I am Victory Kizito Eyu, mostly referred to as Kizito; and I am an event consultant with Kex Services …. I have been in the industry for a little above two years.

My inspiration for starting my business stemmed from my need to break out of the 9-5 routine. I was tired of doing the same thing over and over again while I was a banker at GTB and although it was paying the bills, I didn’t genuinely enjoy it and felt like I wasn’t making good use of the skills and knowledge I had. So while thinking of how best to earn a living, my cousin suggested trying a business that was more like a hobby. Something I would do effortlessly and not get bored with. I thought long about it and decided to put my passion for improving client’s satisfaction and organizing into event planning.

I wouldn’t say it has been easy. My biggest initial challenge was myself. It took me a while to get used to that fact that I’m solely responsible for bringing all my client’s dreams and fantasies to reality without any hitches. In the past I have had ideas that I thought were over the top, too much or unimaginable but I have since changed my mind-set as I’ve seen other planners successfully execute these same ideas over the years. So right now once I think it, it’s as good as done.

I remember one time during an event I planned some months back, the bride realized she hadn’t bought the right foundation garments and decided she no longer liked the bridesmaid’s earrings at about 8pm the night before her wedding. She asked I find her the right fitting undergarments and 10 new earrings before 8 am the next day. It was a difficult challenge but I came through eventually as I always endeavour to satisfy my clients by giving them everything they might want and need.

The fact that I haven’t given up despite the difficulties that come with setting up a business in this industry, especially being a man in a female dominated industry is definitely one of my biggest achievements. It’s rewarding when people you don’t know recognise you as that event planner they hope to work with some day. My most memorable experience would be the first time my mom visited one of my events. Prior to this, she had told me she couldn’t understand why a graduate of Psychology will become a “glorified errand boy” at weddings. As a PhD holder in accounting it just didn’t make sense to her.  But at the end of the event in her own words she said “Boy, Na WA o, I didn’t realised how much weddings have evolved. All the guests around me kept commending your attention to detail and how smooth the event went. It made me very proud of you”

In conclusion, Lagos has been very good to me and has really helped my business. Coming from the south of Nigeria where things are relatively calm, laid back and easy, Lagos has pushed me to be more aggressive and made me believe that words like “can’t”, “won’t”, “impossible” and “tired” do not exist. I call it the city for the next global creatives as it promotes diversity, culture and creativity.