Improve or Quit

As much as i support the entrepreneurial drives in people, i detest mediocrity.

I wonder why people would not perfect their skill in a trade before putting themselves out to be hired?
There is nothing wrong with 'learning on the job', but there is everything wrong with learning on the job where you have been paid the fees of a professional, and where the quality service of a professional is expected.

I have seen so many brides in recent times looked like embalmed corpses on their wedding day thanks to the 'professional' make-up artists that were hired.

It is not only the MUA that i've got problem with, i have issues with event planners, caterers, live band and photographers.
Why do you choose to ruin the best day in the lives of people, a day that cannot be repeated,  all because of your greed and dishonesty?

Aunty Caterer, with your LV apron and Chanel cooking pots, ounje ti o jinna, to ti tutu le n serve ni reception. Despite your huge charges, you can't provide enough food for the number of guests that was agreed with you! You are acting posh at the reception when you should get your hands dirty. Eyin ni won pe si inawo ni? You have been hired to provide a service....get to work! Ko si plates for people to eat and you are too posh to wash! E gerraout joo! E lo wa ise si Debenhams...ki e ma ba won ta lipstick!

Uncle event planner, packaging lasan le ni. Your second name should actually be 'disappointment'.
Glossy business card osi le n gbe kiri but you can't successfully organise the simplest of any event. Oto lowo hall te gba, oto ni eyi te provide! You run around at the dead of time to get things sorted. You are full of excuses. The only thing you are good at is switching off your phone and making yourself unreachable when things have gone wrong. You have become the no1 wanted man on the list of several clients because of your incompetence. Won ma pa e ni lojo ti won ba mu e!

Mr 'Singa' aloyinlohun, your own wahala is even too much. You turn up late to every show, don't pay your band members, don't have good sound equipment, lack good manners, and above all you can't sing. Iwo to ye ko si wa lehin olorin kan ko ma ba won sa owo, you can't wait to be called a star. Kiakia iwo naa ti lo te card, won ti ba e program 'skoskola' sori yamaha keyboard kan, o ti bere si gba show...orin wa n sa pa e lori....o  n ha mo e lofun. O je lo da irin ise pada ko lo k'ose si!

Mr 'Oluya' the photographer, pre-book leyin ti e ma n ra lenses, you have invested so much in  the gears yet you lack the basic photographic sense. Your charges are crazy (i guess you want to quickly recoup your equipment money) yet your job is shoddy and always VERY LATE. You don't understand how to capture moments, Ko si nka to kan e pelu ISO, shutter speed, lighting etc, photoshop ti baye e je. You photoshopped the bride till she was beginning to look like the husband's Ex! Bi won o ba de ran Sango si e you won't deliver the photos or videos. Iwa oriburuku gba le n hu. O de ye ke ja'wo nibe!

The points i'm trying to make with my rambling are:

1. LEARN YOUR TRADE WELL BEFORE YOU GO ABOUT ADVERTISING YOURSELF TO BE HIRED. You are not being paid that exhorbitant fee to come and use their ceremony as a trainnig field. YOU ARE PAID TO PROVIDE A SERVICE!

2. THERE IS DIGNITY IN TURNING DOWN A JOB ON THE GROUND THAT YOU CANNOT PERFORM AT THE LEVEL EXPECTED OF YOU. Decide this before commiting yourself or being paid the 'advance', that is the purpose of the briefing session you have with the client before the event.
Do you even know that you have already started building a reputation for yourself the day you put yourself on the market? So build well!

Instead of pretending to be what you are not, you can always let the client know that you are still an amateur hence your charges are less, but you promise to do your best! With that in mind, those cheap clients who are always looking for cheap services will know before-hand what they should expect.

E ye ba inawo oninawo je nitori atije ti yin. E lo k'ose si!

And to all of you USERS, who are always looking for cheap services, YOU GET THE SERVICE YOU PAY FOR! Eni nwa'fa, nwa ofo ni!

If you want good service, be ready to pay good money. Shikena!
Research well on the person before you contract them. Don't use farmiliarity or itiju to give a job to somebody when you know they can't perform. Hire someone who'll give you value for your money.

AV