Jali: The First Decade of Jali Creatives: Lessons, Growth, and Gratitude

There is a big difference between doing meaningful work and knowing how to tell the story of that work. For the last 10 years, Jali Creatives has done just that. Founded by Juana Jones in 2016, Jali Creatives has played an integral role in the growth and success of women-owned and led businesses in the Miami, FL area and beyond. In this reflection on the Jali Creatives first decade, we celebrate a thoughtful retrospective interview with Juana and explore where she sees Jali Creatives heading in the future.

It started with a passion…

“With Jali, I view our mission as helping businesses communicate their mission. I’m here to help you tell the story of your business and connect with your audience.”

Juana’s passion for storytelling began in childhood, where she discovered a love for reading and writing. This would eventually lead her to minor in Communications at Florida State University.  Throughout both high school and college, Juana was a contributing editor for several campus publications. In 2012, Juana moved to Atlanta, and her passion for journalism led to an early career in internal communications for the Atlanta Housing Authority. 

Upon moving to South Florida, Juana accepted a position with a non-profit organization focused on youth mentorship, where she would eventually serve as the Development Director, leveraging powerful stories of impact to drive fruitful fundraising efforts. “I realized I really loved storytelling,” she recalls, “whether it was crafting messaging for the public or communicating with our stakeholders, it all came back down to understanding the story we wanted to tell and the best way to get that across.”

For Juana, that realization became the foundation of what would eventually become Jali Creatives. Time and again, she encountered organizations doing meaningful work but struggling to articulate their value, impact, or purpose in a way that resonated with the people they hoped to reach.

"People are doing incredible things every day," she says. "The challenge isn't usually the work itself. It's communicating that work clearly and consistently. That's where storytelling becomes so powerful. The right story helps people understand why the work matters and how they can become part of it.”

"Service is the rent we pay for living.”

In 2016, Juana officially left the corporate world behind to begin her career as a freelance copywriter and marketing consultant.

“I just knew it was time for a change. As much as I loved the work I was doing with the nonprofit, I felt I could have a greater impact if I focused on what really called to me: storytelling.”

Jali Creatives took shape shortly after this decision to pivot into freelance work. The name Jali was derived from the West African word for ‘storyteller.’ As members of their communities, jalis were both historians and artists, blending poetry, music, and history into their craft. “The name just fit perfectly,” Juana shared, recalling the earliest stages of developing Jali Creatives as an LLC, “Sometimes people think it’s ‘jolly’, like happy, and that fits too, but I wanted something that spoke to something deeper than just completing tasks and fulfilling contracts. We’re part of your story, and that was built into the brand from the very beginning.”

With Juana’s background in the nonprofit sector and her passion for being of service to others, it’s no surprise that Shirley Chisholm’s famous quote, 'service is the rent we pay for living,' informs so much of what Jali Creatives is today. Despite early growing pains, Jali Creatives transformed into a full-service marketing agency in just one year. Juana credits this to the people who believed in her and her commitment to paying it forward.

Over the next decade, that small freelance practice would grow into a trusted communications partner serving nonprofits, associations, entrepreneurs, and service-based organizations across South Florida and beyond. What began as a focus on writing expanded into brand strategy, website development, content marketing, email campaigns, social media management, and communications consulting. Juana even channeled her own framework into the Mompreneur Productivity Journal, self-publishing the book in 2021 to help other working mothers protect their time and structure their businesses. Yet despite the growth, the underlying mission remained remarkably consistent: helping organizations tell their stories with greater clarity, confidence, and purpose.

“My earliest contracts were with friends and family members who had businesses. Whenever the opportunity arises, I love connecting people in my network to opportunities because they did that for me. I’m lucky enough to see what entrepreneurship takes through my husband, and a lot of it comes down to nurturing your circle. The other part of that is not letting others undermine your worth. I learned pretty quickly to put policies and systems in place to protect my time and ensure everyone is on the same page before we move forward with any projects.”

Navigating obstacles and learning to lean in

The year 2020 brought a heavy cultural reckoning around race, equity, and public accountability, moving communications from a supporting function to a critical leadership responsibility. The challenge for organizations was no longer simply getting attention; it was maintaining trust.

When a professional association turned to Jali Creatives after a significant public misstep in their communication, Juana stepped in. Partnering with a fractional communications strategist, Jali served as the execution arm for a steady, two-year narrative rehabilitation project.

“I think it’s important to remember that there are real humans behind these brands. What matters most to people is having integrity. Sometimes, all it takes is owning up to a mistake, speaking from a place of authenticity, and being intentional about how you move forward. We’ve definitely had to help companies navigate that journey. It can be challenging, but I’ve found that those who genuinely mean no harm are willing to put in the work.”

Learning to lean in has also meant evolving with the changing marketing industry. As AI and other automation platforms become increasingly relevant, Juana and Jali Creatives are committed to staying ahead of the curve. 

“We will always prioritize the human touch at Jali Creatives, that’s not going to change,” Juana shares, “Finding and implementing systems that help our clients achieve their goals without overtaxing our team (or theirs!) doesn’t take away from that. It is possible to automate certain processes while still maintaining valuable, human creativity .”

A vision for the future

It’s impossible to mark a momentous milestone like 10 years of service without looking ahead and planning for the future. For Juana, a graduate and alumni ambassador of the prestigious Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program, the future of Jali Creatives is exciting and bright. She is hopeful of beginning to scale Jali Creatives’ services for larger businesses and enterprises, particularly those in service-based industries. 

“We’ve also seen success in partnering with other agencies for fractional projects that turn to us for our expertise in strategy development and communication. As we develop new tools and processes, we would love to keep our options open in terms of partnerships, new and old.”

As she reflects on the last decade, Juana is most proud not of any single project or campaign, but of the relationships built along the way. Clients have become long-term partners. Contractors have become teammates. Colleagues have become friends. In many ways, the story of Jali Creatives is not simply the story of a business—it is the story of a community of people who chose to build something meaningful together. Even as plans for the future unfold, Juana remains grateful for all those who helped pave the way:

“Everyone who has ever been a part of our team shares a piece of our story. From clients who have been with us since the beginning to new ones who have yet to join, I am grateful for every moment of this journey. As we continue to grow our team and expand our reach, connection remains the heart of everything we do.”