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| The GDA meets the Tsoule MD, Temmie Amodu |
Temmie Amodu is a tall, handsome and gifted genius with a baritone voice that is very
synonymous with his leadership style. Meeting him at all is an opportunity to
learn new things and that was why Asabeafrika
decided to pay him a second visit couple of months after a first visit in 2015.
synonymous with his leadership style. Meeting him at all is an opportunity to
learn new things and that was why Asabeafrika
decided to pay him a second visit couple of months after a first visit in 2015.
Blessed with a well trimmed beard which
matches his gangly height, you will find so many things that explains the
brilliant success of Temmie Amodu in
the last one decade of running Tsoule
Events Company, especially on facts
related with his calling—Events Solution.
matches his gangly height, you will find so many things that explains the
brilliant success of Temmie Amodu in
the last one decade of running Tsoule
Events Company, especially on facts
related with his calling—Events Solution.
Yes, this Lagos big boy is no doubt
one of Nigeria’s best Events planning strategists of the millennium and to some
extent, a number 1 in his calling—Wedding Event Planning. Of course, Temmie handles conventional events as
well. In year 2013 and 2014, Temmie Amodu was declared winner of the
Wedding Planner of the Year award by WED
Awards Magazine for the two consecutive years. Between 2012 and 2013,
organizers of The Nigerian Events Awards
(TNEA) carried out a public research where Temmie
Amodu emerged as Winner of the Young
Achiever Award for year 2012 and
2013 after massive public voting in honor of his achievement in his distinctive
choice of profession.
one of Nigeria’s best Events planning strategists of the millennium and to some
extent, a number 1 in his calling—Wedding Event Planning. Of course, Temmie handles conventional events as
well. In year 2013 and 2014, Temmie Amodu was declared winner of the
Wedding Planner of the Year award by WED
Awards Magazine for the two consecutive years. Between 2012 and 2013,
organizers of The Nigerian Events Awards
(TNEA) carried out a public research where Temmie
Amodu emerged as Winner of the Young
Achiever Award for year 2012 and
2013 after massive public voting in honor of his achievement in his distinctive
choice of profession.
Amodu is
a member of Association of Professional
Party and Events Organizers of Nigeria (APPEON) and winner of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations
(NIPR) recognition award among several
other honors home and abroad
a member of Association of Professional
Party and Events Organizers of Nigeria (APPEON) and winner of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations
(NIPR) recognition award among several
other honors home and abroad
His role model & mentor Preston Bailey is world’s number 1 Wedding
Event Planner and Temmie has met him
one-on-one with the evidence of an autographed book written by Preston Bailey to show for it. He has
equally met other global leaders like former US President Bill Clinton and American Born Japanese author Robert Kiyosaki whose book “Rich
Dad, Poor Dad” influenced Amodu
a great deal while growing.
Event Planner and Temmie has met him
one-on-one with the evidence of an autographed book written by Preston Bailey to show for it. He has
equally met other global leaders like former US President Bill Clinton and American Born Japanese author Robert Kiyosaki whose book “Rich
Dad, Poor Dad” influenced Amodu
a great deal while growing.
His company TSOULE Incorporated is Nigeria’s leading wedding and event planning
company. He is equally the only Nigerian event planner with an annex in Houston-Texas, USA called Nathanael-King Signatures (Named after
his first son)
company. He is equally the only Nigerian event planner with an annex in Houston-Texas, USA called Nathanael-King Signatures (Named after
his first son)
Recently, Temmie Amodu who studied Engineering as first degree added other
concerns to his business empire; one of such lofty idea is Décor Kobo which is set to create a marked revolution in the
history of events management in Nigeria. Décor
Kobo like the name implies is a kobo-less rental Ideas Company that has a
lot of prospect for low budget events.
concerns to his business empire; one of such lofty idea is Décor Kobo which is set to create a marked revolution in the
history of events management in Nigeria. Décor
Kobo like the name implies is a kobo-less rental Ideas Company that has a
lot of prospect for low budget events.
