Start An Event Planning Business - Business Ideas

Updated: September 15th, 2022
Start An Event Planning Business

Please note that the data provided in this article are estimates and may vary depending on various factors, and should not be considered as perfect or definitive.

Event planners handle different tasks related to making the business a success. Some of the event planner’s responsibilities include:

  • Conducting research
  • Creating the event design
  • Finding an ideal site
  • Arranging for food, décor, and entertainment
  • Planning logistics to and from the event
  • Sending invitations
  • Supervising at the site etc

To start this business on a budget, begin by honing your organizational and communication skills.

Next, create a detailed business plan outlining your services, target market, and pricing structure.

Utilize free or low-cost online tools for marketing, and consider starting small by offering services for smaller events before expanding your business as you gain experience and resources.

Starting an event planning business requires a great deal of effort, dedication, and most importantly passion.

If you're interested in how to sell event planning, or selling event planning online, you can use this page as a guide for everything you'll need to know.

Key Stats

revenue (monthly)
$92.5K
starting costs
$14.3K
gross margin
32%
avg product price
$650
time to build
240 days
growth
SEO
business model
Subscriptions
time investment
Full time

Startup Costs

Min Startup Costs Max Startup Costs

Office Space Expenses

$0

$7,000

Employee & Freelancer Expenses

$151

$352

Website Costs

$223

$7,215

Business Formation Fees

$600

$4,700

Equipment & Supply Expenses

$66

$700

Software Expenses

$162

$3,094

Advertising & Marketing Costs

$75

$5,286

Total Startup Costs

$1,277

$28,347

Successful Businesses

Business URL Rank

Ticket Tailor

tickettailor.com

53,977

Event Manager Blog

eventmanagerblog.com

61,381

Caterease

caterease.com

398,754

Event Industry News

eventindustrynews.com

525,029

Best Event Management Software

eventdex.com

804,863

eventplanner.net

eventplanner.net

908,990

Evenesis

evenesis.com

1,096,449

Grenadine Event Management Software

grenadine.co

1,111,471

EventPlanning.com

eventplanning.com

1,329,872

Eventstant

eventstant.com

1,521,893

Welcome To Eventure

event-ure.com

1,703,365

Pros & Cons

Pros Description

Flexibility

You can put as much time into the business as you'd like. If you like the work and have some initial experience, you can start small and manage all aspects of the business on your own.

Meaningful business connections

You never know who you will meet as a event planning business. This could be the start of an incredible business opportunity!

Pick & choose the clients you work with

Event Planning Businesses have the ability to choose the clients they work with. You have the freedom to work with only a few loyal clients or with hundreds of clients!

Gain exposure and experience

This career allows you to gain experience working for multiple different businesses - which will benefit your resume and also keep things interesting for you!

Unlimited income potential

With starting an event planning business there is no cap as to how much income you can make. The stronger your business skills and the more energy/time you put into your career, the more you'll make.

Daily physical activity

Event Planning Business's typically involve a much greater degree of movement than other lines of work. Most days, you will spend your day walking, running errands for your business, and performing a multitude of tasks. This can have a positive impact on energy levels and your overall health.

Cons Description

Motivation of employees

If you plan to have a sales/content team on board, finding creative ways to motivate them can be a challenge. It's important that you're able to offer great incentives and a good work environment for your employees.

Longer Sales Process

A event planning business can be a big time and money investment for your customer, so it's important you plan and predict a longer conversion funnel and stay in communication with potential customers.

Low margins

The gross margins for your event planning business are typically around 32%, which can make it more challenging to incur new expenses and maintain profitability.

Niche Market

A niche business is not necessarily a bad thing, in fact, it can be the key to your success. However, it can be more challenging and time consuming to find the perfect niche market and target audience.

Churn

In this business, customers can cancel their membership or subscription for your services - which can make revenue forecasting challenging and unpredictable. It's important to focus on your churn rates and trends so that you can prevent this as much as possible.

Time commitment

With starting an event planning business, all responsibilities and decisions are in your hands. Although this is not necessarily a negative thing, work life can take over at times. This can place a strain on friends and family and add to the pressure of launching a new business.

Marketing Ideas

  • 1

    Affiliate Program

    Affiliate marketing is a great way to bring in a new revenue stream, especially when you don't sell products or services.

    Simply put, an affiliate program is an agreement where a business pays another business or influencer ("the affiliate") a commission for sending traffic and/or sales their way.

    The affiliate typically gets a unique link where clicks and conversions can be tracked.

    Learn more about affiliate program ➜

  • 2

    Direct Sales

    Direct sales strategy implies a direct contact between a seller and a consumer without the involvement of any third party. Direct selling is popular in sectors where sellers communicate with their clientele personally. The sales technique occurs at non-store locations which include at home, work, or online.

    For direct selling to succeed, hire a few (or many) salespeople to support the sales conversion process. It's critical that you assign them specific roles and responsibilities to nurture the client and provide excellent support.

    Learn more about direct sales ➜

  • 3

    Word of mouth

    Word of mouth is when a consumers reflects their interest in a company’s product or service in their daily dialogues.

    Therefore, word of mouth advertising is essentially a free advertising triggered by the customers experience.

    According to Nielsen, 92% of people trust recommendations from friends and family.

    Therefore, in today’s hyper-connected world, a single recommendation through a word of mouth can have a huge impact to your business.

    Learn more about word of mouth ➜