Work at Home Idea:
Start an Event Planning Business
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Here's one business that can be as fun as it is profitable! From corporate retreats and sales meetings to weddings and birthday parties, all successful events have one key ingredient: effective planning. But few people or businesses have the time or skills to do it themselves. That's where you come in.
As an event planner, people will pay you handsomely to organize events for them. Start-up is easy, and there's virtually no equipment required. With little more than a personal computer and a telephone, you can make up to a six-figure income and have a ball doing it.
Our guide can help you get started--and keep growing. In it, you'll learn how to:
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conduct market research to discover the most profitable niche in your region
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determine your start-up costs and find funds to launch your business
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organize yourself so you easily handle the multiple projects you'll be working on
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hire part-time and full-time employees
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market your services to bring in the business
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expand your offerings to offer complete party packages
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and much more
If you're a caterer, an event planning service is a great way to expand your existing business.
According to recent research, spending for special events in the United States is at least $800 billion annually. If you have imagination, are good with details and enjoy people, this guide could help you grab a piece of the pie.
This guide from Entrepreneur.com is necessary before diving into this home business venture.
Book Excerpt
Since you have opened the book to this page, you probably either have an event planning business or are considering starting one. In either case, read on as we take a general look at what event planners do and why they do it. Is event planning for you? We’ll cover that, too. Finally, this chapter provides an overview of the special events industry and a sampling of ideas for conducting your own market research.
QUESTIONS, ALWAYS QUESTIONS
We begin by considering the “who, what, when, where, why and how” of event planning (although not in that order). This discussion is introductory and general in nature. We will cover these “wh-” questions in more detail and with a different focus in Chapter 3.
What?
This question actually breaks down into two questions: What kinds of events are we talking about? What is event planning? First things first: What kinds of events are we talking about? Generally speaking, special events occur for the following purposes:
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Celebrations (fairs, parades, weddings, reunions, birthdays, anniversaries)
- Education (conferences, meetings, graduations)
- Promotions (product launches, political rallies, fashion shows)
- Commemorations (memorials, civic events)
The above list is not an exhaustive one, but as the examples illustrate, special events may be business related, purely social, or somewhere in between. The advice in this book is relevant to the planning of all these types of events. Note that we will not focus on any one particular type of event. However, Entrepreneur’s Start-Up Guide #1330, Wedding Consultant, covers wedding planning in detail.
Now we move to the second what question: What is event planning? Planners of an event may handle any or all of the following tasks related to that event:
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- Conduct research
- Create an event design
- Find a site
- Arrange for food, decor and entertainment
- Plan transportation to and from the event
- Send invitations to attendees
- Arrange any necessary accommodations for attendees
- Coordinate the activities of event personnel
- Supervise at the site
- Conduct evaluations of the event
How many of these activities your business engages in will depend on the size and type of a particular event, which will, in turn, depend on the specialization you choose. We will discuss all these tasks in Chapter 3. For details on specializing, see Chapter 2. For now, however, we continue on to the next question.
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This guide from Entrepreneur.com is necessary before diving into this home business venture.
Disclaimer: The information presented and opinions expressed herein are those of the authors
and do not necessarily represent the views of Work-at-Home-Business.com and/or its partners.
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