When I was in school I used to do ushering jobs –Kehinde Onabanjo-Iyiola, CEO, White Stone

In the last 16 years, Kehinde Onabanjo-Iyiola, the creative director of Finesse Events, has stood out in the event management sector of the country. Over the years, she has stamped her name as an A-list event planner and her outfits, Finesse Events, and The White Stone, located in Ikeja, Lagos, are now dreams come true for the rugged entrepreneur.

For this unassuming graduate of law, hard work, consistency and passion, among others, are the ingredients of success.

She went down memory lane and related how she became a sought-after service provider to the rich and powerful, politicians, royalty and those who love good things.

The high and mighty crave her services to have grand parties, events and decorations.

She spoke with Sunday Sun about her sojourn as an event manager.

You studied law, why the drift to event business and how was it at the beginning?

When I was in school, I used to do ushering jobs, and I enjoyed it. At events, I enjoyed seeing and making sure that people were fine. I used to go the extra mile to ensure that everything was smooth and, of course, that was where the passion started. After school, I decided to settle for what I had a drive and passion for. I always tell people, when you start off something with passion, it will definitely pay off than what you go to school to study. Event planning is a process journey. You can imagine what a child born 16 years ago can do now. We have had our teething years, our crawling years, and now we have our standing years. I started Finesse Events in 2008, the first event after registering my event company was my elder sister’s wedding. Her wedding gave me about five other events, as all her friends got hooked. That was how it started.

What was your parents’ reaction when you wanted to go into event planning rather than pursue your law career?

While growing up, my mum was very hands-on. As a matter of fact, my mum went to school after she had given birth to the five of us; she went to university in Abraka, Delta State. My mum would drive from Badagry to Delta State. My mum used to work in ASCON, Badagry, while my dad was a pharmacist. My dad had stores and he was doing a lot of supplies. He had a pharmacy in Badagry. My mum, as a teacher, had a side hustle. She used to bake, and she had a supermarket. After she completed her degree from Abraka, she went ahead to do her Master’s and also did her PhD. She never liked to be idle. She had a supermarket she was running and every one of us tended that shop. My background, in terms of my mother, has helped me a lot in business. My mother helped us to understand how to manage resources and not to be wasteful, and the seasonal times of life and the fact that whatever you cover is what is sustainable, what lasts with you; and whatever you open to the world is what won’t last with you. I have been able to mind my business, cover what needs to be covered and in due time when it needs to be unfolded. Being in my own space has helped me through the years. As a matter of fact, a lot of people don’t even know Kehinde. It is deliberate, it is very intentional.

What drives you as a person?

The only thing that drives me is God. I love everything about God. I like to be in right standing with God. I pray about everything. I pray: God, please, help me select what to wear. I have also come to know that, when I don’t pray about situations, I don’t actually like what comes out from them. And God has proven to me that he’s right here, he is available. So, why shouldn’t I call on him? I love beautiful spaces. That’s why you see the nice paintings around. I want to give an impression that you can’t afford to be boring in whatever you are doing. I love creativity.

If one should describe you in one word, what would it be?

Some people say that I am ‘Omo Igbo’ because of my entrepreneural spirit. If you are not lazy and you are creative, there’s so much money you can make out of it. It’s when you are lazy and laidback that you will be saying you don’t have jobs. There’s something happening somewhere, someone needs your service. Pastor Sam Adeyemi used to say, in this world that we are living in, 100 million people need to eat, wear clothes, shoes, carry bags, and, if you settle down and think about your own area of strength, there must be one need that you are able to meet. If you give value, value will come back to you in return.

What is your advice to any young persons who want to come into the event planning industry?

Let your passion drive you, because there are times when jobs won’t pay, it is passion that would help you to be creative. Your passion would help you to go the extra-extra mile. Keep giving value, keep pushing. One day, it will make sense.

You have handled many landmark events that paved the way for other events. But, among all the jobs, which would you say posed the most challenges for you?

For me, it’s really not the job, it has to be the client. There are some clients that can be difficult to handle and there are some that see and appreciate the value in what you deliver. I recall one particular event. We handled the birthday event of Governor Seyi Makinde’s father. Some years later, the old man died and we handled the burial ceremony, which had over 3,000 guests in attendance. Governor Makinde was so impressed with the service we delivered that he sent me a cash gift to express his appreciation. I felt fulfilled because I saw the gesture as an expression of a true reward for labour. Meanwhile, there are some clients one would probably have made the same sacrifice for, put in so much effort to satisfy, and they would be unappreciative.

Looking at the event planning business in Nigeria, how did COVID-19 impact the industry?

Because we were creative, during COVID-19, we made a lot of money. We had to come up with different inventions to be relevant. We were doing house parties and charging clients for house party decorations. Because we were creative, we charged the same fare for what we charged for big garden events of about 1,000 people. So, we were converting house spaces, car parks, garages to mini event spaces for 50 to 60 people. We converted their dining rooms to mini-ballrooms where we had to put large screens into the garden area, you know, put up lounge chairs, and mix it up with tables. We created beautiful experiences for families. It gave us room to showcase our creativity. And when people experienced one of our parties, they would invite us to organise others. So, we had a lot of clients.

What have been the lessons learnt, either from challenges or opportunities?

I have learnt that, if you’re able to maintain good relationships, the sky is your limit. Also, don’t promise what you know you cannot deliver. There’s nothing called pressure or rush. Whatever has been delayed is what eventually becomes a pressure situation. Avoid procrastination, whatever you need to do, get on it, like now. If you don’t procrastinate, you will be able to do more. The only person you can actually trust is yourself. People will definitely come and people will go. Those who will stay with you would have shown you from day one that they are loyal to you.

So, don’t place too much emotions or attachment on people or even on things, because what you have today may not be there tomorrow. If you put material things over people, by the time you have those material things, you will see that life is seasonal. Life is in phases, you have those seasons that you have abundance, and you have those seasons when you don’t. If you are too excited about the aura of the moment, you definitely lose the essence of that moment.