Everyone has a gift the world needs -Fadeyi

A 30-year old Olumayowa Fadeyi the CEO of May’s Mirabilis Events. He says everyone has a talent that must be discovered, packaged well. He spoke with Motunrayo Joel

How did it all begin?

 It all began from school. Back then at the University of Ado-Ekiti, I realised I had a flair for planning events. Without paying attention to it really, I helped to plan birthday parties and other social gatherings for friends and others and people came back with testimonies of how my ideas, suggestions helped their events.

 With such testimonies, I started consciously planning events for people around me, and they always turned out successful. Seeing that planning events was something I succeeded in naturally, and with the encouragement from people around me, I decided to make a business out of the skill.

 The business really commenced during my service year under the National Youth Service. That was when I came up with the first name, got my complimentary cards produced it and started operations.

Did you study events planning or related course in the university?

 No, I didn’t study Events Management and I am not sure any university in Nigeria offers a degree in Events Management. My first degree was Plant Science and Forestry and my postgraduate programme was in Environmental Management and Control.

 The business name appears unusual; where did the inspiration for this come from?

 Let me first say that I did not start out with this name. This business was formerly called Oasis Catering Services. Though I came up with the name, I wasn’t completely comfortable with it. I wanted something different, something unique, preferably a combination of my name and another word. The word “May” is from my first name, Olumayowa. While discussing with a close friend about the other word, we considered different words until he suggested the Latin word Mirabilis meaning ‘wonderful’, ‘marvelous’, ‘extraordinary’, ‘amazing’, and ‘admirable’. And immediately my heart clung to the word and I decided to have the business name as May Mirabilis Events. However, when later, another friend wrongly pronounced the name as ‘Mays Mirabilis’, it struck me that I could modify it by taking a cue from that wrong pronunciation. I then settled for May’s Mirabilis Events. That is, there is an expected wow experience in every event planned and managed by this enterprise.

Did you go for any type of formal training?

 Yes, I had some formal training. My initial training came from my mother. She used to make confectioneries and I learnt some basics from her. I proceeded to have professional training in baking and decoration of cakes and later went for training in Event Management which extended into event venue decorations and the likes.

 How has the business been since you started?

 The business has been challenging but I can tell you that God has been faithful. It’s a little tasking to break into the market as many people believe that it is only the big names that can execute their event plans satisfactorily. Some want to know how many ‘mega-events’ you have handled.

 Also, many people in this country have not yet seen the need for employing the services of professional event managers in executing their events. You have to offer free or discounted services to some people, at least in order to show them what you can do. It takes excellence, time and effort, and I am really committed to the job. I know that with God on my side, I will get there.

 Do you really need so much money to have a good ceremony?

 There is no doubt that events are in classes and in degrees. Events differ according to the hosts; the personality of the guests being expected; the environment and a number of other factors. This notwithstanding, it does not necessarily require so much money to have a good, modest and highly memorable ceremony, if a brilliant planning is put in place. Great spending does not guarantee a great ceremony. Events that are planned with the intention of showing off great wealth and opulence are an exception because the amount of spending in such events determines the perceived level of success.

 Have you ever been in a ceremony where several dishes were prepared but there was no menu or a well defined mode of knowing the preferences of the guests? You will find out that sometimes, rice will be served and guests are already eating this and another person later comes to announce that there is yam porridge or another delicacy. Which guest will be able to eat again after taking what was initially given to them? At such ceremonies, a lot of money goes into cooking and other things but little consideration is given to the management of the events so that all the components would work together in perfect harmony.

 I recall when we had an end-of-the-session dinner of an institute recently and I was involved in the planning and the execution of the party. The planning hit a rock when there was shortage of funds. But with ingenuity, we pulled off a very modest dinner that left people wondering how we accomplished such a feat despite the insufficient fund.

 Event management is all about catering for all ramifications of an event. An event and its components can be likened to a machine; and for the machine to function optimally, certain bolts and nuts must be tightened properly. Tightening these bolts and nuts does not depend on how much is spent but on the knowledge of what bolts and nuts need to be tightened as well as the possession of the tools and skills required for this operation. This is why I am convinced that you do not need so much money to have a good ceremony.

 What can you say has sustained your business so far?

 In the first place, let me say that this business would not have seen the light of the day but for God and the encouragement of the good people around me. Due to my natural liking for event management, I was given to rendering these services to people, using my skill to help them for free. My focus was on the fact that I loved doing it. My conviction about the business with the people’s encouragement has helped me a lot. So I can say that passion, focus and commitment are the essential ingredients sustaining my business.

What is your annual profit yearly?

 As a growing business, and as it is with most businesses, our annual profit is not fixed; but I can tell you that we’re making good progress.

 What is your vision for the business?

 We are building a business that will become a national leader and a dominant global player in the events industry. As a future conglomerate, we would have a chain of restaurants that will serve local dishes and offer the same exceptional event management services, training people in event management and with an array of dedicated personnel.

 There comes a time in every person’s career or line of business that no job is too big to handle. Have you crossed that zone?

 I have enough reasons to be confident of my past achievements. But that is not enough. There is still a very long way to go and I am not stopping until I exceed that. I am sure that the best is yet to come.

 What other things can you do, aside business?

 Aside event management, acting is one other thing that I do exceptionally well. I love dancing and reading. I take my time to make decisions, and when I make such decisions, they are as good as sacrosanct. I don’t make friends on time, that is, on the go; but when I do make friends, I am loyal to my friends, placing so much value on them. I am more or less the point of connection among many of my old secondary school friends. I have high degree of tolerance. I am a very playful person but you would not know this part of me except you move a little closer to me, I sometimes tend to recoil into my shell when there are ‘too many’ people in a place, when I am in a new place or when I am in the midst of unfamiliar people. This can last for some time until I allow myself to be lured out of that shell by something that interests me. I am quite principled in my approach to things. Some people see me as very strict because of this, but I call that being disciplined.

 What is your advice to unemployed young people?

 To the unemployed youths, I would say, dig into the crust of yourself, discover your gift (your talent), discover what you naturally, easily succeed at; develop this gift, make it marketable and desirable; package it so excellently that it is irresistible to those who need the solution that the use of your gift provides.

 And ultimately according to the Bible, I would advise that whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all diligence. No matter how small it is, keep being your best at it. Everything you have at your disposal is a seed for something greater, which if cultivated with utmost care, will yield harvest that far exceeds your wildest imagination.