Do you find yourself deeply involved in organizing family events, birthday parties, bake sales or even the office Christmas Party? Are you creative? Have an eye for details? Can you juggle a lot of things at once and keep them all straight? You may be suited for a career as an Event Planner.
An Event Planner is someone who organizes an event. It can be a bridal shower, wedding, a formal dinner even a festival. The good news is that the job doesn’t require formal training or education. What you do have to have is creativity, natural talent, organization skills and the determination to succeed. You also have to be able to sell yourself because you are your business. Here’s some pointers and ideas on how to start.
- Learn everything about what an event planner does. You can read books on the subject. Do research online. Figure what type of event or events you’re good at organizing. Try volunteering to work with an event planner on a local event through your community. Talk to working event planners and see what areas interest you and what is expected of you on the job. Having experience in marketing, accounting, management and sales is also a big help.
- Calculate your startup costs. Study the market and your competition. Look into the financial and legal aspects of starting your own business. Figure out the cost of the essential equipment you’ll need, for example: cell phone, lap top, business cards, and newspapers. You also need a good all purpose organizer to keep everything flowing smoothly. You will also need liability insurance.
- Gathering clients through social and corporate networking. Join clubs and organizations and socialize as much as possible. Visit your local Chamber of Commerce to find contacts in the business world. Develop a website with a full list of content of what you offer. Link your website to all your emails. All of your invoices, emails, business cards and correspondence need to have your company logo on it. Promote yourself for free through seminars and newspapers. Market yourself as a business person at all times. Get comfortable with talking about what you do to everyone you meet and pass out those business cards!
- Interviewing with a prospective client. Okay, so a prospective client wants to meet with you, what’s the first step? Dress professionally as well as with creativity. You are selling yourself as well as your talent. Be enthusiastic and confident. Have a portfolio with pictures of your work to show what you can do for your client’s events. Have letters of recommendation from previous clients or from volunteer work to show your client. Be articulate, enthusiastic, confident and relax and just be yourself!
As you can see, if you have the energy, drive and ambition, as well as the creativity, you can become a Event Planner too. All you need is to do it!
By Linda Lee Ruzicka
Linda Lee Ruzicka lives in the mountains of Western PA , happily married and lives with her 8 cats and three dogs. She has been published in Twilight Times, Dark Krypt, Fables, Writing Village, June Cotner anthology, The Grit, Reminisce , the book, Haunted Encounters: Friends and Family. She also does freelances work for Beyond and for Salesheads. More of her blogs can be found at Salesheads blog.
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