Within two weeks of coming up with the idea for a Catholic clothing company, Gabe Jones designed apparel, applied for and was granted LLC status, and launched Agape Apparel.
By the time the first order shipped, Jones knew God had guided his successful launch. It's a theme he's continued to see over the past year as the business has grown.
“Somehow, by the grace of God, we got an LLC, or EIN number, the night before the drop. So we were able to receive payments from other people,” says the now 20-year-old. Jones told the Register. “Everything went really smoothly and the Holy Spirit was a big part of it.”
After a few months of work, Gabe's twin brother Nate, also a sophomore at Benedictine, joined his brother in building the Agape brand. Since then, the two have continued their quest to launch a brand dedicated to reinvigorating the conversation about real love.
“What I've seen is people come up to people wearing our clothes and ask, 'What is this?' agape?” said Nate. “People who wear our clothes are evangelizing because it starts a conversation like: agape Love for us and the love of Christ. And in many cases it is tied to the Catholic faith. This brand is all about being a conversation starter. ”
The brand name “Agape” speaks of the brothers' mission.
They want those who wear the brand to not only share the gospel of Christ; agape I love, but it means putting those words into practice and living with unconditional love.
“agape It's not just about living a different lifestyle or wearing cool clothes. It's supposed to be about helping others and living with sacrificial love,” Nate said. “It should draw others primarily to this experience of beauty in their lives and help them find joy and fulfillment in their lives in a way they wouldn't otherwise.”
Anyone who has purchased clothing can attest to the impact a sweatshirt can have. Luke Biggar, a sophomore at Benedictine College, said his Agape hoodie sparked many fruitful conversations.
“What I love most about Agape is that my faith is integrated into my daily life,” Biggar said. “While I was having an MRI scan over Christmas break, a woman asked me about the hoodie, so I told her about agape and the meaning of the word, and she loved it. It’s a good tool for evangelism.”
s message agape But love isn't just for consumers. It's also for the producers. The brothers said running the company taught them many lessons, especially how to live sacrificial love.
“Running this company has reminded me that love is sacrifice. Whenever you have to sacrifice or do something for another person or for the company, it's love. It’s the shape,” Gabe said. “Starting and running Agape has been a very intentional and ongoing lesson in love.”
As a college student, this love lesson has proven to be helpful in determining how to balance school, work, and social responsibilities.
“One of the challenges is balancing work, school, social life, and everything else,” Nate says. “But definitely one of the joys is seeing how Agape impacts people's lives, and even my life.”
However, the path was not always smooth. Initially, much of the sales came from Benedictine students and locals. By last summer, the Jones twins had lost momentum and took a break from releasing new music.
Last fall, they felt inspired to start a new initiative to expand and grow the company.
By investing in social media, developing new products, and working on a dynamic marketing strategy, the company began to grow rapidly. Over the past three months, our Instagram page has grown rapidly, gaining around 6,000 new followers.
“Starting in January, we started posting more consistently on Instagram, and that started to drive more people to our Instagram,” Gabe said. “I really realized that this company wasn't just an idea that I had and was doing somehow, but an actual brand that people subscribed to and actually believed in.”
Although their business has an LLC, requires filing taxes, and focusing on logistics such as customer service and shipping, the two brothers never forget to have fun at work, is enjoying his time as an entrepreneur.
A recurring highlight for the brothers is their regular photo shoots, where they invite friends to model their clothes.
“Photoshoots used to be stressful, but the more I do them, the more I enjoy them,” Gabe said. “I think the last photoshoot we did was probably one of the highlights of Agape because while we were taking the photo, we were just having fun and living a life full of love. is.”
A lasting joy for the brothers is hearing how their brand impacts the lives of others and seeing fellow students wearing their products on campus. is.
“It was really cool to see other people take the message of agape and practice it and talk about it,” Nate said. “It's really powerful to overhear a conversation and hear how a sweatshirt started a conversation.”
Although the twins have a strong foundation, they are not done growing their business. They continue to roll out new designs once a month and he hopes to reach 100,000 followers on Instagram by the end of the year.
However, they understand that the success of their business is not in their own hands. It is in God's hands, as it has been since day one.
“This whole business is just in God's will. He guided it,” Gabe said. “If he continues after college, I would really appreciate it. It was a lot of fun. But from now on, I'll just let God steer the bike while we pedal.” is.”
Prayer and dedication are at the heart of the twins' business strategy. Both have a personal dedication to Mary and have recently consecrated the business to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, placing the company's future in the Lord's hands.
“Dedicating our business to the Sacred Heart of Jesus gave us the opportunity to surrender everything about our company to the Lord,” Nate said. “When we decide to do something contrary to what people expect of us, we are guided by the Sacred Heart and our own Marian consecration to trust in the Lord in a different way and do it. I know that is God's will.”
