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

Trenice, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

Our history reaches back more than 20+ years. As high school friends, Lynnecia Eley and I shared a common interest in business and applied business technologies. Our early adulthood took us on many divergent paths. However, we shared the same interests in business ownership, creating generational wealth, and leaving a legacy for our kids and their future generations.

In 2020, right as the COVID pandemic hit, we individually found ourselves leaning on the strengths we’ve adopted along the way with a new sense of collaboration in the self-publishing and coaching/training space. We took immediate action after a few simple conversations about the current state of the world and the negative portrayal of black and brown people in the media. With passion and purpose, we embarked on this journey.

Our mission was to simply create a space for our people – share our culture but also highlight black excellence and provide positivity within our communities. For us, we want to give a voice to the unheard and unseen by highlighting our Black, Indigenous, People of Color and what we create. Soigne’ + Swank Magazine and Two Queens Media were born in 2020.

Trenice, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My story began long before I even knew what publishing was. Growing up, I wanted to share the stories I saw in my neighborhood. There are so many things I wanted to say about Miami that other books fail to mention. As the years passed and I grew more and more passionate about writing, I promised myself that one day I would establish my own publishing company. I got my start in publishing in Miami, Florida, with Teens Times Today Magazine in 1995. It was the first magazine I contributed to. Writing for that publication opened a lot of doors for me. I tried several businesses before I realized my passion was publishing, public relations, and content creator management. Eventually, I took a leap of faith and left my long-term career as a high school teacher to fully immerse myself back into publishing and public relations.

Oh, it came with a ton of challenges. Although I had several years of experience in publishing and public relations, due to the constant changes that have taken place within the news and media world, I had to overcome the challenge of feeling like a newbie. Like many other businesses, I had a hard time obtaining opportunities. As many in this field know, it’s not necessarily what you know but who you know. First of all, social media has completely changed the game for my business. One of the lessons I learned throughout this process is that no matter how much experience you have, persistence is key to your success.

To achieve success, I had to plan out my every move and teach myself to be okay if I failed. Today, Two Queens Media is a multifaceted platform that produces the Black Excellence publication Soigne’+Swank Magazine ™, HER Professional Society, and She Can Inspire. As a brand, we focus on Black, Indigenous, People of Color, highlighting our culture and positivity in our communities. In addition to the magazine, Two Queens Media is a full-service public relations and content creator management agency. We are committed to advancing entrepreneurs, content curators, writers, and more. We specialize in brand exposure, media/entertainment promotions, and brand protection management.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Listen, statistics say that my story should have been different. Domestic Violence claimed the life of my mother, Cassandra Rolle, in 1990. I became a Chamaeleon because growing up in Liberty City taught me how to survive. Miami gave me my hustle, but country life made me slow down. Recently, I realized that I had written myself out of the hood by publishing my books Beauty, Brains, Business, and Branding and Power Her Up The Power Lies Within. Through all my trials and tribulations, they have all shaped who I am now. I think it’s safe to say the stats were wrong about me. I’m everything that they thought I wouldn’t be. I’m educated, a mother, a wife, an author, and a successful black businesswoman. My resilience is about putting in the work and sharing my story, so I can speak to those young Trenice’s, hoping they one day they too can escape. My message to them is if I can, so can you.

How’d you meet your business partner?

As I mentioned before, my business bestie Lynnecia S. Eley and I history spans more than two decades. We became friends in high school and shared a passion for business. While still in high school, we were young entrepreneurs running our small businesses. We always had common goals of owning publishing business and building wealth across generations. In 2020, we formed a beautiful partnership, and the rest is black history in the making.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://twoqueens.media/ https://soigneswankmagazine.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soigneswankmagazine/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SoigneSwankMagazine
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/soigne-swank-magazine/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/twoqueens_media

Image Credits
Photo Credit: Two Queens Media