The event planning industry has grown tremendously in the last few years. If you have a passion about event planning or you’ve been working in the corporate industry and you want your own freedom, then this could be the opportunity you’ve been waiting for. Indeed, there are so many people who lack expertise or have no time to plan their own events and you could become a solution to their problems.
Event planning is about managing special events intended to achieve different purposes. Some of the most common types of events include:
- Celebrations – this may involve events such as weddings, birthdays, reunions, anniversaries and so on.
- Commemorations – involving events such as memorials and civic events
- Educational Events – such as conferences, graduations or school or college meetings
- Fairs and promotions – such as fashion shows, product launches etcetera
While being passionate about event planning or any other home based business is a great thing, being successful depends on number of factors. Here are some of the most important aspects that you’d need to have in place.
Event Planning Skills
To build a successful event planning business, you need to have a good grasp of the business. Your experience and skills will determine how far you can go.
- Communication
You need to build oral and written communication skills. You’ll be communicating a lot of stuff to your clients and audiences, both verbally and in written form.
- Organizational Skills
A good event planner ought to be a good manager. Make efforts to gain some management skills. You may want to take some management courses to perfect your organizational skills. Some of the elements you’d need to have a good grasp about include budget management and negotiation, marketing, public relations among others.
Determine your Clients
If you want to be successful in event planning, you’ve got to specialize on a particular category of events. Pick a category of event planning that you feel you’re strong in and run away with it. If for instance you’ve been a professional in the corporate scene, you may want to create a business through organizing corporate meetings and events. You may not be very successful by handling all manner of events such as weddings, corporate events, fund raising parties and so on.
Draw a Event Planning Business Plan
Like any other type of industry, event planning services require a good business plan. You don’t want to start advertising your services before you’ve developed a workable structure on how you want to accomplish your objectives.
Draw a clear network of who you want to work with. This may include your suppliers such as caterers, photographers or florists, depending on your market category. Make plans and structures on how to achieve administrative, marketing, accounting, legal and sales functions among others. You may want to have some staff to help you with handling some of the functions.
Business Insurance
Business insurance plays a major part in ensuring all your interests are well taken care of. There are various forms of insurance and you can always consult your insurance professional for the advice on which one best suits your needs.
Marketing an event planning business
Once you have everything in place, you’ll need to get your services out to the consumers. Develop the right means of marketing your business. Give your business a name, brand and use business cards, website, proposals and client agreements as well as other necessary literature