Taiwo Bankole is the twin sister of the Nollywood star actress, Kehinde Bankole. She is well read, a graduate of accountancy, and soon to be chartered. She is very dynamic, industrious, pretty, and sociable. Just like her sister, Taiwo is well known and loved by many actors and actresses in the movie industry. She once had a stint in acting and she was very good at it. She is now into event planning and she does it big time. She is the CEO and brain behind Strictly Events NG, one of the most sought after events planners in town. The highly influential Taiwo has grown her events business into great prominence. The business she has been running for over a decade keeps waxing stronger by the day. She is a typical example of an entrepreneur par excellence and a role model worthy of emulation for the business-oriented young minds. In a chat with City People’s reporter, JAMIU ABUBAKAR and photojournalist, SUNDAY OYEMADE, the highly experienced event planner revealed a lot about herself, her business and how she has grown her brand “Strictly Events” over the years. Below are excerpts:
How did you come into the events planning business?
I started organizing events since I was in the University. I started that even before I graduated. It’s what I have been doing for a very long time. So when I graduated, I was writing my ACCA and still merging it with my events and drinks business and here I am today.
How long have you been in the events planning business?
I started with drinks catering service in 2007. My very first big job was that of the late Afenifere leader, Pa Abraham Adesanya. We had it in Ijebu. I noticed that when I go out for events, people would come and ask me ‘do you know where we can get this, do you know where we can get that?’. Even my friends and colleagues sometimes, do ask me; “Taiwo could you sought for drinks, could you sought for rentals and so on.” So, I just said to myself, if everyone could be asking me for all these and I got them done, I’ll have a venture, so, I decided to start something in that line. I registered it as a business in 2008 and it’s running as such till date.
14 years down the lane, how has it been?
You know how things are. The journey has not been really smooth. We go out to work, at the end of the day, when we are coming back, you can hardly count your gains. You know, those are the price we’ve paid. But now, it’s very great. At the beginning, it was a little bit rough. I won’t lie about that.
Tell us more about Strictly Events NG
Strictly Events NG is an events planning company. We plan for corporate events, we do weddings, birthdays, burials, we sought for vendors apart from having our own décor companies and apart from having our own ushering outfits, we have our own drinks, and we sought out for caterers. Planning in general is what we do.
How did your parents react seeing you both doing entertainment business; Kenny is an actress and you an event planner?
Kenny and I went to same secondary school but different Universities. Right from secondary school, Kenny has always been the yippee one. She was the Interact President. She was a Social Prefect at a point in time. Along the line, they’ve always have that at the back of their mind. Kenny was in the University when she started modeling. She was in her 200 level or so when she won the most beautiful girl in Nigeria. Kenny has always been out there. She’s been earning money even while we were in the University. So to them it wasn’t something strange. But at first, they were saying, I want you to be an accountant, I want you to be a Newscaster and all that. Kenny has always been into entertainment. So they’ve always have that at the back of their mind. It’s not new to them.
How did they react to your own case of doing events planning?
I have been doing events planning right from school, my mum has always been somebody that likes someone that is very industrious and productive. She likes you to be schooling and merging some things with it because that was how she was brought up. So right from school, when I told my mum that I want to start selling drinks, like going into catering of drinks and she said that won’t be a bad idea. I could remember the very first big job that I had; we had to leave for Ijebu very early. We left Lagos at about 4.30 am. My mum was the first person that woke me up as early as 4 am that ‘Taiwo, you peole are travelling to Ijebu. Start having your bath and start getting set.’ So, she has always been supportive. Of course, she is late now. So when I told them about it, they approved of it, so far it wasn’t going to stop my education.
Why do we have more female event planners than their male counterparts?
I think it’s a psychological thing. People tend to feel that women are more organized and truly we are organized. Even in homes, women come first. Men are the head of the family but it’s the women that take care of the children. Why is that in most homes, children take after the mother’s religion? Women are always in the front line when it comes to taking care of the home and organizing things.
Considering the tedious nature of events planning, how do you cope?
Events planning is very stressful. I will give kudos to all event planners and all vendors. We all work hand in hand. No matter how small a vendor is, a vendor is a vendor. A planner too is a vendor. It’s just that a planner supersedes. It’s not easy putting up events today. Controlling a crowd is always very tough. You can control children but you can’t control adults. There are some things you tell them that get them over board. I know how many calls I make, I know how much noise I make, how many quarrels we have just to get things right. And at the end of the day, we still come together to apologize. It is just for the client to be happy at the end of everything.
What does it take to succeed as an event planner?
It takes experience and patience. I would say patience because if you are not calm enough, there are some clients that are very tough. There are some guests that are very tough too. If you don’t tolerate people, you can’t do it. How many people are you going to fight? Are you going to be planning your party yourself? You plan for others now. So, you have to have tolerance. That is part of it as well.
How lucrative is events planning business?
It is very lucrative. It is lucrative in the sense that it depends on how you can negotiate with your clients. It also boils down to how you can package yourself. That’s why I don’t leave anywhere untouched whether the money is much or not. If you do the one with low budget well, that will help you get the bigger ones. Don’t say because the money is not much, you will just do it according to their offer. If you can go the extra mile for them, do it. I’m somebody that is very detailed when it comes to my set up. I like to be very clean with my entire environment. I could start picking things myself even when the cleaners are not available at that point in time. Because nobody would agree with you that the cleaners are not available. They will hold you responsible for anything. So it’s lucrative if you can get good clients that you can negotiate well with.
What is your advice for the youth out there who want to go into events planning?
My advice is let them be patient enough. Most especially for starters, we have done that in time past, we’ve paid our bills. I have seen some upcoming ones that would say; if they can’t pay me a particular amount, they can’t do it. How would people know you if don’t work for someone? Don’t say because of the money. I know you can’t go all out but if you feel that you can manage whatever fees is given to you just to showcase yourself; to create awareness for people. I could remember back then, I did a job that at the end of the day, when I got home, I couldn’t boast of making N5, 000. But now the story has changed. I work for big people now but I have paid my price.
