We were lucky to catch up with Corissa Sutton recently and have shared our conversation below.

Corissa, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about serving the underserved.

As a black single mother and REALTOR who recently entered a profession that has historically used discriminative practices to deny and prevent people of color access to homeownership and land wealth opportunities. I can honestly say– that my passion for serving the under served is my way of giving back to my community.

My business Corissa Sutton Enterprises LLC is designed to support, encourage, educate and empower communities, families and single mothers towards homeownership and rental empowerment. My passion is to use my skills, talents, knowledge and abilities as a resource to connect and empower clients towards creating generational wealth, equity and stability.

I, myself come from humble beginnings, raised by middle class -college educated parents who fought hard to give me stability in a society where they didn’t necessarily get the same privileges and benefits as their counterparts. I was raised to “put something in my head first” and then with that education and knowledge– I would be able to “dress” myself later. That was my parents way of keeping my focus on education, skills & learning — while reminding me that knowledge is something that no one can take away from you. That very knowledge– would then afford me the things I wanted, needed & dreamed of in life.

That phrase is a gentle reminder to myself to use education as the pathway towards success.

CSE was created to be a pilar to underserved communities; such as single mothers. The mission of the brand is to encourage self empowerment towards homeownership– with the true reward of those choices felt by the children raised in those homes. Especially when we look at the statistics of children raised in a single family households compared by race–we see the disparities tremendously.

As the former Minneapolis NAACP housing chair I aim to empower renters as they prepare for homeownership. I used my time as the housing chair to research discrimination, housing policies and partner with local non profit organizations, change makers and politicians to educate and empower the community during the eviction moratorium. We created Rent Help Pop Ups in North Minneapolis to assist renters with their Rent Help applications and provide community with resources and information.

There is purpose in my passion to give back while creating pathways.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

My name is Corissa Sutton, I am a former banking, finance and financial crimes investigator who recently chose to follow my passion for helping people and giving back to my community. I am now the Owner, Founder and CEO of a small start up business formally known as The Powherhouse Mom LLC, now called Corissa Sutton Enterprises LLC. The mission and purpose of my brand is far more integral then simply just buying or selling real estate. My business was created to be an empowerment platform, with resources, connections and educational tools to aide clients, community and families towards generational wealth, equity and stability. I spent over 20+ years in the corporate, professional world on a high level– within a fortune 500 company. In that time, I earned a wealth of knowledge, skills, talents and abilities –which are tools that I use to aide my clients & community in their homeownerships needs, plans and goals.

I am a independent mom of 4 children, I have 3 daughters and 1 son who is on the autism spectrum. I use my personal story of hardships, heart break, grit, tears and perseverance to encourage and support others who are going through. I am a single mom advocate and Mentor. I volunteer and participate in community groups & organizations that aim to support single moms & communities. I also advocate for housing justice, fairness and opportunities for all. I am a current member of NAREB (National Association of Real Estate Brokerages) an organization created to provide equal opportunity and civil rights advocacy for African American real estate professionals, consumers, and communities.( visit NAREB site). With this membership, I work in the community to teach First Time Homebuyer classes & collaborate with agencies & businesses to create change and advocacy! I am also the former Minneapolis NAACP Housing Chair.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Honestly–building my audience on social media has been about being authentic and true to myself. The things I post are representative of me, my lifestyle, my community, my family and my business. Who you meet in person– is the same person I am on social media. I do not use any gimmicks or anything like that. I share my truths, deep hardships, business related content and posts that aim to encourage, educate and empower.

In my real life, I try to remain as positive as I can, even when I am going through. I seek to find the purpose & meaning in everything even hardship and turmoil. Wisdom is strength. So anything I post is usually representative of that. I am also pretty silly, talkative and a jokester –so you will find an occasional joke here and there.

But the things I capture from my life as social media content– are just real life interests of mine or moments in my life.

I hired (contractor) a Graphic Designer to help me with templates for repeat content and certain posts.

My advice to anyone looking to build their presence on social media, would be to post daily and interact with your followers daily, Social media is a place to be “social”, so make sure you are doing that and not just scrolling.

I am honestly still learning how to maneuver all the different social media platforms, and tools– so I am no expert at all.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

The best source of new clients for me has been on social media, referrals, friends, family and past clients.

My business is centered around the people I love, the community I love and the future aspect of creating generational wealth for my family and my clients families. I spend a lot of my time reading, taking classes, learning and continuing to educate myself so that I can remain an expert in my field and business. I often let my clients know that I am not like most traditional agents you will encounter. My value is different. My purpose is different. My business model is different. I am unique. I strive to be a trusted resource and to provide as much value, support and encouragement as I can holistically. I am so much more than just an Agent. My clients earn someone who is invested, educated and able to help them make the most informed decision for themselves on a multitude of levels.

The more you know, the better you feel. I strive to give that to my clients.

Contact Info:

• Website: CorissaSutton.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamcorissa/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CorissaSuttonRealtor
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/corissa-sutton-realtor%C2%AE-99a61a70/
• Other: NAREB Twin Cities member: https://www.narebtc.com/directory#!biz/id/632513d7e1920d0a004c0a12

Image Credits
@Shoott