Busola Adeniran is one of a few entrepreneurs who share the belief that Nigeria’s economy is full of opportunities. She also believes that entrepreneurs need focus, hard work and persistence to become successful.
These values are what have shaped her to become a success story today as a player in Nigeria’s event industry.
Busola Adeniran is the chief executive officer of Buflus Events Planning and Decoration company in Lagos. She entered the event industry seven years ago, after spending time with one of her cousins who was an event decorator.
“I started my event journey with a cousin of mine in 2013. I have to acknowledge her role in my success story. Bukola Olalere was one of the first event decorators who worked with the likes of Etisalat and Unilever. She taught me everything I needed— from decor to flower arrangements, to planning and much more. And when it was time, she had to let go of me to fly,” she says.
The Buflus CEO says she did not rely solely on what was taught by her cousin, but had to improve herself, getting an advanced diploma qualification in Event Management from a UK-based Academy in 2016 in the process.
She also got a mentor to help scale up her business.
She explains that her journey of personal development is continuous.
Highlighting some of her achievements since inception, Adeniran says Buflus has planned several events, done decoration works and handled jobs for corporate brands such as Linkage Assurance and Primagarnet, among others.
“Today, we’ve been able to diversify by adding Buflus’ sales and rentals of decor items and have also introduced the Buflusfood arm of the business where we do delivery of home-made meals like Ofada sauce, soups, among others, to our clients while observing the necessary food safety protocols,” she discloses.
“Aside that, we will be gracing for the second time running, the July edition of the ‘Early MoMo Food Market’ here in Lagos.”
She reveals another milestone achieved by the brand. The milestone occurred when the firm decorated the first Naijabrandchick Trade Fair at KFA Event Centre sometime ago—a boost for her team.
Describing the challenges faced in the industry, the event expert says the industry is full of competition and there have been reasons to quit, but God and support from her spouse and colleagues have enabled her to forge ahead.
She notes that the Covid-19 crisis has compelled her to temporarily suspend operations of other arms of her business as she currently focuses on Buflusfood, decoration and rental services for events of 20 guests.
Speaking on her brand’s post-coronavirus plans, she explains, “We’re taking all safety measures given by the government with all seriousness, from our store to the kitchen area, and have set up a hand-wash corner, with the alcohol based hand sanitizers in place.
Our delivery boys are mandated to wear gloves before handing out food to clients in their homes.”
