‘Supporting the Unsung Hero’
Armed Forces Dependants’ Business Start-Up Programme
Chris Johnston-Plumb, Aremac Photography, Lichfield,
Cohort 8
“I would not be where I am now if it was not for the ‘Unsung Hero’ programme. I have learnt that
being self-employed is not as difficult as I thought. The training and mentoring I have received has
encouraged me to get started and strive to develop my business more rapidly and improve my
abilities,” Chris Johnson-Plumb, Aremac Photography and participant of cohort eight.
Case Study
Chris Johnston-Plumb (JP) has been living a service family life for sixteen years and can appreciate
the demands on both the serving person and the dependant spouse. Recently, Chris has decided to
follow his dream of running his own photography business becoming his own ‘boss’. Photography is
a complete career change for Chris but one that will give him the autonomy and financial security to
carry on moving with the Army as his wife continues to serve in the Forces.
Chris served in the Royal Air Force for five years as both a student and qualified nurse. While he was
studying a degree in adult nursing at Fort Blockhouse, Gosport he met his wife who was also a student
nurse and serving with the Army. The couple were able to enjoy a few years together working at
MDHU Portsmouth but in 2004 their careers started to take them in separate directions and Chris took
the decision to leave the RAF, and subsequently moved to Germany with his wife in 2005.
Unfortunately, there were no civilian vacancies for a practice nurses in Germany so Chris took a job
working in the reception of Gordon Barracks Medical Centre, Hameln. During the three years in
Germany Chris’s and his wife had a daughter and in 2008 they moved back to the UK to live in
Wiltshire.
“I was happy to stay at home with my daughter when we returned to the UK and spend my time with
her when she was a baby. My wife has a demanding job in the Army and we needed me to be flexible
so that one of us could be there for our daughter during the day” said Chris.
Chris continued to work part-time in a variety of NHS and private healthcare nursing roles over the
years. “Nursing is what I know and I have always fallen back into it, especially as we are posted
regularly and I need to secure work quickly. Nursing is not my passion though and I really want to do
something that is meaningful to me and not just a job to get by,” says Chris.
In 2010 Chris and his family were posted to Birmingham where he found his first taste for selfemployment. “I took an opportunity to start up a personal training franchise. I enjoyed a degree of
success but when the recession hit I started losing clients and eventually my business became a luxury
few could afford. It was a good experience though and I never expected to make a lifelong career
from it. At the same time I was enjoying photography as a hobby and started to look at it as more
than just a past-time,” said Chris.
Chris briefly returned to nursing before the family were posted to the Hampshire where he continued
to work as a scrub nurse in the emergency theatre at Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey. However, his
wife was short toured after one year and in February they were posted back to the West Midlands to
live in Lichfield.
“I have had to follow my wife as she has progressed her career in the Army and I am very supportive of
her but this time I want to really make a go of running my own business and do something that I enjoy.
I decided to enrol on a short vocational course in photography to learn how to take professional
photos and understand the software to edit them. It was earlier this year that I heard of the ‘Unsung
Hero’ programme and I immediately took the opportunity to enrol and so far I have not looked back,”
said Chris.
Chris has now registered his company Aremac photography and has invested in lighting equipment
and computer software to edit and produce quality photographs whilst turning a room within his
house into a temporary studio until such time that he can expand.
There is no doubt that the programme has given me the confidence, tools and support to make my
business work. What has surprised me is the fantastic network of people I have met on the
programme who support each other and respond quickly to my questions. I joined the closed
Facebook page and now I am always sharing my experiences or asking for my fellow delegates advice.
I would never have met these people if I had not joined the programme and for the first time I feel
that I have a unique set of friends of my own within the military community. I have often shied away
from the dependant social life, such as coffee mornings and parent groups as I feel they were not for
me, but now I have a set of like-minded friends male and female who are all in the same boat and
facing the same challenges whilst trying to build a successful business. I am confident we can all
succeed now we have the backing of the University and each other for encouragement.” Chris JP
Aremac Photography specialises in personalised photo
shoots for all occasions including; newborn and baby
photography, children’s portraits, family portraits,
event and product photography.
Contact Chris on 07563 000995
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.aremacphoto.co.uk