Segment: Pre-Planning, Planning, Execution - The 3-Stage System Behind Million-Dollar Events

Summary

Konnected Minds Podcast with Derrick Abaitey

Episode Segment: Pre-Planning, Planning, Execution – The 3-Stage System Behind Million-Dollar Events
Date: July 5, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this episode, host Derrick Abaitey sits down with a seasoned event planner (Speaker A) to discuss the core system behind organizing million-dollar events: the three-stage approach of pre-planning, planning, and execution. The discussion delves into best practices, personal stories, business fundamentals, and maintaining mental and physical health while pursuing excellence in the industry.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Three-Stage System Behind Successful Events

Timestamps: 00:00 – 01:57

• Pre-Planning

  • Begins with consultation and advisory work.

  • Distilling the client’s brief, creating a storyboard, establishing creative direction.

  • Identifying key people who will bring the event to life.

    "Pre planning stage is the consultation, the advisory... you're putting together like a storyboard, a creative direction for your client." — Speaker A [00:00]

• Planning

  • Focuses on actionable logistics: checklists, timelines, budgets.

  • Liaising and aligning with vendors; recommending the right fits based on client vision.

  • Requires detailed coordination and flexibility.

    "The planning stage is where you are now working on checklists, timelines, budgets, vendor recommendations... making sure that the vendors are aligning." — Speaker A [00:38]

• Execution

  • All previous efforts culminate here, often on a single event day.

  • Involves production timelines, event flow management, food/guest management, real-time oversight.

  • The ultimate goal: bringing the client’s vision to vivid reality.

    "But everything you've been planning, you must now execute on the day... ensuring that everything you have brought, you have been envisioning is now coming alive." — Speaker A [01:20]

• Budget Creation

  • Highly customized; no universal template fits all events.

  • Listening to the client’s must-haves and must-nots, then matching them with curated vendors and cost planning.

    "It's unique, it's personal. So everybody's different. So you can't use one size fits all for people." — Speaker A [01:48]

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2. The Journey to Founding Zafire Events

Timestamps: 01:57 – 06:56

• Early Passion and Career Detours

  • Loved talking and initially wanted to pursue mass communication.

  • Parents pushed for more "professional" fields, leading to a law degree.

  • Realization in university and law school that law was not her calling.

    "But for me, my brain, I was like, nah, I don't want stress, I beg. So I said, okay, let me choose law. I felt because I, I thought law was simple." — Speaker A [02:07]

• Organic Entry Into Events

  • Involved in marketing, selling clothes for a friend, helping friends with early event organizing.

  • Key moment: Helping with 'Asoebi' (uniform for events) and general wedding logistics for peers.

  • Inspired by JLo in "The Wedding Planner": "my God, this is what I want to do." — Speaker A

    "I watched this film, JLo the Wedding Planner. And I go, my God, this is what I want to do." — Speaker A [03:51]

• Transition to Professionalism

  • Started by helping for free, then prompted to charge by friends and family.

  • Initial skepticism about potential market demand, but quickly validated as people began paying.

  • Balanced early business growth with required NYSC service and an advertising internship.

    "I just told somebody, I said, oh, it's gonna be 10,000 naira. And she was like, okay. Another one said, oh. I said 40,000. All right. They started paying. I said, wow. And that was how it started." — Speaker A [05:36]

• Scaling and Building the Business

  • Eventually left advertising to pursue events full time.
  • Sought formal business education through Faith Foundation and other business schools.

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3. The Value of Business Education

Timestamps: 06:56 – 08:53

• Learning Structure and Operations

  • Practical experience essential, but business school adds frameworks: structure, process, SOPs, hiring/firing, accounting, marketing, and operations.

  • Real-world business situations tested against learned theories and concepts.

    "You can have the practical, but you must also have the business part of it... I learned structure. In a business school, I learned process... job descriptions. I learned how to hire, how to fire..." — Speaker A [07:14]

• Networking and Peer Learning

  • Business school is not just classroom theory—meeting peers, sharing challenges, and gathering wisdom from others’ experiences.

    "You also meet people, you connect with like minds. You hear people's problems and stories... But you are picking knowledge from people to use, to apply." — Speaker A [08:07]

• Continuous Education

  • The journey doesn’t end with one diploma: multiple business schools, including the Stanford Seed program.

