Charis Jones

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Charis Jones (born October 31, 1982) is an American entrepreneur and designer. She is the CEO of Sassy Jones, a lifestyle and fashion brand.[1]

Early Life and Education

Jones was born to Kenneth Mills and Lisa Jones in Portsmouth, Virginia. She was raised with three brothers and one sister in Portsmouth, VA, and Fayetteville, NC. A major role in her upbringing was played by her grandparents, who were entrepreneurs, owning Mills Janitorial Service.

Jones attended Churchland High School in Portsmouth, Virginia, where she won Miss Churchland 2000 and earned the title as captain on their Eastern District Champion cheering squad. Her first job was at Its Fashion at the age of 14. She attended Hampton University in 2000 and majored in broadcast journalism, then shifted her majors to business management.[2][3] During her studies at Hampton University, she danced part-time for the Norfolk Nighthawks Arena Football team.

Career

After attending Hampton University, Jones moved to Hampton, VA, where she worked in sales and marketing for Fortune 500 companies.[4] She honed in on the craft of solving problems for people with products and services.

In June 2013, she began her fashion brand Sassy Jones with accessories.[5][6][7] She is currently the Chief Designer and CEO of the company.[8][9] In the beginning, she launched the business with a world tour of trade shows where she drove her minivan to sell her jewelry at events such as Southern Women's Expo, Circle Of Sisters NYC, and Black Women's Expo. In 2016, she transitioned the business to an online marketplace.[10] Her brand was named to the Top 25 Thriving Companies 2020 by Forbes Magazine and ranked number 75 (2020)[5][11] and number 24 (2021) on Inc. Magazine's 5,000 Fastest-Growing Private Companies.[6] The catalyst to the success of Sassy Jones has been the invention of the Sparkle Party®,[10] the brand's entertaining live-streamed show that teaches viewers how to wear its weekly new arrivals. The first Sparkle Party® was streamed in 2016.

She is part of the Tory Burch Fellowship class of 2020[7][12][13] and a recipient of Entrepreneur magazine's Top Company of the Year award. She also has an HSN partnership.[10][12]

Jones is a contributor to Inc Magazine. She has been featured on Side Hustle Pro,[14] Better With Paul,[15] Rachel Hollis,[16] and Dreams Inspire Reality Podcasts,[17] and in national campaigns for Motorola, Strayer University, GEICO, and AT&T.[3]

In 2021, she became the celebrity host of HSN and QVC Shop With Us Live, interviewing Whoopi Goldberg, Jay Leno, Isaac Mizrahi, and Laila Ali.

In September 2022, Jones hosted a red-carpet opening for the new brick-and-mortar retail store for Sassy Jones at Short Pump Town Center in Henrico.[18]

Social Contributions

Jones funded the first-ever regional Teens Of Impact Scholarship through American Heart Association. She founded the Sassy Jones Foundation to help women battling cancer feel beautiful during their fight.[19][20] The foundation uses profits from every purchase with Sassy Jones to help with a cancer diagnosis, turbans, scarves, blankets, confidence affirmation cards, and headwraps.[20] Jones is a Girls For A Change Social Change Ambassador.

Awards and Recognition

  • Traffic, Sales & Profit Freedom Award
  • NAWBO Richmond Chapter Rising Star Award, 2018[21]
  • Entrepreneur of the Year, Entrepreneur Magazine, 2019
  • Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year (mid-Atlantic region), 2021[5][22]
  • Member of Cor Vitae Circle of Red, 2021
  • Executive Leadership Council Circle Of Red Richmond, 2022
  • Winner of The Big Find, HSN[8][9]

Personal Life

Jones is the mother of twin boys.[5][8]

