The President of the United States. A violinist. A race-car driver. What do these professions have in common? Other than being pretty cool jobs, these titles were all of interest to a 10-year-old Shontay Lundy, who’d eventually become the creator and founder of her own brand — Black Girl Sunscreen.
Though she didn’t become a race-car driver, she definitely identifies herself as someone with a need for speed — meaning, she’s an avid risk-taker. And once you read her story, you’ll understand why I absolutely agree.
She’s taken a lot of huge risks in her life — the most pronounced being straight after college. Rather than returning home to her parents like many post-graduates do, she decided to immediately start a life of her own. Without a clear idea of what she wanted to do career-wise, she took to driving her car to Miami to pursue her masters and find a part-time job. On top of not having a job, she also didn’t have a place to live — but leave it to Shontay to figure out a way. After working for corporate America for 13 years, she decided to take another big risk by dropping her career to move to Los Angeles. It was a similar story — she had no home, and no idea of what she wanted to do career-wise. This time around, however, she took 4 months to hike, do yoga, and explore LA; to allow herself to dream.
To what she does accredit her almost superhuman-like ability of embracing risk? For her, it’s a lack of self-doubt and a solidified trust in the powers that be. If you believe it will work in your favor – no matter how confusing, convoluted, or disjointed it may look in the moment — it will. That’s what Shontay’s chosen to believe, and this belief has taken her so far as to creating the business of her dreams. However, I say ‘dream’, but Shontay doesn’t believe it to be a dream anymore. She’s transformed a biking-trail fantasy into a tangible, real-life endeavor. And because of that, it’s no longer a fanciful idea. It’s a living, breathing entity that seeks to make an impact on both a corporate level and a customer level. It is her pride and joy — her seduction.
If you haven’t noticed, Shontay is very passionate about what she does. Yet, she doesn’t like donning the title of CEO! For her, the title isn’t truly representative of her role at Black Girl Sunscreen, and of how she carries herself. It isn’t a match for her fun-loving, approachable, and silly spirit — that’s why the titles ‘creator and founder’ feel more appropriate to her demeanor. Which goes to show — business is business, but business can also be a lot of fun.