How To Start An Event Planning Business? – Best Guide Of 2024
by Barsha Bhattacharya Startups Published on: 24 February 2022 Last Updated on: 08 November 2024
The event planning market has expanded vastly in the last decade. Dr. Joe Goldblatt, a certified Special Events Professional, recently supervised research and concluded that every year the entire world spends a whopping 500 billion dollars on events. Goldblatt also mentioned that the events market is lucrative with vast untapped potential.
Moreover, industry experts also say that profits from the events industry continue to expand. While the profit margin of an event planner was somewhere around 15% a few years ago, presently, the margin has increased to 40%. This indicates how profitable event planning jobs are. And fun too!
What Is Event Planning?
When you ask Google, ‘what is event planning, you are asking two questions.
- What kind of events are being talked about?
- What is event planning?
What Kind Of Events Are Being Talked About?
Firstly, event planning is done for several occasions. Some of those special occasions are as follows,
Celebrations:
Celebrations are perhaps the biggest event planning situation every year. Therefore, every occasion needs meticulous planning and execution, from celebrating personal milestones like weddings, anniversaries, birthdays to commercial events like fairs and parades.
Education:
Educational events are also a huge source of income for event planning companies. This is because universities and other educational institutions worldwide invest a lot of money in organizing conferences, graduations, and meetings.
Promotions:
Promotional events are the foundation of every marketing strategy ever made. From product launches and fashion shows to political rallies, businesses and political parties pay a lot of money to professionals for organizing and executing the events successfully.
Commemorations:
Just like people get married every year, people die too, and event management companies profit from both situations. So in case of any memorial or civic event, event management experts are summoned to plan and execute everything.
What Is The Role Of An Event Planner?
Secondly, event planning involves a lot of work, and the role of an event planner is diverse. As an event manager, you will be responsible for the following activities.
- Research and event design
- Finding the venue
- Organizing food, decor, and entertainment
- Planning transportation
- Sending invites to guests
- Looking after guest accommodations if needed
- Event supervision and evaluation
Read More: Things to Think About If You Want to Start an Entertainment Business
How To Start An Event Planning Business?
If you are wondering how to start an event planning business or how to get into event planning, you have arrived at the right place! So, scroll down to learn about starting your event planning business without wasting any more time.
1. Plan Your Business
Planning is of vital importance for any potential entrepreneur. Similarly, as a likely event management professional, extensively plan out your business. Planning helps new entrepreneurs explore all the minute details of their business and, in the process, come across everything, including unknowns.
For starting an event management agency, the planning stage determines the four most crucial aspects of the business. At this stage, what you need to figure out are as follows,
- Startup and ongoing costs
- Target audience
- Service charges
- Naming the company
2. Complete All Legal And Taxation Work Related To Your Business
Once you are done with the planning process, it’s time to set up a legal business entity like an LLC (Limited Liability Company), sole proprietorship, partnership, or corporation. Additionally, registering for various taxes is also mandatory before you can launch your event planning business.
Also, consider opening a bank account during the same time since it’s considered to be essential for protecting your personal assets. When someone mixes their business and personal assets, they risk losing everything if your business is sued for some reason.
3. Set Up Accounting For Your Business
As a new business on the block, it is vital for you to record and track your business expenditure and income thoroughly. This not only keeps your books clean but also helps you monitor if your business is growing or not. Also, this will simplify the tedious task of filing taxes at the end of the financial year.
4. Get Hold Of Necessary Licenses And Set Up Insurance
As a new event planning business on the block, it’s essential that you get hold of all the required permits and licenses for running your business and organizing events. This is a crucial task that you need to accomplish otherwise, you might be required to pay heavy fines. Your business could very well shut down too!
Moreover, set up your business for insurance so that it can function legally and securely. In situations of unforeseen losses, the insurance will protect the company’s financial health. While setting up for insurance, remember that different businesses have different insurance policies for handling risks.
You May Also Like This: How To Manage Communication In Your Business
5. Holistic Branding
Once you are done with all the legal formalities and taxation-related tasks, you can finally start your event planning business. Now your focus must turn towards developing a brand for your business. Branding involves designing a logo, business cards, and letterheads accompanied by a new website.
While getting your website developed and designed, remember that it will prove to be an essential platform in the future. Even though you might be getting your first clients from your contacts and the next few through word-of-the-mouth marketing, it is only a matter of time before you start getting website leads.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):
Q1. How Do I Start My Own Event Planning Business?
You can start your event planning business by following the steps mentioned below.
- Gain skills and experience
- Pick a niche
- Come up with a plan
- Complete legal formalities
- Obtain insurance
- Develop a network of suppliers and the like
Q2. How Profitable Is Event Planning Business?
Event planners were earning a 15 percent profit margin even a few years ago. However, the recent expansion of the event management industry has led to an increase in the profit margins of the event managers. As a result, event planners currently earn a solid 40% profit margin.
Q3. How Do Event Planning Companies Get Clients?
Event planners get clients in the following ways,
- Instead of just planning an event, provide an experience – the more unique, the better.
- Display your expertise and experience – the more, the better.
- Collaborate with local bloggers and the like – start local and go global.
- Collaborate with non-profit organizations.
- Go live from event venues.
Conclusion:
Planning an event is not as simple as it looks, even more, complex than implementing those plans. As a result, it is evident that running an event planning business requires exceptional planning, management, and communication skills. You have to figure out whether you have it in you before launching the business.
If you are sure about your skills and can hear passions call, don’t waste a single moment. Instead, sit back and start researching because it’s going to take some time, perhaps more time than you can imagine. So what are you waiting for? Become an event planner today and organize memorable events!
Read Also:
Related
