A

Training Manual
On
Events Decoration

By Debola Lewis
 Manual Contents:

Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………….4
• You really want to become an Events Decorator?
• Who and what is an Events Decorator?
• Benefits

The Business……………………………………………………………………………………..10
• Choosing your Title
• Create your Brand
• Make a Comprehensive Business Plan
• What Materials do you really require?
• Basics Start- Up Costs

Training & Education……………………………………………………………………….11

• Education and Experience

Events Décor ……..…………………………………………………………………………..12

• Weddings
• Corporate Events
• Parties
• Funerals
• Working with a Theme

Lets Start the Work………………………………………………………………………22

• Drapes
• Lights
• Table Linen
• Chair covers
• Centerpieces

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 • Top and Cake Tables
• Props
• Floral Arrangements

Marketing……………………………………………………………………………………………34
• Make yourself wanted
• Get Referrals
• Remain Relevant

Managing your Store………………………………………………………………………36

• Delivery Checklist
• Store Inventory
• Investments Culture
• Accounting
• Sales

Empowering yourself against White Collar…………………………………41

• Pros and Cons

Be Fruitful and Multiply…………………………………………………………………...43

• Stand your Brand
• Be Fruitful and Multiply

Wrap Up……………………………………………………………………………………………….44

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Introduction…

You really want to become an Events Decorator?

Life as an events decorator can be a most exciting experience. It

is not only very rewarding, but also affords you the opportunity
to meet with people from all strata of society. You get to go all
sorts of places (venues, etc), and what’s more… transforming
those places into breathtaking sights.

This training manual will:

• Set you on your marks
• Keep you on track (doing things the right way)
• Show a totally exciting world of business

The most important thing in business, is doing what exactly you

love doing, the reward is getting paid for it…How exciting.
Starting out a new venture can become a disappointing
experience, if you don’t feel like you are accomplishing something
worthwhile, and if you feel the fun.

This training aims at equipping your mindset, thinking pattern and

skills. Even when things are not happening as fast as you
expected, you will still have a positive spirit because you have
understanding of some basic principles in life, business and God.

The important thing is starting out with a clear picture and plan
in mind.

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 These are the Basics you need
for starters!

Set Goals
The very first thing is to set goals for your self, then practice
accomplishing those goals. This is the most important thing in
starting out a career.
The phases in this business are a lot, but you can understand
them easily and fast, if you take time out in the beginning setting
up a plan.

Have a Vision
You must have a clear vision of what you want your life to look
like once you have a job. Your vision is what keeps you motivated.
You need to b able to see your life while in transition, and see the
finished masterpiece (you in your new career, enjoying the
lifestyle that a career in events decorating has to offer).
…Evelyn Rogers

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 Be Willing To Ask Others
For Help

For this training to run smoothly, you must not hesitate in asking
people to help you in any way. It could be from giving you contacts
of people already in the business (these are the best to make
friends with), to actually referring you. The truth is that people
get more fulfillment and enjoyment from a successful venture,
which had their contribution when it started.

When you get your family and friends involved, they will be just
as excited about your new career as you are, and contribute
greatly in helping you stay motivated. However some people are
expert in dissuading you, be careful to avoid those ones.

Please don’t try to do it all by yourself… asking for help doesn’t

make you less capable, it only makes you smarter. Imagine
combining the wisdom of ten people… “Never underestimate the
power of synergy”…Toyorcey Akerele

We shall start by writing down eight people you can trust with
helping you launch a new career. This is a very important step.

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8 People I Can Trust With Helping
Me Start My Business in Events Decorations

1. …………………………………………………………………………………………………..
2. ......................................................................................................
3. …………………………………………………………………………………………………..
4. …………………………………………………………………………………………………..
5. …………………………………………………………………………………………………..
6. …………………………………………………………………………………………………..
7. …………………………………………………………………………………………………..
8. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………
9. …………………………………………………………………………………………………..

That was step 1 taken care of…step 2 is…

Why Do I Want To Become an Events Decorator???

There are 1 million and one reasons why you want to venture into
events décor, BUT you must be very clear on your motivation
level. This can be best achieved discussing with your family and
closest friends. We will fill out the form on the next page, with
all your reasons for your interest in events décor.

