Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tony Jenks. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Tony, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
My resilience has been developed through years of personal and professional work experiences and how my parents raised me. Maintaining a positive, big picture outlook on life, knowing that we are here to do what we love and have fun doing it, and focusing on a passion are the key enablers to working hard and pushing forward in life, personally and professionally.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
My background is in international relations. I received my Masters Degree in International Relations from the University of Sussex in England and worked for 5 years at the British Consulate General in San Francisco and for 5.5 years at the Japanese Community Youth Council (JCYC) in San Francisco. During my time at JCYC, my wife, who is an Attorney by trade, left the law firm she was working for to start her own photography business, Emily Jenks Photography. This was in 2018, and is the start of our story.
Emily Jenks Photography is a family-owned photography business in San Francisco and has expanded greatly over the past five years through Emily’s photography skills, business intelligence, hard work, and ability to think outside of the box. Also, my job at JCYC and extra time taking care of our two children and our home in San Francisco, while Emily was working nights (sunsets) and weekends, was also key to providing Emily with the extra capacity to take on and deliver more projects, hence grow and develop her business at a faster rate. Emily Jenks Photography primarily delivers a full-service wedding package for weddings based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Yosemite National Park, and Big Sur, and also delivers a wide range of photography shoots from engagement to newborn to family and beyond. The pandemic in 2020 shifted Emily’s business model to include outdoor, nature focused photo shoots, which is what helped grow the business into the successful business it is today. Part of this was Emily searching for a wedding officiant to officiate these outdoor, nature focused weddings or elopements. I was the answer, and in the first year (in 2020), I officiated over 100 weddings in San Francisco, Yosemite, Big Sur, and beyond. I have now officiated over 200 weddings for Emily Jenks Photography, and since the business grew exponentially post-2020, I joined Emily full-time in 2022 to help us continue growing and developing our family business, Emily Jenks LLC.
My role, as Director of Operations includes managing finances and operations of the business, helping manage the photography studio we opened in 2022 in San Francisco’s Inner Sunset District, Sunrise & Sunset Studios, officiating weddings (I have now officiated well over 200 weddings), and managing our two Airbnb properties that we own in Yosemite (Aspen Pines Retreat in Groveland, CA, specifically Pine Mountain Lake) and San Francisco (San Francisco West Wing). It has been a fun ride, and I am excited for the future we are building.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
1. Hard work. 2. Forward thinking.
3. Optimism.
Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?
My parents, including my mother-in-law, my wife, and my former job managers.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://emilyjenksphotography.com/
- Other: https://sunriseandsunsetstudios.com/
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/51817033
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/965301682298817246
