Phillip Jolly worked as a chemistry researcher before embracing a career change which led him to start his own pet photography business. During this transition, Cumbria Business Growth Hub was able to support Phillip with the New Enterprise Allowance scheme. A year and a half on, he has completed the scheme and successfully launched his business.

Phillip’s original career in chemistry started after he completed a PhD at Strathclyde University, and was given the opportunity to work in Poland, and then in Germany at the prestigious Institute for Organic Chemistry at Heidelberg University. By the start of 2020, Phillip had spent two years working at the University of Ottawa in Canada. However, as the COVID-19 pandemic hit in spring of that year, he lost his job.

Forced to reassess his career, Phillip picked up a camera he had inherited from his grandfather and decided to learn how to use it, taking a photography course at the Ottawa School of Photographic Art. He started by taking photographs of landscapes and animals, finding a particular talent for photographing dogs. Upon returning to Cumbria, he noticed a gap in the market and decided to launch his own pet photography business.

Jolly Dog Photography specialises in dog photography offering both studio portraits, and environmental portraits in customers’ homes or in natural settings. Customers can purchase different packages from a 90-minute photography shoot to a package of four different shoots to capture a new puppy’s development at different stages. Jolly Dog also works with a photography lab to present the finished photographs in high-end frames and prints for customers to purchase.

While in the planning stages of his new business, a quick Google search took Phillip to the Growth Hub’s website where he found out about the New Enterprise Allowance scheme. Funded by the European Social Fund and administered by Cumbria Business Growth Hub, NEA supported people on Jobseeker’s Allowance to start their own businesses.

After completing the application process for NEA, the Growth Hub provided Phillip with a monthly allowance, while he set up the business, and paired him with business adviser, Justine Douglas. Justine met with Phillip regularly advising on areas including the business plan, budgeting, and the different types of insurance needed.

“Justine’s guidance was invaluable, particularly while preparing my application to the NEA scheme, imparting advice from budgeting and insurance to where I might find additional support. The scheme afforded me some additional financial support and confidence whilst establishing the business.”

For Phillip, the benefit of running his own photography business is having the freedom to be his own boss and express himself creatively through his work. In future, he plans to expand his work into other forms of photography including country and lifestyle, and sport.

“It is great to be able to capture some of the beauty of the natural environment in my dog portraiture and I love spending time in the Cumbrian landscape. Some of my other interests including hiking, cycling and fly fishing so naturally I am eager to see if Jolly Dog Photography can be a launch pad to explore other exciting photographic experiences, for instance tomorrow I hope to capture some images of Artic Char in Ennerdale while the Environment Agency monitors their health.”