“I’m a team of one so I can’t take bigger clients.”
“I don’t have enough experience to start my own event planning business.”
“I’m not creative enough to be an event planner.”
“I can’t do it on my own”
Get Started In Event Planning
Do these thoughts ever run through your head when you’ve thought about how to get started in event planning or about your own event planning business?
It’s OK to be honest with yourself. You’re not alone.
On today’s episode of EventPlanning BlueprintTV, I’m talking to long-time event planner, Elisa Delgardio. Elisa has been in business since 1997 and for the majority of her career she’s been on her own. Otherwise, she had a small team to assist her.
How’d she do it on her own?
Watch as Elisa talks about:
- Where creativity comes from – Elisa’s a “think outside the box” kinda planner (0:49)
- How collaborating and working with other event professionals can give you tremendous insight into event planning (2:12)
- How to surround yourself with high quality people (8:06)
- Why Google can cause problems for you as an event planner (9:56)
- The benefits of choosing the right event planning accreditation (14:46)
I want to hear from you
In the comment box below, please share two things with us:
- What tips do you have on how to get started in event planning?
- Below is a ‘Get Into Action’ task – please share your results with us. The experience you’ll receive will be invaluable!
In the next 24hrs, find 5-10 event planning businesses, organizations or professional associations in your area. Make a list of the events they have coming up in the next 3-6 months and contact them to see if you can volunteer with them.
As always, thank you so much for reading, watching and sharing your knowledge!
P.S. If you found this post useful, please share it and spread the love!
If self-doubt is an ordinary part of every writer’s experience, then it must also exist within other professions, including event planning. You’ll never be without it. The question is, what can you learn from it? A writer famously claimed that “the worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt. Thank you for this informative video interview.
Great point, Jonathan. Thanks for sharing and for the quote!
I think it is important to have a passion for the process. Whether it is event planning or any other business, I find that the most successful people are grinders. They love their work and everything about the process; The challenges; the thinking and planning and the execution or rendering of services. For event planners, I’m sure they love to watch how the guests enjoy the fruits of their labor.
So true Gerald. Whenever you’re passionate about something, it doesn’t seem to matter how many hours you work because they fly by!
I like the name of Alyssa’s company. From the very mention of her company name, you can tell she does in fact have flare and creativity. I agree with what Alyssa said as far as staying privy of the latest trends. I think that is important not just to be knowledgeable, but the exposure to that information can also be inspirational. I am a believer that new ideas are inspired by studying the work of your contemporaries or competitors.
Couldn’t agree more about staying on top of the latest trends. Thanks for sharing Diana!
All I know is that worldwide, the special events industry is worth an estimated $500 billion, with profits continuing to rise. And by all accounts, this field seems vast and highly in-demand for professionals who plan social events for hotels, corporations, theme parks, cruise lines and non-profit organizations. Still, it’s not easy. Becoming certified as an event planner requires some creativity on your part since there are no statewide or nationally recognized certification programs in the United States. However, with personal initiative and advance planning, anyone who has the passion can become a certified event planner.
The passion and the time! Like Elisa said, it took her years to get her accreditations – but she did go after the best ones possibly.
Thanks for your comment, Mary!
I don’t think you can say you did it on your own if you are surrounding yourself with quality people, I have done some event planning and I have to admit I thought it would be easier to do it on my own but soon realized that I wouldn’t be able to get it done in time if I did. Thank you for your post that was very interesting and very helpful.
Event planning is a team sport 😉
I have been an event planner for quite some time now and I love parts of it but there are others that are still pretty difficult to do and I have learned from your post how to handle those things a little better I think, I will try it the next event I have coming up and let you know what I think but I’ll admit I have learned things from you I didn’t know.
Good luck and thanks for joining us!
Horace you are right I am in the same boat and I have learned a lot as well. The best thing I have learned though is to not try and do it myself all the time. The wedding planning is very difficult at times though because the brides can be very demanding of their day and things have to be just so. Keep posting about this though because I am sure I can learn more.
Melanie I did as you suggested and I shared this post with my friends because I loved it and I learned a lot. I was thinking about starting an event planning business with some friends of mine so I will make sure they follow your post for the surprise you are talking about as well. Thank you so much for your expertise in this field.
You’re welcome Timothy, and thanks for sharing the post. I’d encourage you to learn more about our how to start an event business course called Success Academy. Click here to learn more: http://eventplanningblueprint.com/successacademy