Sonia Fuller: Modern businesswoman with traditional family values

Not many women can envisage working at the same place as their husband. Not many women can attest to doing so for more than three decades.

Yet, this has been the experience of Sonia Fuller, director of administration at Kingston Bookshop and wife of the company’s managing director Steadman Fuller. In 30 years, she has seen the family business grow tremendously, raised four children and completed studies at university.

But working side by side with one’s partner is not a path that Fuller would recommend to everyone.

“It is not the ideal thing to have husband and wife working at the same place; it can be disastrous,” she opines. “But if you respect each other’s time and space it can work.”

So firm is Fuller on this point, that she says while at work, she makes appointments to see her husband – like every other worker.

“I want business to be business,” she adds.

Kingston Bookshop has been Sonia Fuller’s only workplace, having joined the company in 1975. “I was looking at it as a summer job,” she chuckled. She went about her job diligently, working the children’s department at the company’s only location then, at 70b King Street in downtown Kingston. She also became senior cashier (“people called me the fast cashier because I knew the book prices by heart I was able to keep the line moving quickly”).

But then Cupid intervened when she met the young ambitious assistant manager and junior partner, Steadman Fuller. “We started dating in 76 and got married in 78,” she recalls.

The years ahead were hectic for the Fullers as the union produced four children – the eldest, Ricardo, 30, is a customer service professional in Florida; Shauna is a director of Kingston Bookshop; Sandi-Kaye attends Mico College and Junior, the baby at 21, is at the University of the West Indies, Mona, studying business.

“They are very patriotic,” Fuller says of her children, who have all had stints studying abroad.

“I don’t know how I balanced everything in those days – it must be some spiritual intervention,” Fuller says of ‘mommy’ days. She said she dashed between dropping off the children at school (they all attended Campion College via Vaz Preparatory), to her duties at work, to extra-curricula actives (the girls danced with Little People, Ashe and Tony Wilson).

There were fewer cars on the road in those days, she says.

“I remember driving with Shauna’s homework book in my lap, and trying to revise the work with her while on the road,” she said.

But despite the challenges, Fuller has no regrets. “I enjoyed it because I wanted the best for them. The important thing was time management – how you planned your days.”

Her husband left the care of the children to her, Sonia says. Nowadays, they tend to go to him first for important decisions “because they think he will influence me”, she laughs.

With the children all grown, it is the business that has become “the baby” as the company is at a stage of rapid development. With seven retail stores, one stationery outlet and the recently acquired old JOS depot, Mrs Fuller has her hands full. Apart from being director of administration, she supervises the training of store managers, customer service training and aesthetics. In the busy back-to-school period, she often works up to 10:00 in the evening.

Cautious in speaking about the worth of the business, she says Kingston Bookshop has about 45 per cent of the lucrative book market. While there are expansion plans in the works, there are no thoughts of the company going public.

Fuller herself is a charming blend of traditional doting wife and motivated female entrepreneur.

“I am a traditional woman, but I believe in equality and respect for each partner,” she opines. “But I do believe the man should be the head of the house. There are certain decisions that the man needs to take. I am not into this woman’s lib business.”

She added: “I enjoy being feminine and I love men. I don’t want to be in competition with my partner. I want each of us to hold each other and grow together.”

Fuller wants her professional contribution to recognised, however.

“When I go to a business function, I should not be introduced as Mr Fuller’s wife, because I am there representing the company in a professional capacity,” she says.

The St Mary native who lost her father when she was five is saddened by the underachievemnt of many males in Jamaica. She says women can make a difference.

“We, the women, can turn the this society around if we make our contribution in how we raise our young boys.”

As for the lack of male role models, Fuller says that is not a recent phenomenon.

“The churches need to have more programmes, People in the communities need to take care of their neighbours’ children when the men have gone,” she states.

A product of non-traditional schools – Norman Manley Secondary and Tivoli Gardens Comprehensive – Fuller is particularly proud of her hiring and training of underprivileged young people.

“When some of them come here, they don’t know how to dress. Sometimes when you read the resumes, you have to say ‘O Lord’, she sighed.

But she is encouraged when a young recruit blossoms into a composed, productive supervisor.

“I remember one young man coming for an interview with his eyebrows shaved in different styles. I told him to come back when his eyebrows grew back. That young man stayed with us for 14 years,” she beamed.

The Fullers’ commitment to the youth and education is underscored by Kingston Bookshop’s scholarships for two children from the inner city for their entire high school life.

The company also gives scholarships to three teachers every two years, sponsors three luncheons in honour of teachers annually, and last year, gave 30 scholarships to students at all levels to mark its 30th anniversary.

The company has also adopted four non-traditional high schools – Muschette, McGrath, Islington and Norman Manley, providing them with books and equipment. It also assisted in the refurbishing of Liberty Hall on King Street, the headquarters of Marcus Garvey’s United Negro Improvement Association (UNIA).

But it’s not all business for Sonia Fuller as she always finds the time for fellowship at the Webster United Church where she serves as an elder. She says worship helps her to balance her life.

“I get much of my strength from my own spirituality. I don’t take home the problems of work,” she said.

She also exercises religiously (sometimes at 4:30 in the morning) and eats healthily to keep her youthful figure. As for her age, “I only tell that to my doctor”, she laughs.

After many years of marriage and business, Sonia Fuller has few regrets, one being that she is sorry she didn’t keep her maiden name, Umrah.

“We were young and in love, and inexperienced in many things,” she says of her early years of marriage. But it has nothing to do with my husband, but everything to do with my dad. He was a fine dresser, he was kind-hearted, helped as many family members as he could, he had the first TV in Annotto Bay,” she reminisced.