Samuel Ndifreke, a National Diploma holder in Mass Communication from Yaba College of Technology, Lagos once had a paid job in an Oil and gas company, where he worked as a supervisor. When he could not cope with his routine schedule, he resigned to explore new things.
By Eberechi Obinagwam
Samuel Ndifreke, a National Diploma holder in Mass Communication from Yaba College of Technology, Lagos once had a paid job in an Oil and gas company, where he worked as a supervisor. When he could not cope with his routine schedule, he resigned to explore new things. That was in 2014.
He told TheNiche in an interview. “I was tired of doing one particular job every day and I felt I needed to explore something new.” Samuel resigned and concentrated on cleaning service business he had been running along with his previous paid job. In August 2015, he took advantage of a free online training on tech. On his first day of the training, the organisers called for candidates that would want to change their course from what they originally chose. Samuel was happy because he had hurriedly filled in Graphic Design instead of Photography, his passion. So, he switched to photography.
He said: “I loved taking pictures while growing up and that was an opportunity for me to go into it. When I applied for the free training online, I didn’t even check well. I just filled in anything just to apply. So, when they gave us that opportunity, I quickly jumped at it,” he said.
Journey into Photography
Once on the right path, Samuel attached himself as an apprentice to a lady expert photographer he met in the course of his training to learn more. This was after three months of training. He said: “When I attached myself as an apprentice, I told the lady not to pay me that I just wanted to stay here and perfect my skill. In fact, there was one day she sent me to cover an event without being around to supervise me after I finished the job, she gave me N500 and I was so happy because it showed that I have really mastered it.”
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After his apprenticeship for 3 months, he set up his own, ‘Fct Photography’ in 2016. He started by rendering free services to people around, especially in his place of worship to improve his skill. Today, Samuel, is a professional photographer who has offered his services to big companies, multi-nationals, etc. His works speak volumes.
Capital
Samuel does not believe capital can pose a challenge to starting up a business. He explained: “Initially, when I started, I did not have a personal camera but I had a passion which was a driving force for me. Because I didn’t have a personal camera, anytime I got a job, I would go and rent a camera. Once the client and I agreed on a price, I would take part payments so that I could use the money to rent a camera,” he said.
Getting a Camera
Due to his dedication, Samuel’s pastor was the first person to buy him a camera. According to him, his pastor did that because he saw his passion and dedication. “So, when my pastor saw that I wasn’t doing jobs every Sunday, he asked why and I told him that it was because I didn’t have a personal camera. I explained to him that I only rented if I had a job to cover. That was how my pastor bought me a new camera which was my first personal camera before I started making money to buy more and other necessary things,” he said.
Motivation
For Samuel, the motivation for him came when immediately after he finished his three months free training, he got a job which he got paid N7000. He said: “The Sunday we were supposed to go for Thanksgiving service after our three months free training, I got a job to assist a senior photographer in an event. After we finished the job, he paid me N7000. At that time, it was a whole lot. That motivated me so much and I was convinced that I was on the right track because for me to just finish my training and to get a job that I was paid N7,000 was a motivation.”
Penetrating the market
Samuel said it was challenging penetrating the market because coming from a humble beginning with no one to connect him to opportunities, he had to work extra hard. “You have to prove yourself to people to recommend you. And that could only be achieved through hard work. It was the hard work I put in that paid me. I worked myself to the level I am today and I am still working hard to go higher. It didn’t take me too long to break into the market. After a while I started getting recommendations, referrals etc because of the quality of my job.”
Nasty Experience
Samuel recalled an experience when after he finished a job, he could not copy it to the memory card. This was because the memory card was telling him to format it. “It was a terrible experience. I had to format the memory card because that was the only way to get out of it but luckily for me, I had snapped in my other camera but not a serious one so I had to manage it. I gave the client highlights of the event from the second camera though it was not too good, but I had to apologize and forfeit the remaining balance”, he said. He said the incident taught him to always go with two or three different memory cards in case of any issues.
Breakthrough
Samuel narrated that his breakthroughs. “My breakthrough is not really focused on the monetary aspect. My belief is that if you are doing something because of money and you didn’t get money at the end of the day, you will be frustrated and may end whatever it is you are doing. But when it’s because of passion, you stay on. So, good feedback from customers, recommendations and referrals have been a major breakthrough for me,” he said.
Challenges doing business
Samuel laments the high tax rate of small businesses in Nigeria. According to him, it’s too high for SMEs. “It’s discouraging. I went to open an account for my business and I saw the huge amount of tax that I will be paying and I could not believe my eyes for a startup that’s struggling to land his feet. It’s discouraging,” he said.
Japa
Samuel said there are many opportunities in Nigeria for everyone to thrive but the problem is bad leadership. He also blamed insecurity which is another reason why people are leaving the country. He said: “You can imagine being invited to cover a job outside my business area and I am asking for a flight because I can’t go by road because of the insecurity. The client may say it’s too much and looks for someone else. So, it’s affecting our jobs too.”
The Man, Samuel
Samuel Ndifreke is the brand owner of Fct Photography, a brand that’s basically for photography and videography. He holds a National Diploma in Mass Communication from Yaba College of Technology, Lagos. He is a trainer and employer of labour.
