Damilola Femi-Shofu, a co-partner of TODA is a very jovial and simple guy. He is a go getter and has been able to carve out a niche for himself in the entertainment industry due to his creative imaginations. A fun lover with a big heart for the poor, he tells Ada Igboanugo the secret to his success.
Background
I am from a royal family in Ijebu ode. I am the 2nd of three children. My father is into advertising while my mother works for the state government. I did my junior and secondary education at Grace High School and Yaba College of Technology secondary school respectively and went further to Babcock University where I am currently studying marketing.
About TODA...
TODA is an event management/entertainment company that is made up of young, enterprising and resourceful individuals who want to use their creative abilities to make a difference in the event management industry nationwide. We are generally into organizing of parties of all manners, organizing shows, concerts, we also do wedding planning and other event management jobs and finally we are into artiste promotion. Just as a tip, TODA is working on recognizing students in private Universities that have made a mark in their endeavours..... TODA All Private Universities Award 2010... Watch out!!!
Was it events planning initially?
Yes, I always had a flair for entertainment. I am an extrovert and a good lover of music. All these were determinants to what I was going to venture into while I matured.
What’s your Clientele base like?
We are growing in clients at the moment. We have clients though who would not like for us to single them out for their company policy reasons but among the others are:
Bizkonect Ghana ltd
Xplore magazine Africa
High society magazine
Sopsy entertainment Ireland
Blaze media
to mention just a few.
With the competition in events planning, how do you manage?
Standard. I can’t over emphasize on standards. We keep our standards high even when we think we are not being paid or treated well. We prefer to leave a mark for our clients to ponder upon. We put a touch of class into everything that we do and this has helped us to shine like a star.
How do you balance schooling with your career?
it has being challenging to be sincere but breaking through this challenge and coming out successful in the two aspects is my greatest goal and wow; so far so good, it has being just wonderful. I get to plan a lot so that I don’t get clashing activities and I tell you, Planning well is one of the secrets to getting a result.
What else do you do apart from events planning?
I do a lot of personal advisory which has being bearing a lot of fruits. This is another aspect that I would love to explore. The P.R /Consultancy industry. I also have a flair for giving to the poor and would be starting a program that would be seeing 20 young people going to the places of need every last Saturday of the month to give service and give what we have from the heart.
Achievements...
Hmmm... I am actually not the type that announces achievements though I have quite a few but something that encouraged I last year was getting 3 nominations from Dynamix all youth awards. It shows that nationally people appreciate my efforts to try and re-brand our industry to one that can be emulated.
Challenges...
Like I said, balancing school and work is a challenge. I do not think I have any other challenges.
If given another chance, what would you do differently?
I think with the best parents in the world, I have being mentored in the right way with words and good examples and this has helped me to attain the position I am in at the moment so I do not think I did anything wrong at any time.
Success tips...
Never give up. Success surely comes with determination. you have to be very determined to be a success in Nigeria. It is not just about being a success, there is a harder job and that is staying a success.
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