From Classroom Teacher to Corporate Change-Maker
For 15 years, Julie Jones stood at the front of fifth- through seventh-grade classrooms, convinced her calling was in education. That changed in 2010, when a stark message from the business community shook her: high school and college graduates weren’t prepared for the workforce.
“The solution was just another lesson plan,” she recalls. “To me, that was the definition of insanity.”
Jones began researching what companies actually needed—and discovered many were hiring etiquette consultants to teach professionalism, communication, and presence. She trained at The Protocol School of Washington, became a certified corporate etiquette consultant, and launched her first business with a simple GoDaddy site. It wasn’t pretty, she jokes, but it worked—bringing in clients like Hewlett Packard Enterprise, American Airlines, major banks, and universities including Texas Tech, SMU, and Tulane.
Building — and Selling — a Plumbing Company
An unexpected opportunity to co-found a plumbing company pulled her into a different arena. Jones didn’t know plumbing, but she knew business: operations, marketing, dispatching, customer experience, and systems.
“We grew that company from the ground floor and sold it seven years later,” she says. “Those were valuable years in learning how to grow a business.”
Running a 24/7 operation taught her the power of procedures, brand representation, and empowering teams so the owner can step away. After the sale in 2021, she became a plumbing coach with a best-practices organization and saw a consistent pattern: owners weren’t just struggling with strategy—they were struggling with belief, leadership, and emotional intelligence.
Stepping Into the Spotlight
For someone who once believed she was “meant to stay behind the scenes,” stepping onto stages was a hurdle. But her background in dance, performance, and teaching became an asset.
“I realized it’s okay to step into the limelight,” Jones says. “Sometimes, to reach the people who are looking for you, you have to be visible.”
Today, under her rebranded company Today’s Professionals, she helps entrepreneurs and professionals develop presence, self-awareness, and leadership skills—and turn the “dream in their heart” into something real.
The Presence Effect and AIM
Jones’ new book, The Presence Effect, anchors her next chapter: a low-cost membership program built around her AIM methodology—Attitude & Mindset, Image, and Management.
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A is the grounding work: what you think about, you bring about.
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I is your image: not just how you look, but how you communicate and show up.
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M is how you manage yourself and your systems—right down to your closet.
Looking ahead to a 2026 launch, she’s also building a team and plans to certify others in her approach so they can help people command their presence and lead better lives.
Her advice to founders: seek mentors, invest in your growth, and start behaving like the CEO you want to become—today.
Learn more about Julie Jones and Today’s Professionals:
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Website: https://www.todaysprofessionals.com/
