Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Brittany Jones. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Brittany , appreciate you joining us today. Parents can play a significant role in affecting how our lives and careers turn out – and so we think it’s important to look back and have conversations about what our parents did that affected us positive (or negatively) so that we can learn from the billions of experiences in each generation. What’s something you feel your parents did right that impacted you positively.
My mother, Darlene Jones, has had the greatest impact on my life and career. I have fond memories of childhood where she always celebrated my accomplishments and milestones. She worked full time and raised me and my younger brother alone. But, I never felt slighted from her time and attention. Birthdays were always a big deal, waking up in the morning and seeing the array of gifts and balloons carefully arranged and a card thoughtfully written. I remember opening my lunch in school and finding notes telling me how much she loves and is proud of me. She surprised me with my first car and had the song Butterfly Kisses cued up requesting that she be my first passenger. Graduations, promotions, devastations; she prayed for me fervently, even now she does. Always showing up in ways I knew and sometimes didn’t know I needed. She was loving, and dependable, and relentless with what she felt her responsibilities to me were; to know God, to be loved unconditionally, and to prepare me for the world. The Mixx Studios and Event Center (The Mixx) is a dedication to my mother that all her diligence paid off. The success of The Mixx means a job well done for my mother and now she can reap the fruits of her labor through me. Because she led by example and taught me to be loving, and dependable, and relentless, I found the inspiration and confidence to create a business dedicated to celebrating life’s special moments.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
My career path and entrepreneurial journey are interestingly nothing alike. I worked within the criminal justice field. It was stable and average paying, but I wanted more. It wasn’t so much of the money that I could make, but the freedom that I would have to live life on my terms. And most importantly, I always felt a sense of responsibility to my family. My mother had sacrificed so much for me. I wanted to return her love through creating opportunities for generational wealth for my family. I stumbled upon the idea of having a event space because I was researching ways to passively make income. The event industry seemed the most assemble to me. I, my mother and other family members were always decorating family and friend events and I knew with my vision an event businesses could be successful. I am most proud of my fortitude and faith. I took the risk on myself and invested my own savings as initially no creditor would give me a loan as I had no prior business credit. I researched, I attended classes, I spoke to business professionals and navigated my way into the event space. Currently, The Mixx Sudios and Event Center is a one stop event shop providing full-service mobile event planning packages for the ultimate event experience. We contract with expert vendors to serve clients from a vetted vendors list. This business concept supports customers by giving them innovative celebration options and supports vendors by allowing them to own and conveniently operate and manage their own businesses with vested team interests. We are currently looking for an event space location to begin serving customers onsite in addition to our mobile services. The mission of The Mixx is to create a memorable and exclusive event for clients and vendors by curating an experience that is welcoming, all-inclusive, innovative, creative, and efficient. We offer an array of party rental and décor options that will make any occasion special and memorable.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
In January 2022, I participated in a business plan competition to earn $20,000 in grant money. It a 3 month, rigorous process. I spent countless hours writing and researching my business plan. I spent so many nights recording my pitch. I had family, friends, and associates exhausted as I constantly picked their brains to make sure I had the best presentation possible. I made it to the final round after over 100 people applied. I made it to the final round of 12 finalists. On the day of the competition I was positive I would win. I gave the best presentation I ever gave in my life that day. And in the end, I lost. Out of 6 possible placements, I didn’t place at all. I was devastated. That night I cried and cried until my face was burning and swollen. I turned my phone off and went to sleep at 6pm. I laid in the dark and I told myself ” You better get it all out now, because tomorrow the event planning for your launch begins.” The next day I went to my mother and said “I’m still having my grand opening for my birthday.” She she said ok. From that day on I had tunnel vision and on March 26, 2022., I launched The Mixx with no grants and no loans and $8,000 in credit card debit. As of December 2022, I grossed 16k in sales. I am currently looking for our first commercial space. What’s for me cannot be taken and I’m even stronger, wiser and know that I will be ok.
How’d you meet your business partner?
My partner is business is Niya Woodward, who also happens to be my cousin. She is my cousin by blood, sister by bond, and business partner by purpose. We are both dedicated to creating generational wealth and financial freedom for our family. I don’t know that there was one thing that led us to start this journey together, but the biggest thing was that we both believed in the skills and talents of one another. Niya has her own event planning and décor company as well, The Trinket Gallery, and we often contract with one another with events, and refer services to one another that on or the other does not offer or has more expertise. Us independently owning our own businesses gives us autonomy over our individual businesses and the ability to reach a wider audience for one common goal. I offer her business and and operations advice as she helps me refine my décor artistry. We take event and business classes and share the information, attend networking events and share contacts. Because of our collaboration, we are quickly becoming event industry powerhouses together.
Contact Info:
- Website: Themixx.net
- Instagram: @themixxstudiosandevent
- Facebook: Themixxstudiosandevent
- Other: info@themixx.net