I never applied for white-collar job, but I’ve been making money says D-Rich boss – ITREALMS.

Interview@ITREALMS ... making leadership SENSE with digital news!

An UNILORIN graduate of Economics, cum event planner, stylist and a consultant, Olufunsho John of D-Rich Events, advises new entrants to be humble, creative and teachable to succeed. John also revealed to ITREALMS’ GBEMI OMOTOSO that though he never applied for a white-collar job, but have been making money and its too late for him to opt out of event industry.

Excerpts:

Introduce yourself

I'm Olufunsho John of D-Rich Events, a native of Abeokuta, Ogun State.

Educational background?

I'm a graduate of Economics (B.sc Economics, 2007) from University of Ilorin, Kwara State.

What prompted your entry into the event industry?

Basically, the fact that I love creativity and been artistic in nature endeared me to events. I started by joining the decorating team in the  church  even though it was archaic style then by  dotting tissues with markers with different colors coupled with 'Church Altar decoration’  continued doing that till I got to university. I also continued the decoration in the fellowship I attended then and people started calling me for decor jobs; that was how the door of professionalism opened based on my passion.

Have you ever worked in a corporate organization?

No, I've never for once applied for a corporate job because I've been making money right from when I was in the university till I graduated.

If given an opportunity will you opt out of the event industry?

Smiles. Well it's too late; I can't  go for white-collar job again; the reason been that I love my peace, time and I hate sitting in a place for too long working on a system for a long time. I can't because it's not my ‘thing’.

What's your perception about the corporate world?

Everything in life has its advantages and disadvantages, without corporate entity there are certain things that would not be of benefits to us. The corporate world entity offers a lot of opportunities whereas a lot of my clients are from the corporate world as well. Actually, I’ve no issue with the corporate world but I can't work in that line rather they require my services.

How many years have you been in the event industry?

Over 15 years but as a professional it's about 11 years.

What is the journey like so far?

Like the proverbs "the journey of a thousand miles begin with a step" It has not been easy though because there are times my ‘infant self’ will take a certain step and fall but because of the projection I have of where I'm going; I pick up from where I fall and keep on going; there have been a lot of challenges.

Your experience?

I've had a lot though my inability to draft out a good/proper quotations for an event which I'm supposed to plan and not been able to go back to the clients to request for more funds so it won't look like I'm incompetent for the task given to me;  then I have to bear the loss. Also, the ecosystem challenges have occurred to me some many times. That is rain, wind etc; go against our decors affecting the decorations. Also, I have worked with tough, crude, pleasant and different classes of people both low and high in the society.

How does a weather condition affect your decorations?

Hhmmm! Let me cite one or two. There was a time we worked at a Bar beach for one of the telecommunications companies; they had a show at bar beach we took all our items there, on getting there asides from the breeze, it started raining the fabrics we made use of then became wet and sticky! So we had to improvise and made use of remaining accessories.

Another, instance was during a wedding where we had decorated the venue overnight, voila! By 5am there was heavy wind followed by heavy-downpour while engagement was to start that morning. I had to pull off my clothes and began arranging the venue in boxers then. They also saw that it was nature that took it's course and there was nothing we could do to avert it.

Considering the event industry before the COVID-19 pandemic and now, how has it been?

Before the COVID-19 everything was okay, during the pandemic government made a strict laws against large gatherings  to curtail the pandemic and even limit social gatherings at a particular time which really affected event decorators and planners. It really affected us especially those of us that body, soul and spirit depends on events. Post COVID-19, we've maintained our clients; the only thing is the certain conditions has to be adhered to.

How do you handle a low budget client (s) with skyrocket décor expectations?

Someone has once asked me if I only relate to rich personalities just like my brand name implies ‘D-Rich’ and I told the person my brand name is an abbreviation of “D Right Creative Hands” and my decors are for all classes of people whether rich, average or whatever the case may be. If I have a client with a low budget wanting a skyrocket decor I'll explain the type of decor the client should expect with that type of budget and work with the budget and add other extra things if possible.

D-Rich on stage

How did you coined the name D-Rich?

Actually, I don't do things outside God's direction. I got the name at the place of prayer although I wrote a couple of names, the Holy Spirit chose the name for me. D-The R-Right C-creative H-Hands; that’s how I coined the name D-Rich.

How has D-rich fared in the industry?

By God’s grace we've been gaining recognition both in the event industry home and abroad.

Any memorable day?

Waoh! Smiles. I did a job for a client and felt the urge to help them, went beyond what they paid for. On the D-Day, the couples called me out during vote of thanks and requested the ‘DJ’ to play a music in other for them to appreciate and thanked me.

Any unpleasant experience while discharging your duty as an event decorator?

Yes! It was when I decorated an event for a client who wanted to have a birthday party for her mum, then her daughter who was based-abroad condemned all the beautiful decor that has been done overnight based on sequential colour arrangement. In the long run the mother who was my client chastised her then she apologised. However, as fate would have it, she requested for my artistic touch for her wedding event few years later.

How do you handle difficult customers?

It takes the wisdom of God to handle all kinds of customers, but, I make sure I let them know my terms, charges and policies beforehand.

Do you believe in mentorship?

Yes! I've been mentored by couples of legends in the industry and I've been able to go extra mile to build on the little they taught me.

How do you get your clients?

I get my clients through social media platforms and referrals

How do you balance between your family and business?

My family especially my beautiful wife and children knows the kind of business I'm into. So, my wife understands the nature of my job and gives me space on that aspect and always brings out lapses in my job so as to make me a better person.

What keeps you going when working?

I love listening to music when working because music is life.

Are you only an event decorator or an event planner?

 I'm an event planner, stylist and a consultant.

Can you give more information on the differences between an event stylist and an event planner?

An event planner is someone who goes on the table with the clients to source for the caterer, Disc jockey (Dj), hall, vendors, live band etc. An Event stylist is someone who drafts out how the whole setup (events) will be.

Advice for new entrants?

 Keep doing what you do best, be humble, be creative and be teachable.