We had the good fortune of connecting with Jaylan Charles and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Jaylan, can you share the most important lesson you’ve learned over the course of your career?
Patience. The biggest thing my business has taught me is patience. Now, the old quote, “Rome wasn’t built in a day,” has a new meaning to me. I understand that building something the right way takes time, focus, and dedication. This is challenging, especially when you are balancing a full-time 9-5 and entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship is a long-term game and the benefits of it take time to show.
In this time, I’ve learned that it is critical to research people that came before you, the market, photography, and to find your creative rhythm. One of the most important things to being a person and business owner is to never compare yourself to others. –“Comparison is the thief of joy.”
Overall the keys are to be patient, research, and kind to yourself through this process.
Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
For me, photography is a time stamp saying “I was here at this time,” capturing the emotions, time, accomplishments, etc. of the moment. I think what sets me apart from others is, I am a visionary and I am adaptable to change. The way we view pictures is changing, social media is changing, and the culture is changing. I have the ability to identify trends and fads early on so that allows me to stay ahead of the curve and offer my clients modernized services.
I am most excited about what the future has in store for my business. I’ve been in business for less than a year so this is only the beginning of a long journey.
As a young adult, I did not believe I would be a business owner until I learned that there was more to life than working for other people. I’ve always excelled at every job I had and I found it essential to build something outside of my 9-5 that can support me and benefit my family. I decided to put my creativity and grit to work leading to the formation of Charles Multimedia.
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?
In my opinion, the DFW-Arlington is an underrated food metroplex. It offers a wide variety of culturally unique foods that appeases the masses. As a Louisiana native, I would of course show off some of my favorite cajun-creole restaurants such as Bayou Cat, Nates, Charlie’s, and Dodie’s. I’d also bring them to some of my other favorite spots such as Val’s Cheesecake, The Cake Bar, LoLo’s Chicken and Waffles, and The Island Spot. We’d go do some shopping at the Allen Outlet and of course participate in some local flag-football games. Lastly, we’d have to catch a live sporting event, preferably an Errol Spence Jr. fight.
Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
The first person I want to give a shoutout to is my wife, Ebony Charles. If there was a time that I felt down or discouraged through this journey, she gave me words of encouragement and offer acts such as buying me entrepreneur books, working as my assistant, and just being there.
The second person I would like to shoutout is my best friend, Romalis. He played a huge role in me taking the first leap into the world of entrepreneurship.
There’s a cast of other people that played a role of getting here and I would like to thank each of them for their words of support.
Website: charlesmultimedia.com
Instagram: @CharlesMulimedia @itsJayCharles
Facebook: CharlesMultimedia
Youtube: itsJayCharles
Other: TikTok: itsjaycharles
Image Credits
@CharlesMultimedia