6 Event Planning Business Success Stories [2023]

6 Event Planning Business Success Stories [2023]
Start An Event Planning Business

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

The events industry has grown enormously in the past year. According to research, consumers’ appetite for outdoor events is rising and will not slow anytime soon. Therefore, setting up an outdoor event planning and management company can be lucrative.

Here are some real life success stories of starting a event planning business:

1. Simply Decor and Events ($420K/year)

Akshay Patel (from Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA) started Simply Decor and Events ago.

Revenue
$35K / month
Team
1 founders / 2 employees

Case Study

Hello, I am Akshay Patel from Albuquerque, NM the land of enchantment. I started an event rental and decor company that led me to an event venue. The View Event Center is a lavish space that is an indoor and outdoor event venue with panoramic city views. Our high-end venue with experienced staff will assist from venue decor to the smallest details entailed in making memories of a lifetime. Simply Decor, Tents, and Events ensures exclusive decor and thrives to bring your event to life through customized, elegant decor for all of their clients.

The full-service company will individually work with every client to design their event that will intrigue every eye in the room. Our company is broad that we get many different types of customers and we make many great connections with them as well. The company was making upwards of $380,000 a year.

how-i-started-a-35k-month-event-decor-business

2. Interactive Entertainment Group ($4.8M/year)

Gregg Dukofsky (from Hauppauge, NY, USA) started Interactive Entertainment Group over 34 years ago.

Revenue
$400K / month
Team
1 founders / 12 employees

Case Study

I am Gregg Dukofsky and I’m the visionary and founder at Interactive Entertainment Group, an event production company. I started my business in 1988 with one idea, and since then have grown my business to include hundreds of unique products ranging from sports simulators to virtual reality to giant games. Some of our most popular offerings include a Giant Human Claw, Augmented Reality Gaming Wall, Virtual Graffiti Wall, VR Soar, and Urban Hoops.

In 2008 when the stock market crashed, disposable income became significantly limited. To recession-proof my business, my team pivoted to focus on corporate events rather than private ones. More specifically, the bulk of my business transitioned to activations involving team building, product launches, experiential marketing, trade show traffic building, brand initiatives, and holiday parties. To paint a picture of our growth, we have ranked in Inc. 5000s fastest-growing private companies three years in a row in 2018, 2019, and 2020.

how-i-started-an-award-winning-event-production-company

Learn more about starting an event planning business:

Where to start?

-> How much does it cost to start an event planning business?
-> Pros and cons of an event planning business

Need inspiration?

-> Examples of established event planning business
-> Marketing ideas for an event planning business
-> Event planning business names
-> Event planning business Instagram bios

Other resources

-> Event planning business tips
-> Email templates for an event planning business
-> Blog post ideas for an event planning business
-> Event planning business quotes

4. Mystery ($1.8M/year)

Shane Kovalsky (from Seattle, WA, USA) started Mystery about 4 years ago.

Revenue
$150K / month
Team
4 founders / 16 employees

Case Study

Hey! I’m Shane Kovalsky, Co-Founder of Mystery, an experiences platform that brings surprise and delight to the workplace.

WTF does that mean? Well, right now it means B2B virtual events and corporate gifting. The catch is that—outside of the organizers—users don’t know what they’re getting into until it happens. And people love it: We’ve engaged with more than 20,000 users in just over 2 years.

successfully-pivoting-from-surprise-event-planning-to-b2b-events-and-corporate-gifting

5. Entire Productions ($1.3M/year)

Natasha Miller (from San Francisco, California, USA) started Entire Productions about 22 years ago.

Revenue
$108K / month
Team
1 founders / 6 employees
Location
San Francisco, California, USA

Case Study

I’m Natasha Miller- raised in Des Moines, Iowa but high-tailed it out of there as soon as I could at the age of 23. I thought I’d be a performer only - a classical violinist and jazz vocalist, but as it turns out those careers might have been the catalyst for where I am today.

  • Inc. 5,000 Fastest Growing Companies in America
  • Entrepreneur Magazine 360 List “Best Entrepreneurial Companies in America”
  • San Francisco Business Times Fast 100 “Fastest Growing Companies in the San Francisco Bay Area”
  • Special Event Top 50 Event Planners in the World

how-natasha-miller-started-a-4m-event-management-company

Pat Walls,  Founder of Starter Story
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