It’s 9 a.m. on a Friday, and Corri Smith is sitting at her desk going through emails. That in and of itself may be unremarkable, but it doesn’t take a lot of investigative work to realize that she’s been settled in for hours.

Around her, the dark-by-design NoDa office is alive with the personality of Smith and her marketing and PR company, Black Wednesday. She’s had her coffee, the music is on, the candles are lit. Plenty of people collect candles, but who actually lights them — every day?

Smith, that’s who. She makes the time to dot the i’s, cross the t’s, light the candles. Smith works 90 hours a week, and logging those hours might lead one to wonder not only why but how. Even the basics such as getting dressed, brushing teeth or showering might feel like too much effort.

How does she manage a work-life balance? Actually, the business owner of the company projected to earn $1 million this year said she doesn’t — there’s no such thing in her world.

Working long hours is in Smith’s blood — she was doing it for years before Black Wednesday was ever born. If her time dedication isn’t proof enough, the multiple jobs she held at once in the past, even while earning her master’s degree, certainly furthers the point.

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