    "I have gone to Faith Foundation, LBs, EDC. I'm doing the Stanford seed program. I've gone to several. All kinds." — Speaker A [08:21]

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4. Maintaining Personal and Mental Wellness

Timestamps: 08:53 – 11:34

• Managing a Busy Life

  • Juggles professional commitments, family, friends, creative work, and self-development.

  • Embraces a “busy good” attitude—seeing packed days as productive and fulfilling, not draining.

    "My life is busy, but it's busy. Good. So it's not busy wasting, right? It's busy. From work, to family, to my friends, to enjoying life, to doing my recordings..." — Speaker A [08:53]

• Self-Care Routines

  • Keeps things simple: enjoys streaming TV shows, reading magazines and novels, eating out, socializing.

  • Believes in “reset” days at home as personal therapy—no need for lavish getaways.

    "I like watching series on, I like watching TF on my Netflix on tv... I can be at home and I just be watching anything. So I can just be mindless, just having a great time." — Speaker A [09:33]

• Staying Positive

  • Intentional about minimizing negativity and surrounding self with positivity.

  • Places emphasis on joy, resilience, and contentment.

    "I try not to let negativity get into my life, you know, negativity, worry. I try to just ensure that I am surrounding myself in my own brain with positivity." — Speaker A [10:00]

• Physical Wellness

  • Mindful about nutrition; cutting out sugary drinks, eating better, exercising—including new strength training routines.

    "I've started exercising. I wasn't exercising before... But you know what, I'm now strength training, things like that." — Speaker A [10:56]

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5. The Difference Between Happiness and Joy

Timestamps: 11:25 – 11:55

• Happiness vs. Joy

  • Happiness: Linked to external factors or temporary experiences.

  • Joy: A continuous, inner state, often spiritual or sourced from within.

    "Happy is some things that make you happy. So watching a movie makes you happy. Oh, going on holiday makes you happy. But joyfulness is a state of mind that you have continuously. That is only the... I would say only God that brings." — Speaker A [11:34]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Pre planning stage is the consultation, the advisory... creative direction for your client.” — Speaker A [00:00]
• “You can't use one size fits all for people.” — Speaker A [01:48]
• “I watched this film, JLo the Wedding Planner. And I go, my God, this is what I want to do.” — Speaker A [03:51]
• “You must always... have the practical, but you must also have the business part of it.” — Speaker A [07:14]
• “My life is busy, but it's busy. Good. So it's not busy wasting, right? It's busy.” — Speaker A [08:53]
• “I try not to let negativity get into my life... surrounding myself in my own brain with positivity.” — Speaker A [10:00]
• “Joy is a continuous state... only God that brings it.” — Speaker A [11:34]

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Major Takeaways

• The path to orchestrating million-dollar events is a blend of structured methodology, intuition, and adaptability.
• Passion, persistent upskilling, and leaning into authentic interests can transform casual help into a thriving business.
• Business knowledge—from structure to networking—is vital for sustainable growth.
• Wellness at scale is about conscious choices to cultivate positivity, joy, and self-care.

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This episode offers a masterclass not just in event planning, but in building a life and business that aligns with one’s values and strengths—painting a vivid, personal, and practical roadmap for listeners eager to create, grow, and thrive.

Transcript

[A]

Pre planning stage is the consultation, the advisory. That is the stage where you are distilling the brief, you are putting it together. You're putting together like a storyboard, a creative direction for your client. You are identifying the people that can also bring it to life. Then you now have the planning stage. The planning stage is where you are now working on checklists, timelines, budgets, vendor recommendations. You're liaising with vendors, you are calling, you're checking, you are making sure that the vendors are aligning everything you are designing that's in the planning stage. And then of course, the execution. So everything you've been planning can plan for 10 years, five, four, two. But everything you've been planning, you must now execute on the day. And then to execute. That means you're not working with things like production timelines, you're working with event flow managers, you're working with food flow managers, you're working with guest accreditation managers, you're working with a, a shadow of how the day runs. And then you're just ensuring that everything you have planned, everything you have brought, you, have, you have been envisioning is now coming alive. When you want to create a budget for someone, you are, as much as you've asked the question, so what wedding do you, what kind of anniversary? What do you want to see? What is your vision? How do you want a day to be like? What are the things you don't want? What are things you want? What are things you want to spend money on? What are things you, you don't really care about? By the time you understand that, then you can go back and say, okay, what I think you should use this particular person for design. I think, oh, we can use this to curate your menu. I think, oh, this is a venue that will be ideal. Now, all those things require you to now get the costs and then put together the budget. And I've done many budgets, so I can sit down and tell you that, okay, an event can cost this amount, that amount. But guess what I keep on saying, it's unique, it's personal. So everybody's different. So you can't use one size fits all for people.

