MEMBER FOCUS: Alexis Willis

Entrepreneur turned Real Estate Broker, Alexis Willis, is a leader, mentor, and self proclaimed champion of local businesses. With a genuine heart to help others, Alexis radiates as she speaks of her past, and hopes for a future of being actively involved with local entrepreneurs. And we feel very fortunate to have her as a Common House member.

But let's take a step back and discuss a bit about Alexis' past. In 1997, Alexis' father moved the family from New Orleans to Chattanooga to be closer to Dalton, Georgia (aka the carpet capital) and continue in his carpet business ventures, a move that lit an entrepreneurial fire in Alexis. When the time for higher education came, Alexis stuck around to pursue a degree in English with a business minor at UT-Chattanooga. "After my first child, Riley aka Boom, was born, I strapped her to my chest and went to class. Post graduation, Alexis started working as an intern for The Company Lab (CO.LAB), a local entrepreneurial support center that furthered her desire to be a voice of encouragement and care for entrepreneurs. In her own words, she was " the girl who didn't leave...and problem solving and connecting with other entrepreneurs is what gets me up in the morning."

During her time at CO.LAB, Alexis started her own beauty brand called Natural Beautiful Me a platform  to empower women by encouraging them to embrace their natural beauty and value their identity. "I started that 10 years ago," Alexis reminisces, "that's when I really got my start in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. I went from intern to mentor to participant, and I launched a line of red lipsticks in 2013."

After several years at CO.LAB and LAUNCH Chattanooga, Alexis went on to explore entrepreneurship support through a different avenue: the Chamber of Commerce. "We launched 10 programs in three years, all centered on the people we supported in the program," she remembers. "Chamber culture has its own language...and I was eager to be the liaison between the two worlds and turn the program around. Change can be disruptive, but some disruption is good. It was my dream job and again, I managed to knock it out of the park with a kid strapped to my chest- my second born Aziza - Barakat aka Bebe." After almost four years with the Chamber, Alexis moved on to pursue a career in commercial real estate. As she states, "the change just made sense...it allows me to support entrepreneurs at a different point in the lifecycle of their business."

When Alexis isn't home with her two girls, crushing numbers in the real estate industry, or hosting workshops for entrepreneurs, you can likely find her at Common House. "I've been coming almost every other day to socialize or cowork. I've also visited on a Saturday night, when I don't have my kids, for a cocktail and brainstorming session." As a Common Ground member, Alexis hopes to be influential in this space and share her knowledge via a workshop or two and pay it forward by helping another Chattanooga Champion obtain a Common House membership