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When Ivy Barreto who is the founder of Hugs Coaching went to interview Blake Jones, she never thought that he would be as honest and as forthcoming with the truth as he was.
Blake's motivation to start his business - The Game Changer Multimedia Creative Studios - was from his life experiences and driven by passion. But it was also because he had suffered from mental health issues and to do what he does everyday, capturing peoples lives in motion, enables him to try and raise awareness on mental health especially among men and help others whenever he can. He also founded Common Society Issues - which is a platform to share unspoken common society issues.
Common Society Issues:
It is never easy to discuss mental health and the fact that he was so open about his struggles and trying to help others with the same struggles is truly inspirational. Ivy who provides services which guide people through the journey of anxiety, stress and burnout acknowledges that men especially those from an Immigrant community share their experiences or are even open to discussion.
Blake is originally from Nigeria but emigrated to join his parents in Ireland at the age
of 13 as they were already living here for some time while he was raised by his uncle back in Nigeria. He was educated from back home and continued his studies when he came to Ireland. Grateful for his education, he says that, "I may not be where I am today and may not be able to relate to people as I do today in the society if I were not educated".
The Game Changer Multimedia Creative Studio
Blake explained how he has been faced with many obstacles and barriers especially as he lacks wide experience if his chosen field in business but has passion in what he does and nothing stops him. He does not allow a lack of funds stop him from achieving his goals either and being able to start the business and push through is proof of that. He tried to source for start-up capital and expansion funds however the process is often lengthy and complicated and he has not been successful numerous times.
He takes his entrepreneur experience more seriously and says "my vision for growth
is unlimited because we always have to raise awareness when it comes to mental health issues such as suicide, depression, anxieties and many more."
It's hard finding a space to network and only does so with his friends especially those in the same industry as himself. He finds networking with other communities difficult due to his accent and at times due to discrimination.
Down to Basics - DotoBa is celebrating African-led business owners/ entrepreneurs to commemorate Africa Day 2024 - Revolutionizing the Industry by DotoBa.
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