My name is Adaku Gabriel(Not real name), I’m an events planner in Lagos married with two children. I just wanted to share my experience with you concerning how event planning has really suffered this period. Normally, I would not go about writing an article like this unless it was totally necessary. I will tell you how I turned my fortune around for good this period by just investing and rediverting my event planning efforts into 3 key areas. I will let you in on them as you read along.

Before COVID, I would regularly get jobs of close to 10 clients per week, my phone lines would buzz endlessly each day and I even had to turn down certain jobs or refer it out to colleagues. I could say life was blissful. My husband worked in a finance company and took care of most of the bills in the house. I supported as best as I could with money coming in from my business and we used to get by easily from month to month.
As COVID hit, the calls stopped and the little income I made from the beginning of the year began to dwindle. I had to lay off 5 of my staff and started borrowing from friends to sustain my family. To make matters worse, my husband lost his job in the finance company and things went really out of hand at that point.

It was one day while checking up on an old school friend (Sandra) that we got talking about business and how COVID has drastically hit the events planning industry. It turned out she was also an events planner and her business had also suffered the same fate as mine. I further learnt She was also into event rentals in addition to planning and had invested heavily in equipment before the pandemic hit. “How did you survive?” was the main question on my lips. “and how did she make the profits back on the equipment she bought”. “By rediversifying” she said. I did not understand what she meant by that and asked her to explain.”You see my dear, you divert your asserts and skills to where is relevant this period”. She explained that the pandemic had opened up other business opportunities for event planners and it would take months for people to catch on. She revealed she had made a fortune during the pandemic and here is how she did it:

By converting your business structure to suit the COVID work from home environment.
It worked for us and it could work for you too, here are a few ideas on how to get started :
Organising webinars/online hen parties/bachelors eve/birthdays: I’m sure a good number of people have heard of webinars and zoom meetings. This is the new norm for most companies. In fact Microsoft and google have asked their employees to work from home permanently and these tools are what they use in communicating. To stay relevant, you need to key into these technologies and offer webinar organizing services to your existing and prospective customers. Learn how to organize and host zoom meetings, Microsoft team meetings and setting up live streams for small gatherings. These could be included in your post COVID events planning packages.
Get started here: https://zoom.us/ or for Microsoft teams: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/microsoft-teams/group-chat-software?irgwc=1&OCID=AID2000142_aff_7806_1246483&tduid=%28ir__0xholzt9dokftyjpkk0sohz3x22xsxbwpdoq0h9d00%29%287806%29%281246483%29%28%28738ebe3ab42cb5d702c83662167ebdfe%29%2881561%29%28686431%29%28at106140_a107739_m12_p12460_cNG%29%28%29%29%28738ebe3ab42cb5d702c83662167ebdfe%29&irclickid=_0xholzt9dokftyjpkk0sohz3x22xsxbwpdoq0h9d00

Create a COVID free environment for your event by Investing in portable sanitary kits: As the lockdown easing phase has commenced and public gatherings and activities are beginning to increase. It is important to follow the state rules on public gathering. Provision of sanitary wares at the entrance of the event to ensure that all guests have protective gear. There are a few companies offering portables kits containing – face shield, face mask, disinfectant spray etc. and they can be branded if needed.
Get started here: http://www.pouchesbagsandboxes.com/

Branding of the event floors to reflect accepted social distancing lengths: You can get your builders to indicate standing guides by sticking or painting markers on the floor of the event. You can get some from the link below:
https://www./retail-store-store-signs-displays/
Have medical team on standby to handle health issues that might arise at the event
Provision of sanitary passage ways and booths etc: This is a sure way of ensuring your guests are sanitized before entering your events.

CONCLUSION
With the little money I raised from friends and family, I was able to start an events support company that helps people setup their event following COVID 19 guidelines. I also created a sub company that creates sanitizing booths and cleansing areas. Is not too late to start your success story, you don’t need to be broke during this pandemic. Get up, get started and watch your business grow. See you at the top.

Well done