Meet Simone Jones
“There is no greater gift you can give or receive than to honor your calling. It’s why you were born. And how you become most truly alive.” - Oprah Winfrey
Like so many of us, Simone Jones has had a fascinating journey to arrive at the place she feels most alive-- a multi-location business owner serving up delectable sweets seven days a week. Born Simone Ashley Teague. Simone was named after a prominent African American fashion model that appeared in Ebony magazines decades ago. Simone recalls, “My mother just thought she was so regal that she wanted to name me after her.” Regal to describe Simone is fitting. I have had the pleasure of knowing Simone since middle school. We tackled the awkward middle school years together as classmates and I can confirm that she was always a lady and always a friend.
Simone is a native Houstonian raised by her mother and father in what she calls a “normal suburban life”. “Houston, to me, is an amazing city. I always tell people that it may not be a place that you go to for vacation. It's not a destination most people think that they want to visit, but once they're here, they want to live here. It's a melting pot. It has everything you can possibly need, different people you can interact with, there's always something to do. I knew one day I would want to have a family. I just felt it would be a good place to raise that family. It was such a great experience for me. I couldn't imagine not being here-- no other place was acceptable.”
“My parents instilled in us hard work and that nothing will be given to you for free. So everything you do, you have to work for it. In addition to that, you have to be caring and compassionate with people. So I believe that planted the seeds for me wanting to own my own business.” Simone graduated from Sam Houston State University with a degree in Criminal Justice, minor in Political Science. Simone’s dad was a huge influence in her life. She wears the badge “daddy’s girl” with pride. “I wanted to be an attorney initially, my father was an attorney and so I kind of thought I would mimic and model my career after him. When he graduated college, he went on to become a probation officer so I followed the same path that he did. But once I was doing it, I knew I didn't want to do criminal law.” The days as a probation officer were long days, Simone recalls, but she put in the work. Something was stirring in Simone-- the kind of stirring that happens to most college graduates during their first job. “I really loved the involvement of people but I learned I wanted to take the criminal aspect out of it. So I thought human resources would be a great field.”
She worked on an HR certification and enjoyed many aspects of her HR role within the criminal justice arena. By Simone’s side for many years was the love of her life, Al Jones. They married in 2008 but they would soon face a big challenge as a young couple. It was a season of life that she calls her proudest moment when she looks back on her journey thus far. “My proudest moment is when I was with my father when he transitioned from this Earth, it was just me and him. My father had lived in Oklahoma for many years after he retired. My dad is not a phone person, but we're extremely close. My biggest fear was that I'd get a call that he had passed because he was hard to get a hold of and just did not like to answer the phone.” Simone received the news that her dad was sick and made the decision to move her dad back down to Houston to care for him. She left her HR role and was out of work for a year and nine months. Despite the challenges that came her way she remembers it being “the best year even though it was a tough year.”
The loss of her dad caused Simone to think deeply about the legacy that she wanted to leave. “I kind of made it my mission to figure out what I wanted to do.” Legacy has always been an important value in Simone’s family. “My grandfather always wanted to become an attorney but he was unable to, so my dad became that attorney. My dad always wanted to own a business and he never did, so it was just really important to me that I fulfilled something that he wanted to do.” But what business to open? What direction should they take? Simone and Al researched their options for years and they finally settled owning a business via the franchise route. They like the idea of a proven model even though nothing is ever guaranteed in business.
“Growing up I loved cookies. Every birthday we always went to Willowbrook Mall and we would have cookie cake from Great American Cookie Co. Every time I went to the mall I would have to buy an M&M Double Doozie and a Sprite-- even even in my adult years! A freestanding, co-branded location opened up not too far from my house. The Great American Cookie Co/Marble Slab co-branded model was very new at the time. I was going to a gym that wasn't too far from there and I happened to drive by and there was a sign that they were going to open up a Great American Cookie Co. And I'm like, wait a minute, this is not even in the mall. I didn't even know they did that. There was a My Fit Food store right next door to it. I kid you not, I would call the My Fit Foods place every day and ask them if they had an idea when this Great American Cookie Co was opening. They thought I was crazy! They opened in April 2016. Grand opening weekend I walked in, my sweet husband waited in the car watching a huge line form out the door. I found the owner and we briefly talked about how he got into the business. In the meantime, my husband was in the car googling how we can get involved in this franchise as he is watching masses of people get in line. When I got back in the car, we both knew we needed to pursue this further.”
“The following week, we met with two executives within the Great American Cookie Co, we sent in all our paperwork and financials, and two months later we were officially signed on to be franchisees.” It sounded like all of the pieces were falling in line for Simone and Al as budding business owners. After they were signed on, they received a call that there wasn’t anything available in the Houston area in regards to ownership opportunities. They were disappointed but they were unwilling to move. Houston was home so they were prepared to say “thank you but no thank you”. After doing some searching the area the executive told Simone, “Well we have something available on Kike--”. Simone could tell she had no idea how to finish the name of the location. All Houstonians know that if you are not from around here you can’t pronounce “Kuykendahl”. The stars had in fact aligned. Great American Cookie Co/Marble Slab were in fact planning on building a location five minutes from where Simone lived! The city was listed as Spring, not Houston and the executive didn’t realize that Spring is simply a suburb of Houston.
And the rest is sweet history? Well… kind of! Simone recalls, “Three weeks into it, we would have sold the place to the lowest bidder. It was so much work! We were going home every night at 3 AM, only to be back at work at 7 AM because we had so many orders coming in.” In business, it’s the best problem to have but it doesn’t make working through it any easier. Simone and Al now have four Great American Cookie Co/Marble Slab locations and have become master cookie decorators.
The impact she can make on her team members drives her everyday. “I knew I wanted to work with young people to be able to impact them and not just be a place they work because I know many times it's going to be their first job. So it's my responsibility to get them prepared for the real world. And I take that very seriously.” She often receives emails from former employees thanking her for being such a great boss and really pouring into them. “You're not just running a business where you're selling cookies and ice cream. You're doing your job to impact these young people. And a lot of the times you will be the best job that they have ever had.”
When they are not working hard to grow their businesses, you will find Simone and Al taking in the local Houston food scene. She loves a really good steak, cooked medium well, with a slight char on the outside. You will find her listening to 90’s R&B and traveling as much as they can. Simone’s #1 vacation spot: the Bahamas. “It's like my peace, my serene, I love being by the water. And it's like when I'm there, I don't have to do anything. All I want to do is sit by the ocean with a really good virgin strawberry daiquiri and just relax. That is my place.”
