Announcements

(<—continued)

Tell us about your business, JF Images Productions.

JF Images Productions is a multimedia production company I founded in 2016. I began as a freelance photographer and evolved as an artistic director, videographer, brand consultant, and leader of a team of creative professionals in my community. My passion for capturing moments and stories led me to photograph events, portraits, commercials, and marketing materials for brands, businesses, community organizations, and professionals.

I have expanded my skill set creatively and as a businesswoman. I enjoy collaborating with my talented team to produce, direct, capture and edit photos and videos. My creativity expands into JF Floral Decor, a sister company specializing in decor and florals for any occasion. JF Images enables me to take up space from a leadership position while enacting creative expression, community building, and empowering others. I love what I do. JF Images is constantly evolving, my goal is to grow it into an empire and community learning hub.

_{Monotone Red, Digital Photograph, 2020 ©JFImages}

What advice or tips would you give emerging entrepreneurs?

My advice to emerging entrepreneurs is to educate themselves as much as possible. Favour collaboration over competition and dream BIG. Whether it is learning about taxes, finances, equipment, professional jargon, or formatting and editing techniques, be open to learning! When starting out, you typically have to do everything yourself. The more you learn, the more you empower your confidence and ability to take action. Entrepreneurship can feel ambiguous and overwhelming. Make time to research solutions for yourself. Lots can be found online. Also learn by observing other successful entrepreneurs, and from our own experience to improve.

Secondly, go for collaboration over competition. This entails a big shift in mindset when engaging with peers and people who do what you do. I now view other creators as people I can learn from, be inspired by and work with on my team.

When your clients and projects get bigger and schedules busier, you want to be efficient and need a team. This means relying on people who can do their job well and whom you can trust to help you run a business. Networking in person or on social media helps develop partnerships and collaborations with like-minded individuals and skillful people in your community. By expanding your network, you can build a team of professionals to reach out to. This collaborative trait helps me avoid comparing myself to others and keep a positive relationship with creators and colleagues. I often recall an African proverb a client shared with me, "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.".

Finally, do not lose sight of your dreams and visions. I believe in the importance of dreaming BIG. Knowing there are endless opportunities to explore while focusing on the highest version of myself and my business, motivates me to keep striving and improving, overcoming every challenge. Channelling energy into habits and activities that fuel growth is a long-term process for a creator and entrepreneur. Treat every opportunity as a chance to practice your skills, hone them and aim higher. Setting short achievable goals feeds daily motivation. Believing in your big dreams and visions will give your future self something to look forward to making into reality.

(continues—>)