Michelle Turner, co-founder and now sole proprietor of Corpulence Consulting Agency, has spent years navigating the nonprofit and enterprise worlds. Her journey into group engagement and consulting wasn’t linear, but it surely was at all times fueled by a deep dedication to supporting innovators, Black entrepreneurs, and fostering collaboration.
Rising up in Orange County, California, Michelle witnessed a thriving Black group. Although her skilled path began in training — majoring in English with the intention of educating — she quickly realized that the classroom wasn’t her calling.
In 2012, she transitioned into the nonprofit sector with World G.L.O.W. (Ladies Main Our World), a program that expanded below her management into Compton Unified College District. This function launched her to grassroots group engagement, sparking a realization: “I actually had a specialty in group engagement,” Michelle stated.
With this newfound ardour, Michelle and her enterprise companions, Jason Moore and Charisma Justis, ideated and based Corpulence Consulting Agency in 2020. Jason, a visionary entrepreneur, navy veteran, and lyricist, was the “lifeblood” of the corporate.
“We might at all times get collectively and [said], we now have so many concepts and we deliver a lot to the desk relating to enterprise,” Michelle recalled. Jason got here up with the identify ‘Corpulence’ — a time period which means abundance — symbolizing their mission to assist companies develop their monetary success.
Nevertheless, the promising trajectory of Corpulence took an surprising flip when Jason’s well being declined, resulting in his passing in 2021 at simply 43 years previous.
“While you lose a pillar, it’s like, what am I gonna do with out you? I don’t know do issues the way in which you probably did, the way in which you performed with phrases and sounded so majestic,” Michelle shared.
With Jason gone and Charisma later stepping away, Corpulence was shelved, and Michelle pursued different ventures.
Then, in 2024, she felt a resurgence of objective. “The spark reignited in me,” she stated. With renewed willpower, she rebranded Corpulence as a solo enterprise, shortly securing her first new purchasers. Considered one of them was Cool Ass Black Girl, a model based by Ashley Glaspie. One other was a girl constructing a resort in Ghana, desperate to work with Michelle to determine connections overseas. She additionally partnered with Solomon Brown’s Black-owned 4PL logistics firm, showcasing her dedication to strengthening Black companies throughout industries.
Michelle’s work with Corpulence focuses on serving to small companies scale, safe partnerships, and preserve sturdy buyer engagement. Her technique is obvious: “My goal, if I do nothing else with Corpulence, is to indicate the world this: that we [Black people] can work collectively.
“With the instances that we’re in proper now, our group is realizing we don’t must outsource. We will, in fact, however we are able to additionally lay the inspiration with one another.”
Wanting forward, Michelle is setting her sights on collaborations with manufacturers that align along with her mission. She has been actively reaching out to kids’s manufacturers, magnificence manufacturers, and different entrepreneurs in search of strategic development.
She additionally emphasizes the significance of selling, urging enterprise house owners to be their very own greatest advocates: “It’s important to be your greatest fan, your greatest supporter. As an entrepreneur, you’re gonna run into individuals who say your thought isn’t ok, however it’s a must to be tunnel-focused in your goal,” she insisted.
For Michelle, Corpulence is greater than a enterprise — it’s a motion. Via her work, she continues to honor Jason’s legacy whereas proving that Black entrepreneurs and all innovators can thrive by way of collaboration and shared success.
