Meet Hailey Covell and Maddie Hilliard | Honey Haus Co-Founders

We had the good fortune of connecting with Hailey Covell and Maddie Hilliard and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Hailey and Maddie, how does your business help the community?
We’re big on helping out the freelance and creative community by 1. Not gatekeeping and 2. Bringing people together on projects that feel 100% aligned with them, and gives them a chance to work with and meet other creatives. Long term, we want to be a resource for the freelance community by hosting events, community gatherings, and other chances to network with people in similar (or totally different!) circles. We’re all about connection. On the flip side, we help businesses who are passionate about their brands, products, or services get seen. Our work helps to take the pressure of “doing it all” off their shoulders and gives them the confidence they need to expertly promote their business to the people that matter most.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Honey Haus was born over a wine and cheese night a couple of months after we both left our jobs at a marketing agency to pursue freelancing, but starting a business wasn’t always the plan for either of us. Soon after we left our 9-5s and both had some freelance jobs under our belts individually, we explored the idea of splitting any new freelance jobs together. We’ve always had a great work dynamic and thought it was worth a shot at putting our heads together and collaborating as freelancers. Splitting jobs down the middle — from content creation and social media management to production management — just reinforced that you can get great work done when you work together. This really fueled our idea of creating a business that’s freelance-powered, and it got us excited about the possibility of starting something like Honey Haus. Aside from being a freelance-powered business, we knew we wanted to have more of a niche service offering. Over our years in the industry and working for different agencies, in-house teams, and as freelancers, we also realized there was often a gap between the creative and strategic teams when it came to content production for clients. Creating Honey Haus allowed us to “bridge the gap” while simultaneously letting us pursue the type of work we’re both passionate about. Those aspects together set us up to start Honey Haus!

But, “getting started” was definitely one of the biggest challenges for us. We didn’t just want to start selling services — we wanted to build a brand around the idea of strategy-driven content production and deep-dive into what that actually meant as a niche service. We worked with an amazing local designer (shoutout to Anna Katherine Creative!) who helped us nail down our name and designed our branding and website, took brand photos for us, and more. During this time, we also started building out our processes and homing in on what sets Honey Haus apart. It took about a year for all of the puzzle pieces to fall into place, but that groundwork made us feel really secure to finally launch in March!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Maddie: I wasn’t excited to move to Charleston originally, but it has quickly grown on me!

My favorite part of Charleston has to be the Park Circle area. It’s got everything: parks, breweries, restaurants and shopping. And, it’s all walkable. I love that it’s close to everything — a quick drive to downtown to the beach — while feeling like its own little community.

My fav spots in Park Circle:
-Prophet Coffee, Odd Duck and Evo are on consistent rotation for me when I need a little caffeine boost or want to work outside of the house.
-They also have a slew of great restaurants, and I will honorably mention Jack Rabbit Filly, Evo (the pizzeria side), Sesame, and Lola’s are monthly cravings for me. If you’re craving a late night slice, Benny’s hits every time.
-If you want to get outside, I love walking through the neighborhoods, by the duck pond, and by the disc golf course. They also just built a beautiful, inclusive playground with fields and other recreation areas if you have kids!

Hailey: Charleston has always been a dream city for me, so moving here last August felt like a dream come true! There’s something for everyone here, whether you love nature, shopping, food…the list goes on and on. If someone was coming to spend the weekend in Charleston with me, here are a few spots I’d definitely take them to:

Nature:
-Stroll Hampton Park, pack a picnic (with local goodies from Pinot & Provisions or Little Line!) and sit under a shady tree
-Head to Sullivan’s for a beach day — grab a sandwich and frose at Co-op, go down to station 28 ½ to beat the crowds and park it there for a couple hours of sunshine and saltwater.

Coffee:
-Go to The Harbinger for a grab and go latte and housemade pastry.
-For a chill afternoon catch up, grab coffee at Blum on Meeting Street. (Shameless plug because I barista here part-time!)

Food and drinks:
-If we’re eating Downtown, start with splitting a bottle of wine at Bar Rollins — it’s my favorite local wine bar with a great selection of natural wines and a cute, shaded patio! Then, where we go to eat will depend on what you’re in the mood for. For burgers and cocktails, Little Jacks! For authentic and delicious tacos, Pink Cactus. If we’re starving, a huge build-your-own BBQ platter from Lewis BBQ. We’ll end the night with a final drink or two at Faculty Loung (a speakeasy-style bar that you actually have to ring a bell to get into!) or a Charleston classic, Rec Room.

Shopping:
-King Street is the obvious go-to for shopping if you’re trying to hit popular stores or local boutiques. Personally, I prefer to shop at local markets or go thrifting! If it’s a weekend, we’ll definitely hit up the Sunday Brunch Farmers Market in James Island — they have a great mix of produce and goods, as well as artists and craft vendors. And if any local breweries are having a vintage market popup, we’d definitely swing by one of those!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Hailey: Leaving my stable, “all I had ever known” 9-5 job was a decision I had to come to myself, but I couldn’t have made the decision without the love and support of my friends and family. As cliche as that sounds, they really are the people that got me to take that leap and let me know they’d be there for me throughout the entire journey of starting life as a freelancer. They gave me the extra push I needed and helped validate the trust I had in myself for making such a big (oftentimes, scary) life change. And of course, Maddie played a huge part in that for me! Without her support and encouragement, I don’t know that I would have found the courage to make this change. Our friendship and like-minded ideas about freelance life, this industry, and the importance of community are what led us to start Honey Haus.

Maddie: I was never a person who had a dream job or plan on how I wanted to live my adult life. I decided to go to college and get an agency job, only because that was what everyone was saying to do. When I landed at my 9 to 5, I thought to myself, “Ok, I finally made it.” Once reality set in, I realized I wasn’t always lit up about my job. But, what never failed to get my excited for a day at work? Days I got to work with contractors and freelancers. I am endlessly grateful for the freelance community and all of the creatives who created their own dream jobs. Without them, I wouldn’t have know it was possible for me, too. Seeing is believing, so I contribute a lot of my drive and belief in myself to seeing other people do what they love so fearlessly.

Website: https://honeyhaus.biz

Instagram: https://honeyhaus.biz

Image Credits
Anna Katherine Creative