Ask FVO!: How do I Handle Planning Big Events?

BellaNaija is pleased to announce a new column for our special readers – Ask FVO! Funmi Victor-Okigbo (FVO)  is an expert in event planning & management, and is now a  BellaNaija contributor.

FVO is the Chief Executive and Lead Production Designer of No Surprises Events. Her corporate client base spans industries as diverse as technology, entertainment, banking, government and consumer goods across sub-Saharan Africa.

Need help planning a family dinner, birthday party, seminar, wedding, board meeting, concert or just curious about how the professionals do some of their amazing tricks? If you have a burning question, just Ask FVO and get a focused, clear, no-nonsense answer!

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Dear FVO,

I am a professional event planner and I have been in the business for about 2 years. However, when big events come my way, I shy away because I am afraid that I’m not ready to handle big events just yet, am I being stupid by doing this, I really need the business to stay in business! Any ideas?

Naomi

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Hello Naomi,

Congratulations on 2 years and going strong! The decision of not taking on more than you can handle is a good one, I’m a believer in starting small growing organically organic, it is better to turn down a job than to take it on and mess it up, even your clients will respect you for it, however you may want to consider collaborating with other planners who share the same values as you to execute the events, like you said you need to stay in business.

Ask around, do some research, make sure you visit the ‘proposed partner’ on site and on the job to be sure of their capability, don’t just trust the resumes and photographs, anyone can put that together!

Ask a lot of questions. A smart thing to do is find someone who complements you, someone who is strong at the things you are not very good at.

When you have found this person, please make sure the tasks are clear with what is expected from each company, that way everyone is accountable.

Remember to agree about money, who gets what? Whose company gets the job? If you bring in the business, he/she should be ready to work ‘under’ your company name and vice versa, it’s just a temporary partnership anyway, unless you both decide to take it to the next level.

Finally make sure you have a solid agreement in place before you do anything, don’t get carried away, everyone is always nice at the beginning of a relationship and things can take a bad turn anytime, hopefully a good agreement will keep everyone in check.

Good luck!

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Send your questions for FVO to askFVO(at)nosurprisesevents.com stating your name and where you are writing from. The editor reserves the right to edit submissions for content brevity and clarity. We regret that we cannot provide individual answers to questions sent in and cannot state at which exact date answers would be published.

We look forward to reading your emails and tweets with questions.