Gloria Ikegbule
One of the creative photographic studios in Nigeria, Studio24, has won the hearts of many. The company, which started business 28 years ago in Kaduna, has now opened shop in Lagos.
In this chat, the studio’s team lead, Ifeanyi Oputa, who started doing business as a teenager, disclosed that his love for earning daily income had pushed him into the world of business.
Could you briefly tell us about yourself?
I am Ifeanyi Oputa, a father of a gorgeous 13 years old princess. I don’t take ‘no’ for an answer. I believe in love. I am not talking about romantic love. If you show love, you will receive love. I believe love conquers all barriers. Love makes it easy for you to be humble and when you have humility, God comes in and open doors for you. I am the Team Leader of Colvi Limited, which owns Studio24, the franchise holder for Canon Academy, Twinklestar Photography Studio, Kodac Express Center, Clippers Salon, Glam Express Salon and a host of others. Our company motor is ‘love conquers all’. With that love, doors are opening for us everyday. Our best is yet to come. This year, the photography world in Africa will hear from Studio24.
Did you see yourself starting all these businesses?
I always saw myself as an entrepreneur. There is a difference between being in business and being an entrepreneur. An entrepreneur sees opportunities in different businesses and would see how to put things together to make those businesses flourish. Some people make the mistake of thinking that, to be a great entrepreneur; you have to become a practitioner of the enterprise you are in. You don’t have to. It is like someone saying, because you want to open an airline, you must become a pilot. You don’t have to become a cook to open a restaurant. Once you understand these things as an entrepreneur, you are able to put people together. Find people who have different talents, put them together, manage the talents and work with them towards achieving your goals.
How was your growing up?
Growing up was good. I spent a year in Nigeria, nine years in America and came back home to Ibadan. I went from Ibadan to University of Lagos where I studied Chemical Engineering. I did my youth service in 1989 at Kaduna. That was where Studio24 started. My first business started when I was 11. I used to bake and sell at church as a hobby. The seed cap was used to begin our first business. In over 30 years, we have opened 10 companies.
What has worked for you over time as a businessman?
To be honest with you, it has been God. We don’t look for ideas but it comes to our mind, and we take a swing at it. It comes out to be miraculous. The robotic photography we launched recently is a miracle. We did not design it ourselves but we are the first to embrace the technology. A lot of people did not think it would be possible in Africa this year.
Our company in Kaduna launched commercial digital photography in Nigeria in 1998, but at that time we did not understand the power of the press. Other people took the glory but we know we were the first. This time around, we said we are not going to bring groundbreaking inventions to Africa without celebrating. We are going to bring it to the public eye, for people to know our efforts and sacrifices so as not to lose the momentum to people after us.
Tell us about Studio24?
Studio24 did not come about as a large company. After university, my siblings and I were looking at different things to do. So, we brainstormed with our mother on what we can invest on that would bring money back. The idea came about a video club and photography based on what was thriving in school then. We decided to try photography because photographers were making lots of money in school. We invested in the first one. It was a single studio for a long time. We felt, after a while, that this one shop has a potential to be larger by expanding it. In 1998, we took the decision to open a flagship store at Ahmmadu Bello Way, Kaduna. Our pioneer manager was Grace. She is late now, but in her honour, our new invention was named after her. It has been a success story since then. It has been groundbreaking developments, opening new territories, meeting new people, and we have hired and trained thousands of people across the country.
You said before Studio24, you had other businesses…?
Yes. Clippers Salon was opened in July 7, 1989 when I was a youth corper. We opened it and corpers worked there when I was serving. The salon closed on September 10, 2019 because the Kaduna State government demolished the complex where it was located. It is very ironic that on the same day we opened something new – Grace, the Robotic photographer, our first ever company was demolished. Another of our company was Zerox Center, which metamorphosed into Kodac. It still exists today.
What motivates you as a businessman?
My daddy was a professor, an academician and my mum was a teacher as well as a serial businesswoman. She was always trying her hands on something. I saw that whatever she did created a daily income. I saw the power of a daily income. She was a teacher but she made her money through her side hustle. It did not affect her work and it made an impact at home. She was able to always support her husband at home because she was creating money everyday. I noticed she was never broke. She always had something every single day. So, I said to myself that whatever I do, I would open businesses that would provide daily income. It is very dangerous to not have a daily income. From July 7, 1989 till today, we have operated our business every single day for 30 years.
Give us a glimpse into your educational background?
I did my primary school abroad but had my secondary education in Ibadan. I attended University of Lagos (Unilag), Akoka. I travel a lot. I go to lots of trade fairs and I see technology as they evolve.
What makes Studio24 unique?
It is our spirit – the Studio24 spirit. We have a ‘can do spirit’. Nothing is impossible. We have faith. We believe that we can take over the world, and we are going to take over the world. By the grace of God, in a few years from now, we will have an interview discussing about our outlets across the world, how we are employing people in different countries, and establishing new frontiers in different parts of the world. We are headed there.
Tell us about your photographic innovation?
We have been into the business of photography for 28 years, 30 years in other businesses. This year, we looked at what to do to take charge of the event photographic market. We have been doing events but mostly we have been doing studio photography, indoor photography and portraits. Now we want to take charge of the commercial event photography market. We started looking out for the game changing things we would do that would change the game of event photography in Africa for good. We found five different technologies, which are not yet in Africa. We have been able to partner with the inventors to create relationships. We would not only apply the technology to ourselves but also hire out to other people, and also sell to other people.
The first we have unveiled is a photography robot. Her name is Grace. Grace will be available to most of the events we will be covering this year.
What is your advice to younger people embracing entrepreneurship?
The first thing to do as an entrepreneur is to protect your mind. Suicide happens because people have not protected their minds. You do this by having an income. People normally think income is a job. If you don’t have a job, you might become very vulnerable. When you have an income created, whether you have a job or not, it keeps you away from depression.