Diana Kamugisha turned her passion for beauty into a décor business

From a young age, Diana Kamugisha has always had an eye for beautiful things. At home on big days like Christmas and Easter, Kamugisha was the main decorator of the house.

“I would use coloured toilet paper and balloons to decorate the house and visitors would love it,” said the 34 year old Kamugisha.

Little wonder that today, she has turned her passion for decoration into a business.

Kamugisha runs FAB Events in Kyaliwajjala, Wakiso. She specializes in décor services for weddings, introductions, birthday parties and any other gathering.

She also hires out tents and chairs.

She started the business in 2019 after trying her hand in several business ventures.

“I tried the phone business and it failed. I also owned a boutique but it failed to make money,” she says.

She said she turned to the décor business because she has a passion for artistic things.

The beginning however was not easy. She had to look for money to buy some of the items and to pay rent, something that was not easy.

“My relatives and friends helped me a lot because things were not easy at first,” she said.

Kamugisha has decorated for numerous events and she says most of her customers appreciate her work.

“Décor is about creativity so you have to be very creative. When you do quality work it sells you. It is your customers who refer other people to you,” she says.

She charges between Shs 500,000 (for small functions like birthdays, baby showers) to over Shs 20 million (for extravagant weddings and introduction ceremonies).

Challenges

The events business has several challenges but Kamugisha says the biggest is the fact that trends and decoration items are constantly changing and evolving, making it capital intensive.

“What is fancy today may be out of trend tomorrow due to changing consumer taste,” she says.

Another challenge are customers who refuse to clear all the fees after being offered a service. Like many other service oriented businesses, in the décor business, customers usually deposit money before the event and pledge to finish the full amount on the day of the event. In some cases, customers refuse to pay.

“They refuse to pick your call, some even abuse you and sometimes you just give up,” she says.

Covid-19 was also a big challenge because gatherings were banned. Since she was renting business premises, she says Covid-19 almost led to the collapse of her young business.

Advice

She advises young people to be hardworking and passionate about what they do. Kamugisha believes there is money in everything as long as you it with passion.

Those who want to work for themselves, she says, must stay focused and should not give up in the face of challenges.

“Many young people just want to be pushed to do anything. Others give up the moment they hit the first road block,” she says.

However, she says, they have to know that life is full of challenges and you can’t run away from them.