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Jena Holliday: Rewriting the Starving Artist Narrative
APPLE PODCASTS | SPOTIFY Almost every artist I’ve interviewed on this show has had some variation of the same story: I didn’t think it was possible to make a living doing what I love. Jena Holliday is proof that not only is it possible, but following your passion might be the key to building a profitable business. […]
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Almost every artist I’ve interviewed on this show has had some variation of the same story: I didn’t think it was possible to make a living doing what I love.
Jena Holliday is proof that not only is it possible, but following your passion might be the key to building a profitable business.
Jena is a full-time illustrator, author, and entrepreneur. She’s the visionary behind Spoonful of Faith, a creative haven specializing in illustration, hand-lettering, mural art, innovative marketing, and joyful design. Jena’s work has been featured in Good Morning America, Huffington Post, and People.
In this conversation, Jena gets into the nitty gritty details of making a living from your art, from pricing to revenue streams, and how she reached that elusive 6-figure milestone.
Press play for the full interview or keep reading below!
The Call to Creativity
Although Jena grew up in a creative home, she always viewed art as a hobby – partly because of an offhand comment from a teacher who told her that being an artist wasn’t a career. “I never thought I would be an illustrator,” Jena says.
She studied marketing in college because it seemed like the most creative element of business. After graduating, she worked in brand storytelling and later merchandising. But after a few years, she felt a pull back toward her creative side.
“I started feeling what I believe was God showing me there were more gifts within me that I wasn’t utilizing.”
Founding Spoonful of Faith
Jena started the Spoonful of Faith blog in 2014 as a creative outlet, followed shortly by an Etsy shop and Instagram account. At the time, mommy blogging was big and Jena had a young daughter of her own, so she started drawing portraits of mothers with their children.
It wasn’t long before people started offering to pay her for custom illustrations. Jena took her first portrait commission for $35. She still saw it more as a hobby than a business, but that made it more fun.
By 2016, Jena was preparing for her second maternity leave and at capacity for custom illustration orders. She decided to use her time off to see if she could turn her art into a full-time job.
Publishing a Children’s Book
Jena isn’t one to sugarcoat: the first few years were difficult and her family relied mostly on her husband’s salary. But slowly and surely, Spoonful of Faith started to grow. As people started following Jena’s story on social media, her customer base grew organically.
In 2018, she connected with a local publishing company to illustrate children’s books. That led an editor from HarperCollins to reach out and ask if she was interested in writing and illustrating her own book.
Jena jumped at the opportunity – and added “published author” to her list of creative titles.
Breaking into Retail with Spoonful of Faith
Around the same time, Jena started selling her own designs in addition to custom orders. She branched into apparel with positive, faith-inspired illustrations.
Someone from the buying team at Target saw Jena’s work and invited her to design an apparel collection for Black History Month. It flew off the shelves and soon her designs were in major retail stores like Home Goods and Michael’s.
“Everything started snowballing that year,” Jena says. Spoonful of Faith hit 6-figures in revenue for the first time in 2020 – a long way from that first $35 illustration.
Pricing Your Artwork
Jena learned what to charge based on trial and error, but also her experience in merchandising. “I knew that whatever my work cost to make, I needed to double it to get to a 50% margin. It was uncomfortable at first because I always thought I was asking for too much.”
But over time, Jena’s confidence grew. She set minimum order amounts of $1,000-2,000 because she realized each project involved a lot more than the illustration itself – she also had to account for her time spent invoicing, replying to emails, and handling admin.
For more tips on how to price your products and services, check out The Blueprint Model!
The Old-Fashioned Power of Relationship-Building
Relationships have been the cornerstone of Spoonful of Faith from day one, and Jena is grateful for it now that social media isn’t what it used to be. She doesn’t have to rely on sales from Instagram because of the relationships and connections she’s built over time.
“I pride myself on having good character, doing good work, and communicating well. That pays for itself. It comes back in dividends because you get people who want to work with you again and share your name.”
Diversifying Your Revenue
A few years into running Spoonful of Faith, Jena had enough data from past years to project her future revenue. She started thinking about how to get to the next level without putting more hours in. Eventually, she phased out custom work to focus on other projects.
Today, Jena’s revenue streams include her books (she signed a second publishing deal in 2022), licensing, and ecommerce. She also illustrates book covers for major publishing houses.
The longer Jena has been in business, the more she’s learned to protect her most precious resource: her time.
Presence Over Balance
Like most new entrepreneurs, Jena worked long hours in the beginning. She drove herself to burnout and sacrificed time with her husband and kids. Until one day she woke up and wondered why she was working so hard to have a flexible schedule if she wasn’t actually taking advantage of that flexibility.
The first step was setting boundaries. Jena realized there were certain times of the day when she was most productive, and outside of those times she gave herself permission to stop working. She no longer takes meetings on Mondays or Fridays.
When she’s working, she’s entirely focused on Spoonful of Faith – and when she’s with her family, she’s present with them. “It’s not about balance. It’s about being 100% there, wherever you are.”
Rewriting the Starving Artist Narrative
Jena never thought she would turn her art into a full-time career, especially not when she was younger. “The landscape has changed for artists. The access and the ability to share your work and build a following is so different.”
Jena has worked hard to overcome those old beliefs. Now that she’s built a successful career with Spoonful of Faith, she’s turning her attention to mentoring other creatives.
Looking back, Jena would tell her younger self: “Soak up the lessons and write them down. They might become a book one day.”
More from this Episode
To hear the full story and more about Jena, press play on the player above for the full interview or click here to download the transcript.
RESOURCES MENTIONED:
Sacred Creativity: Inspiration to Reclaim the Joy of Your God-Given Gifts
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Jena Holliday
Meet Jena Holliday, a full-time illustrator, author, and entrepreneur, and the visionary behind Spoonful of Faith—a creative studio. Jena draws inspiration from the diverse tapestry of life, botanical wonders, motherhood, and faith. Her impactful work has graced major retail stores like Target, Home Goods, and Michael’s, earning features in Good Morning America, Huffington Post, Essence, and People.
But, beyond her creative pursuits, Jena is a beacon of guidance in the creative community, offering mentorship to those with passionate ideas and dreams. With nine years of experience in the industry, Spoonful of Faith is not just a studio; it’s a creative haven specializing in illustration, hand-lettering, mural art, innovative marketing, and joyful design.
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May 9, 2024
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