This step is very crucial because there are times when you just
want to stay and do nothing, you just get tired and you just don’t
feel like moving forward. But if your reasons are very clear to
you, you will remain motivated…even when you are not yet getting

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the reward you imagined. Trust me…it may tarry, but it will surely
come.
7 Personally Important Reasons Why Events Décor is
what I Really Want To Do

1:
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2:
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………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
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Congratulations, now that you are well convinced about your
chosen career, let’s get into action.

Who And What Is An Events Decorator?

Decorating an event is the art of transforming a reception venue
into something that was only imagined, by individuals. It is the
end result of a painstaking effort to creatively beautifying a
place, from wedding receptions and conference seminars to
funeral ceremonies.

Events Décor is a little related to event planning, because it also

involves coordinating aspect of an event in order to achieve a
premeditated ambience. The major difference is that it is not
fully involved in the detailing and follow-up on event crew. Décor
is more concerned with the beauty of tables, the chairs being well
set and sometimes covered, the focus (stage), flowers and
arrangement types, color coordination…anything to lift the
aesthetic of an event.

An Events Decorator is someone who has an obsession for

creating a wow effect at any kind of event. The first thing that
catches attention, at an event, before the food, drinks etc, is the
ambience…which is created by the décor. A lot of individuals and
even corporate bodies usually spend substantial amount of money
on their events decor, because to large extent it portrays their
style and taste (nobody wants to look cheap).

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To be successful as an events decorator, you must possess some
certain characteristics….

Benefits
There are a lot of benefits in events décor as a business or
career.
1. You are your own boss, you decide when you want to work
2. You get to meet people from various social backgrounds. The
more creative your work is, the more sophisticated clients
you’ll meet.
3. You get to create your own brand and be recognized for it
4. You help Nigeria create employment

The Business…

Choosing your Title

Now you are about the get started, you need a name for people to
call you by…A BUSINESS NAME. It is advisable that your name
should be simple and easy to remember. It should nevertheless be
catchy (this makes potential clients curious). Your business name
should give an insight into the kind of service you are offering,
without saying it verbally.

Create your Brand

Your brand is the strongest weapon you have in a competitive
market. Your brand distinguishes you from the rest. Your brand is
what makes you sought after and preferred to your competition.

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Make a Comprehensive Business Plan
Making a business plan is very crucial to establishing any business
of any sort. It gives you a sense of direction and makes you
attractive to a potential investor.

What Materials do I Really Require?

The real truth is that in the Décor business, you don’t need to
have a heart thinking of a sophisticated office, state of the art
equipment etc. What you need are the basics:

1. A personal computer
2. An all in one printer
3. Mobile phones
4. Basic office supplies (desk, chair, stationery, etc)

Start up Costs
1. You will need a separate home office space and a store to
keep your décor materials.
2. Some money to spend on letter head, business cards,
brochure, etc
3. Getting internet access is a must in today’s world. It keeps
you informed and lots of research can be done with it.
4. Business registration fees, graphic designs etc.

Training And Experience…

You definitely need training to be a successful events decorator.
Events décor can be broken down into sections in designs apart

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form operations. You should endeavor to take seasonal training
sessions before you start off and when you have had some
experience, you must continually recreate your knowledge and
skill.

Your true teacher is your passion and creativity… just about

anything you can lay your hands on may create that effect you
want.

Events Décor

Weddings
Weddings are very emotional events. It involves a lot of things
like personality, family background, social preference, budget etc.
It is usually advisable when decorating weddings, to speak with
the bride in person. If it was the mother of the bride who hired
you, need to make sure you also talk to the bride.

In decorating a wedding reception, first thing to discuss with

your “bride’’ is the venue, date and time of reception. Venues to a
large extent determine your creativity. Some venues are flexible
and can accommodate any design at any time, while others can be
very rigid in structure and are run by difficult individuals. It is
always a good idea to go take a look at the venue, to ascertain to
number of chairs and tables and also types of tables. Time is of
the essence, so that you will know how much time you have t turn
around your venue into something spectacular.

