Setting up Ferzona Events

Entrepreneurs! Who are Entrepreneurs? Here are a few quotes about entrepreneurship from entrepreneurs:
"An Entrepreneur is someone who has a vision for something and a want to create" - David Karp
"Don’t limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, remember, you can achieve." - Mary Kay Ash
"I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance." - Steve Jobs
 "I knew that if I failed I wouldn’t regret that, but I knew the one thing I might regret is not trying." - Jeff Bezos
I started Ferzona Events because I saw a vision on making certain things in the night-life industry a little bit better than they currently are. I used to work for AfroCam as an event promoter, I was one of their best. On impulse, I approached the person in charge of it. After a few meetings it was clear as day that I was not going to be given the opportunity to test my novel ideas, more importantly I realised the guy running AfroCam takes extreme delight in belittling people just to make a play for their cash. After months of fruitless meetings, I decided I will attempt doing it myself. I had a vision and I wasn't going to let anyone stop me.

My first attempt at an event was quite easy to pull - My graduation party! The crowd was already present, the sheer excitement and jubilation around a graduation had created the hype and build-up for a party to be thrown. A few calls to the venue(Ballare night Club) talking potential turn-up number and date secured the location. It was a success! (Special Shout to DJ Ozzy).  It wasn't until my second attempt at an event that I realised that more goes into event planning than I was used to. I started hearing words like 'promoter's contract' , 'deposit fee', 'cancellation policy', 'bar tab', and a whole host of unfamiliar terms. Before I realised, the event I had been promoting for weeks got cancelled! A new problem arose; I had a few people who had booked birthday celebrations and table service with me for this event. What do I do? I chose to do everything possible to minimise disappointment to these individuals. I went on a wild goose chase looking for a venue to give me the same date I had promoted and similar, if not the same deals on birthdays and table service. I approached all imaginable venues within Cambridge; bars, clubs, private venues, pubs, everywhere! It failed. I either got extreme T&Cs or a downright rejection. The date I promoted was fast approaching and still no venue. I was dejected. Then a call came in; I might just have skipped a venue. "Go check it out, speak to the manager" the voice said. Hurriedly, I placed a call to the venue and was invited for a chat the next day. I put on my best attire, wore the biggest smile and convinced myself I was going to get this venue no matter what.

After hours of preparations on end, I strode into the venue. Welcomed warmly by the manager, I gave my best pitch ever! I could feel the elation of a master performer onstage about to perform The Great American Songbook. I talked and talked, on and on and on and painted all sorts of pictures till I was done. "I understand all you've said", the manager spoke "but we don't take outside promoters." My heart sank. I had done all I could to convince this man that I have something to offer, still he couldn't see it? Wow, seems like this was the end of the road for me. I thanked him, asked for his advice on a few things and was about to step out the door when I thought "hang on, he didn't reject me, he just doesn't take outside promoters." What if he knew somebody who does? I turned around and asked if he could help me by setting up a meet with another location. Most certainly he could! I got set up with a DJ, who in turn set me up with a location and....long story short, the event happened! And I got a subsequent one in the same venue again. I will forever be grateful to this manager and DJ that set me up with this venue. What a journey!

The last event we had - on the 7th of February at Ballare - a lot more preparation went into that. We had reps, we had physical tickets, we had a live performance. There was genuine excitement and thrill around this event. I could feel it, even before the event came around. It could have gone better, no doubt (there was no mic, no doorman, the giveaway was botched) but hey...it was a successful event. A successful #FerzonaEvent! I must remain grateful to everyone that brought about this success. From the reps, to the crew, to the venue, to Mix Dat Squad, down to the attendees. I love you guys so much and I was seriously delighted to have seen this night go as it went. We will always take your suggestions and make every night better than the last one.
From, the team @ Ferzona

MY TIPS FOR ENTREPRENEURS

You Gotta Know What You Want
Every other week, I receive not less than 2 - 3 calls for a collaboration or deal with Ferzona Events(AfroCam is one of them). Some of these deals are good, others not so good; and the rest are just windows of opportunities waiting to be explored. Knowing what you want gives you the power to step away from the fray of unlimited options and unleashes laser precision eyes to target what deal or what collab will get you the results you're looking for. Mama said to me when I was much younger "If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there." I realised later in life, 'any road' will lead to;
  • at best, a valley with mountains all around you reminding you daily of the heights you might have climbed by living a life of purpose and determination. 
  • at worst, no where!
Do not let life happen to you, live life on purpose. It is better for you, your team, your side hustle and your business. It will also be easier for you to forge relationships with the right people, people with similar goals and people with similar aspirations.

