Meet Jide Kola | Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jide Kola and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jide, do you have a budget? how do you think about personal finances?
While in corporate employment, I never really appreciated the value of personal. budgeting because I always had payday rescue me from whatever tight corner I was at. Starting off running my business, I was quick to realise in less than a couple of months that people’s (my staff) livelihood depends on my financial acumen. I. needed to put a structure to the cashflow – Not just budgeting, financial forecasting, depreciation, cost of poor quality and continuous improvement in my processes to ensure maximum returns on investment and consistent cash flow. This was quick to impact my personal life… I started keeping spreadsheets for everything, impulsive purchases ceased, no more “just because”, everything had to be properly thought out before being acquired. Looking back, this discipline has helped a great deal, Aha… lest I forget; Its OKAY to budget to HAVE FUN & TURN UP!!!!!!!!! Just plan for it and stick to it.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’m a wedding photographer… scratch that… I’m a wedding photojournalist. I am committed to telling not just love stories and moments of affection between couples; but also showing you stories of your big day that you never experienced. Call me your third eye. My approach is to help the bride and groom relive the memories, and essence of their love every single time they go through their photos. I think the hardest part of building my brand was getting my style of photography sellable… finding my niche market, especially in a saturated field as wedding photography. It took many years of consistency and steady evolution to get to where I am today. One key lesson I’ve learnt is being true to yourself; when you weigh yourself by just scales, you’re able to honestly assess your strengths and weaknesses and ultimately make the necessary changes to help you forge on. I am just that little guy who stumbled on a camera and has decided to make memories to last a lifetime, bringing never ending smiles to the generations unborn.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
This shout out goes to my personal mentor and business coach – JIDE ALAKIJA. Meeting him changed my story and being taken as a mentee is by miles the best decision I ever made in my career; He is passionate and dedicated to seeing others grow, I sincerely wish him the very best and pray that his oil never runs dry. YOU ROCK JIDE! (Yes, we’re namesakes)

Website: www.jidekola.com
Instagram: jidekola
Linkedin: Jide Kola
Twitter: jidekola
Facebook: Jidekola
Youtube: youtube.com/jidekola