If you’ve always wanted to be the creative genius behind a successful event, this can be your life calling. Maybe you’ve already planned an event or two, so you’re probably thinking about turning your passion into a business. Many people love to solve problems, find the best offers and vendors, and deliver all of that as an event. Here are some guidelines if you want to start a career in the event planning industry and be your boss.
Know your niche
Is planning personal events your ideal kind of event? Or, would you like to spend your work days planning corporate events? These are two different types of events, and it’s best to focus on what suits you best. You can expand your service list later if you are interested in both. However, focusing on one niche will help you tailor your marketing message and access your target audience more quickly.
Determine the initial costs
Before you even begin other steps, you need to research your starting costs. There’s a lot you need to do, from the legal part, financial backing, insurance, and other administrative processes. All of these will cost you money; therefore, it’s best to prepare an outline of the initial costs. This outline will later drive your financial steps, whether you have the money or you need to acquire some financial backing to start your business.
Define your business
A business must have a business plan to succeed. It’s great that you’ve chosen a name for your event planning business and website domain, you’ve agreed on the best logo design with your designer, etc. But, you also need to define your business structure, the number of employees required to deliver a perfect service, and the number of clients you need to have in a year to be a lucrative business. Additionally, you need to define your marketing strategy, services, how you plan on delivering the best services, and whether you’ll offer discounts or other promotional strategies.
Define the list of event planning services
The shoe does not fit all so you won’t be a fit for all types of events. A kid’s birthday party is also an event. Some people will hire an event planning business to plan a birthday party for a child. If this is not the type of event you want to plan or service, you should clearly outline the type of event and the list of event planning services. Some event management companies focus on every aspect of event planning, from creative solutions to execution, video production, and virtual and live events, you just have to give them an idea, and they will turn it into reality. If you’re just starting out, you might not have enough manpower to deliver such a high-end event, so it’s great to define the list of events you can plan to perfection.
Define your fees
To be competitive with your pricing plan and fee structure, you need to research the market. Next, you need to analyze your competitors, their service list, price range, years of existence in the market, and their reviews. You’ll learn a lot about the needs of your target audience by reading reviews on your competitors’ websites. Especially if there are negative reviews, you’ll know which services they are bad at so that you can include those in your service list. Once you obtain all the relevant info, you can define your fees and price list.
Set up your business
You’re ready to set up and register your business if you’ve completed all of the previously explained points. You should have a legal advisor by your side just to ensure all of the paperwork is ready and that you understand the fine print of the most important and legally binding documents.
Build your online presence
Now that your business is registered and ready to sign your first client, you should work on your online presence. It goes without saying that you need to cover all the bases, from websites to social media platforms. Ensure your website is optimized correctly, that you target relevant keywords in local search, and that you deliver high-quality content. If you want to reap all the benefits of search engine optimization and receive high quality, you need to nurture your website.
Next, you need to post regularly on social media, create an online community and build your online presence further. Event planning is quite Instagram-friendly; you can post amazing visuals online and use these posts as your portfolio. Your existing clients will recommend your services by simply sharing a post where you’ve shown how you’ve planned their event. Word-of-mouth recommendation is always the best; when people see that you’re raving about their event, they will be more than happy to share it on their social media feeds.
Build your portfolio
Every event you plan, no matter how small or big, is an example of your work. Make it your priority to document every planned event and use it to build a portfolio. You can build a physical portfolio you’ll take to consultations or have one online you can share while chatting with a potential client on Zoom. Also, use your social media channels to showcase your work, planning process, and the finished result. People will find you through recommendations, shared posts, or search on social media channels. That’s why you should document everything and constantly build your portfolio.
Build partnerships and gather resources
Put together a list of vendors you work with, or you’ve worked with in the past. There will be a lot of negotiations happening in your workday every day, so a list of vendors, existing partners, or potential ones is a valuable resource. Try to work with reliable people who deliver what you agreed on. Working with people you don’t trust or fail to deliver can harm your reputation. So, cultivate partnerships with reliable events industry businesses to provide the best possible results to your clients. Having a partner for every budget will allow you to solve problems when they arise out of the blue.
Lastly, don’t forget to invest in marketing. It’s equally important as anything else we’ve outlined. Marketing is always an investment that will bring you more deals and future clients.
