How to Become an Event Planner?

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Event planning is a career that “follows you” in that it can adapt to whatever goals you have. It’s a profession that depends a lot on location as well as what specialty you want to focus on in your career. For example, there are generalist planners, meaning you are willing to help a client plan whatever he or she wants, and there are specialists who pick and choose what they do, whether it’s wedding receptions, corporate events, or sporting events. Specializing requires special experience and education, and a college degree is usually expected.

In our work as generalist planners, we notice that the competition is more intense since we’re covering a wide range of events, not a unique specialty that only one or two people in town can do. Weddings, fashion shows and corporate events are popular, as are celebrity parties and conferences, but impressing clients mean you have to possess a resume and keep a portfolio to show.

Some event planning leaders travel across state just to plan a general party. Others never leave their own backyard so to speak, but have good word of mouth going so people seek them out through referrals. A lot of money in event planning can be made in attending trade shows and conferences, since you can network with important people and do some research into the kind of business you want to run.

Researching the Industry

A college degree can go a long way in teaching you what to expect about planning an event financially and artistically. Sometimes though, experience is the best teacher. On the job training, such as an internship works best. Since you will be locating sites, communicating with caterers, and creating lists of attendees, a live experience managing an event can prepare you for the road ahead—and larger scale events.

The clients always expect you to research and “footwork” for the event. Planning, networking and coming up with technology appropriate for the client’s need is important. While you do have to draw your client out and get some answers, for the most part, the client does not have a lot of time or a lot of logistical ideas on what to create. This is why he or she is delegating the task to you. You’re the one that designs themes and put together events, from the beginning concept to the end logistical process.

Protecting Yourself

You do have to propose your idea for the event before the contract becomes official and this sometimes takes extra time, since clients expect photos, drawings, and ideas. This is why most of us charge a small fee for consulting because developing a proposal does take time and sometimes money. If you give ideas away for free, sometimes the client borrows them. That’s common sense.

The salary for event planners, based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics, counted over 94,000 jobs in 2012 and the field is still rising year to year. This is a good time to get into this profession.

If you have no experience in professional planning, which most students don’t straight out of high school (besides high school projects), setting your site on an associate’s degree and bachelor’s degree is the next logical step.