We were lucky to catch up with Sharon Farnell recently and have shared our conversation below.

Sharon , appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

I have been a Graphic Designer for over 17 years, and have worked for small businesses and marketing firms. Here’s how I went from Graphic Designer to Business Owner and successful Recipe Blogger.

When I was laid off after years in the Graphic Design business in 2019, I decided I no longer wanted to work as just another number for a business whom found me disposable, and decided to not only embark on becoming a freelance for hire Graphic Designer on my own, but I also decided to finally start to build my own recipe blog. I had toyed with the idea of starting my own recipe blog for years, but had never had the energy or time working my long stressful hours and commuting back and fourth to work. With the help of my best friend and my design and photography experience, as well as my love of cooking, I finally launched my recipe blog (jawnsicooked.com) in the fall of 2019. While it took me years to get the blog off the ground, I started to learn more and more, and make headway, and in 2020, I was accepted to the ad network She Media, and began to monetize the blog. After much more research, hard work, and application of my newfound blog skills, I was accepted to Mediavine in the summer of 2022. The blog has grown exponentially since then, and in 2024, I started my own business, 8424 Creative LLC, under which I operate my blog, as well as my Graphic Design business. Starting my own business, and my blog (named for a Facebook album “Jawns I Cooked” in which I showcased all the fun recipes I was cooking for fun), has been a (sometimes) hard, but extremely rewarding experience. I feel like all the experiences with work and art over the years primed me for starting the business and blog, and I am grateful for all the experiences.

Sharon , 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?

I got into Graphic design after taking a one year break to figure out what I wanted to do as a career. I then decided to go to the Art Institute of Philadelphia to pursue a career in Graphic Design. At that time, my primary goal was to design records and albums for musicians, which is ultimately what landed me my first Graphic Design job as designer of a small music magazine. That business eventually closed. When it did, I did a few freelance jobs, and was not able to build up a big enough client base to go out on my own, so I ultimately took a job at a marketing and design firm. There, I learned a lot about the industry and worked on a vast array of different projects for all types of clients. When I was laid off, I finally decided to work for myself and start my recipe blog. My recipe blog now has over 400 published posts, and is my main source of income. I receive daily reviews from people all over the country who love the recipes, and I love what I do. I love to hear from fans who make my recipes, and hear their stories. I’ve even had people tell me great stories about making my recipes for an elderly neighbor or church luncheon to rave reviews, and hearing that feels very rewarding. I regularly work with clients in the blog space, creating content both on the blog, and for social media. To this day, I also offer Graphic design services to a small group of clients.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

In college, I worked full time as a cashier, then as a bartender, all while paying my way through school and attending a full roster of design classes. I graduated college in the beginning of an economic recession, and worked as a bartender on the side to pursue my passion. After losing that first job, I went out on my own and found new clients as a freelance graphic designer until I was able to find more work. Once I landed the job at the marketing and design firm, and was ultimately laid off, I went out on my own and built up my own client roster. After building up a successful freelance roster, unfortunately, I lost most of my clients (a majority were entertainment based) due to the pandemic, and had to go on pandemic assistance, and then work to build myself back up all over again. During this time, I heavily focused on making my blog successful, and just kept at it. Today, I am a proud business owner.

I would say resilience is a strong suit of mine. If I get knocked down, I will always get back up again. Like Chumbawamba.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

While my business is both Graphic Design and Recipe Blogging, I have learned that the blog is far more lucrative, and so I have learned to focus more of my efforts in that space, and continue to do the graphic design as a secondary form of income.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jawnsicooked.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jawnsicooked/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jawnsicooked
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharon-farnell-aa836843/
• Other: https://www.pinterest.com/jawnsicooked/
  https://www.tiktok.com/@jawnsicooked

Image Credits

all images from me