Page 133 - South Mississippi Living - September, 2021

Karen Sock
SOCK ENTERPRISES, LLC
901.651.7167 | karensock52@gmail.com
Who or what inspired you to pursue your current career?
I am fortunate to have had many women in my life who inspired me. My mother, both grandmothers, and my Aunt Josephine were very strong women.
I continue to enjoy the company of inspirational women who are friends and colleagues, both past and present. I feel so lucky that my husband, Fred, supported me over our 34 years of marriage as we both pursued our career goals. We commuted across different states over half of our marriage. Finally, our adult daughter, Kristan, amazes and inspires me often!
What I like best about what I do is:
I love getting to know people and I like working on a variety of different types of projects and seeing them
to their proper conclusion. It is important to me to deliver measurable and impactful results.
Advice I would give to young female entrepreneurs:
Keep going, keep learning, find your voice and use all of your skills and talents. There is growth in failure – take the lesson, grow from the experience and move on.
My greatest successes have been:
I am most proud of helping many women and men achieve their professional goals. Still today I receive calls and emails thanking me for making a huge positive impact in their lives. That is what it is all about, helping others!
It’s important to support other woman-owned businesses because:
Women make up 50.8 percent of U.S. population and according to Fundra, Inc., as of December 2020, the U.S. had 12.3 million women-owned business that generate 1.8 trillion dollars in revenues. Plus, 40 percent of U.S. businesses are women owned. Yes, it is absolutely crucial that we support women-owned businesses.
What moment from your life made the biggest impact on your career?
Being appointed general manager of the original Harrah’s Casino in Tunica in 1996. That appointment distinguished me as the nation’s first African American female to lead the operations of a full-service casino for a major gaming company.