Ashunta Sheriff-Kendricks has been doing it solo her whole career. For 31 years, she was a celebrity makeup artist — one woman, one kit, showing up alone to hotel rooms and private homes. When the pandemic hit and work stopped, she pivoted to Zoom makeovers, landed on Good Morning America, and eventually launched Ashunta Inc., a beauty brand built for women 40+ who refuse to be invisible. But here's what she didn't expect: the loneliness. "I was really lonely to be honest with you," Ashunta says. "Until I had my graduation at Tory Burch Fellows this past early June and got to meet almost 300 fellows who are founders like me and many solopreneurs in that group. And so I got to see I'm not alone. I'm not by myself. I'm not wrestling these things like, oh my gosh, it's only me and why is this only happening to me?" After sitting and listening to so many women speak, she had a revelation: "Oh my gosh, I needed this. I really saw myself in them. I immediately identified." Being selected for the Zoom Solopreneur 50 gave her that same feeling — validation, visibility, and proof that she wasn't the only one building something meaningful entirely on her own. In this episode, you'll learn: • What it really means to be a "real" solopreneur — and why Ashunta says she's always been one • The loneliness of building solo — and what changed when she found her community • How Tory Burch Fellows and the Zoom Solopreneur 50 helped her realize she wasn't alone • Why Zoom became an unexpected growth engine for her brand — from Good Morning America to the Solopreneur 50 • What she's building with Ashunta Inc. — and why women 40+ deserve more than anti-aging skincare FAQ: What's the difference between a solopreneur and a founder? According to Ashunta: "A solopreneur is someone who is really wearing all the hats. A founder would say, hey, I'm wearing all the hats too — but that's not necessarily always true. There are some founders who have a partner or they may have a team. But when you're a true solopreneur, you are wearing pretty much all the hats in your business. You're working almost solo all the time." This video is part of our Zoomterviews — intimate conversations with Zoom Solopreneur 50 honorees, filmed entirely on Zoom. Each episode, journalist and entrepreneur Nayeema Raza, host of "Smart Girls, Dumb Questions," sits down with an honoree to unpack the mindset, tools, and grit behind running a thriving solo operation. 🔗 Find out more about Solopreneur 50 and all 50 honorees: https://www.zoom.com/en/audiences/solopreneurs/ #ZoomSolopreneur50 #Zoomterviews #solopreneurlife #womeninbusiness #beautyfounder #communitymatters #smallbusiness #entrepreneurship #blackwomeninbusiness

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