Tuesday 29 March 2011

Making the most out of the available

From Lagos to London; Abeokuta to Dakota, from Oregun to Oregon; Adeniji to Adelaide, the mindset of an average event-client is the same – how do I have the best event without overshooting my budget?

"Universal" as that question may seem, one shouldn’t forget the existence of a varying degree of "particular" different cases. By this, I mean the people whose intention is to exhibit opulence without any form of inhibition at their event. Well... that’s a different ball game!



Organizing a classy event shouldn't cost you a fortune
 For the general majority, the thought “how do I make the most of the available?’’ is pretty achievable. It can (very well) be achieved by adopting some economic principles (which you’ll find out are very common!)

Organising a classy event is usually the crux of every intention to organise an event... Did I have you reading that statement again?




From experience over time(which spans through 9 years) the intention of virtually every client I’ve come in contact with, during the initial consultation, is to have the best event possible! Although most of these clients change the tone of the initial discussion when they are presented the elements of a “best event”, some of them maintained their stance believing that the best is achievable even with a moderate budget. What these set of people have done is to adopt what we term (in Zapphaire Events) as Vesting power in the Value scale. This term is a process, which ensures that only the best is delivered to the client no matter the budget! Alas, the process is achievable only through the professionals (have you filled in the gap?)

In Zapphaire Events, how we do it is to take time to evaluate a client’s presented “best” elements in relation to its relevance on the value scale...(don’t worry, details later).

When presented with a cost estimate (derived from invoices obtained from various service providers), many individuals just shut their minds to their intended style of event claiming lack of fund. Whereas what they require at such moment is a systematic guidance to Vesting power in the Value scale. How do I mean? Such an individual should just declare the available fund for the event and...that’s it! The desired event would be achieved with the available fund, pronto!

Here is an instance:

If a client was given the costing below:

Venue = N1,500,000

Decor = N2,000,000

Catering = N2,100,000

Photography = N300,000

Videography = N200,000

Stage Design = N3,000,000

Red Carpet = N800,000

Compere = N800,000

Entertainment N2,000,000

Security = N100,000

Event Managers N1,000,000

Total = N13,800,000

And he/she yells a capital NO at the total cost but was calm enough to declare that the entire budget for the same event was N9m. He / she has just requested for the vesting power in the value scale process.

In this line, a chart would be drawn for such a client based on the items that would yield the most value as follow


From the chart above, it is quite apparent that catering is the most important deliverable of all the event requirements and thus should receive the most attention. In a funny twist, photography and videography follow catering in the order of value. This is so because both deliverables would remain the only evidences of the entire event after the event...did I hear you heave a sigh? Well, after them come every other deliverable!

The client above would reap the benefit of his/ her belief in an Event planner by enjoying massive discounts on the same items he/ she had obtained invoices for individually (the plan is called Zapphaire Compact in my company).


Clear and simple as this process appeared it requires the attention-to-details and industry goodwill of a professional event planner (make i market us small abeg!). It has worked all the time that it was employed.

Tuesday 22 March 2011

Here we go!


Hello there!

I’m pretty glad to be back after a “looong” break!

Phew!

No be small thing! Quite a number of super events have taken place since the last time you heard from me... we (Zapphaire Events) have moved from Forsythe Street on Lagos Island to Borno Way, Alagomeji, Yaba. We’ve had Zapphaire Events’ first bridal workshop; we’ve had two sessions of the Zapphaire Training School (the third session ongoing); the website,www.zapphaire.com, has been upgraded to international standard; we’ve expanded the company structure to accommodate Product Development and Graphics department; we’ve... OMG! The list is almost endless.

I’m sure you’re with me now on the fact that the past three years have been quite eventful!

Well...it’s yet another day –a Monday – marking the beginning of yet another week. If the human psychology can be discoursed, the target on every mind now is to “get up and go” and pave the way for a glorious week. Trust me, we’re with you on this one!

Like the just concluded week, this week is rolling on, bringing you closer to your heart desire (preferably, for us, your big day, which is every single lady and guy’s dream!) we’ve got you covered on this!

Oops! I didn’t mention our pet project – The Essential Bridal Handbook/Directory – in the list above. Anyway, the project is still under way!

The Essential Bridal Handbook, when its sales commences, would be a first-of-its-kind practical guide to the Nigerian wedding terrain for brides that are searching for excellence in issues bordering on pre-wedding, wedding and post wedding phases!

Apart from columns of advice by few experts and yours truly, it will also feature interviews and real photographs from various brides.

The all-in-one handbook offers detailed information about every aspect of the planning process to help every bride make very critical decisions, checklist and worksheets to keep them organized.

Finally, the book is intended to be a resource directory on the latest in wedding planning trends as well as service provider selection.

Hmmm! Did I hear u say Zapphaire on Fire?

Well, that’s just the beginning, as there is also Zapphaire Compact to talk about (but that’s a story for another week).

What else did I leave out...? Yes! I remember... I need to sign out! But before I sign out, however, I should remind you to check this page next week for another interesting piece.

Watch out for intriguing details on Zapphaire Compact!

Carpe diem.