His biggest idea however is Yeeparipa! It is a consumer whistle
blowing platform set to add value to customer relations in Nigeria.
blowing platform set to add value to customer relations in Nigeria.
Amodu hosted your Africa’s number 1 Celebrity Encounter blog Asabeafrika in the early hours of
Thursday, April 6th inside his No
14, Adisa Basua off Adelabu, Surulere, Lagos office where he told us
some of the secrets of his business success and why he remains number 1 in his industry. Enjoy
the excerpts.
Thursday, April 6th inside his No
14, Adisa Basua off Adelabu, Surulere, Lagos office where he told us
some of the secrets of his business success and why he remains number 1 in his industry. Enjoy
the excerpts.
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| The GDA after the encounter with CEO, Tsoule Events, Mr. Temmie Amodu |
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| Temmie Amodu to Asabeafrika…’We are in America because we export our various cultures to the global market’ |
Why I am soulful for Tsoule…
Tsoule has suddenly become the number
1 in the area of bridal and corporate events solution for top blue chip
companies and high profile individuals in Nigeria. How did you achieve this
status over the years?
1 in the area of bridal and corporate events solution for top blue chip
companies and high profile individuals in Nigeria. How did you achieve this
status over the years?
Thank you
very much Mr. Dan. Tsoule for me has
been a thing of great passion. It is a name that came into being since when we
were in high school, we used to have small clubs between me and my friends. Each
of us had the soul name attached to
his name; you have Segun-Soul, Lanre-Soul, Temmie-Soul and all of that. Some of those friends of mine
actually worked with me at the beginning of this company but today, they are all
successfully independent in their various endeavors. We started in 2006 and
this year marks our tenth year. However, the business was officially registered
in August 2008. So, with the Corporate
Affairs Commission, the business
is 8 years but in practical terms we are 10 years. I was working before I
started Tsoule. I think the main reason
why we have kept this level of performance is guarded by two standby
philosophies that has been a part of my life which is quality and integrity.
Quality being a state of ensuring everything is at the point of excellence. Even
with the scarce and very limited resources, you can do the very best you can. Integrity
I believe is the currency of business, if you don’t have integrity, you can’t
do business. Integrity is the major
reason why our clients have been happy working with us, they find the convenience
of professionalism with us, just tell us what you need and we go ahead and
implement solutions for you. I studied engineering and solution provisioning is
next to my way of living which is what I have come to apply to the events industry.
very much Mr. Dan. Tsoule for me has
been a thing of great passion. It is a name that came into being since when we
were in high school, we used to have small clubs between me and my friends. Each
of us had the soul name attached to
his name; you have Segun-Soul, Lanre-Soul, Temmie-Soul and all of that. Some of those friends of mine
actually worked with me at the beginning of this company but today, they are all
successfully independent in their various endeavors. We started in 2006 and
this year marks our tenth year. However, the business was officially registered
in August 2008. So, with the Corporate
Affairs Commission, the business
is 8 years but in practical terms we are 10 years. I was working before I
started Tsoule. I think the main reason
why we have kept this level of performance is guarded by two standby
philosophies that has been a part of my life which is quality and integrity.
Quality being a state of ensuring everything is at the point of excellence. Even
with the scarce and very limited resources, you can do the very best you can. Integrity
I believe is the currency of business, if you don’t have integrity, you can’t
do business. Integrity is the major
reason why our clients have been happy working with us, they find the convenience
of professionalism with us, just tell us what you need and we go ahead and
implement solutions for you. I studied engineering and solution provisioning is
next to my way of living which is what I have come to apply to the events industry.
 |
| Temmie Amodu to Asabeafrika…’Being an engineer by profession helped me a great deal in being a good events planner’ |
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| Preston Bailey, World Biggest Bridal Events Planner & The Man Temmie Amodu reads like a book |
You studied engineering and today,
you are an events planner, is there any correlation between events management
and engineering?
you are an events planner, is there any correlation between events management
and engineering?
