We recently connected with Jennifer Jackson and have shared our conversation below.

Jennifer, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

Honestly, I don’t have one particular project that was the most meaningful, but I can say that many projects that I’ve worked on with clients have made an impact on my professional career. Usually, when I am working on a project, it opens many doors of opportunities that comes with client referrals, invitations for future projects, and real connections made.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Ever since I was born, I have always been creative. I enjoyed the arts, rather it was drawing, painting, or photography. My grandfather enjoyed photography and one of my favorite pastimes was to look at our family albums and appreciate the creativity that my grandfather embarked in his photography. In college, I studied Graphic Design and one of the classes I decided to take in my program was photography. Immediately after the first day of class, I decided to drop it due to not understanding the technicalities of using a camera. I just knew that I loved taking pictures. Intimidated by the class, I dropped it and didn’t look back. After college, I began blogging about my love of makeup and I took pictures of makeup looks that I created as well as product shots. When it came to blogging, I enjoyed the photography piece alone, but I took all of my photos with my iPhone.

When I graduated with my Master’s in Business Administration, my mother gifted me a DSLR camera, and the intimidation sunk back in. I did not know how to use my camera. I’ve always had the vision to take my blog to the next level by using my professional camera and as time went on, I started teaching myself how to use my camera. After my move to Atlanta and turning my blog into a business, I decided to take photography workshops and it clicked. I was no longer intimidated and was ready to transition into a professional photographer.

I love photography! It is a passion that I never knew that burns so deeply in me. Today, I am still managing my business as a professional makeup artist and photographer and enjoying every minute of it. Some of my work has been featured in Forbes, Money Magazine, Business Insider, Bloomberg, Intuit, Buzzfeed, Voyage ATL, Shoutout ATL, Citybox Media, and more. I am hoping within the next few years, I can finally leave my corporate job and become a full-time entrepreneur.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

At this time, I have not turned my side hustle into my full-time business, but it is a life goal of mine. Growing up, I always envisioned having my own business and an operating creative studio. I never saw myself as a person who desires to climb the corporate ladder. I am still working full-time in the corporate spectrum, and I am in the preparation stages of stepping out on faith and transitioning into a full-time entrepreneur. There are some key milestones that I am working on which, saving as much money as I possibly can, paying down debts, allowing for my retirement savings to continuously grow, making sure my health is top-notch, and investing in my personal self-care while I have the benefits to do so. As much as I want to quit my full-time job now, I have a list of goals to accomplish while working in corporate. It is important to take advantage of the benefits that are offered to you while working so that when you take the leap of faith, you won’t have any regrets.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is using the gifts that God has given you for the world to see. As I continue to grow in my career as a professional makeup artist and photographer, when my clients are blown away by the results of my work, it makes me feel amazing. There are times when the most rewarding aspect of being a creative where I meet people and they have already heard about me and my business. Also, when referred clients explain how many great things are being said about myself and my caliber of work – it is an amazing feeling. Sometimes, when we don’t feel as confident in our work, we start to second-guess ourselves. Every time I start feeling like that, I open up my “affirmations” photo album on my iPhone and I start reading all of the great reviews I’ve received. It usually brings me back to reality and I get back into my happy creative place again.     

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jenniferjartistry.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/jenniferjartistry
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/jenniferjartistry
• Other: My photography Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/jennja.photography