Having got the venue and time sorted, you can now get personal
with your bride. The details you will need from your clients are:

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The number of guests to be entertained, choice of colors,
wedding theme. To do this effectively you must be very
knowledgeable and very creative with color combinations and
themes. Colors automatically decide how attractive your venue
will look. Usually a bride will hire you months ahead to wedding.
Professional decorators prefer this, as they can play around with
different concepts and color combinations before narrowing it
down.

Decorating a wedding venue can be very overwhelming and

detailed. It involves the use of drapes, lights, chair covers table
linen, centerpieces, and flowers, etc. these must be properly
coordinated to create the desired effect. You must be careful
not to overdo it.

A typical setting for a wedding is as follows:

1. The Top table ( high table)

This has three major settings. The most conventional is having a
very long table that would sit the couple, flanked by parents, the
chairman and his wife, and other special gusts as deemed by the
family. The table should skirted and draped with fabric of choice
and have a floral arrangement in the middle, just in front of the
couple. The floral arrangement could also on the length of the
table, depending on the budget.

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Another type is having a table at the center, for the couple with
the groom’s man and maid of honor. Flanking this table are tables
for the parents, chairman and special guests.

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The setting I like most is having just the couple on the table with
the groom’s man and maid of honor. This makes the top table less
crowded, and also makes it look very romantic. I always advise, on
choosing this setting. The cake is traditionally place to the right
in front of the to table (it can be altered to suit your venue
arrangement)

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1. Seating Plan
First thing to do is agree on the center of the venue where the
top table should be. It could be on either the length or breadth
side of the venue (the venue could be a hall or marquee). From the
top table, you can determine the walkway/aisle. Chairs and tables
should be arranged in a balance on either side of the aisle. The
walkway may have a red carpet running through, if desired by the
bride.

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2. Table setting.
Always discuss the number of chairs that should go round a table.
Chairs are of various sizes and types, and same goes for tables.
In a venue with round banquet tables, 10 armless chairs or 8 cozy
chairs can go round it. Rectangular banquet tables, seats 8 or 12
people, depending on the length of the table. You also need to talk
about the ambience preference, which is the type and color of
table linen, chair covers, centerpieces etc. it is advisable to liaise
with the caterer to achieve perfect coordination. You would want
to have set your lovely table linen, and have somebody from
somewhere put some funny colored stuff on it. Caterers are
usually the ones to add that finishing effect with their wine
glasses, cutlery placement etc.

Dressing a wedding venue is every decorator’s excitement

because, when the money is right there’s no limit to your
creativity and lavishness. But it is very important to keep in mind
that a wedding is extremely personal but has definite budgetary
constraints. These can often be conflicting situations. The bride

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and her mother (usually the two most involved) will have a clear
image of how they want the reception to look, which might not
always be realistic with their budget. You must be able to sit with
the client, get a complete understanding of what they want, and
provide them with options that will fit both their vision and
budget.

Corporate Events
Corporate events are what I call “small work, big money”.
Corporate events range from simple seminars, Annual General
Meetings (AGM) and product launches, to investors’ forum and
end of year celebrations.

Corporate parties are somewhat straight forward. You always

have to work with the company colors, logo etc. the use of
flowers is very minimal, instead you work more with candles, tea
light and other creative touches. Corporate events are very prone
to themes because they are straighter forward to manage.

Corporate clients expect you to be very confident and

professional about your business. When meeting corporate client
clients, it’s very different from meeting brides. Your language
and style must be as professional as creative. This is solely
because getting corporate events usually takes a bidding process
and since you don’t know who your competition is, you just have to
be at your very best. What differentiates you is your ability to
convince the client that money spent in hiring you is money spent
wisely.

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It is very useful to have presentation skills, even if they are
basic. You can always build up on them as you move on. In
designing corporate events, you must understand the following:

A. What the event is exactly about.(type of event)

B. What kind of entertainment to expect.
C. What kind of guests was invited?
D. What is the budget?

Decorating a corporate event can earn you a very good income,

and if you provide comprehensive service and deliver an
outstanding event, your client will most likely utilize your service
again and even refer you to others.

Parties
A party can be anything from a 10th wedding anniversary, a
surprise birthday party to a thanksgiving dinner. Decorating

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parties can be a lot of fun; it usually is not as demanding as
weddings and corporate events. Most clients like to keep their
party simple and nice, nothing to elaborate. Some clients however
like to make a statement by having a grand ball, or an especially
themed event. This is common in 40th, 50th and 60th birthday
celebrations.

