Katie Guiliano: Founder of Hosanna Revival

APPLE PODCASTS | SPOTIFY

With an estimated 5 billion copies sold and distributed, the Bible is the bestselling book of all time…yet over thousands of years, there have been surprisingly few cover variations. Enter Hosanna Revival: a paper goods company that designs beautiful, artistic Bible covers and other faith-based products.

I sat down with founder Katie Guiliano to hear where this idea came from and how she’s grown the business to 7-figures and a team of 15 full-time employees. 

Press play for the full interview or keep reading for a powerful conversation on the intersection of faith, art, and entrepreneurship!

A Surprising Origin Story

As the owner of a faith-based business, Katie often surprises people when she tells them she didn’t grow up in the church. It wasn’t until after graduating high school that she discovered her faith – and one of the first recommendations she got was, of course, to read the Bible. 

Katie was in business school at the time but she’d always had an artistic streak as well, and she found the plain black Bible uninspiring. “If this book is as important as everyone says it is…why the heck is no one designing a beautiful cover?”

Katie decided to rebind her Bible with a hand-painted cover, and Hosanna Revival was born.

Joining Etsy and Instagram

Katie started with a few prototypes for friends and family, but she knew from the beginning that her idea had business potential. “If knew that if I didn’t start making these and selling them, someone else was going to,” she says.

After sharing her work on Instagram and Etsy, the idea took off quickly. By the end of her first month on Instagram, she had over 1,000 followers and 125 orders for custom Bibles.

The Bible Printing Industry

It didn’t take Katie long to realize that buying individual Bibles and creating custom covers for each customer was unsustainable.

She reached out to the publisher of her favorite translation and presented her idea to the VP of Sales, who agreed to license the content with one small catch: the minimum order quantity was 1,000 Bibles and Katie needed to pay for all of them upfront.

“He gave us a ‘yes’ on Friday afternoon, and they needed the money by Monday.” Katie had three days to put together $72,000.

Financing the Dream

At the time, Katie had around $40,000 in Bible sales and another $15,000 from her part-time job at Chick-fil-A – it still wasn’t enough. She took a loan from her parents to cover the rest. “We don’t come from money, so that was a big deal.” 

With the money secured, Katie ordered a total of 5,000 Bibles and put her creative marketing background to use. By the time they released the Bibles for pre-sale, she’d made more than enough to pay her parents back their $12,000 loan.

From Solopreneur to Team of Four

After that initial print run, Hosanna Revival only continued to grow. At just 19-years-old, Katie left college to persue the business full-time. She hired two employees to help with shipping, customer service, and marketing. “We had no idea what we were doing. We were all under 24.” 

Just days before their wedding in 2017, Katie’s husband Nick also left his job to join the Hosanna Revival team. At that point, Katie still hadn’t taken a paycheck – now they needed to take two to support their family.

The night of the wedding, their first wholesale order came through – almost the exact amount they’d need to cover Nick’s salary.

Financial Forecasting

Since the inception of Hosanna Revival, Katie has focused on providing a custom experience. She releases a new collection twice a year. Some do better than others, which can make revenue forecasting difficult. 

A major turning point came when Katie hired an accountant to help understand the numbers side of the business. “We were a bunch of 23-year-olds sitting around a table trying to figure out how to forecast.”

As of 2023, 45% of their sales are wholesale and 55% are direct-to-consumer from their e-commerce website. In the last year alone, Hosanna Revival shipped over 100,000 bibles across the world.

Turning Employees into Leaders

One of the biggest challenges for Katie has been stepping into a leadership role. “Managing people is a full-time job,” she says. 

Hosanna Revival has 15 full-time employees and every time they hire a new team member, that brings a shift in culture. 

Katie says the solution has to been to turn employees into managers – knowing she can trust her team to make important leadership decisions has helped ease her mental burden. “It’s a lot of learning together.”

Find the Thread

The team behind Hosanna Revival is the definition of mission-driven. Every employee cares deeply about the work they’re doing, but only the customer-facing roles truly get to see the impact their products have.

That’s why Katie challenges everyone on the team to find the thread from what they’re doing to the end user. If she’s painting a lily that will go on a Bible cover, she pictures the impact that will have on one of their customers – maybe it’s someone’s favorite flower, or it reminds them of them of their grandmother. 

Another strategy I recommend to all my students in The Blueprint Model is to keep a Sunshine Folder: a collection of positive feedback. Seeing the positive impact of your work can inspire you to keep going even when things are hard!

Creating a Meaningful Brand Experience 

As an artist, Katie has always been committed to thoughtful design. Part of what sets Hosanna Revival apart from other faith-based brands is the intention behind every experience.

“We knew other people would eventually design beautiful Bibles. We wanted to have this specialty brand that people wanted to be a part of, that inspires them in their faith.”

Since most people don’t buy a new Bible every year, Hosanna Revival has expanded into other products such as prayer journals, notebooks, calendars and more – all designed to help their customers live more beautiful, intentional lives.

Maintaining Work-Life Harmony

When Nick first joined the Hosanna Revival team, there was an adjustment period. “We didn’t know any husband and wives that were working together in the way we were.”

They found the traditional advice to maintain strict boundaries didn’t work for them. “For us, the business was all-consuming and in order for it to grow, it wasn’t an option to not take it home.”

Instead, they found comfort in pastoral families who shared the same mission-driven passion that Katie and Nick have for their business. Now nine years into business, they’ve been able to carve out a little more balance.

When one of them needs to work into the evening, they always ask for the other’s permission. And when the business cuts into their personal life, Katie says, “We treat it as a rarity, rather than the always – because it used to be always.”

How Far Do You Have to Fall?

Katie started her business on the advice of her father-in-law, who asked her, “How far do you have to fall?”. The answer, at just 19 years old, was not far. Katie knew she could always go back to school – so she took the leap and went all-in on Hosanna Revival.

Her best advice for new entrepreneurs is to bring something unique to the table and believe wholeheartedly in your idea. “Imitation is cheap and the passion will burn out. You’ve got to believe in what you’re doing deeply.”

More from this Episode

To hear the full story and more about Michelle Boyd, press play on the player above for the full interview or click here to download the transcript.

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

_ 

Katie Guiliano

Katie founded Hosanna Revival in 2015 after re-binding and painting a Bible. She was inspired by the vision of how a beautiful Bible could impact the heart of anyone who held it, leading them to know God through his Word. Now she spends her days designing new products, leading our marketing efforts, and of course, painting. Katie’s walk with Jesus began after her graduation from high school when her best friend invited her to a Young Life camp. It was there that she learned that strivings can cease, and Jesus’ sacrifice extended all the way to her. You can find Katie tending to her cut flower garden, petting her giant dog Frank, and dreaming about her next trip with her husband, Nick.

CONNECT WITH KATIE:

Website | Instagram

SHARE THIS: