Hidden Gems: Meet Alexis Jones of Habit of Loving You Inc.

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexis Jones.

Hi Alexis, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I’ve always had a passion for entrepreneurship and the beauty of new things. I am the oddball who will talk to a store employee and try to figure out how the company started, who owns it, and where did they begin because the essence of a new thing makes me really excited but excitement is not merely enough to sustain a vision.

The very first thing I remember selling was two cupcakes to some girl in my seventh grade class. From there I went on to sell things like homework assignments, (which I absolutely do not recommend) food, eyebrow services, desserts and so many things wrapped up into one trying to find my place in the world of business (I even had a voyage ATL story before). I spent the last six to seven years pursuing business in some regard but the timing wasn’t sufficient because I hadn’t had all that you need beyond excitement to do business and to do business well. And when I say well I do not mean financially well (important, yes) but I mean doing business in a way that you actually hit the target of the problem that you’re trying to solve in the people that encompass the problem that you hold a burden for. What I thought six years of embarrassment, shame, and darkness were, was actually six years of foundation. Don’t be mistaken though…it was definitely a night season, but everything came together so beautifully. I am now working full time in my company, Habit of Loving You Inc. (founded in 2021) while simultaneously launching its sister hospitality company this month. Each of these companies house the things that seemed so random and flaky of me but are now supporting my efforts with suicide prevention.

My story begins as a girl who had big dreams and was crushed that they didn’t happen for a long time but my story continues as a girl who has big dreams and who now understands that timing and process revealed from the mind of God is far more sufficient than accomplishing a dream if having done it without Him.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I have been doing business since I was nineteen years old and I’m about to be twenty-six in less than a month. I think about the relationship between the formative years of my early twenties and the formative years of walking with vision and how the way that I presented myself in both spheres were one in the same. I didn’t know how to separate who I was from what I was doing because I thought if I did enough then I’d be enough. So, the obstacle that I’ve been presented with is the challenge of considering myself enough despite the things that I did in the formative years of my life not only in business but relationally, scholastically, and socially. It has been letting myself go and living with and having grace for who I am today while letting go of the parts of me that had yet to be formed. It is not measuring myself, my worth, or my identity by the year and a half that I worked solely on my business and had little money or the eight months that I worked solely on my business and was unable to pay my rent (for 10 months) but measuring myself by the progress of who I’ve become and who I identify as now apart from anything that I could ever do.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Habit of Loving You Inc. prevents suicide through community engagement, fundamental knowledge, and public messaging. We pride ourselves in “Loving Ahead of Time” which places no limitations on the way we can interact with our community through initiatives, programs, events, etc.

We have been consistently known for our billboard messaging that goes up across Texas each September (generally 30+ boards). Each print says “Stay, I Love You” with a mission to interject on the possibility of a suicide attempt. We have planted our messaging not just in Dallas but Texas, as Texas holds the highest number of suicides in the country.

More than that, we bring in-kind donations directly to our community. This past September, we partnered with a few businesses in Denton, TX to host a scavenger called “Looking for Love” where we gave out 500+ dollars worth of gifts (coffee cards, gas, groceries, food & restaurants, etc.).

What I am most excited to share with you guys is an amazing grief initiative that we launched in September called “Valerie’s Gift”. This initiative serves individuals who have exhausted their PTO and need financial assistance. We have decided to show up in this way so that we can help people to grieve well. We will be launching our final fundraiser on October 9th to support our goal of $5,000. Please check it out, give what you can and share.

We specialize in love and we invite local members of the community, businesses, big dog corporations and whomever to join us on the journey of loving people habitually with no economic or racial or any other category in mind except the category we all share which is…drumroll…being a human and whether we admit it or not, we all want to be loved and that very love stabilizes our mental health.

We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
This is such a fun question.

I vividly remember myself at the edge of a table throwing food of all kinds, pizza, apples, lemons, all the random things. I was singing a song called “Its the Hard-Knock Life” and looking all kinds of grungy and mad. Now, I hope you’ve come to a proper conclusion about what I was doing…surely you don’t think I grew up with the freedom to chuck hard earned money. I was Annie and I was in my very first play. Business aside, entertainment has always been my dream and so this memory was the girl I’ve always loved. She was much like Annie, loud and ambitious and ready to go but even Annie needed an iron for her wrinkles.

Thank you for drawing me to a sweet memory.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.habitoflovingyou.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/habitoflovingyou/?hl=en