Pool parties are also common with parties (any kind of party
actually). Surprise parties are sometimes held in the convenience
of a living room, or an intimate restaurant. The use of helium
balloons works well with surprise parties.

Funerals
There’s nothing spectacular about funerals. So we won’t flog it.
Funerals basically entail decorating the lying in state. Colors are
predominantly purple. Other colors are lilac and white. A floral
gazebo can make a lying in state look spectacular.

Working with a Theme

Working with a theme is as exciting as demanding. It involves a

very high level of imagination and creativity. There are various
event themes like oldies theme, nautical theme, earthy romantic
theme, aqua theme, winter wonderland, forest theme, traditional
theme and many more.

For example, aqua theme would require swaging drapes of voile in

aqua and white. The use of strung sea shells as mobiles will give an
underwater effect. For the tables, very pale blue linen would be

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use to cover the tables. On them would be centerpieces of gold
fish in bowls, surrounded by tea light candles or floating
carnations in fish bowls.

The title of a theme usually dictates the colors to be used and

accessories to match. A good events decorator must be willing to
learn and adapt to suit all types of clients.

Let’s Start The work

Drapes
We shall take from the basics: Types of fabrics

1. Cotton: this is the most ordinary and cheapest of fabrics. It

is never used by seasoned professionals; however it can be
used for low budget décor. It can be used for swaging on
outdoor canopies (not tents). It comes in bundles of
30yards each.

2. Satin: Satin is the most flexible of the fabrics, it can be

used for almost anything. It has a silky feel and bounces
beautifully when swaged. It is often used because it is
affordable and flexible; however satin, when not properly
managed and ironed can be a disaster to use. It could also
be heavy to work with. It is best appreciated when it is
brand new. Satin comes in bundles of 50yards each.

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 3. Organza: This is a very cool material, very transparent,
light to work with and has a shiny look with creates effects.
Organza is not as flexible as satin, though more expensive.
It is best used for stretch designs (backdrops, ceiling
drapes), and skirting. Managing organza is very tasking, and
once rough can be an eye sore. Organza however does not
swag properly. It is used usually for particular designs. It
comes in irregular bundles, and is sold per yard.

4. Voile: This is the most expensive of decorative fabrics. It

has a transparent but pale look, which gives heavenly
effects when used. It is quite flexible, but can be clumsy to
work with due to its width (120/ twice satin’s). It is used by
experienced and seasoned professionals, and for high
budget décor. Voile can be used for any kind of design, and
always leaves a wow effect. It comes in bundles of
100yards.

Draping a hall is the first step in changing the look of the venue.
You choose what type of fabric to use and design you intend to
create. See pictures below.

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Lights

Lights give a lift to the ambience. They make the venue come
alive, the same effect you feel when electricity sized is returned.
Lights create a romantic feel, especially for weddings. There all

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kinds of lights; fairy lights, rope lights, curtain lights, joy lights,
rice lights etc.

Fairy lights are the most flexible for venue décor. They have a
stable golden glow, which gives a lift to the ambience. Curtain
lights are just like the name says “curtain”. They drop down from
a focal point and are good for backdrop, depending on the event.
Rope lights are runners and are very convenient for Christmas
décor. They can be used to create characters on wall due to the
flexible nature.

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Table Linen
Table linen enhances the quality of your décor. They add a great
deal of effect to the set. Tables can be covered in different
ways:

1. White or colored brocade with runners

2. white cotton underlay, with an organza overlay(coordinated)
3. white cotton underlay with damask overlay (coordinated)

The type of table linen you choose to use is dependent on:

• your client’s budget
• your concept design
• how for you want to go with your creativity and lavishness

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Chair covers

Chairs covers were formally seen as wasteful extravagance, but

because of the pace of change in perception, taste and exposure
to the western culture, it is fast becoming a standard at events.
In fact, a wedding without covered chairs may be classified as a
bland setting by social standards.

There are two types of chair covers:

• The Fitted: it is sewn to fit a chair perfectly. It looks very
graceful, and does not drag on the ground. It is however not
flexible as it might not fit various types of chairs and can
be expensive to make and maintain.

