7 Things to Know Before Starting a Home-Based Event Planning Business

Are you looking for a career change? Maybe you’ve reached a point in life where you need something new. Possibly, like so many, you have found yourself out of work due to the global pandemic. Perhaps it’s not really a change in career at all, but you are simply looking to branch out on your own. Whatever the reason, if you enjoy throwing parties, starting an event planning business out of your home could be the perfect change.

This may not seem like the best time to get into event planning since events are quite limited these days. However, you may find that the opposite is true. Many event planning businesses have had to close during the pandemic. While there may not be many events going on now, once restrictions begin to lift, people will be eager to kick off all of those delayed celebrations. You may find that the need for event planners has never been higher.

New Businesses Are Often Difficult to Get Off the Ground

It’s important to remember that starting a business comes with a lot of risks. Roughly 20% of all new businesses fail within the first two years. One of the main reasons for this failure rate has to do with overhead costs being too high in the early days before you have had the chance to build up your business. Restaurants are a prime example that contributes highly to this failure rate. Approximately 60% of all new restaurants fail within the first year.

Keeping overhead costs low is important. That is one reason why starting a business from home can lead to a much higher chance of success. When you don’t have to spend money on office space, you have a much higher chance of not burning through all of your starting capital before your business begins to turn a profit. In fact, if you have a dedicated room in your home for a home office, you may be able to get a tax break and save money.

Unfortunately for restaurants, starting their business from home is not really an option, so this will always be a high-risk venture. Starting a home-based event planning business, on the other hand, is a perfect track to take.

Working from Home Doesn’t Mean Watching Netflix All Day

Working from home can be great and offer many benefits, but it is also not for everyone. You have to have a certain level of self-discipline to work from home all the time. It can be very difficult for some people to separate the work from the home. If you are able to dedicate a room in your home to your business, it can go a long way in helping you to set boundaries between your two lives.

When you are working, it is important to not get caught up in the everyday behaviors of daily living. Dedicate your working hours solely to your business. The opposite is true as well. When you finish work for the day, you need to put it away. It’s very easy to bring your work home with you when it is already there. Working during your downtime can lead to burnout.

You Need to Have a Clear Business Plan

The quickest way to a failed business is by having no clear plan for how your new enterprise will function. If this is the first time you have started a business, you probably don’t know how a business plan should look. You can find plenty of examples and templates online to give you a starting point and consulting with others in the industry is always a good move.

For those hoping to secure funding from an investor (unless it’s a family member), you won’t have a chance of getting a dime without presenting your potential investor with a business plan in which they can believe. Depending on your family, you might not have any luck there either without a solid plan.

Word of Mouth Takes Time

You may think that all you need to do to get your event planning company going is to get one client and throw one great event, then your services will be requested by all. Not only is this unlikely, but even if it works out, you will still need to have the resources to turn that desire for your services into actual paid gigs.

You need to market your business properly, which may involve hiring a PR company if doing so is within your budget. It is essential to have a strong online presence for your business. Online ads can go a long way if handled correctly.

Even if you feel strongly that word of mouth will be enough to build your business, you still need things like business cards and an appealing website for your company. Without these things, your potential clients likely won’t end up hiring you. Either because they forget who you are or because they like to know who they are hiring and can’t find useful information about your business.

Insurance Is Important

One way that a promising event planning business can fail is through failure to secure event insurance. Most venues will require anyone holding an event to get event insurance. That way, the venue will not be held accountable for any potential mishaps that may occur. As an event planner, it is important both for protecting yourself and your client to make sure you purchase event planning insurance. You should also have paperwork with any vendors you hire that waives you of responsibility for any accidents caused by their operations.

Talking to an insurance company to get an event insurance price quote can be a great idea even before you actually have your first client. That way, you can get an idea of how much insurance will cost you and can factor it into your pricing structure for a client. Getting a quote for a few different types of events of varying sizes can be quite beneficial.

Knowing the Market Is Key

When entering any industry, it is crucial to know about the competition and discover what unique value you can bring that might not be available from anyone else. You also need to be aware of general pricing charged by your future competitors. This knowledge can help ensure that you don’t price yourself out of the market or sell yourself short.

You Can’t Forget About the Business Side of Your Business

While you are focusing on creating the perfect company, you can’t forget that a business comes with a lot of bureaucracy. While you may love event planning and know everything there is to know about it, you may not know the first thing about the different types of businesses and how to legally set one up along with the tax laws to which it will be subject.

Consult online resources, business building books, a friend with a background in business, or take a business course at your local community college. All of these options can help to make sure you have the less thrilling side of your event planning business under control as well.

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