Yes, as an
engineer you have processes, you have procedures. You have work methodology and
for the events business, it is pretty much the same thing because as an
engineer, you got to project-manage your designs, some of the designs you want
to get from point A to Point B and the same thing happens to the events
management industry, you have your various individual vendors as a service
provider and you harmonize them based on timeline, based on resource, labor,
man-power and everything that works and this is part of the reasons why our
work at Tsoule Events Company has
been unique because we apply engineering skills to our delivery, we handle our
processes from a world class perspective. I used to work with a multi-national
and that is the same process I have applied here; it has allowed us to be able
to ensure good HR, Inventory and the entire work processes moving for good. We
thank God for the referrals.
engineer you have processes, you have procedures. You have work methodology and
for the events business, it is pretty much the same thing because as an
engineer, you got to project-manage your designs, some of the designs you want
to get from point A to Point B and the same thing happens to the events
management industry, you have your various individual vendors as a service
provider and you harmonize them based on timeline, based on resource, labor,
man-power and everything that works and this is part of the reasons why our
work at Tsoule Events Company has
been unique because we apply engineering skills to our delivery, we handle our
processes from a world class perspective. I used to work with a multi-national
and that is the same process I have applied here; it has allowed us to be able
to ensure good HR, Inventory and the entire work processes moving for good. We
thank God for the referrals.
“Integrity I believe is the currency
of business, if you don’t have integrity, you can’t do business. Integrity is the major reason why our clients
have been happy working with us, they find the convenience of professionalism
with us, just tell us what you need and we go ahead and implement solutions for
you”.
 |
| Temmie Amodu, CEO, Tsoule Events & Decor Kobo Ltd |
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| Temmie Amodu to Asabeafrika…’In making success, integrity is the only current’ |
In a very hazy economy like Nigeria
where competition is paramount and government policies summersaults, how have
you been able to survive in your 10 years adventure as a business man?
where competition is paramount and government policies summersaults, how have
you been able to survive in your 10 years adventure as a business man?
Well, to
tell you the secret of our success is to say you allowed yourself dream. You
helped yourself believe that ‘yes, I can’. It is not easy running a business in
Nigeria, you have the predominant problems, as it is now, we have no fuel we
have no electricity. It is so bad we have been running generator on black
market but back then, when we started some ten years ago, I was working as an
Engineer (At Philips Project Nigeria) it was in-between that time I was using
my salary to buy things and equally running the process. After I close from work,
I go for my passion which is events management and we built the business
strictly on passion. Well, being an entrepreneur, you have your ups and downs,
you have to anticipate it. In the first 5 years of every business, you have
your challenges; it is pretty much like a marriage. If you can surmount the
first one year or the first six months, you change your mind, maybe because you
have a contract that didn’t go well, then you quit and if you don’t quit you
come back on the saddle, two years after you have challenges.
tell you the secret of our success is to say you allowed yourself dream. You
helped yourself believe that ‘yes, I can’. It is not easy running a business in
Nigeria, you have the predominant problems, as it is now, we have no fuel we
have no electricity. It is so bad we have been running generator on black
market but back then, when we started some ten years ago, I was working as an
Engineer (At Philips Project Nigeria) it was in-between that time I was using
my salary to buy things and equally running the process. After I close from work,
I go for my passion which is events management and we built the business
strictly on passion. Well, being an entrepreneur, you have your ups and downs,
you have to anticipate it. In the first 5 years of every business, you have
your challenges; it is pretty much like a marriage. If you can surmount the
first one year or the first six months, you change your mind, maybe because you
have a contract that didn’t go well, then you quit and if you don’t quit you
come back on the saddle, two years after you have challenges.
 |
| Temmie Amodu during an earlier encounter with the GDA in 2015 |
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| Temmie Amodu to Asabeafrika…’Africa has the largest content for events making’ |
As a matter of
fact, every human being has a challenge every three months. It is a standard,
you have a crisis, we are all currently going through a crisis right now in the
country and it has disrupted our way of life. So, every three months, weather
you like it or not, weather you are in the church fasting, you will have a
crisis that would warrant that you use your mental capacity to solve it.
fact, every human being has a challenge every three months. It is a standard,
you have a crisis, we are all currently going through a crisis right now in the
country and it has disrupted our way of life. So, every three months, weather
you like it or not, weather you are in the church fasting, you will have a
crisis that would warrant that you use your mental capacity to solve it.
