You’ve sat on the sidelines long enough. The dream of becoming an event planning professional is coming together as you take steps toward realizing your career vision. You’ve planned and scratched notes for yourself – it’s time to make it official. You’re ready to start your own event-planning business and step into the exciting realm of social events, corporate events, or weddings.
So, congratulations! And to help you and all the other aspiring event entrepreneurs out there, we’ve put together a great checklist to ensure you have a successful launch. Use this roster of to-do’s as your guide and make 2024 your year as an official event planning business!
Double-Check Your Operational Housekeeping Basics
Don’t take any official steps to launch your event planning business without first double-checking and buttoning up your housekeeping basics. Operationally, you’ll want to verify that you have all the required structural and permitting in place. Make your business official on paper and online first, with a quick review of all the must-haves prior to launch.
- Event planning business legal structure and entity
- Business permits and licensing
- Insurance coverage and COI docs
- Invoicing and accounting software
- Event planning business website
Get Your Marketing Strategy Ready
Marketing your new event planning business may be one of the biggest challenges. With so many channels and costs, it’s hard to know how to break into the space and create marketing buzz. But if you spend time developing a strategy that speaks to your event planning niche, you can be successful. Do the work first to establish your brand and core offering. And choose those channels and messaging that speak to your target audience.
- Set up online business profiles.
- Establish your event niche and target audience.
- Define your business brand, tone, and style.
- Build a library of images, videos, and graphics.
- Join community networks and directories.
Assemble All Your Tools and Resources
Don’t recreate the wheel with every new event. Take the time now to outline your event planning process and to-do lists. Create working templates for yourself that you can customize for each customer. And identify every potential operational resource to save you time and money.
- Choose event planning scheduler software.
- Create event planning process checklists.
- Assemble teams of virtual assistants.
- Know what mobile app tools you’ll use.
- Determine sales and CRM tools for outreach.
Create a Plan for Strategic Partnerships
Today’s event planning landscape is truly collaborative. When launching your new business, create a plan for connecting with colleagues and look to form partnerships. You’ll also want to start curating a trusted list of event vendors, including venues, caterers, florists, and entertainment. Consider developing a strategy for introducing yourself and promoting your new business immediately to anyone in the community.
- Connect and introduce yourself to event vendors.
- Ask colleagues for event partner recommendations.
- Outline your networking schedule by quarter.
- Develop a strategy for landing event sponsors.
- Organize a referral marketing initiative.
Become a High-Profile Exhibitor at The Event Planner Expo 2024
One of the biggest opportunities you have in 2024 as a brand-new event planner is at The Event Planner Expo. This is the premier conference for the events and hospitality industry, taking place in New York City. With thousands of top events industry professionals and decision-makers in attendance, this is one room you HAVE to be in come October. And to really fast-track your earning potential, sign up now to become a high-value exhibitor on the trade show floor at The Expo. It’s your chance to align with other well-known brands and showcase your event services to a captive audience of decision-makers looking to make purchasing decisions on the spot!
- Showcase your new business to thousands!
- Meet more decision-makers in one day than you can all year!
- Secure leads and close new clients on the spot!
- Associate your brand with hundreds of TOP event services!
- Find new vendors and form strategic partnerships!
Congratulations on taking the next step to launch your event planning business! Keep this checklist handy as you proceed. And make sure you secure your space as an exhibitor at The Event Planner Expo 2024! It’s going to be a BIG year for you – and we’re excited to welcome you to The Expo!