[B]

So, all right, now let's get into the creation of Zafire events. The journey.

[A]

Okay? The journey before Zafaya started. I like the story a lot. From secondary school, I'd always loved talking. You know, I thought I was going to study mass communication when I was going to go into university, but my parents at that time thought this wasn't a professional course. I needed to study law or Medicine or engineering, architecture, accounting. But for me, my brain, I was like, nah, I don't want stress, I beg. So I said, okay, let me choose law. I felt because I, I thought law was simple. I felt because I like talking, to

[B]

be a good barrister.

[A]

My dear brother, as I entered that year award like this, I say, hey, who sent me message, what am I doing in this class? But I stuck and I, I made it through. While I was in, even in university, I actually wanted to, I wanted to see if law was for me. So I did a lot of internships, I did a lot of working in some law firms. But I just thought, nah, this is terrible. Then I went to law school. And while I was in law school, I thought, okay, maybe in law school if I go to the courts or I go to chambers or whatever, I will like the law. I still didn't like it. But while I was in university and in law school, I was always helping my friends with many things. So my friends would, One of my friends was, she used to sell clothes. I would help her market the clothes and I'll tell people to buy, people will buy, I'll wear the clothes. People always come and talk to me and say, oh, I love the clothes. Hey, it's my friend, I would sell clothes for her. Or somebody wants to do something, maybe they're organizing something, an event. I'll be like, oh, let me help you do that. And I'll be the one to get the, the food, get the drinks, get the dj, set up the space. This was in university, but I didn't know what I was, what it was about, right? But while I was in law school, a few of my friends were going to be getting married after law school. And so I said to one of my friends and she was very stressed out and I said, oh, let me help you with this Ashwabi. In Nigeria we call it uniform. That's the uniform that the friends, the family will wear. And I said, well, let me help you collect the money, organize it, put it together and then distribute to the people. And she was like, oh my God, that's a huge relief. And then I helped her. And then while I was in law school as well, another friend was getting my, I was like, I'm going to help you with your wedding. Well, let me help you. And then I watched this film, JLo the Wedding Planner. And I go, my God, this is what I want to do. And then I realized that a lot of people when they were getting married, because during our time when we were getting married, they were stressed, they were overwhelmed, they were doing everything themselves. Their parents not allowed them to be involved or the parents were used to chance people during that time. So I said, well, let me help you with some things. So I helped. So that's how we started. So after law school, I helped one of my friends, I helped another friend, I helped another friend. Then one of my friends now said to me, my cousin actually said, why don't you start charging?

[B]

You are doing it for free?

[A]

Yes, this was free. This was free because I just loved it. I didn't think of it as a profession. So I just said. And then he said, why don't you start charging? I said, will Nigerians pay? Will people pay?

[B]

Let me stop you here for a minute. So if it's your first time watching Connected Minds or you have been here before but still have not subscribed, do us a favor because majority of the people that watch our videos have not subscribed. This doesn't help us grow beyond what we expect. So help us by hitting the subscribe button. Thank you. Now let's get back to the conversation

[A]

is I try that we pay. And then I just told somebody, I said, oh, it's gonna be 10,000 naira. And she was like, okay. Another one said, oh. I said 40,000. All right. They started paying. I said, wow. And that was how it started. So I just started, you know, and then I registered, registered the business. But at that time in Nigeria, there's something we called NYSE National Youth Service Corps. And it's composed. We have university. You must do it for one year. And I went to work in IT in an advertising. Remember that? I loved PR and coming. So I now went to work in an advertising agency. So while I was there was when I was now doing all these weddings.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

So I was not doing all these weddings and helping my friends. And then. And I realized that after nyc, I can't. I have to continue planning these events. I cannot continue this mascot. So I told my boss, I said, I need to go. I want to go and face events. So that's how we started. So I went to Faith Foundation. I went to a business school. At that time it was for SMEs. You just to you get some knowledge about business. So I did that. Then after that, and then that's how we started. And then the five events started. I got the first person, second person to come and work with me. Third person like that. So that's how the journey started.

