For many juniors in college right now, junior year may feel like it’s been a lot to handle lately. To those who can relate, try adding running a business on top of that. At only 20 years old, Samantha Morton, a junior Advertising major at Temple University, is juggling her junior year with running her own business. The South Philadelphia native is the owner of Joie (pronounced ‘Joy’) Graphics, a graphic designing business that has accommodated a significant amount of clients. With her achievements continuing to accumulate one by one, Morton makes it all look so easy. However, every step of the way is a learning experience for her, and she is using those experiences to better her business each day.
Although she has always been creative, Samantha Morton got her start with Joie Graphics through a simple project. A woman had asked her to create something for her business, which Morton did for free and was pleased with the outcome. From then on, Morton began taking part in more projects and priced her first official graphic design project at $40. The thrill she got from the success of that exchange was too great to ignore. She decided to expand her horizons and start up a business of her own that offers multiple graphic designing services to those who need it.
“I was always super creative. I used to make flyers a lot for school,” she said.
Morton had taken a class during her freshman year of high school on graphic design, but didn’t feel as though she was learning much from her teacher. She decided to take matters into her own hands and ended up teaching herself how to do most of it instead.
Originally a psychology major, Morton didn’t realize pursuing a major that focused specifically on advertising could be done until she started working in the Klein College of Media and Communication building on campus. Luckily for her, Morton has found that balancing both her business and school has been a lot easier than she thought.
“I can do work for my business as homework while being an advertising major. I don’t have class Monday, Wednesday, or Friday, so those are my business hours,” she said.
Joie Graphics offers designs for logos, flyers, t-shirts, web designs, phone cases, and plenty more. If someone decides to order from the business, Morton makes sure to work especially close with her client in order to produce the best possible outcome. That is just one of many qualities that makes Joie Graphics stand out.
When asked her favorite thing to create, Morton expressed her love for designing websites.
“Even though it takes the longest, I love building websites from scratch,” she said.
Morton may make running a business look easy, but at the end of the day she is still young and is learning each day about how to navigate running her business successfully. When her business first started, Morton would use Instagram and go to the pages of other businesses to leave comments and send direct messages about her work in order to get her name out there. It has taken some time to build up the following she has now, but the connections she has made have been meaningful nonetheless.
“I’m still a 20-year-old woman. I don’t want to put out work that I’m not comfortable with. It’s all just a process,” she said.
So, what keeps Morton motivated? People like her friends play a large role in her motivation to continue pushing forward.
“I’ll send work to my friends and they’ll critique them. They are all super supportive,” she said.
Aside from friends, Morton finds inspiration in any black woman who is doing something, regardless if it is running a business of their own, designing clothes, and just putting in hard work in whatever it is they are working towards.
After designing for over seven years Morton has received a considerable amount of advice along the way. Some of the best advice she has received thus far from others is not to overthink. She realizes that if a client is happy with an outcome, it is all for a reason.
In terms of advice she would give to others based on her experiences, she says, “Success does not happen overnight.”
After graduation, Morton hopes to land a job in an advertising firm, but she wants her business to continue to flourish as well. She has some exciting plans in the works, but for now wants to focus on partaking in projects that will benefit herself and her business. Morton’s drive is truly inspiring and she is proof that even in college, you can still pursue what you want as long as you set your mind to it! To access her website, social media, and contact information, click here.