Shaunda Sharing: I'm Building a Conglomerate!
Updated: Nov 2, 2022
Those who are close to me know that for the past couple of years, every time they ask "how are you doing?" or "what are you up to?" my reply has been in some way shape or form "I'm building a conglomerate." haha! What many of them don't know is that for two years before this period I had been acquiring countless domain names that aligned with the ideas that came to me, and engaging in self-learning to equip myself with the skills to accomplish my big dreams and goals. And for about two years before that I had been dreaming about bringing this reality to life. There has been a lot of intention, time, energy, and resources poured into the process in which I am currently engaging.
The goal of eventually building a community of businesses focused on making the world a better place never changed. What has changed drastically over the past couple of years was the route I took to accomplish it. In September of 2020, at the height of the pandemic, I transitioned full-time jobs from a high-paced and time and energy intensive Director role, to what I thought would be a more stable position that allowed for work/life balance (life for me meaning time to work on bringing my businesses to life). What I quickly realized is that even though the new job seemed less energy intensive, what I didn't account for was a toxic environment and culture that would suck all of my emotional energy and push me even further out of alignment with my beliefs, values, and what it is that I wanted to do. Within six months I jumped out and vowed to completely remove myself from working for other people ever again. What I thought was going to be an opportunity for me to slowly and sustainably turn my side hustle into my main hustle, quickly became an "all-in," "trial by fire" situation. And to be honest, I don't know how I would've been able to accomplish what I've accomplished any other way.
I realize that what I'm doing is not normal. People just don't come out and say they are building a conglomerate every day. I am also not just building something that is local or regional. I am building something that is global. I am building a global conglomerate. I am building a global conglomerate focused on the promotion of multi-culture, and I am doing it while decolonizing spaces and places, and liberating hearts and minds. Not normal, but necessary. This is necessary if we want to create a world where the global majority is uplifted and all have the opportunity to realize their versions of success and thrive. This is big for me to state in a public way. Even though I've been brave enough to tell those close to me these things when they ask, many of the reactions I receive have convinced me to not lead with this fact in conversations. I have kept the full vision and work that I am doing hidden, but it is time to stop hiding. Too much is at stake to hide. It is time to illuminate the vision.
What I am doing is big, it's massive. It almost took the breath out of me in the above video just to say it (it could've also been because I recorded the video when Mercury was retrograde lol). AND we're doing it! Below is an outline of what I am creating and have incorporated. The list will continue to grow. Follow along. Join in.
It is time to decolonize the world.
Stone and Grace: Stone and Grace is my enterprise focused on decolonizing spaces, places, and people, and liberating hearts and minds, to strengthen the disposition to thrive. Stone and Grace is currently incubating the following companies and organizations into self-sustaining constructions.
The Decolonizers: a Stone and Grace community of professionals dedicated to decolonizing individuals, companies, organizations, and communities. The initial slate of The Decolonizers will be shared over the next few months.
To The Rute: To The Rute is a business community focused on taking the 'cult' out of culture and getting to the 'rute' of what connects us all.
Daly Oriole: Daly Oriole is based off the empowering story of the Daly family from Montserrat, West Indies, and focused on immersing in multi-culture through specialty hospitality.
The Culture Collaborative: The Culture Collaborative is a nonprofit organization focused on celebrating and elevating multi-culture.
Black Atlantic Cultural Immersion Tour (BLACUIT): The initial concept (program) of the Culture Collaborative, the Black Atlantic Cultural Immersion Tour, or BLACUIT for short, is an immersive exploration of the history, places, people, food, music, and overall cultures that make up the Black Atlantic.