From Freelancer to Founder: Dana Francks' Path to Success with JK Creative

The creative vision behind JK Creative has transformed visual storytelling for brands both local and global. In today's Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur Spotlight, we're featuring Dana Francks, co-founder of a design studio that's elevating brand aesthetics through high-end retouching, CGI, photography, and more. Her studio's nimble approach—maintaining a core team while scaling with trusted freelancers—has landed them projects with major players, all while allowing Dana to balance professional success with family life. Discover how strategic patience, exceptional quality, and smart resource management have positioned JK Creative as a standout in the competitive visual design landscape.

Hi, Dana! Thanks for joining us today. Tell us about your business. Who do you serve, how do you serve them, and what's the impact that your business and work makes?

We founded JK Creative, our Creative Design Studio, to provide our clients with stunning visuals, while making the process enjoyable, collaborative, and personalized. We are a team of passionate artists with exceptional attention to detail who care deeply about our final product and making sure we consistently exceed expectations. Our scalable team, along with our experienced, expert supervision, allows us to work with clientele of any size, from small businesses and individuals to global companies and brands. Our clients include advertising agencies, marketing agencies, brands (global and local), photographers, creative directors, and art directors. 
Our services include High-End Retouching/Finishing/Compositing, CGI (Computer Generated Imagery), Photography/Videography, Photo/Video Studio Rentals, Photo/Video Equipment Rentals, Casting/Talent, Creative Direction, Custom Branding/Logo Design, and Website Creation. Our impact is made by helping brands elevate their visual content for the branding/advertising/marketing needs. 

Tell us about the moment you finally felt like you went from wantrepreneur to entrepreneur.

When we landed our first project with the global brand, Paramount Plus, doing 8 of their key art advertisements for their new line up of shows in 2022. 

Describe the moment or period in your life/career that motivated you to make the entrepreneurial leap.

I was freelancing for a large company, working from home during Covid lockdowns, and getting paid an hourly rate. My husband had the idea for me to start my own company doing what I do best, and keeping the profit instead of working at an hourly rate. Time spent away from my kids needs to be worth it. Having my own successful business is extremely gratifying and time well spent. 

Describe a tool, service, or software that has been a game-changer for your business. How does it contribute to your success?

Adobe Photoshop is our number one go-to software for making beautiful images, and we definitely could not work without it! 

We know that success is very often a non-linear path. Tell us about a failure, pivot point, or lesson that changed your course or direction and helped to get you where you are today.

Taking a 6-year hiatus from my career in retouching in order to be home with my 3 children when they were babies and toddlers was a major turning point for me. I had to reprioritize my time completely. Deciding to start working again when you are the primary caretaker for 3 small children, is a big change. Owning my own business instead of working for a large company was what got me to where I am today. Working during the hours that are convenient for my family was the best decision and has brought balance to my life. 

What unconventional strategy did you employ that significantly impacted your business?

Our business functions extremely well with just two people working every day, and adding freelancer artists as needed. We don't need to pay anyone to do nothing when work is lighter and manageable by our founding team of two. We scale up and bring in the most talented artists that we already know and trust, for their specific expertise when we are too busy to get it done ourselves. There is zero wasteful spending. 

What’s something you wish you knew sooner that you’d give as advice for aspiring or newer entrepreneurs?

Don't expect big things right away. Be patient, and do an amazing job and more work will come through word-of-mouth.

Want to dive deeper into Dana's work? Check out the links below!

• Visit JK Creative's website jkcreativenyc.com
• Connect with Dana on LinkedIn: Dana Francks
• Follow JK Creative on Instagram @jkcreativenyc