References

  1. ↑ "Soul of RVA: Rise of the Sassy Jones fashion empire" (in en-US). 2021-08-16. https://www.wric.com/community/soul-of-rva-rise-of-the-sassy-jones-fashion-empire/. 
  2. ↑ "LinkedIn". https://www.linkedin.com/in/charis-jones-64725643/. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Charis Jones" (in en). https://www.gogirlmgz.com/charisjones. 
  4. ↑ "How Charis Jones Built Her 'Sassy Jones' Brand From the Ground Up" (in en-US). 2021-07-13. https://www.blackenterprise.com/sassy-and-successful-how-charis-jones-built-her-own-fashion-and-beauty-brand-from-the-ground-up/. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Jones, Sassy. "Sassy Jones Founder Charis Jones Named as a Finalist for Ernst & Young LLP Entrepreneur of the Year 2021 for the Mid-Atlantic Region" (in en). https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sassy-jones-founder-charis-jones-named-as-a-finalist-for-ernst--young-llp-entrepreneur-of-the-year-2021-for-the-mid-atlantic-region-301315190.html. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "2021 Inc. 5000". https://www.inc.com/profile/sassy-jones. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Kira (2021-01-29). "Talking shop" (in en-US). https://www.virginiabusiness.com/article/talking-shop/. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "Sassy Jones Story" (in en). https://www.shopsassyjones.com/pages/sassy-jones-story. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Inc. | Charis Jones". https://www.inc.com/author/charis-jones. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Molinaro, Kyra (2020-04-20). "A Style Maven" (in en-us). https://richmondmagazine.com/api/content/0c1b7f94-8319-11ea-ac00-1244d5f7c7c6/. 
  11. ↑ Times-Dispatch, GREGORY J. GILLIGAN Richmond (2021-07-23). "Charis Jones expands her Richmond-based Sassy Jones jewelry and accessory business by adding a clothing line" (in en). https://richmond.com/business/watch-now-charis-jones-expands-her-richmond-based-sassy-jones-jewelry-and-accessory-business-by/article_871ab1ea-c574-5e95-b660-4ba8d45b3b20.html. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 admin (2021-02-16). "The Sassy Jones Founder on Small Business Leadership" (in en). https://www.toryburchfoundation.org/resources/build-my-team/the-sassy-jones-founder-on-small-business-leadership/. 
  13. ↑ "Tory Burch Foundation selects 50 women for 2020 fellows program". https://www.bizjournals.com/bizwomen/news/latest-news/2020/06/tory-burch-foundation-names-2020-fellows.html?page=all. 
  14. ↑ Okome, Nicaila Matthews (2019-09-27). "How Charis Jones Crossed the $2 Million Mark With Her Sassy Jones Online Boutique" (in en-US). https://www.sidehustlepro.co/sassyjones/. 
  15. ↑ "The Mind-Blowing Charis Jones Interview Follow-Up: How She Grew Revenue to $17 Million a Year -" (in en-US). 2020-10-13. https://www.paulcbrunson.com/blog/the-mind-blowing-charis-jones-interview-follow-up-how-she-grew-revenue-to-17-million-a-year/. 
  16. ↑ "97: Serving Your Community With Your Business with Charis Jones - Pod.casts". https://pod.casts.io/podcasts/rise-podcast/episodes/97-serving-your-community-with-your-business-with-charis-jones. 
  17. ↑ "Keon and Charis Jones: Building Wealth and Legacy while Maintaining a Healthy & Happy Marriage - Pod.casts". https://pod.casts.io/podcasts/dreams-inspire-reality-podcast/episodes/keon-and-charis-jones-building-wealth-and-legacy-while-maintaining-a-healthy-happy-marriage. 
  18. ↑ Times-Dispatch, Sean Jones  Richmond (2022-10-24). "Richmond's Sassy Jones, $80 million e-commerce company, opens brick-and-mortar at Short Pump" (in en). https://richmond.com/news/local/business/richmonds-sassy-jones-80-million-e-commerce-company-opens-brick-and-mortar-at-short-pump/article_61306609-f594-5629-8144-8c8f26f05781.html. 
  19. ↑ "Charis Jones Talks Using Her Work History to Scale Sassy Jones Into HSN Partnership, Advises Entrepreneurs When to Quit Day Jobs" (in en-US). 2021-10-28. https://www.yahoo.com/now/charis-jones-talks-using-her-180034391.html. 
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 "Sassy Jones Foundation". https://www.charisnicolejones.com/sassy-jones-foundation. 
  21. ↑ "Entrepreneurs Summit 2020" (in en). https://www.blackenterprise.com/entrepreneurssummit. 
  22. ↑ "EY announces winners for the Entrepreneur Of The Year 2021 Mid-Atlantic Award". https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2021/08/23/ey-announces-winners-for-the-entrepreneur.html. 
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