In July this year, Winnie Mukosi marked the first anniversary of her event planning and management business.
She was over the moon over her achievements, saying that venturing into the industry has been the best decision of he life.
Within just one year, her brand, Winkz Events, has grown to become a household name in Kitui, Machakos, and Makueni counties.
Her company offers tents, public address systems, chairs, videography and photography services, decorations, and catering services for all kinds of events.
This is her journey as told by WoK:
Startup idea
Mukosi’s startup idea was born just a few months before the 2022 general elections.
Until then, she was what you might call a blogger, running social media accounts on behalf of politicians.
She had been in the online space since 2014 when she graduated from Egerton University with a degree in Business Management.
However, she had always felt the need to outgrow the toxicity of the political landscape.
It was also difficult to grow as a political blogger because, as she says, much of the work occurrs during the election period.
It was therefore a Eureka moment when, while scrolling online one day, she came across what she described as a ‘nagging advertisement’ for an online course in events management, which kept popping up on her phone.
She enrolled for the course, and by the time she completed it a month later, she knew events management was something she could do professionally and earn a living.
Initially, she started her venture as a side hustle alongside her blogging business.
By the time the general elections approached in August, she had acquired general skills in event management and planning, and her eyes were open to the available business opportunities.
With her skills, she started engaging friends and relatives, looking for clients and referrals. Her first gig was organizing a traditional wedding.
Today, she says she gets so many referrals that she often gets overwhelmed with the bookings.
Support system
Speaking to Nation, Ms. Mukosi admitted that her clients and colleagues as a political blogger have been her support system.
Most of her current clients are referrals from people she interacted with in her previous job.
She also relies on social media to market her business and research new trends.
Her business, which has adopted African-themed decorations as their trademark, has employed three permanent employees and hires more on a need-to basis.
She says time and budget management are the biggest pitfalls in that line of business.
“The budget should be more than what you expect. You should also source service providers in good time,” she says.
Notable clients
Some of her notable clients include Tourism, Wildlife, and Heritage Cabinet Secretary Peninah Malonza, who held an event in Makueni County to launch the digitization of indigenous knowledge.
She also supplied tents to most of the exhibitors during the first-ever mango conference organized in Makueni by the Agriculture and Food Authority and the Makueni county government.
For now, some of the promising markets in the region include traditional events like Ndwae Ngone Maitu, a ceremony celebrating motherhood.
In future, she hopes to spread her wings beyond Ukambani.
