Event planning business is profitable…but —Omolara Olaosebikan

Event planning expert, Omolara Olaosebikan naturally hates playing the second fiddle. This was probably the reason she jettisoned her banking job in 2009 and applied to the University of Ibadan to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Communication and Language Arts, even after she had earlier obtained a Higher National Diploma (HND) certificate from Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta.

After the completion of her HND programme in Mass Communication, Omolara Olaosebikan got a banking job. But it was a contract appointment because of her certificate which was perceived to be inferior to a university degree in the then Bank PHB, where she was earning N50,000. “I was doing extremely well with so many commendation letters coming from even our Managing Director then, Mr. Frank Atuche,” Olaosebikan said.

In spite of her top-notch performance, she remained a contract staff  who could not hope for any benefit whatsoever because she was not a regular staff. She attempted to join other banks, but the story was the same. It was at this point she realised that her polytechnic education had landed her in a cul de sac. Should she accept her fate and carry on?  Not Omolara.

She said, “In 2009, I decided to abandon the so-called banking job in order to repackage my life. I took direct entry form and applied to the University of Ibadan (UI) to study Communication and Language Arts. To some people, it was like I had gone mad! They were wondering what informed my seemingly unreasonable decision to leave certainty for incertitude. Good enough, on getting to UI, I met a senior colleague, Mr Sunday Saanu who had earlier taken a similar decision. Mr Saanu encouraged me greatly, saying, “If this university degree you have come for will serve you throughout your life, is three years too long a time to sacrifice? I was greatly motivated.”

She eventually graduated as one of the best in 2011. She got employed by Quadrant Advertising Agency where she worked with Mr Biodun Sobanjo. After a stint with Quadrant, this restless young lady left to establish her own company called McEnies Global  Communications, specialising in event planning and corporate communication. McEnies G.C which is barely five months in existence has amazingly recorded major breakthroughs as Olaosebikan, the Lead Executive, has successfully managed some high profile events including the 70th birthday celebration of Mr Biodun Sobanjo , 70th birthday celebration  of Pa Ifayemi Ayinde Elebuibon and the Skye Bank Brand Reactivation Campaign.

Her success story so far is not unconnected with her superlative performance while in Quadrant where she had the privilege of handling the 80th birthday celebration of the Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona in 2014. Since then, she has been getting various briefs as a result of referrals from those who had experienced her excellent service delivery.

But how lucrative is event planning business? She offers an insight, “event planning business is profitable, but it is not a business for the slothful. Anyone who is interested in taking up event planning as a business must be a perfectionist and a precisionist as there is no room for excuses. Whoever is entrusting you with his money expects nothing less than a first- class service delivery. Nothing must go wrong. You must keep thinking and innovating. When you do it well, you can be sure you will get another contract tomorrow. But if you bungle the opportunity to impress your client with outstanding service delivery, forget it.”

Speaking on how she discovered her talent for event planning the CEO of McEniès G.C. says, “I think my passion for event planning became obvious when I became the Queen Idia Hall Chairperson in UI. We had a series of events to organise : Hall week, Seminars, JABMITES’ week etc and as the Hall Chairperson,  I wouldn’t want any of these events to fail. I observed that organising these events were so seamless for me. I would leave school for Lagos to go and search for sponsors and I was getting donations and support from various multinationals. In the process, I caught the attention of the then Vice Chancellor, Prof. Isaac Folorunso Adewole, who invited me to his office and supported me with N100,000. It was when I was doing all these things that I started noticing my passion for event planning. I simply love it.”

“Again, when I was at Quadrant, a section was created for me called Quadrant Event Services where we assisted our clients to plan press conferences and other events. I also did well. It was after leaving there that I felt I could make a living through event planning business. Today, I am employing people. I can’t work for anybody again. I am paying people’s salaries,” she stated.       However, she emphasised integrity, prudence and trustworthiness as well as reliability and dependability as key ingredients that must not be trifled with if the business is to grow fast.

In her own case, she claimed that she “always lays every card on the table for her clients.”

According to her, “I don›t put money consideration first. I think of quality service delivery first. Money has never been my primary motive. I have been taught that money is the reward for the problems you solved. I want to solve as many event›s problems as possible. After that, money will come. However, let me be sincere by saying money is gradually coming in. At least, the company is registered with Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and we pay workers› salaries regularly as well as our bills.”

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