We had the good fortune of connecting with Sonjia Burns and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sonjia, how do you think about risk?
I have always been a risk taker. I use risk-taking as a guide to help me with my business because if you don’t take risk sometimes you won’t know what’s at the end of the rainbow. A lot of times people wait until they have the right funding, ideas and resources but me when it’s concerning my business I dive in first because if I dive in first I know that when I run into a obstacle I will know what measurements to take. I started my business with no ideas, no thoughts and no understanding but I took what I knew and went for it. Running a business is not supposed to be easy but definitely worth it. I opened my business 3 years ago and it’s been a blessing to me. I share my testimony with others so that they can understand that running the business is not supposed to be easy but worth it. There will be challenges and obstacles but you have to jump across those hurdles and keep applying pressure. I do take ideas that people give me but I also learn from my own experience.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am a child abuse investigator supervisor here in Florida where I go out and investigate child abuse in the home. I also own my own medication business where I go into the homes and give my patience their medication throughout the day. I obtained my bachelor’s in science from Troy University and my masters from Australia University and I want to finish school to obtain my PhD. I also am a runway model and I encourage plus size women to be comfortable in the skin that they are in. I also take my boutique on the road and do pop-ups. A pop-up is when you go to an event and you bring your goods so that they could be seen and so. I was giving the name the pop-up queen of Augusta Georgia because I travel from state to state to sell items from my boutique.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I live in Fernandina Beach Florida and if my friend was here for the weekend I will start my day off at the beach I live near a lot of beaches we would go to the beach check out all the parts of the beach and then after the beach we would go to dinner at my favorite restaurant that sit beside the beach and we would go to sliders and after sliders we would walk the trail it’s a nature trail not too far from the beach you walk the trail and it’s just a lot of things that you can do here on the island my favorite place to go is the trail it’s called Amelia Island trail and a lot of people walk their animals it’s a lot of nature and then it’s a campground near yulee Florida that I would take my best friend to enjoy himself. I’m a person that likes nature so most of the things that I would have for my best friend would involve nature and throughout the week we would do some deep sea fishing I love to deep sea fish and I love to eat fish so I would take my best friend to this restaurant called t-rays and they sell all the good food it’s on 14th Street in Fernandina Beach Florida. That’s about it

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
First and foremost I would like to acknowledge my late mother Evelyn Crenshaw and my brother who’s also deceased Arthur Crenshaw. They told me to keep going and to never give up and that is what I am doing. I would also like to thank my wonderful husband Kelvin Burns because when I was down and out he helped me out the mud. I was in school that I had no car and I was homeless but this young man stuck by my side and I appreciate him for all that he does for me. I would like to also take my children for pushing me and being the best women that they could be because that made my life a little easier. Last but not least I would like to thank my mentor Christopher Isaac Taylor. We have been friends for over 30 years and he is the reason that I further my education because he told me that I was a go-getter and that I am. God on top of all of these people with my number one and I’m grateful for that.

Website: https://instagram.com/mochaslaytherightway?igshid=MzNlNGNkZWQ4Mg==

Instagram: bigmochatherunwaymodel

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100091355307213&mibextid=ZbWKwL

Image Credits
Mocha’s Boutique

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