Today, we’d like to introduce you to Marvin Atkins.
Hi Marvin, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I am just a kid from Chicago. I was a great student-athlete, excelling in both. I had numerous scholarships to play football, and my future was looking bright. One day, in my senior year of high school, I came home to an empty apartment. I didn’t think much of it. Typically, my mom would be home or possibly running errands. She wasn’t home.
Therefore, I went along with the remainder of my day/evening. It began to get late, and I was getting tired. I hadn’t heard from her since before I left for school that morning. I eventually went to sleep without her being home. I was the youngest of 4 children. Each one of my siblings was an adult and had moved out by this time. I was the only remaining child still under her supervision. I woke the next morning, and to my surprise, she still was not home. I was a bit worried but was unsure what to think or where to start to begin to look for her.
I called her cell phone number but was receiving no answer. I proceeded to go to school, thinking this would take my mind off the now piled-up home issues I have had. From not having a family car, very little to sometimes no food, down to staying in one of the worst neighborhoods in Chicago, IL, during the winter. Once again, I came home from school the following day to an empty home. I began making calls to people she may have been with, close to, or ultimately just may know her whereabouts.
This continued for about two weeks. Finally, her cell phone was out of service, and the landlord came by the apartment to let me know I needed to move out because we hadn’t paid the rent in months. Three weeks or so after not seeing my mom, I was moving out of that apartment with no place to move to. I slept from home to home, car to car, and place to place for months. I eventually moved in with an aunt who has five kids (6 total people) in a two-bedroom apartment. I was sleeping on the floor. I didn’t have a bed, let alone my own room. Mentally, I was struggling.
I had been trying to regain some type of focus to get back/stay in school, continue to work out to move forward with playing football and figure out how to move forward with life. My entire life became even worse than it was before. My mom is leaving. I felt more alone than I ever had. I was waiting for my oldest sister one day, who had moved back to Chicago, to help me. Also, later, after finding out my mom had abandoned me, the police pulled up quickly, hopped out of the car, and proceeded to arrest me. I was placed in the car and had been racially profiled.
This is all while feeling alone, not having food, money, or the majority of my clothes because I was not able to get all things out of that apartment due to lack of time, resources, and space to place my things. I was eventually let go after figuring out they had the wrong person. However, this was not the first, and for sure, it was not the last time. Somehow, by the grace of God, my sister helped me get back into school, finish my senior year, and fill out forms and things of that nature to get into college. Life slowly began to get better. However, things were never the same.
I was able to somehow block out all the negativity to gain my scholarship to play college football, graduate from Michigan Technological University, and start my own marketing and consulting firm (CEO Super Vision, LLC). I have now been in business for 14 plus years and have many clients.
We have worked with Capital One, and I am a brand ambassador for Verizon, a member of the U.S. Black Chambers Inc., and a member of the Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce in Houston, TX. After making my company a well-known brand in Houston, I am looking to expand to other/larger markets to elevate the company.
Going from homeless to a self-sustained business was not easy. However, my story is a testament to who I am as a person and what type of person you get when working with my business. Someone who will not stop or quit when things get rough. A leader and self-driven person. Someone who is mentally strong and will always find a way. Just as the company slogan says, you have to #TrustYourVision.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
My biggest business struggle initially was figuring things out as an entrepreneur with no knowledge or examples of how to do so. The struggles eventually became more about the clients’ problems than my problems.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next, you can tell us a bit more about your business.
CEO SuperVision, LLC is a marketing firm based out of Houston, Texas. Founded in 2010 by Marvin Atkins, CEO of SuperVision, LLC, it works with a wide array of clients with a primary focus on brand development and growth.
Operating from a ’boutique’ perspective equips CEO SuperVision, LLC with the ability to pay close attention to the important details while providing top-tier service. CEO SuperVision, LLC’s number one priority and commitment is to aid its clients in starting or improving business operations and structure, increase brand awareness, and enable companies and brands to obtain and exceed company goals. We take pride in handling the details. We believe in doing our job to the fullest extent, meeting our client’s wants, needs, and objectives.
As a result, our clients have the opportunity to perform at their highest level of productivity. Whether you are starting from square one, looking to further improve your brand, or increasing awareness of your brand, we are with you every step of the way. With CEO SuperVision, LLC, you have the advantage of focusing solely on your craft while we remain dedicated to bringing your vision to life.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
When finding a mentor, you have to be sure the person has your best interest at heart. I find that a lot of “mentors” only want to mentor you to be beneath them and not larger. You want someone who wants you to be larger than they are and grow past you. I feel that is the sign of a great mentorship.
For example, parents always want their children to be better than them. That is because the love and feelings are genuine. A lot of the time, mentorship is transactional with mentors. Find a mentor who loves what they do, has a passion for elevating others, and, most importantly, is knowledgeable about the field in which they are mentoring.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ceosupervision.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ceosupervision/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ceosupervision/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mr-marvin-atkins-38928030/
- Twitter: https://x.com/ceosupervision
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSyf7fDfpzOYI98yZsHCzeg
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/ceo-super-vision-houston-3
- Other: https://app.kadonetworks.com/kado/f31077e1-6adf-4899-85a6-633caddf3de2
