Kusiima quit her bank job for to manage events

On a bright Thursday morning, at approximately 10:00am, I meet Irene Kusiima Oramire at Kisaasi en route Bukoto. When I asked her what time she gets to work, she says she is never in a rush to office since Friday April 20 2018, the day she resigned from her full-time bank job.
Until that day, Kusiima worked at Diamond Trust Bank (DTB) that she became a part of in 2010 after a five month’s stint. At DTB, she started her banking career in the operations department and later moved to the treasury department. Ten years later, Kusiima decided that it was about time for her to venture into business.

Inspiration
For the time Kusiima was a banker, she recalls there were dealer’s meetings that were held monthly together with different banks. All dealers from different banks came together to discuss what current trends in the market, challenges but most importantly, the meetings offered bankers a platform to network within the banking industry. “I had a passion for organising events, exhibitions and meetings. I would dedicate my energy to make every event entrusted to me a success. People always complimented the work I did,” Kusiima shares.
Even when the bank’s head of the treasury department was retiring, Kusiima was chosen to lead the ceremonial preparations. She says all these events she organised prepared her for an events management hustle. While she was still in formal employment, Kusiime still did events management on small scale from 2018. This, however, meant she had to ask for leave from work to plan and organise her gigs.
“Sometimes it would be hard to secure leave. I sometimes turned down offers to organise events because my job kept me busy,” she says. But a project planning and management course at Uganda Management Institute (UMI) alongside her job opened her eyes to new opportunities. She believed there was much more she could do besides her formal job. During her time at UMI, she was able to organise five events. In the evening of her bank career, Kusiima wondered what she was still doing in the bank. Although the business required a hefty sum as starting capital, she had made a decision to quit without discussing it with anyone. “I thought I would be discouraged from resigning. I only talked to one of my colleagues at work about my intentions but it soon became known by everyone at office. The department head and human resource manager asked me to think through my decision but I had already made up my mind,” she recalls.

Starting Charnelle Events
Armed with Shs15m that was part of her personal and family savings, Kusiima was ready to start a business. This was split into securing office space, buying furniture, average sized tents, vase flowers and money to pay workers. By the time this money got finished, Kusiima had already made some profit from few clients to reinvest in the business.
By the time she quit her job, Kusiima had already registered her events management company. Now a year down the road, she says business is on steady progress. She says on a good day, the amount of money she makes exclusive of operational costs is much more than what she used to earn then.
Kusiima says her profits depend on how much a client budgets to spend on decoration services. “There are days when I make between Shs5m to Shs8m. If it is a small function, it bag between Shs1m to Shs3m. In this business, once you have most of the items, you will make more profit. But if you have to spend on hiring items, chances are you are surviving and not thriving,” she says.

What it takes
According to Kusiima, organising a successful event involves thorough planning immediately after meeting the client. “You must understand what a client wants. Share your ideas and the best options with them. Put yourself in the client’s shoes and plan to meet their expectations.”
“In the planning process, suggest some ideas to the client and ask if they are comfotable with them. But do not force them to buy your ideas. Events management mainly thrives on refferals. If you do a bad job for a client, it will take you long to get another client. If you impress a client, you will be overwhelmed with gigs. This is how this industry works,” Kusiima advises.
At Charnelle Events, Kusiima works with her Sister Elizabeth Natukunda. On days when the company has two events to organise, Kusiima takes care of one and Natukunda runs the other. She is into decoration, events planning, ushering services, outside catering and cake baking.

Charges
For wedding planning, Kusiima’s charges depend on how much she has to do, but it is normally between Shs3m to Shs4m. This involves sitting as a small committee with the bride and groom and other identified people to select service providers, drafting the budget and discussing progress of each step agreed. “By the time another committee is selected, everything is complete. This saves the couple confusion caused by many ideas from different people. A team of few people is quick as far as decision making is concerned because everything is done in a systematic way,” she adds.

Beauty of self-employment
Peace of mind and fulfilment is what Kusiima has discovered in self-employment for the time she has spent in events management. The beauty about business is that you invest your time and energy in doing what you are passionate about.

Challenges
Kusiima says: “Organising a successful event requires time and planning. But some clients place orders a few days to the event. Other clients do not pay

Future plans
Kusiima hopes to see Charnelle Events grow into a successful events management company with capacity to manage more than two events on the same day.