[B]

Initially you were doing it all yourself?

[A]

Oh, yes. Oh, yes. I was I was, yes.

[B]

Did you. Do you think it's. It was important for you to have gone to the business school?

[A]

Definitely. I think that you can't run a business without having some business knowledge.

[B]

Have you not learned more about business doing business than you did in business school?

[A]

I've gone to several business schools.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

After that. So you must always. So you see, yes, you can have the, what's called the practical, but you must also have the, the business part of it. The knowledge that you will learn in a business school. A business school will teach you. I learned structure. In a business school, I learned process. In a business school, I learned SOPs. I learned JDs job descriptions. I learned how to hire, how to fire in a business school, I learned accounting. Some accounting which I still hate today. But I learned it, you know, in school. I learned marketing. I learned sales. What you do in the business school is it teaches you and they bring case studies. But then of course, as you go into your business, you now use what you've been taught to. Now either say, oh no, this cannot work for me. No, this won't work for me. I learned this thing. Okay, let me use this one. Okay, Operations, they taught me operations. Let me use this. Oh, how to do value chain, they taught me, ah, let me add it. Okay, they taught me this customer service. Okay, but it can't work for me like this. Okay, let me modify. But business school, school is good. Apart from even what you learn in class, what they are teaching you, you also meet people, you connect with like minds. You hear people's problems and stories. So you think that you alone are. You get all the problem. You just hey, my own, my own is not big. And then. But you are picking knowledge from people to use, to apply. So definitely I have gone to Faith Foundation, LBs, EDC. I'm doing the Stanford seed program. I've gone to several. All kinds. All kinds is har ever aver is next after our first and foreseed Albert is next.

[B]

Easy is your life.

[A]

Hey. Why was I even shouting? Oh God. How busy is my life? My life is busy, but it's busy. Good. You know, it's busy. Good. So it's not busy wasting, right? It's busy. From work, to family, to my friends, to enjoying life, to doing my recordings, my YouTube recordings, my Instagram recordings, my writing, my book. My life is busy. My life is busy, but it's busy. Good. It's busy. Good.

[B]

So how do you take care of your mental health, physical health? What do you put in place to be able to do that.

[A]

I like this question. And when people ask me this question, when I tell them, they always are always like really? I don't do a lot. So when you have a personality like mine, most of the time you're happy. That's the truth. And even if I'm dealing with issues, I understand I temporary and I make sure that I'm joyful. So as much as possible I make, I do what makes me happy. I love watching series on, I like watching TF on my Netflix on tv. I like watching reading magazines, I read my chicken novels. I go out with my friends. I like eating out. I do, I do what makes me, I can be at home and I just be watching anything. So I can just be mindless, just having a great time. And I try not to let negativity get into my life, you know, negativity, worry. I try to just ensure that I am surrounding myself in my own brain know with positivity. Do you understand? You know, so mentally I take time out. A lot of people don't know, but a lot of people think that you must go as far holiday. No, for me I can just take two days away or one day on my bed. I'm good. And I've distressed, you know, so mentally, physically, of course you're just trying to ensure that I, I, you know, I'm healthy. Not to ever. I used to, I used to drink one particular fizzy drink. I've tried to reduce that or stop it. I've tried to stop, I think stop actually stop it, you know, making sure that I'm eating, I'm not eating rubbish. Exercising. I've started exercising. I wasn't exercising before. I was like, oh my God, all the exercise I do, all the walking around is exercise. But you know what, I'm now strength training, things like that. So physically, mentally, I am conscious of doing the right thing for my body, my mind, my soul and my spirit. Just to ensure that I am joyful, I stay joyful. Yeah. So that's what I did.

[B]

I think, you know, they initially used the word happy.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Right. And then now you've used the word joy. Right. What's the difference to you?

[A]

To me, happy is some things that make you happy. So watching a movie makes you happy. Oh, going on holiday makes you happy. But joyfulness is a state of mind that you have continuously. That is only the, I would say only God that brings. For me, it's only God that brings it. The Holy Spirit brings joy. So when the Bible talks about the joy of the Lord is my strength. Or it talks about, like, finding joy or even peace. Peace of mind. So joy is a continuous state. Connected Minds podcast.