Rising Stars: Meet Norica Canty of Jonesboro

Today we’d like to introduce you to Norica Canty.

Hi Norica, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I went through an extremely bad breakup. My ex literally woke up one day and decided he did not want to be married and left me with all the bills and my own thoughts. Luckily, I was already in my career and decided against having children. I was able to pick up and move forward fairly quickly after spending a week in bed. I had a friend that I informed her about my current situation and she recommended therapy. It was her belief that I was handling my unfortunate situation a little too well. Turns out, she was right.

This was also a critical turning point for events to come.

My therapist was able to change my perspective and help me look inward and take accountability for my actions. Throughout our conversations, I was also able to determine what I like to do and what makes me happy. I was able to understand that true bonds with other black women and businesses were truly the spaces that I wanted to insert myself. I met black female realtors who were able to help me secure two distress rental properties, which was a major goal of mine. When we finished the updates to the last rental, I took my realtor out to a nice dinner to recap. Her first question to me was “What are you going to do now that you have the second property rented?” My reply was “I want to start a business in which I can make money on a daily basis.” Her response to that was “Have you thought of vending machines?”

BY GEORGE, THAT’S IT!!!!!!!!!

My realtor then informed me at dinner that she knew a guy that was selling two machines and a location and called him right there on the spot. He literally said to bring him XXX amount of dollars and I could take over the vending machine location. The very next day I was a vending machine operator.

Within the next year and a half I would graduate from that one location to 22 locations. When luck meets determination, success will blossom. Moral of the story: Always position yourself to be blessed.

Now I am also the owner of Nori’s Market, 10269 Tara Blvd Jonesboro GA 30236. Nori Market is a small neighborhood grocery that came to life when I decided that I wanted to sell more than just cookies and candy. I also wanted to sell fruits, veggies, cakes, pies, and partner with other vendors.

Today I own two small businesses that I am very proud of. All which started because of a break up. Its important to be able to find the lesson even in tough situations. The outcome will likely be beautiful.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
My entrepreneurship has certainly had its challenges. It is my belief that most of us prepare ourselves for the bumps in the roads, it’s just hard to prepare for how big those bumps in the road might be. I had a detailed business plan that I worked for months and I don’t think one thing went according to the business plan. Some of my struggles were the following:

I was scammed out of 1000’s of dollars.
Implementation of architecture design (1000’s of dollars.)
My ex sued me for thousands that he didn’t work for.
A/C system needed repairs in my rentals.
The rental water company demanded 1000’s to keep water turned on in the rental.
My primary vehicle needed repairs.
The A/C needed repairs in my primary residence.

This is ONLY what I can think of! ha!

This happened all in the mist of trying to spin up my first brick and mortar business.
There were plenty of days where I had no idea if I was going to make it to the finish line.

Moral of the story: KEEP GOING!

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
In the beginning, I started my IT journey as a project coordinator. I liked the idea of running projects, talking to people, and seeing ideas come to life. Even though I initially did not know if this would be a career path that I could be good, but I ended up being better than good. In a five year period I went from being a Project Coordinator to Project Manager to Business Analyst and landed as an Engineer.

I run a vending machine business and a micro market in conjunction with maintaining my 9-5 job as an engineer.

I often get asked the question of how I keep going and where do I find the energy?
What motivates me is coming to a point where my weekdays are just as glorious as my weekends.

What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
The most important lesson that can be learned in detachment. I am still learning this lesson now, but there is certainly power in letting people and things go. The road of an entrepreneur can be a cold one and those that you assumed would stand by you will be the ones to leave you first. It is important for me to understand that my journey is for me and those that are meant to be there will ultimately find their way.

Moral of the Story: Let go.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.norimarket.shop
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/noricanty/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/norica.canty/