• The Sack: it is sewn as the name implies…like a sack, usually

in satin. It is very flexible and can be worn on any type of
chair, but drags at the base of the seat and can get clumsy
at times.

Fitted seat covers Sack seat covers

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Centerpieces

A table centerpiece can be anything from petals in a glass vase to

flowers on a wrought iron stand. It is totally a reflection of your
creative imagination. There is no clear cut rule as to how a
centerpiece must look. These are some suggestions on table
centerpieces:

• Fish bowl with gold fish

• Fish bowl with floating candles and petals
• Fish bowl with floral posy
• Martini vases with the above options
• Candles with floral base
• High ball vases with floral posy
• Wrought iron stands with floral posy
• Etc
Centerpieces complete the wow effects to an events décor.
Different centerpieces are created to suite the appropriate
events. E.g. a wedding cannot go wrong with plenty of flowers; and
for corporate events, less busy centerpieces such as petals in
vases are appropriate.

Never forget to use candle lights for dinners, they are a must.

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Yvent Kouture © 2008 29
Top and Cake Tables

Top tables are the focus tables. In a conference or a corporate

function, the top table seats the facilitators, guest speakers,
special guests and the likes. For social events, you have the
celebrants and their special guests on the top tables.

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Props
Props are different effects used to spice up a venue. Like
centerpieces, they are also a reflection of the decorator’s
creativity. There are various types of prop:

• Chinese lanterns
• Paper lanterns
• Chinese umbrellas
• Candelabras
• Light cones
• Mobiles
• Earthen pots
• Roman pillars
• Etc

Floral Arrangements
Floral arrangements can be made with either silk flowers
(artificial) or life flowers. When flowers are well arranged, they
give a magical fairy land look to events; there are various types of
floral arrangements, ranging from pedestals to posies and
bouquets. Flowers are selected according the design you want to
achieve, and also the events colors because flowers have
exclusive purposes and messages. Amongst the popular types of
flowers are:

Foreign
• Chrysanthemums (various types)
• Roses
• Orchids
• Carnation (standard and spray)
• Gladiolas

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 • Lilies ( various types)
• Star gazers
• Ivy leaves

When arranging flowers, local greens are used as fillers, before

the flower buds are arranged in place.
Some of the greens are:
• Togo Fichus
• Moriah
• ferns
• palms
• etc.
Other materials needed for floral arrangements are floral oasis
and wire mesh. The steps to arranging a posy are simple and
basic:

1. cut your oasis to preferred size

2. cut the wire mesh and wrap round the oasis
3. use short stems of greens to fill the oasis
4. cut to desired shape
5. Fill with flower buds, to flow with the shape of fillers.

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Yvent Kouture © 2008 33
Marketing
Make your self wanted
For you to succeed in the décor business you will definitely need
customers and your level of success depend on how much you are
sought after. Being sought after is a result of the combination of
both your work and personality. It is good for people to
appreciate your décor, but it is even better for them to
appreciate your person. This is what gives you the edge over your
competition, however in a corporate scene, you are expected to
look and act very professional. Always have a presentation if
possible. Your potential clients expect you to know exactly what
you are doing and also possess the ability to convince them that
they can be comfortable with your judgment.

Your clients will be either from the corporate or social

categories. It can be resourceful to find contacts in the
corporate world, and word of mouth as mentioned earlier is your
best bet for social clients. Promoting yourself for free (through
seminars, magazines, etc) is a cost effective way of marketing
yourself.

The most important thing is simply to get out and talk to many
people as you can. You must be able to sell your abilities, services
and personality. The more contacts you develop, the more you are
likely to increase your business.

Plan to attend trade shows, join clubs and organizations and

socialize as much as possible to meet potential client and business
contacts. Get comfortable talking about what you do to every one
you meet, and always hand out business cards. Effective

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marketing involves networking, advertising, developing your
website, and listing your company in news papers that specialize in
events.

Plan how you want to sell your company and yourself before you
begin. Image is very important in this business.

Get Referrals
Always try to get referrals and testimonials from clients,
especially those that were very pleased with your work. The most
reliable way of getting more clients is actually through word of
mouth referrals. Clients feel more comfortable working with a
decorator whose work has been commended by a friend, sister,
colleague, etc.