So, to now
go out to be looking for trouble is like increasing your problem provisioning;
if in a year you have four problems by the virtue of your three-three month’s
interval, when you now go out and you don’t do things with integrity then you
will have many battles to contend with. I was listening to a sermon yesterday
during a fellowship and the Bishop was saying ‘you can’t collect money to
supply 20 items and you supply 18, it is wrong’. We are looking for prosperity
but you must go through the right processes. There is a reason why you are
successful. Success can be predicted likewise failure too, can be predicted.
So, doing business in Nigeria is interesting, there is a lot of money to be
made but you need to apply a level of maturity and empathy to the people you
are working with and to your vendors in terms of negotiating the best skills
and giving the best skills to your clients. Most times, fingers are not equal
and that is where empathy comes in.
go out to be looking for trouble is like increasing your problem provisioning;
if in a year you have four problems by the virtue of your three-three month’s
interval, when you now go out and you don’t do things with integrity then you
will have many battles to contend with. I was listening to a sermon yesterday
during a fellowship and the Bishop was saying ‘you can’t collect money to
supply 20 items and you supply 18, it is wrong’. We are looking for prosperity
but you must go through the right processes. There is a reason why you are
successful. Success can be predicted likewise failure too, can be predicted.
So, doing business in Nigeria is interesting, there is a lot of money to be
made but you need to apply a level of maturity and empathy to the people you
are working with and to your vendors in terms of negotiating the best skills
and giving the best skills to your clients. Most times, fingers are not equal
and that is where empathy comes in.
“As a matter of fact, every human
being has a challenge every three months. It is a standard, you have a crisis,
we are all currently going through a crisis right now in the country and it has
disrupted our way of life. So, every three months, weather you like it or not,
weather you are in the church fasting, you will have a crisis that would
warrant that you use your mental capacity to solve it”.
 |
| Temmie Amodu to Asabeafrika…’In delivering a great event, your ears must be opened to details’ |
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| Temmie Amodu to Asabeafrika…’I am a man of Process & Procedure’ |
What are the challenges of your
industry and what do you think should be the panacea?
industry and what do you think should be the panacea?
The challenge
that we are facing right now is more of ethics and regulation. We have a group
called APPOEM (Association of Professional Party and Events Organizers of
Nigeria). We have a lot of event managers, event designers under this umbrella.
It is an organization whereby you can come in and share challenges and ideas
alike. We have our regular meetings and we have an end of the year event
recently. We support each other. But to tell you our challenge, I will like to
associate it with Michael Potter’s four forces;
the main challenge we have is the fact that we have a zero barrier of entry in
terms of regulations and in terms of who can be an events planner. Yes, we have the association but people can
still do businesses irrespective of this relationship or our association. What
that simply means is that if you say you are serving the wedding industry for
example, the last bride can find a new events planner. They can talk to you for
a couple of months and change their mind once they find a cheaper service provider.
These days, you could do your entire event planning on Instagram. You can be on
Instagram,
pick your MC, pick your event manager and they will all come in and perform. I won’t
call it a challenge but I will rather call it the necessary dynamics of business
because we have a lot of flexibilities when it comes to organizing events these
days.
that we are facing right now is more of ethics and regulation. We have a group
called APPOEM (Association of Professional Party and Events Organizers of
Nigeria). We have a lot of event managers, event designers under this umbrella.
