Have you ever tried keeping pace with the wind? Try following Krista Macknovitz Jones ’10 through the multiple ventures of the first four years of her career!
While studying graphic design at Cabrini, Krista took a web internship at the American Bible Society. “My graphics courses of typography, color theory and images all applied. I just needed to learn coding.”
Krista quickly gained HTML and CSS skills and soon gained freelance work. “Like every new freelancer, I took any clients I could to get started!”
Taking any clients led her to add wedding photography to the repertoire. “A friend saw my photographs, and I shot her engagement session. As others saw those photos, demand quickly grew.”
Krista met her best friend and current business partner Natalie Franke ‘randomly online.’
“We were both pretty new but firmly felt the need for an online publication dedicated to Maryland weddings.” Krista and Natalie launched BaysideBride.com, now one of the country’s top wedding blogs.
Krista makes an important point about social media. “Bayside Bride, being a popular website, offers solid advertising revenue. People think we make great money from it, but … no. Many successful blogs basically pay for themselves. It’s more about the exposure they provide than making money.”
Among other offerings, Bayside Brides hosts networking events where wedding professionals such as florists, photographers, and cake designers can meet other vendors.
“Serving the community helped us grow quickly. We received rave reviews for our first workshop on skills such as blogging, SEO, posing clients and finishing images.”
Krista continues doing her first two ventures, freelancing websites for other photographers and preparing for 35 weddings she’s already contracted to photograph this year.
On the side, Krista also does ‘editorial’ photography. How does she manage so much? Krista took what must be a very rare pause.
“Well,” she said carefully, “I’m pretty disciplined.”
This article was featured in Cabrini Magazine.