The weather’s getting colder in Canada (and for the rest of you in the Northern Hemisphere). Stores are starting their big sales and you can already find TV channels changing their programming to Christmas movies. Yup, the holidays are quickly approaching and for event planners that means it’s party planning season! Parties are my favorite events to plan!
This is the perfect time to build momentum for your event planning business. Regardless of whether you’re new to this industry or you’re already well established, the holidays offer many ways to strengthen your reputation and showcase your talents. It’s also the perfect time of year to gain new clients.
Ways To Showcase Your Talents
One great way to network and find potential clients is to plan your own holiday parties. Hosting a party for your friends will also let them see how you work and what you can offer to any future events they may have coming up.
Encourage your friends to bring guests and that will give you even more opportunity to gain new clients. Not only will you be able to show off your own style and talent, it will be a great way to catch up with your friends to celebrate the holidays. Make it fun and entertaining and let your creative flair shine.
3 Ways To Get New Party Planning Business
Hosting a holiday party for your family is a great way to celebrate and reel in new business because your family can be a fantastic resource to help you find new clients. There are so many ways to host a party for your family, even on a tight budget. Try a potluck, for example, where everyone brings a dish to the party. Make your event special and your family will remember and appreciate the time you spent planning it. And it doesn’t hurt to remind them that you’re an event planner who can throw a memorable party. In an earlier video, remember how Ciara mentioned that she tells EVERYONE she knows about her event planning business ?
Well, you never know who Cousin Joe knows at work that needs a corporate event planned or if Aunt Susan has a friend who’s popping the question over the holidays and will need someone to plan the wedding. Don’t forget the holiday office parties. Research has shown that office holiday parties are on the rise as employers are once again offering this event for their employees. The office party isn’t necessarily the gala affair it was in the past but the potential is there to gain new clients who may need your services for other type of events they are planning in the future. These parties also give you the potential of getting referrals down the road. Themes of holiday office parties vary and range from informal luncheons to nighttime soirees, so there’s a lot of potential and room for growth within this niche of event planning. Celebrate during this wonderful time of year but don’t slack off either. The holidays present many opportunities to boost your event planning business and turn a profit that can lead to many more event planning jobs in 2014 and beyond. Happy Party Planning!
I would say the opening line of this article is quite an understatement. It was more than likely written at the start of this winter. I’m sure by now everyone Is aware that this has been one of the coldest winters on record. In fact, as I write this, I’m watching an NFL playoff game which is being played at Green Bay and the weather is a frozen tundra of football players trying to stay warm.
Back up plans are a must! Enjoy the game!
I do a lot of party planning for my job as the event coordinator at our church so this information is going to help me a great deal. Thank you for the ideas on getting networked and using my talents, you did a great job putting this all together and I hope you will post more in the very near future. I look forward o following your posts so keep up the good work.
It’s my pleasure, I’m glad you’re getting so much out of the info. Thanks Jim!
I love throwing big parties and having a bunch of cool stuff that you wouldn’t see anywhere else. This was a great post on using your talents as a party person to throw the best parties and I will use this advice. Thank you for the work you put into this most people don’t think it is a job to throw a party but I can tell you it is.
It definitely is work – and a lot of it. Thanks Michael!
Planning a party can be a grueling task if you don’t know how many people are going to be there etc. I have a party coming up that I am supposed to plan and we are supposed to have pizza and desert and things and I have no idea how many people will be there to order the pizza for it. What would you suggest in this case?
I think it is a great idea to throw an event of your own. There is no better way to show off your creativity and organizational skills than to have an event planned right down to the most minute detail. The more attention that goes into the little details, the more impressive and fun the event will turn out. You can even network and make each of the fancy details a conversation topic and a chance to recruit clients.
It is true that you never know how you’ll meet your next client, unless you are actively networking and showing people that you are active in organizing events. You can’t get the business unless you ask for the commitment. In sales, which is an aspect of running your own event planning business, closers are those who ask the prospects for a buying decision. Event planning is not me forte, but every business has to be sales driven.
Whether it’s the company’s annual party, a product launch, or a fund-raising gala, planning a major event is a daunting task. I am thankful for sites like this that offer interesting tips – not just creative event dcor tips, but also business marketing suggestions that can help you break into this field. Having consumed several books on the topic, this blog is an easy to read and useful with good facts, lists, and questions to ask.
sometimes the advice you should take will vary based on the type of party or theme of the article being written (stress-free, on a budget, new trends, etc), but there are a few tips that are applicable no matter what type of party you’re planning. These fundamental tips are good for anyone looking to promote their event planning business. I think it’s a good idea to host events as a way to showcase your talents.
I think most persons will agree that the holiday season presents no shortage of opportunities to promote yourself as an event planner by organizing say, the company Christmas party or some other more personal event. But it becomes more challenging after the holidays. This is when you can look at this challenge as an opportunity show off your ingenuity. So look at those challenges as opportunities to prove you are especially creative.