Zaid broke into the photojournalism field in Upper Sixth at John Lyon whilst trying to understand where his career could take him. Being young and not wanting to cause upset, he followed his parents advice and aspired to work in The City. He completed his at ‘A’ Levels and went to De Montfort University - Leicester where he began to find his feet and felt confident networking and maturing into an adult with a vision. He then secured an industrial placement at IBM in London where he excelled and surpassed the expectations of management and was promoted to a graduate position after 6 months into his sandwich course, this was unheard of at the time. He managed to work this role whilst continuing to work as a photojournalist for a German automotive publication.

Zaid then returned to university for his final year at DMU where he skipped classes to travel and grow his photojournalist skills. He secured a 2:1 and was invited to return to IBM on their prestigious graduate scheme in a sales and consultancy role. Whilst completing the graduate scheme and securing permeant headcount, he was simultaneously launching his creative consultancy in branding when a  journalist approached him to take on some work internally, producing creative assets which were to be used for their social and online channels. He was working with clients such as Porsche, a brand he had always dreamt of working with since he was a young child.

Following five years at IBM, he took the decision to leave and focus on growing his own business, full time. This was only possible as he was offered a sizeable contract managing social media assets for Opel. He was working on this contract with a friend who he made acquaintance in Germany whilst he was working as a journalist. They are now business partners. Following the Opel contract, a second German contract came to fruition with one of the largest German engineering companies in the world - Capricorn. This company manufactures parts for Lamborghini, Bugatti, Audi, Porsche, a plethora of Formula 1 teams and many more incredible automobiles. Accepting the contract was something he had never have imagined would come his way.

Following a freelance job he took in 2020 for hypercar manufacturer Pagani, he was headhunted by one of the most significant and highly regarded brands in the world - Pirelli. This was a contract in an area he was not familiar with - PR & communications. This was an entirely new challenge for him, but one he embraced and learnt to love. This is a new skill that his business is now able to offer to future clients.

To summarise, his career in The City was never something he aspired to do, despite being successful he wasn’t happy. Learning to transform his passions and hobbies into a business that allowed him to do what he loves meant he enjoyed every day in the office. He never feels that he is out of his depth and carries himself with confidence in his abilities, a sense of purpose he never got from the corporate life. Being a business owner meant that he had a lifestyle and flexibility that allows him to have a work-life balance that cannot be imitated in any corporate environment, something that no salary could compensate for. 

@thezaidchronicles