Celebrating 5 Years

by Julia Holly

I can't believe it's been 5 years already. To celebrate, I wanted to take a moment to reflect and thank those who've supported me along the way. I fully believe in giving credit to whom credit is due and I do not think it would be possible to be around for 5 years if it weren't for those who helped me. First off, I want to thank my IT consultant, my personal IT guy, my wonderful and most patient husband, Philip Holly. He would love for me to be that stay-at-home mom, but he's learned all too well that I am just not that person. Plus, I tried the stay-at-home mom bit for 5 years while doing contract work and that didn't work for me.

I've been a designer for over 14 years since finishing my degree at Academy of Art University, SF in 2003. A few years after graduating, I got a lot of hands-on experience working with the marketing team at a non-profit organization called Bibles for America for a year. Then, a curveball smacked me in the middle of that year and my first year of marriage. My husband and I apparently make a great baby factory. We've got 4 beautiful, crazy kids now.

With a background in Advertising & Design, I sought to work for local creative firms and had a small stint with an award-winning agency in 2013. However, I quickly found that putting 80-hour work weeks and getting underpaid wasn't cutting out for my lifestyle and family. I had 3 kids under the age of 6 at the time. After looking through the current job market in Tallahassee, most agencies and their reputations didn't offer anything better as a sustainable schedule for a young working mom. I ultimately decided to launch JH Creative, LLC in 2014. With the help of a few connections, I started designing for small businesses.

Network, Network, Network

Shortly thereafter, a former co-worker of mine, Micah Widen, reached out to form the Domi brand. I eventually became a co-working member at Domi Station and I would not have been able to get where I am today without starting there. I met talented people and received helpful advice. One of Domi's former advisors, Christine Urban, recommended BNI to me and I've been a member of my chapter for almost 4 years now?! BNI is one of the largest professional networks in the world, which stands for Business Network International. I got one of my loyal clients from a referral given by a non-member who visited one meeting. My chapter Big Bend Business Builders (I know that's a mouthful) is a motley crew of wonderful people and we make an awesome culture for folks who want to grow their business in a non-clickish environment. Here's a shameless plug... You're welcome to visit and/or join us on Tuesdays for lunch at Wahoo's Seafood (11:45 a.m.-1 p.m.). We have open seats!

JHC and Beyond

Since becoming JHC, I've learned so much. I've learned about what I'm great at and what I'm not so great at. I will say I'm great at follow-up, project management, curating imagery, content management, layout design, and most important of all staying within budget and fulfilling deadlines. Hey, I've cut budgets in half and still made results for my clients. I'm your not-so-flaky-type of creative who can design with strategy in mind. In other words, your marketing person w/ a designer skill set. How common is that in Tallahassee? I don't know too many. However, my intention was never to become another agency.

JH Creative was never meant to become a full-service agency or design shop, but rather an umbrella brand for multiple products and services. After 5 years of running my business, I've shifted from designing primarily for others to designing products primarily for solving problems. This doesn't mean I won't continue to consult and provide services for my current clients, but rather I plan on shifting the focus from design projects to what problems are we really solving. And I will only accepts clients who have a similar mindset. In addition, I've already begun several of my own projects with the goal of empowering and inspiring communities. They all look very different and I'm super excited to share them with you when the right time comes. Here's to 5 more years!!