Inspiring other entrepreneurs to follow their dreams

What 3 characteristics do you have to possess or develop to do your job well?

1. Multi-tasking - you have to be a chameleon and be able to think quickly

2. Perseverance

3. Sales Skills – not many people can do sales well

What are 3 concrete things you’d tell someone on their journey to doing your job?

1. Develop communication skills, especially if you’re an introvert. Take any opportunity to perform in front of people that comes your way.

2. Try a wide variety of different foods and restaurants

3. Get exposure to different people and cultures. Everyone communicates differently so don’t be scared to be in any certain community.

IG @lovecorkscrew

FB Love Cork Screw

Website to purchase: lovecorkscrew.com