Some organizations require that you present a list of testimonial

from previous clients, to make them more comfortable.

Remain Relevant
Competition is very high in events décor, almost every one wants
to become a decorator. It is vital to identify your competition,
and what they offer, and be able to offer more. Events décor is
quite personal, so if you are able to show your clients different
levels of creativity, they most likely be comfortable working with
you( since they get something different all the time). The
message is to constantly strive to recreate new ideas and
concepts. This will be your greatest weapon.

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You must develop a listening hear for your clients, be able to
understand the image they have about their event, their
personality, the type of guests expected to attend and budget.

You must possess a creative flair and an artistic nature that sets
your skills apart from the rest.

Managing your Store

Delivery Checklist
Decorating an event is very detailed in terms of materials to b
e used. When you have a job, you should follow a detailed
checklist to help you get everything organized. You might not
remember everything thing you want to deliver. A delivery
checklist is very handy. It not only helps in ensuring that you
deliver the right things, but also helps in keeping track of your
materials in the event of loss or damages. The table below is a
useful checklist to help you get started.

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Date/client Item Type Color Quantity Quantity
delivered returned
01-01-08 Drapes fabric satin Blue 5bundles
Sola Ademo Chair covers fitted Gold 300
Muson Tie backs organza Blue 300
Table linen cotton Gold 30
Centerpieces High ball - 30
Bridal chairs wrought Gold 2
Props Light box - 8
Carpet stage Red 1
Candles Tea light Blue 60

Store Inventory
Keeping inventory of your store is as important as being in
business at all. Your store is your investment and everything that
goes in and out of your store should be recorded. This helps you
in many ways:

• you can keep track of your materials

• It will help you prioritize your to get list
• It intimates you of your growth rate
• It keeps you in order

It is advisable to take an inventory of your store once a month or

once in two months, depending on how frequent the store traffic
is. Below is a form which can be adapted or modified to suit your
purpose.

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 Inventory Checklist

Candelabra Silver 40 Needs replacement

Item Types Color Quantity Comments
Fabrics
Satin Pieces left for bows
(50yards) Green 5 bundles & cake table
Purple 3 bundles
White 4 bundles
Organza
( 100yards) Blue 3 bundles
Pink 1 bundle
lilac 6 bundles
Voile
(100 yards)

Chiffon
Table linen
Cotton
(banquet)
Cotton white
( regular)
Damask
(banquet)
Gold 100 5 badly stained
Coffee 50
Guinea
yellow 10 needs repairs
black
Centerpieces
Fish bowls - 50
Martini vases - 70
High ball vases - 20 To get 20more
Wrought iron Gold 40

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 Investment Culture

When in business, is good to understand the law of delayed

gratification. The first two or three years should be spent saving
and investing. Returns on investment usually take a while, but
secures your business and future. You should focus more on
building your stock and acquiring more materials. In décor
business, the truth is you cannot stop investing. Trends and
tastes in the social world change with time each new day, thus
continuous savings will afford you the power to acquire new and
more creative materials. When you’ve matured to an extent, your
can also broaden your horizon, by buying stocks in your company
name and other feasible business. This would ensure a steady
income for the company even in a down time.

Record keeping and Accounting

Keeping track of your financial records is the key to managing a

successful business. You should set a system or structure that
effectively keeps track of all your records. It is very important
to establish an area (a file cabinet will do) for all your invoices,
bills, expenses and clients’ itineraries. Set up files for different
paperwork, it allows you easy access to information needed.

Accounting can very tricky, especially if you don’t have an

accounting background. I believe the following steps will make it
simple enough:

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 • Open a file for each client

• Make a list of what you need to purchase including

miscellaneous (for every job, the amount of money you
want to spend is totally dependent on you).

• Fix the market prices to it.

• Determine your profit margin

• Adjust expenditure where necessary, as suitable.

• Disburse your profit according to your finance structure.

• Document every transaction or purchase made in clients’

files.

