Getting my business off the ground

Hi All,

I could really do with some advice to do with my event planning business.

I recently started my own event planning business but keep loosing clients to people with more experience and qualifications.

I am considering gaining a qualification to make service more professional. One that i have seen on google is a distance learning course: www.inst.org/event/become.htm
do you think this will help win over more clients? Or do you know of any other courses?

Thanks for your help guys!

One should always continue to learn. I believe it would be wise to continue your education. Also I would suggest in doing some research as to why and how other businesses like yours have grown. Maybe their marketing skills are better.

Whatever you do don't give up!

I would suggest having them sighn a contract that they can back out of with in a weeks time or what ever you feel fit and then after that whether they use you or not you still get paid the agreed amount. People will end up staying with you and in the end you get the experience. Just a thought. Also send of a vibe saying "my time is important."

I have worked as an executive assistant to an event planner for 8 years.

It's always how you market yourself. One thing that I have learned from my employer...you must always give before you take. Give value, give service, give friendship then take criticism politely and dipllomatically. Oh and get a contract! Get a retainer or deposit that is non-refundable if they back out before a certain time. This can be the "point of no exit" like Mrs. Mel mentions

Doing some research on your competition is good too. Find out who they are, get on the net and research them. Are they on the net? Do they have a website? Do you? Are there any skills that you could use to write a report to help your clients? Build a list of clients, offer them recipes, useful reports and other free information then offer discounts or special savings on your services. A members-only rate.

Here's something that you could do now, today...Start researching what makes them choose a company. Create a list of 5-20 questions about what kinds of events they put on, what they look for in an event planner and what kinds of budgets they have. Then use their answers to drive your next marketing event. Build a relationship with them before they actually need you.

I also do internet marketing and here it's all about the list. Building a list of prospects entails following a process that could help in your case. What types of companies do you romance to gain these jobs? What sort of information do they want?

Know your target market, know what they want, what they like and don't like then give it to them. Does your experience and knowledge provide value to them?

I really dont have alot of money and i need contrats for my up and coming event planner business , does anyone know how i can get free contracts? Thanks !

I am a qualified Electrician and would like some advice of how to get my business going!how to advertise, in corp and anything else that would get me on my feet

Just a note on "courses" like the one referenced in the original post... such programs hold no professional value and are in fact scorned by professional planners for their "get rich quick" positioning, as they don't cover any of the real scope of work involved. If you're looking for serious certification, look at the Convention Industry Council's (www.conventionindustry.org) Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) designation or the International Special Events Society's (www.ises.com) Certified Special Events Professional (CSEP) designation. These programs are backed by professional meetings industry associations and involve study programs and qualification processes before you ever sit for the exams. They're both a lot of work and can be quite a challenge, but are worth tons more than the certificate mills and "be a glamorous event planner" books.

Just starting out in the event planning business try to find out how to set prices for different services offering.

I did something similar to what funds4rent suggested. I made up a questionnaire on small cards with my business card stapled to it and dropped it off at my vendors that I have on my vendor list every two weeks I picked them up and dropped them off new ones they can give to their clients while they wait for their appointments. On it I had an incentive for the customer to WANT to fill it out some runner up gifts for those who made appointments for a complimentary consultation, for those who signed and made the deposit they got the gift basket.

I hope this works for you as well as it did for me.

RUNRUN said: I really dont have alot of money and i need contrats for my up and coming event planner business , does anyone know how i can get free contracts? Thanks !

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