Stephanie Font: “There’s always an opportunity to reinvent yourself”

Owning a business was never on her list of ambitions growing up.

Studying biology and pursuing a career in modeling were just some of the interests that occupied her mind as she wanted to make her way professionally, but facing serious economic difficulties pushed her to dare to try new directions.

Many know Stephanie Font Rodríguez as one of the talents of the program “Puerto Rico Gana” (Telemundo). But her background goes beyond just looking friendly in front of the TV cameras, or generating hundreds of “likes” on her social media posts. She currently owns the SunTan PR & Esthetic clinics in San Juan and Mayagüez. She also manages several short-term rental properties (Airbnb). She celebrates it with a big smile, and even more so when it means starting from scratch, shedding a tear or two, and facing disdain.

“There is always an opportunity to reinvent yourself. When one door closes, another one will always open,” the cheerful businesswoman said with noticeable enthusiasm during her meeting with Primera Hora at her beauty clinic on Jesús T. Piñero Street in San Juan. “I remember when I was little, I would buy watches wholesale and sell them, bracelets wholesale and sell them, and when they came to see me, deep down I always loved the fact that I was a businesswoman on a smaller scale.” But he didn’t see it as a career possibility.

“I come from a family that doesn’t have businesses, so it was hard because my parents worked for the Puerto Rican government, and they worked for someone who made minimum wage or close to minimum wage,” the old lady revealed. “I wasn’t thinking about doing business. My goal was to have a job like everyone else,” the Cabo Rojo businesswoman said.

She was about 23 years old when her love interest led her to live in San Juan with a much older executive.

“The relationship didn’t work out, and then I saw myself continuing to work, and I said, ‘What now?’” he recalls the end of a poetic story in which he suffered, as he declared, constant verbal and psychological abuse, from which he emerged with doubts about his ability to shine with his talent. “He told me things that I unfortunately believed. My self-esteem was at rock bottom. I didn’t feel beautiful. I didn’t feel capable of doing anything in life,” confessed the biology graduate from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez campus.

“When I found myself alone, when all the doors were closed in my face, I remember that I didn’t even have a place to live. I didn’t have parents with money who could help me. I had absolutely nothing,” he recalled the experience he had at the beginning of the pandemic, and declared that psychological help was essential to move forward. “I had to stay at a friend’s house,” she continued in detail, explaining that although “my mother told me many times ‘go back to Cabo Rojo,’ she refused to give herself a chance to succeed in San Juan.”

Her determination led her to look for alternatives. “When the famous PUA check arrives, many people waste it. I had already started studying cosmetology and my courses, and when the opportunity arose, I bought my first beauty machine and went inside the ‘beauty shop’ into a small room, and from there I started doing laser hair removal.” Excited, Stephanie, who studied business administration when she attended vocational school, celebrated enthusiastically: “After six months, I did so well that I was able to open a branch, a small room in Mayagüez.”

Preparation was essential to expand their offerings and attract more clients. “I started taking courses in aesthetics and got certified in all the devices I had, in the diode laser, I got certified in tattoo removal, in organic spray tanning, and cryolipolysis,” he says of the services he currently offers.

After a year of starting, he considered a larger space. In the search process, getting a lease on a building in San Juan also had its challenges.

“The realtor closed all the doors in my face,” he recalls of his first attempts, and although the prospects seemed disappointing, he persisted.

“I decided that my only savings… I took it and said to the realtor: ‘I’ll give you a whole year,’ and I accepted that tempting offer after talking to the landlord. I’m going to rent,” he said, stressing that the decision was risky, given the economic crisis the country is going through due to the pandemic. “I got some models that gave them more confidence in my ability to continue, and so I rented for three years, until I got to buy the building.”

Her interest as a property manager is another aspect she enjoys, which came about when her father inherited a home. “My grandmother passed away. This property was owned by my father and he decided to sell it, and I said, ‘Dad, give me a break, I want to buy it from you, but unfortunately I don’t have the money.’”

Stephanie suggested she pay him a portion and become a co-tenant. “I said, ‘I guarantee you I’ll give it to you (Airbnb) in the short term and we’ll get money out of it.’ And my dad trusted me. ‘In the sun today, we have this thing and it’s generating income,’” he said proudly. “From there I started getting loans and got a second and third property, and now we have seven Airbnb properties.”

The work schedule is still very busy, but for Stephanie, finding balance with her personal life is a priority. “I think I’m the woman with the greatest power (laughs). I divide my time between everything. I say that when you organize yourself, you can do everything,” said the woman from Caporo, who is six months pregnant.

“Sebastian is coming now,” she said of her relationship with singer-songwriter Christian Daniel. “I decided to take a break from modeling for a little bit because my real passion is business, so I took a break from modeling for a little bit so I could devote myself more to my family, Christian, Sebastian, and my dog, who is another son.”

Enthusiasm follows his narrative as he shares tales of triumph. He sees difficult moments as lessons. And his focus is on continuing to achieve.

“How many times have you tried to walk away? You have no idea,” he said emphatically. “The times my equipment broke and I couldn’t find someone to fix it,” he shared, recalling his experiences. “It’s very difficult, because it doesn’t deal with day-to-day problems. It deals with future problems, with problems that happen from now on, employees… unfortunately (a process) that the government allows. There are a lot of things you have to consider to be able to run a business, but there’s nothing that can’t be done,” he insisted.

“Experience teaches you difficulties, but they become learning. It wasn’t easy, but when you have the desire, you fight, you learn, you educate yourself and there is motivation. There is nothing in this life that you cannot achieve.”