An Economist’s Love for Event Management
Vanessa Obioha encounters an economist who tried to ignore her natural inclination towards the creative enterprise, but destiny would later bring her back on course
In less than a week of opening her new event management outfit, Onyeka Ezirim has her hands filled with clients. It is a good sign for her. Business is surely looking good. In her neatly arranged office at Satellite Town, Lagos, Ezirim displayed an air of contentment as she ushered in her first client of the day, which coincided with the arrival of this reporter.
Her employees were out on the field and her secretary had called in sick. She quickly attended to the client, explaining the different designs that graced her catalogue. Complimentary cards were exchanged and with a smile the client promised to give her a call soon.
Smiling, she apologised to the reporter for the delay. Meticulously, she arranged the beautiful array of different centre pieces on display, very mindful of her bump while simultaneously, explaining the decorations to the curious reporter.
JMJ Mark, her enterprise, is a piece of heaven on earth. Once inside the place, it is difficult to hold one’s breath. Ezirim has carefully selected the best and trendy decorative pieces for all kinds of events in her office. There is an array of different centre-pieces for different occasions from the wooden flower vases to the candelabras and table confetti.
This, she said, was to whet the client’s appetite; to give the client a tip of the iceberg.
Her eyes glowed with unbridled passion for her profession; a profession which was borne out of unemployment and nostalgia from childhood play with her late sister.
Ezirim is a graduate of Mathematics and Economics from the University of Benin. She hails from a family of five. Sadly, she lost two of her siblings (first and last child) to sickle cell anaemia. This automatically placed her as the only daughter in the family. Before her elder sister’s untimely demise, Ezirim and her late sister took charge of any celebration in the house; no matter how small it was.
Then, her late sister, Ifeoma was passionate about event planning. She would assign some roles to Ezirim who at times was at loss over her sister’s fuss to plan everything - birthdays, meetings, anniversaries, her late sister would drag her into the planning.
“My late elder sister was passionate about event planning. When my grandparents visit, she would make me sing a welcome song, cook this or do that - there must be one form of merriment or the other. Birthdays are sacrosanct in my family. We were always organising one thing or the other,” she said.
It soon became a hobby and challenge that she looked forward to. Thus, it was no surprise that while a student at the University of Benin, she was appointed along with a friend to plan the graduation party of her set. The result was excellent and her friends were impressed.
It began to dawn on her that she might have a calling in the field. Yet, Ezirim ignored it and did what most young women of her age do; find a good job and get married.
It was during her National Youth Corps Service at Zenith Bank that she met her husband. Ezirim believed that she would be retained at the bank after her mandatory one-year NYSC.
As a child, she dreamt of being an accountant. In fact, she was the best student in Accounting during her secondary school days. Unfortunately, she was unable to study the course in the university. She was offered Industrial Mathematics instead, which was further changed to Mathematics and Economics. That dream, according to her is alive somewhere.
Her foray into event management was not supernatural. It was borne out of a hidden innate talent. After pounding the pavement for a while without luck, she began to look into her God-given talents.
I THINK WHAT WORKED FOR ME WAS MY DETERMINATION. BEFORE THE CALLS STARTED COMING IN, I WOULD ON MY OWN TAKE A TOUR ROUND DIFFERENT HALLS IN LEKKI AND OTHER SITES. I WOULD MEET WITH FLORISTS, CATERERS, BRIDAL DESIGNERS. I WASN’T DOING THIS FOR THE FUN OF IT
It struck her like a bolt of lightning that she had a calling in the interior design field.
Despite all the arrows pointing her to that direction, Ezirim was too recalcitrant to heed her true calling. Without an Eli calling her in the middle of the night or a burning bush to convince her, she continued her search for the white-collar job.
To be sure, she was over qualified for most of the jobs she applied for. But she didn’t find that fulfilment she yearned for.
It didn’t take long before the itch to be self-employed started again. This time, she scratched until her talent marks became visible on her skin.
The first thing she did was do an online research on event management. Then she proceeded to hone her skills. She did her training at Sedu Collections in Surulere in order to specialise in decorations.
Before Ezirim rounded off her training, she was already getting jobs from clients. It was no magic.
“During my training, I was surprised that my friends had such faith in me. They gave me events to plan for them. I didn’t even round off my training before I started receiving calls from clients.”
She continued “I think what worked for me was my determination. Before the calls started coming in, I would on my own take a tour round different halls in Lekki and other sites. I would meet with florists, caterers, bridal designers. I wasn’t doing this for the fun of it.
“I was doing it to know the professionals because I didn’t want to work with anyone. I really did my research because I didn’t want to look for my tongue when client bombard me with questions. I have to prove to them that I know my onions very well. I don’t have to look like a novice.”
She was also a regular face at events, taking bits of notes on her environment. Though she had friends who supported her, Ezirim did her first job as a professional event planner and interior decorator for a stipend of N2,500. In retrospect, the charge was ridiculous but she was grateful for one thing: customer’s satisfaction.
“It wasn’t out of desperation that made me take the offer. I was burning with passion. I needed to show off my skills. I would have done it for free then. I just wanted to reassure myself that I could do this. I was so fulfilled when the client returned my call and said thank you. To me, that was more rewarding than the cash. To make someone’s event so special that they have to appreciate you is a testimony of your professionalism.”
Her choice to specialise in decoration was the avenue it provided her to put in her own creativity. “Where else can you showcase your creativity when planning an event if not decorations? That’s where you work with different materials, colours, halls, lighting. A client can give you a brief that requires you to paint an ethereal ambience. It’s left to you to make it surreal.”
One of the hassles of her profession, which Ezirim faced, was the odd hours working and the last minute changes by the client.
“You just have to have a backup plan if you are in this business because anything can happen. A client can call you on the day of the event after everything has been done to change the setting or add few names to the list. What do you do? Do you tell him that you can’t meet up with his demands? Of course not.”
Another trait she picked up since she followed the event planning and management pathway is tolerance.
“Some clients can frustrate you but you have to learn how to manage people in this profession. Patience and tolerance are the golden habits you will have to imbibe. You have to really find out what the clients want because sometimes they tell you what they want, and not what they don’t want. Sometimes, you have to do the imagination for them. That is why you have to keep them informed at each stage to know if they are satisfied with your work.”
Perhaps, this explains why she is studying Human Resources for her Masters degree.
“Every business you are doing, you deal with people. You have to manage people. Human resources goes beyond the infantile definition of employee recruitment, it entails management, organisational skills and so on.”
Ezirim acknowledged that her field is quite competitive but she is not discouraged. She understands the flexible nature of her career and is focused on giving her client the best. For her, client satisfaction comes first but more importantly is her ability to be abreast of the trends in her ever-changing profession.