Becoming An Event Planner In Nigeria: Guide To Starting Successful Wedding, Event Planning Business In Nigeria

How To Start A Successful Event Planning, Management Business In Nigeria

Becoming An Event Planner In Nigeria: Guide To Starting A Successful Wedding, Event Planning Business In Nigeria

Wedding/event planning is one of the booming businesses in Nigeria. This is because people get married every now and then and every wedding needs an event planner. Apart from this, there are other events such as parties, anniversaries etc. that require the services of event planners.This makes events planning an all year round business. Although this work can be really physical, it is also very rewarding and can be your sole source of earning a living because there are many Nigerians that live on it. In this article we will discuss the details of event planning, what it takes and how you can start a booming business in the industry.

There are things to consider in starting and running an event planning business for it to succeed, these are:

Do research

Before you venture into event planning, like any other business it is important that you do some background research on the work, what it entails and how to go about it. You need to find out information such as the cost, things you need to buy, who are your competitors etc.

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You must have every information at your fingertips so that nothing will take you by surprise. Ask people who have already established in the business about its prospects and challenges. To ignore the challenges now is just to meet them later when you are not prepared for them so ask questions. It is better to address these issues from the start so that your take off will be smooth.

Acquire required skills

Like any other handwork, there are skills required in event planning. These skills can be acquired by working with experienced planners. Tell them to let you know if they have a job to do and offer to help. Ask questions when you are working with them so that you will know how to do everything and why. It is also important that you take classes that offer professional certificates in this area in addition to the skills you acquire. This will go a long way to set you apart and make you relevant. Here is a list of some event planning schools in Nigeria.

1. BusyBee Academy: this is one of the prominent event planning schools based in Lagos that has trained over 500 events planners in 9 years. They train people in Events planning/Management and Decorations. Their students come from all states of the federation and the run an 8-week professional course which enables their graduates to establish on their own after graduation.
2. ZapphaireTrainig School: This is another Lagos-based training school that runs intensive training courses on events planning/management. You should look it up on google for more information.

• The Learning Edge: This is another training school still based in Lagos. Their program empowers you to plan and organize any kind of event on completion because it offers hands on experience that will make you independent upon graduation. You should consider enrolling in one of these schools if you are serious about making it big in the event planning industry.

Offer free service

Now that you have acquired skills, advertise them by offering volunteer services at events. This is the only way for people to notice you since you are not yet recognized as an event planner. The good voluntary services you render will speak for you and clients will start calling you for paid jobs. It will surprise you that you can get your own clients from such outings with other people. This may look foolish but it proves that you know what you are doing and you enjoy doing it. Clients don’t hesitate to pay for the kind of service that has these two ingredients. Work with other people as if you are doing your own business and you will transfer the same commitment to your own business when the time comes.

Pick a niche

There are many aspects of event planning and it is not advisable to do all. As the saying goes ‘Jack of all trade but master of none’, you can’t be a generalist and master it all. You must pick an area you like and are good at. Clients want to go for someone who is very proficient in what they do and generalists don’t have that. Although generalists may have more jobs, the pay will be nothing compared to the few you will get if you are a specialist so try to master one aspect e.g. wedding planning. This will also give you plenty of time to do other things when there are no jobs in your area of specialisation but you don’t worry because a single job can pay you more than what generalists are paid for many jobs.

Advertise and market your service

Advertising is very crucial for the success of business. To excel in event planning, you have to get your face out there. Create a Facebook page that talks about and promotes your business. You can also create a website just for the business and be active on social media such as twitter, Instagram and the rest using your business name. This will announce you to potential clients who will then contact you for jobs. You can also ask family and friends to help you spread the word in case they know people who may need your kind of service. Produce business cards and carry them everywhere you go, distributing them to people you interact with. You will be surprised how many people will contact you through that.

Attributes of a good event planner

To be a good event planner, there are few attributes that you must have not just skills. The following are attributes you must possess in order to do well in the event planning business.
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1. You must be organized: Event planning requires a lot of planning as the name implies. If you are not an organized person then you will encounter problems running this business. You must plan ahead of time because as time goes on you will begin to have several job offers in a month, week or even a day. This calls for strategizing to be able to provide satisfactory service to all your clients because the last thing you want is to upset your client by not planning to their taste. You don’t know how many potential clients you will lose by just that single act. Plan your schedules ahead and be very good with time management and ensure you don’t compromise the quality of your service.
2. Have a backup plan: No matter how much you plan, your plans may fail and things may take a different turn so it is necessary to always have a backup plan. Do not believe that everything you planned will work out. If something goes wrong and guests get stranded, it is you the event planner that will be to blame and that is bad for business so to ensure there are no bad surprises along the way, have a backup plan or ‘plan B’. It is better to be prepared for the unknown than let the unknown surprise you.
3. Be Creative: Event planning involves working with one’s hands as in decoration and cake baking etc. Your clients want something beautiful for their event and your creativity will ensure you don’t run out of styles. Keep on bringing up new ways on how to design so that clients will have variety for that is what attracts people. if you don’t have new ideas on your design and keep doing the same thing, a time will come when your designs will be out of date and you will be stranded. This can open doors to enormous opportunities for your business when guests see your style and when your client recommends you to other people because of your god work.
4. Deliver on schedule: Nothing spoils an event planner’s reputation like not being able to deliver things on schedule. If you want to retain the trust of your clients then work towards delivering your job according to your agreement with them. This is one secret of keeping your clients happy and ensuring you keep them.

Conclusion

Events planning business in Nigeria is a great way to make money but it has its unique challenges which you must be prepared to surmount.  When you start your own business, it is good to have some people to help you as apprentices as well. This will help you to achieve more with less labour on your part. As the business expands you can employ paid staff to help build your business.

You will also need to invest in them to train them to be able to work independently. This will give your business a great boost and help you to become huge in no time. This information will help you to excel in this business and enable you to help other people become event planners which is the reason for the article.

Thanks for reading and good luck with your planning. You can leave comments let us know if this helps.