We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jael Lewis. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jael below.

Hi Jael, thanks for joining us today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

Monetizing my creative journey began at the bend of a junior-year seminar table at Franklin Marshall College. Time was winding down to graduation; I hadn’t heard back about offers from internships that would lead to full-time roles, regardless of my stacked professional resume, history of receiving two full rides to college, or the laundry list of on-campus leadership I demonstrated for four burnt-out years. During that time, my hustle of choice was Makeup Artistry. I would take a cheap bus or train ticket back to NYC to do a few faces or find prom clients in Lancaster, where my school was.

I knew if I had no backup plan, I needed to legitimize my business and really become a brand. I reached out to a well-known NYC graphic designer then to learn that a logo would cost me well over $200, an amount I couldn’t muster up the strength to pay as a full-time college student whose monthly grocery bill almost mirrored that amount. So I looked into how I could do it myself. I saw that one perk of my $70k a year tuition was access to one free month of Adobe Creative Suite and subsequently only $30 (as opposed to $60 or $90) to maintain the subscription of the trial period. So, I gave myself 30 days to learn how to make my own logo using YouTube University, and I have never looked back since. Once the 30 days passed and people saw me making my own graphics for my makeup business, I began to get requests to make graphics for clubs, organizations, and eventually businesses. At the time, I was charging literally $5-$15 for my work, and I was still doubtful about my abilities.

Fast-forward six years, throw in a pandemic and a sporadic move to the DMV, and I have helped over 100 small business owners launch their branded trajectories to stand out in the marketplace of ideas. I worked full-time in marketing and communications for a large global non-profit to keep the lights coming out of the pandemic but still worked 5-9, securing clients across industries and working on perfecting my craft. One of those clients, Mary and Main, a client I gained from a recommendation by one of my WEEN sisters, Joelle Griffith, recently offered me a full-time contract that completely replaced my yearly salary and supplemented what I was making from other clients.

For years I struggled, worked for free for opportunities, worked 12-hour days in campaign production for brands like Urban Outfitters, Victoria’s Secret, and more to learn about how big brands bring visions to life, almost gave up on myself multiple times, but was blessed with a village and eventually a partner that encouraged me to stay the course. Today, I earn six figures solely from my business and haven’t even maximized my earning potential at this level. I am beyond blessed to have opportunities to find inspiration and the energy to facilitate the execution that continues to inject success into my business.

Jael, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

MORE Media Co. is a boutique Branding and Creative Agency focused on supporting successful brands from logo to launch. Leveraging graphic design (brand, web, social, and print) , creative strategy, and on-set production for photo and video shoots. Most importantly, we provide continued consultation and support for our clients beyond their first launch to encourage a culture of innovation and creative sustainability across their branded presences.

Our bespoke agency produces more than just beautiful visuals. We undertake a comprehensive and cohesive approach that reflects your brand personality and values, communicates your message effectively, and drives results. From the first consultation to the final delivery, we’ll be with you every step of the way, ensuring a seamless and stress-free experience from logo to launch.

One thing that makes us different is our results-driven approach to attracting clients who are addicted to standing out. Our affinity to loud, maximalist aesthetics encourages the bold or budding entrepreneur to take risks, think outside the box, and allow us to be the creative alchemist that assemble the pieces that can bring these visions to life.

MORE Media Co is the name of my business, but I also inject my creativity into a wide array of initiatives and events. In 2020 I created the Big Black Kickback, a Black Joy picnic-as-protest event at the tail end of the pandemic that brought over 800 Black New Yorkers out in the wake of George Floyd’s death. I also curated the Rotten Apples Showcase, a music showcase highlighting up-and-coming NYC rappers in 2019 with a team of music industry managers from Penthouse Clique, videographer B. Sergeant, and members of the MORE Media co. team.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Yes, one of my largest goals is to create a pipeline for creatives, especially creatives of color, to earn equity in brands and businesses that reflect the magnitude of their investment as members of a company’s success ecosystem. Creatives are often left out of the conversation regarding earning beyond execution, often leaving us in an underpaid and undervalued cycle of burnout and financial instability. My goal is to create a venture capital model for creative agencies that allows us to invest in small businesses to both increase the amount of small Black-owned businesses that reach a high level of success, and increase the amount of brand facing creatives that achieve equitable stakes in these ultimately successful businesses.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

Something that non-creatives understand well when it comes to everything BUT creativity is the relativity of risk and reward. Those on the more rational end of the creative spectrum can often understand taking huge risks financially when it comes to stocks or proven opportunities, but because “creativity” is so seldom regarded as serious or worthy of investment, it’s often hard to think about the risk involved with creating your own path. I challenge everyone to push the bounds of their creative limits, even if they don’t identify as a creative person, to feel the rush that we feel when we come up with something completely unique, or identify a problem that only we can fix.

Contact Info:

• Website: moremediaco.com
• Instagram: @moremediaco // @j.ellle
• Linkedin: Jael Lewis // MORE Media Co.

Image Credits
Photos by Reaulex Co – Alexis Akorolo