Sales
Determining how much to charge for your services is entirely up
to you, but must consider a lot of things:
1. Who you are marketing your services to. It helps
establish a competitive price, at the same time making
it affordable.
2. Don’t set your prices too low, or you will depreciate
the value of your service and appear cheap.
3. Find a price in which you profit, that would also be
comfortable with your clients.
4. Do a research on how much your competition charges.

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You must be very careful not to sell yourself short. The following
formula with give you a better insight.

Direct Costs + Overhead + Profit = Your Price

⇒ Direct costs imply the actual cost of purchasing materials,

flowers, fabrics, table linen etc. Remember to include fringe
benefits like transportation.

⇒ Overhead refers to the cost of doing business: rent,

equipment, utilities, office expenses and administrative
costs, marketing and adverts etc.

⇒ Profit is an amount calculated over and above direct and

indirect expenses; the standard is 15 – 20 percent.

Empowering yourself
The choice you make in becoming self employed is often
based on certain basic issues – personal and family needs,
financial requirements

Good thing about being self employed is that it affords

you the liberty to set your work schedule. You can also
have greater flexibility with your family and personal
life.

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You must however be careful to recognize its
disadvantages, so that you can overcome them:
1. The Financial pressure inherent in producing your
own income.
2. The absence corporate provided benefits and
insurance.
3. The absence of a social working environment
4. Low motivation, due to absence of managerial or
corporate pressure.

Even if you have a small office outside of the home, it

takes a lot of effort and dedication for you to success as
a business man.

The earnings of an events decorator depend largely on

their ability to network, socialize and be creative so that
your clients always want to use you and also refer you to
potential clients. Earnings also depend on the season,
festive seasons record higher income for decorators
than during Length and Ramadan periods, so it is
advisable to imbibe a savings on investment culture (
make hay while the sun shines).

The beauty of it all lies in the knowledge that every

great thing started small, and your business will

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definitely out grow “these disadvantages” having fully
empowered yourself with knowledge and zeal.

Be Fruitful and Multiply

Stand your Brand
Being in business is all about building your image. For a client t
trust you, it is essential that you present an image of
professionalism, creativity and intelligence. You must have a
standard of unarguable quality delivery. Try to have signature
effects which will be associated with you, and soon your image
and reputation will grow.

In addition to creating mind blowing ambience for events, it is

important that you dress in a professional manner. A client will is
more likely to feel comfortable entrusting you with a large
budget if they feel you are experienced enough and trust the
professionalism you exhibit through your mannerisms and your
dress.

Your brand should project from all your presentations… business

cards, letter heads, literature, brochure, staff work clothes (on
field). Whatever you do, your brand must represent what you are
tying to sell and you MUST live up to it. Your brand is your
greatest arsenal.

Be Fruitful and Multiply

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Now that the business is fully operational, prepare ahead for its
growth in an organized manner. If you grow without structure, it
is like building a house with poor foundations. No manner how nice
it looks, it cannot withstand a storm.
9 Have up to date systems
9 Develop a website
9 Establish your business plan with your attorney
9 Ensure professional accounting is in place

To keep your business going, you should:

9 Posses the ability to sell your skills

9 Enhance your personality and friendliness
9 Improve your communication and computer skills
9 Maintain good relationships with your clients
9 Maintain your integrity

Wrap Up
Starting and maintaining any business in a difficult task. It
“separates the boys from the men”. You should be receptive to
things that can go wrong and opportunities to move to the next
level. Your greatest asset is to continually research and learn as
much as possible. To be successful requires hard work, motivation
and a go getter spirit. Your personality, sales ability and friendly
demeanor go a very long way in the industry.

You must be able to give reasons why you should be preferred and
defend your creativity, as some client might just put the pressure
on you just to see how you’d handle it.

To have a strong business going, don’t forget the following:

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 1. Open a business checking account; never use your
personal account for business.
2. Pay all bills by check and note on each what was
purchased. This enables analysis of expenditure.
3. Use petty cash sparingly, but keep receipts if you have
to. Periodically, write a check to petty cash to keep
your records complete.
4. Record all income. Use receipts and invoice to itemize
payments received.
5. Deposit receipts often and label your deposit slips.
Don’t keep cash or checks hanging around, they invite
theft and they get lost.
6. Balance your account monthly.
7. Practice good record hygiene. Keep clean, neat and
regular records.

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