When Alyssa Davis opened Pure Hydration Plus in Beaumont, Texas, it wasn’t just about starting a business — it was about doing it better. A former employee at a local alkaline water refill store, Davis had long believed in the health benefits of alkaline water, regularly drinking it herself and sharing it with her family. But the conditions at her previous workplace didn’t align with the standards she valued. She noticed firsthand issues like poor filter maintenance and overall cleanliness — deal-breakers for a water filtration business. In fact, she drove to a different town just to get water she trusted for her household.

Customers, often mistaking Davis for the owner, brought her their concerns, compliments, and ideas. Many encouraged her to strike out on her own. At first, she dismissed the idea as wishful thinking. But over time, with steady encouragement and a deep belief in the product, Davis began researching her options.

She looked into purchasing the franchise where she worked but found the costs and restrictions too limiting. That’s when she decided to build her own brand from scratch. She already understood the customer base, knew the equipment, and had ideas for how to improve the experience. She began branding Pure Hydration Plus in 2019 — designing her logo, developing a customized water filtration system, and laying the foundation for her future storefront. The process was paused by COVID-19, which hit just as she was securing a location. Not wanting to commit to rent in uncertain times, she held off on opening her physical space until 2023.

A turning point came when Davis attended a Governor’s Small Business Summit. There, she met Mary Esclovon of Klassey Accessories — a fellow Beaumont entrepreneur and client of Communities Unlimited (CU). Inspired by Mary’s story, Davis reached out to CU and began working with the Entrepreneurship Team in December 2024. Her engagement was supported by funding from the T.L.L. Temple Foundation. She was paired with Management Consultant Trent Thomason, who quickly became a steady guide through the next phase of her business journey.

At the time, Davis’s business was barely breaking even. She was relying on short-term financing options, like Square loans, to keep going. Trent started by helping her establish a clear picture of both her personal and business finances. They created a detailed family budget, set up Wave accounting software, and walked through how to categorize transactions and track cash flow more effectively. The ability to monitor her performance in real time made a significant difference, especially when integrated with her Square point-of-sale system.

From there, they tackled pricing. Davis hadn’t been including many of her hidden costs — like the time and gas to pick up inventory from Houston, label production, or the overhead of running a storefront — in her product pricing. She was pricing like a budget-conscious consumer, not a business owner. Together, they conducted a pricing and industry benchmark analysis, helping her understand how to better set prices that reflected the true cost and value of her offerings.

“Even though I thought it wasn’t going to work, it did,” Davis said. “I should have been making a profit — especially with the overhead — and now I am. I’m still 30% up from when I first opened.”

Another breakthrough came in her bottled water product line. Though customers loved the convenience of prepackaged alkaline water, the profit margins were razor thin. Davis was driving nearly two hours to Houston, paying for labeling, and barely earning $8 per case. After researching alternatives, she found a new supplier that allowed her to buy in bulk and slash costs by more than half — a shift that made the product viable again without sacrificing quality.

Trent also helped Davis expand her mindset around marketing and revenue generation. They built a marketing plan using free tools like social media, and brainstormed ideas like renting out a room in her storefront for events. Davis admitted that consistency in marketing had been a struggle — but also recognized the payoff when she stuck with it.

“Every time I think it’s not working, I realize it’s because I haven’t been consistent,” she said. “Once I start posting regularly again, I can definitely see a difference.”

Beyond finances and marketing, Davis said one of the most valuable aspects of working with CU was learning how to manage her time and roles more effectively. As a solo entrepreneur, she wore every hat — from accountant to marketer to customer service rep. With CU’s help, she began developing systems that allowed her to balance it all more sustainably.

Davis sees her work with CU as an ongoing relationship — one that adapts and evolves as her business grows.

From a vision rooted in quality and personal conviction to a business now poised for long-term growth, Alyssa Davis’s journey with Pure Hydration Plus shows what’s possible when an entrepreneur refuses to compromise — and finds the right support at the right time.