Keep Those Hands Dirty
Countless times I have spoken for days and days on end to graphic designers, video professionals, photo gurus, etc about particular details that has to come out exactly how I see it in my head. Some of them get pissed because they are “professionals” and feel they shouldn’t be told what to do. [I think that is bullshit; as a company/brand, you work for your clients; but that’s talk for another blog post]. Once they become grumpy, I get active. A grumpy team always produces stale results, activity on the other hand invigorates your work. There are two solutions to stale work, I’ve figured:
  1. Work with two to three different people at the same time: The solution to keeping a cool head as an entrepreneur is keeping your options open. This is extremely important with the guys you work with. I might commission a graphic work or a post production video to two different professionals and keep hammering away at the standards and details I expect from the final work. This method works most of the times because you can easily steal details from one work and add to the other OR one of the guys working ultimately wants his/her work to be chosen and will perform at the very best. Both outcome works in your favour.
  2. Doing the work yourself: Most people will shy away from this, but keeping your hands dirty is the ultimate way to get an idea out of your head quickly and effectively.  Of course it takes time and effort acquiring the necessary skill to complete certain tasks but if you really believe in what you’re working on, those hours and skills will become investments in the long run.
I have used both methods to get what I want on several occasions and they do come with their negatives. Method 1 is costly. Regardless of what happens with the 2 or 3 or 4 works you’ve commissioned, somebody needs a payment! Don't think you can get very far in business without paying your dues. Method 2 takes unbelievable time. 18-hour days is not an anomaly. Physical and mental immersion in your work is the benefit you get. I think this is the reason people love working with me. When I work with professionals they are surprised and excited (you can see their eyes light up) at the amount of information I give and when I speak their lingo.

Develop A Team
I really do wish I can tell you all the intricacies of setting up a team and how to ensure your team performs at their ultimate best. Because that is what you want, but sadly I do not know all those intricacies. What I can tell you is how I went about to set up my team. Read on.
I think people and society at large has made things so incredibly difficult and sophisticated that we have forgotten how easy things can be. Look at me yapping away at 'the intricacies' of setting up a team. Of course there is proven science that (if followed correctly) boosts team effectiveness and reinforces positive team dynamics. But the 'how' of putting together a team is as simple as this: JUST ASK!
You have to know your stuff, be willing to assist your team-mates to grow in their capacity and be ever-ready to maintain a vision that resonates deeply with each and every team member. Apart from that, it is relatively easy to get people together if you're not an ass-hole.  

I found myself in a position of needing a few hands to assist in the growth of Ferzona Events. It was a tough call getting the 'who' right because a few people had shown their hostility towards this little flower blossoming in my little corner. After sifting the wheat, I went about doing the easiest thing....asking. Not surprisingly, I met a few 'no'; on the positive side I met some incredible 'Yes'. Those yes formed what is known as the Ferzona Reps today. Special shout out to you guys, you guys are doing the most!

Learn, Learn, Learn!
Never stop learning, it's your guaranteed ticket to success. 

Be Willing To Do Any Job
This goes without saying, it is your hustle, your vision, your passion, your company. It is up to you to make it work. Knowledge, a team, and knowing what you want wouldn't save you. You must be willing to go from leading to motivating, from motivating to doing, from doing to promoting, to flyer-ing to fulfilling ticket orders, to keeping records to being a doorman at your events. That's certainly how I started. Your journey might be different, but it doesn’t change the established fact; A leader is a leader who is up front in the heat of the battle leading his team to success as they have come to understand it.

Final Notes:
It will be foolish of me to say right now that I have got everything figured out, because I haven't. I still have miles ahead of me and loads of learning, trial and error to face. This is just the way it is. I am excited and looking forward to sharing my journey, the #FerzonaJourney with you guys. I will always be grateful to everyone that has assisted me on this journey. I appreciate you, you guys are special. And to my enemies, especially the enemies of success, you should realise this now: your actions don’t stop me. They never will!

Till neXT time. A #FerzonaEvent......something different!

Comments

  1. Absolutely loved reading this, so glad to see that ferzona events is becoming successful,sometimes all you need is a little push to get you started.

    Hearing you shared your ideas and being let down really caught me in my feelings.but every story tends to have a good ending and certainly yours did.

    These tips are very handy for the future. I can see myself sharing this with many others. I do know alot of people wanting to start a business and some of these tips comes in handy for their industry.
    Great work :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much for such a supportive and encouraging comment. I can only guess that you are a #FerzonaFollower on our social medias. (If not you should join us; Instagram/Twitter: @ferzonaevents and @ferzonadotcom). Thank you again for reading, I will keep updating the blog. Please do come back and check every once in a while. :)

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts