6 Tips to Start an Event Planning Business from Home
Event planning businesses are booming, but it can be difficult to get started. There are many things to consider, which is why you should always plan your business before starting it. Planning an event involves organizing, implementing, and overseeing almost every detail to make sure that your guests have a great time at your event.
Event planning is an art form with many moving parts. With that said, here are six tips for how to start an event planning business from home.
1) Start with the right services
Establish an expertise in one area of your business. When it comes to event planning, the best way to launch a side hustle is to specialize in a particular service that is highly demanded in your community. This will help you identify clients who are eager to hire your services.
Another thing is to not only start out offering the right services, but make sure your business is supported by the right services. For example, event management software such as Planning Pod will take a lot of the headache out of crunching numbers, booking venues, and appointment tracking – giving you more time to focus on providing value to clients.
2) Always strive to make new clients.
Always reach out to as many people as you can.New clients can come from anywhere. You may attract clients from your personal connections and community. But you also may attract more business by reaching out to other industry professionals. Generating buzz for an event planning business requires an open mind and keen eye.
It’s also worth checking events and organizations on social media to see what kind of events are going on. It could be a good chance to take note of future business opportunities.
3) Develop a relationship with local officials
As an event planner, you may find yourself cutting through a lot of bureaucratic tape securing venues and permits. Getting a community to “just do it” could be challenging. You might be presented with a long list of requirements that most of your competitors wouldn’t need.
But if you develop relationships with local officials, you can reduce some of the hurdles. You’ll find they can help guide you through the process of running an event, such as helping you find a venue. And if your group is providing a service, they may provide you with other referrals. Once you get used to working with local officials, it can be a big boost to your business.
4) Reduce overhead costs and stay within budget
You’ll find that running an event planning business can be very expensive. Yes, the clients will shoulder a lot of costs – but you’ll still be responsible for various things. And once you exceed the event planning budget, your profits could drop. To stay on track, you need to be aware of every cost.
Cutting costs and overhead for an event planning business is beyond the scope of this article, as it requires some in-depth approaches depending on circumstance. One thing to always keep in mind though, is that you need to track every cent. From travel costs, venue rental, meals, or anything else.
5) Learn from your competition
There are thousands of businesses offering event planning services. It can be overwhelming to learn all the different ways to make your business stand out. I’m not suggesting you do any “corporate espionage”, but keep an eye on what sort of markets your competitors are finding success in, and be prepared to shift gears if necessary.
6) Provide flexible plans
No matter how you do business, you’ll need to provide flexible plans. Maybe you’ll be organizing a corporate event or a large gala. Or perhaps you’re more inclined to run private events. Flexible plans can be used to accommodate those preferences.
Keep scrapbooks of event themes, including decorations and catering services, for your clients to look over. That way they can tell you things like, “Well we really like the DJ booth setup from this event, but the tablecloths and floral arrangements from this event.” In this way, you’re basically allowing clients to mix-and-match things to their tastes.
7) Keep 3D blueprints of event venues (Advanced tip)
This is a tip for the hardcore event planners who want to nail every last detail of setting up the perfect event. If you visit the county clerk office, you should be able to request the blueprints on pretty much any building construct in the locality.
With these blueprints, you can create 3D mockups of the venues. That way you can offer your clients a better idea of what their event space would look like.
