‘I switched from banking to event planning’

Oluwadamilola Olugboji, CEO of Events by DMK left her job as a banker years ago to become an event planner. “I switched from banking to event planning because of my passion for seeing things organised. I enjoyed event planning. I used to plan my friends’ parties free of charge. I like being at the background […]

Oluwadamilola Olugboji, CEO of Events by DMK left her job as a banker years ago to become an event planner.
“I switched from banking to event planning because of my passion for seeing things organised. I enjoyed event planning. I used to plan my friends’ parties free of charge. I like being at the background organising things, making sure everything is on point,” she said enthusiastically.
Olugboji did not need much capital to start out as an event planner.
“You don’t need money to start event planning business. If you have a friend that is getting married, you can start by helping her plan her wedding or party. That is how it starts. You do it free. Do it seven or eight times and you will get better. Then step out and see what professionals are doing. If you don’t get out and see what they are doing you may not understand it,” Olugboji added.
Olugboji says despite, your skill as an event planner, good customer relation is key.
“Being a service-oriented business, customer relation is key. Interpersonal relation is key in this business because clients can be rude to you. But then, referrals work like magic. It will take you double effort to convince a new customer, than for a customer who you have worked for and liked your services to tell someone else to come to you” Olugboji explains.
Event planning is divided into two segments, event management/planning and event styling. We have corporate events and social events. Corporate events have to do with corporate events like bank Annual General Meeting while social events have to do with weddings, parties, etc.
“I do corporate events as well as social event but I love to plan weddings. Corporate events are boring to me. You need to know what interior decor entails and you have to do everything to make sure your clients are satisfied and happy. I can sleep on site just to make sure I get things right. I don’t want to come the next day and things are not in order. Over the years I have not seen the money I ought to see, but I love what I do. For me, event planning is fun,” she said gleefully.