We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Holly Morris. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Holly below.
Holly, appreciate you joining us today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.
About 20 years into mine and my husband’s professional careers, me as an entrepreneur and him as a hospital administrater, we felt called to take a dramatic risk and leave it all to help start a non-profit. It made no worldly sense. It wouldn’t be a smart or successful move from a professional lens, however we have never been happier or felt more fulfilled. Success for us transitioned from the title and yearly income to the full heart and joy of knowing we were making a difference in young women’s life everyday. We were very thankful that my personal business did give us the peace of mind that we could support ourselves long enough to get the Foundation up and going. Leaving a large lovely home, six figure salary and moving to a tiny town, tiny home and no guarantees of a return on our investment was very risky and scary but it’s paid huge dividends and been worth it!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I graduated from Abilene Christian University with a Masters degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders and am a licensed Speech Language Pathologist. I worked in this profession for the first seven years of my career. I’ve also always been passionate about health and wellness and was introduced to a product during that time called Juice Plus. Our family had a great experience with the product and I decided to launch my own business representing the product as well. In time, I made it to the top one percent of the company and ended up working my Juice Plus business full-time while being a stay at home mom to our awesome kids. I think it’s a unique product to partner with because solid nutrition from fruits and veggies is something every person needs and can benefit from-pediatric to geriatric. While being an entrepreneur and traveling I met some of the most wonderful and incredible people. One of those being a lady named Kathrine Lee. She had a vision to create a foundation that would help women who have been victimized by s*x trafficking receive holistic healing. I personally didn’t know anything about trafficking at the time, but was appalled to learn it was the second largest criminal industry in the United States and was happening in every town and community large or small. Quickly, God began to break mine and my husband’s heart for this issue and we wanted to be a part of the solution. As we met with Kathrine and her husband and heard more about their vision, we felt called to help them make it come to fruition. Nine years ago, we all left our comfort zones and homes, communities, traditional jobs and moved to a tiny town to start Pure Hope Foundation. Our Juice Plus businesses gave us the time and financial flexibility to say yes to this adventure. We now also have Pure Hope Ranch where we have a beautiful small group retreat center to host leadership retreats, equine and eco therapy, Hope Homes, Transitional Homes all on the most beautiful piece of East Texas acreage.
Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.
I started my side hustle while working full-time. It was a product I loved so it was easy to share in woven moments of life. It also helped that it was helping solve peoples frustrations of not getting enough good nutrition in and therefore feeling sick and tired. Which comes up often in general conversation. It was simply a side hussle for me for many years until one day I decided to take a risk and pursue it intentionally like my full-time business. It allowed me to stay at home with my kids and contribute to making a difference in peoples health and wellness. My mind had to shift from side hustle to a career. I had to create a business plan and daily method of operation to get from where I was to where I wanted to be.
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
When we decided to help start the nonprofit, the community and relationships we had formed through our Juice Plus business were and continue to be our primary donors that support the work we do to help these young women have a successful life. The years spent developing relational equity, paid huge dividends in helping support our family as we prepared to go into nonprofit work. These people continue to be our board members, prayer partners, and financial supporters.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Hollymorris.juiceplus.com
- Instagram: @hollymorris3