It is an organization whereby you can come in and share challenges and ideas
alike. We have our regular meetings and we have an end of the year event
recently. We support each other. But to tell you our challenge, I will like to
associate it with Michael Potter’s four forces;
the main challenge we have is the fact that we have a zero barrier of entry in
terms of regulations and in terms of who can be an events planner. Yes, we have the association but people can
still do businesses irrespective of this relationship or our association. What
that simply means is that if you say you are serving the wedding industry for
example, the last bride can find a new events planner. They can talk to you for
a couple of months and change their mind once they find a cheaper service provider.
These days, you could do your entire event planning on Instagram. You can be on
Instagram,
pick your MC, pick your event manager and they will all come in and perform. I won’t
call it a challenge but I will rather call it the necessary dynamics of business
because we have a lot of flexibilities when it comes to organizing events these
days.
“I have done events in America and the truth is, if a white
person can do a white wedding, it is going to be impossible for this white
person to do a traditional event the way an African events planner will do it.
It is a good culture export; we have over two hundred tribes in Nigeria, we
have the Tivs, we have the Ibibios etc and they all have their peculiar
cultures”
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| The Tsoule founder explaining a point to Asabeafrika’s GDA |
Our American Connection…
You equally run a branch of your
company in the US, what are the marking differences in term of clientele needs?
company in the US, what are the marking differences in term of clientele needs?
On an
international scale, the African content and the Nigerian events are one of the
highest. I have done events in America
and the truth is, if a white person can do a white wedding, it is going to be
impossible for this white person to do a traditional event the way an African
events planner will do it. It is a good culture export; we have over two
hundred tribes in Nigeria, we have the Tivs, we have the Ibibios
etc and they all have their peculiar cultures. They have their bridal interests
that the Indian or Pakistani person in America or London that want to
do your event will not be able to pull up and that is why we have our presence
in America. We are called Nathaniel Kings Signatures;
Nathaniel King is the name of my
first son. We are based in Houston and we add value to events
in that part of the world. Apart from the huge Nigerian market in America, we
have the multi-nationals that also celebrate what we call “Cultural Day”. If
you have a Coca-Cola or a brand that
want to celebrate Africa, you could come up with a Zulu Concept; you could
come up with an Ethiopian cultural concept. Why do you want to have Belly Dancers when you could have a team
of Atilogwu dancers? So, these are
areas where innovations come in and where ingenuity defines you as the master
of your game.
international scale, the African content and the Nigerian events are one of the
highest. I have done events in America
and the truth is, if a white person can do a white wedding, it is going to be
impossible for this white person to do a traditional event the way an African
events planner will do it. It is a good culture export; we have over two
hundred tribes in Nigeria, we have the Tivs, we have the Ibibios
etc and they all have their peculiar cultures. They have their bridal interests
that the Indian or Pakistani person in America or London that want to
do your event will not be able to pull up and that is why we have our presence
in America. We are called Nathaniel Kings Signatures;
Nathaniel King is the name of my
first son. We are based in Houston and we add value to events
in that part of the world. Apart from the huge Nigerian market in America, we
have the multi-nationals that also celebrate what we call “Cultural Day”. If
you have a Coca-Cola or a brand that
want to celebrate Africa, you could come up with a Zulu Concept; you could
come up with an Ethiopian cultural concept. Why do you want to have Belly Dancers when you could have a team
of Atilogwu dancers? So, these are
areas where innovations come in and where ingenuity defines you as the master
of your game.
 |
| Temmie Amodu to Asabeafrika…’Every functioning man has crisis that challenges his mental capacity every 3 months’ |
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| The Logo of Temmie Amodu’s company |
(Watch out
for Part 2 of the Temmie Amodu’s
exclusive titled “Why we want to Yeepa!
Nigeria” on this blog after this time out; Mr. Temmie Amodu can be reached via www.tsoule.com)
for Part 2 of the Temmie Amodu’s
exclusive titled “Why we want to Yeepa!
Nigeria” on this blog after this time out; Mr. Temmie Amodu can be reached via www.tsoule.com)
