Young Creative: Femi Caution

In this month of July, we would be appreciating and encouraging the works of creative entrepreneurs all over the country. One of the best things we have in life are ideas, even better is the fact that they are free. We just need to act on them.

So kicking this month of creative entrepreneurs is Femi Caution who has three startups that revolve around photography (talk about taking photography to the next level) and a proper 9-5 (corporate job).

 Hello Femi, introduce yourself.

 My name is Olufemi Awobokun a.k.a Femi Caution. I’m a serial entrepreneur with three start-ups at the moment which are; Caution Pictures: a photography company that focuses on events and wedding photography. VRLagos the first of its kind Videography Company that provides Virtual Reality videos in Nigeria. TheSelfieBoxNg, a pioneer service in Nigeria that redesigned the photobooth service and capitalised on the selfie rave.

What was your inspiration to pick up a camera?

I started taking pictures as a hobby in the film era. I was inspired by the smile and excitement on people’s faces when they saw the printed pictures. However, the inspiration to start taking pictures commercially was birthed out of a need. I started off my entrepreneurship life as a graphic designer and I was working on a magazine layout which I wanted to include images with African content. I decided to go out and capture images that best told the stories I wanted to showcase and I haven’t stopped taking pictures since then.  

What story do you hope your images would tell?

With every image, it’s never about my story, it’s the story of the person in the picture, their emotion, the ambiance, the feelings and the joy present at the time the picture is being taken. My job with every click of the shutter is to ensure that I help them craft an image that preserves and documents their story, using my understanding of the art of photography.

What is your drive as a creative entrepreneur?

I am driven by a number of things, one of which is the drive to create value in new ways using the technology and trends around me. I am also driven by my flaws. They make it clear that there is always room for improvement and there is more that can be done. I’m driven by my ultimate goal which is to have employed/empowered more people than I can ever count and get to a point where most of my time would be spent empowering orphanages and working with youths to harness their creative side to generate income. Until this is achieved, I am as focused and driven as I can ever be.

In recent times, what impact has your start-ups had in the industry, if any?

 TheSelfiebox has had the most impact within its industry in my opinion. Firstly it showed other photographers that you can create new revenue stream by developing a new product. It revolutionised photobooth services in Nigeria at a point demand in photobooths had dropped due to the monotony. The redesign of the booth and making it smaller in size than the regular photobooth makes it easier to include it within the heart of events. Also, it kick-started social media posting for images with pre-set hashtags and captions. Furthermore, it went on to convert the photobooth service into a digital marketing tool which made other photobooth services follow suit.

Tell us one interesting thing in doing what you do?

The most interesting thing about doing what I do is being able to touch lives, from creating jobs (which is something I am very passionate about), to serving clients to the point where working with you takes off the stress that comes with dealing with traditional vendors.

How do you manage a 9-5 as well as the start-ups you own?

The strength to manage and balance them comes from the love and understanding for what I do.  I love my start-ups , however at the time I chose to take up a 9-5, I understood that it was a  learning curve necessary for me to learn the structure and organization of a standard  corporate firm which would help in the shaping of my start-ups. .

Time is very key in the management of both. You only have 24 hours in a day hence there is the need to always plan effectively around every job. Developing capacity within our team, the ability to effectively delegate and sacrifice have also been key in successfully managing both.

Advice to creative minds out there that are starting up or trying to find a balance?

 It’s ok to start small. Let the fear of not trying be greater than the fear of failing. Trust your guts. Be resourceful, start where you are with the resources you have while saving up to achieve even bigger dreams.

If Femi can pull all this together and still have plans of doing more, your story should not be so different.

Should it?