Paid for their hobby

During high school, at Makerere College, Vivian Agaba Kukunda and Carol Priscilla Kirungi were involved in organising events alongside a close friend who was the entertainment prefect.
The two girls did not think much of it. After university in 2012, getting well-paying jobs was not easy. In 2013, Kirungi shared an idea of starting up an events planning company with Kukunda. Going out to events was something the duo loved. Getting paid for a hobby they shared made business sense.

A company is born
Today they are the managing directors of PTW & Events. PTW stands for Purple Truffle Weddings, a subsidiary of Purple Truffle Limited Uganda, which they registered at Shs450,000.
Event planning was slow at that time and the two realised they needed to provide a service as well. They started decorating at relatives’ events with no profit, just so they could get their name out there.

With time, the decor business picked up. “ We also added making invitation cards to the services we offered. Slowly, people started to appreciate,” Kukunda says. They registered a company and started positioning themselves to do corporate events. Their parents and siblings believed in them and trusted them with Shs1m that young business ladies used to do their first events. Transport cost them Shs200,000, materials approximately Shs600,000 and Shs200,000 for buying flowers. This was for a 300-guest introduction ceremony. They had free labour from their siblings.

Sacrifices long the way
“We would do work with many university girls. We would run around Kampala carrying sacks and huge plastic bags on our backs and bodas to beat jam. We weren’t getting profits for almost a year just so that we could get our name out there. We are very passionate about what we do so our clients saw this detail in the work we delivered and referred us,” Kukunda recounts.

The business duo research and follow the current trends in decor and planning which puts them in a position where they are never short of ideas. “For planning we help the client in creating a budget, picking service providers to suit their needs and making payments on behalf of the client as well as on-site management up until the event is a success,” the duo explains. For decor, they provide tables, chairs and tents, do table set-up, draping, lighting and other services on request of the client.

Planning is the golden key
Planning is done at a percentage fee of five to 10 per cent of the event’s budget. They point out that decor depends on the clients’ budget but they quote their professional fee at Shs3.5m.
Kukunda observes that for an event to come off well, it needs to be planned for at least three months. To market their services, they use online platforms like social media plus, people they have worked with to market them, through word of mouth. They mostly use Facebook which they manage, on top of the App Manager which enables them to instantly see clients inquiries in real time. “We respond to messages within 10 minutes at most. The world is becoming a digital world so we need to move in that direction too. Clients are happy when you respond promptly and professionally,” Kukunda explains.

Ethics matter
The duo upholds high work ethics. Business discipline has thus earned them stints with corporate companies like Smile Communications. A good deal from a corporate company can earn us up to Shs4m in profit.
After making their required payments in time, they then put 30 per cent back to the development and growth of the business and split 70 per cent as payment between each other.
To maintain accountability, they use receipts and pay-out vouchers to track money. They are accountable to each other as partners and they have a constitution that governs the way they run business.

“We don’t mix friendship and business but we definitely apply humanity so that we don’t lose our friendship because of the business,” says Kukunda. They have dealt with the other challenges such as clients demands that may not be reasonable such as requiring a garden wedding during the rainy season but refusing to hire tents.
Their business tip is always be ethical in your work. Hard work and passion go hand in hand. Plus, quality is key.
The two now have day jobs but ably balance this with their enterprise. “It’s all about planning the day in advance. When one of us is not able to make it to a meeting, another will fill in.