How to Become a Part Time Event Planner
Event planning is a rewarding career that can be done full time or part time. Just about every person and company you know will use the assistance of an event planner, be it a company about to launch a new product or a bride planning her wedding.
Some colleges offer event-planning certification, but if you've ever planned a celebration, you already have the skills necessary to be an event planner.
If you're creative, pay attention to details and can forge solid relationships with clients and vendors, event planning is a great career choice.
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Instructions
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Gain Experience and References
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List every party or event you've planned both at work and socially. Did you plan the company holiday party or your parents' 25th wedding anniversary? Perhaps you put together a fund-raiser for a local charity. You may find you have more experience than you thought.
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If you are light on experience, contact your children's school, local charities and churches. If they're doing a fund-raising event, volunteer to help. By volunteering, you will gain valuable experience and contacts---and you'll be helping out a good cause.
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Collect business cards from every vendor you work with and maintain a database of contacts. It's great to have a list of caterers, florists and decorators that you know and trust and that have worked with you already.
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Ask for letters of recommendation from everyone, past and present. This will demonstrate to prospective clients that your previous party-planning endeavors successfully met---or exceeded---expectations.
Start Your Event Planning Business
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Set up a free website or blog. Wordpress.com or Blogger.com offer free blogs, while webs.com offers free websites. Be sure to list your experience, events you specialize in (weddings, corporate functions, kiddie parties) and your contact information. Post lots of pictures from previous events.
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Create business cards. The cards can simply have your name, email address and phone number with the title "event planner". Hand them out to everyone you meet.
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Call your friends and contacts (old bosses, your doctor, lawyer, etc). Let them know you've started an event-planning business and would like to help plan any of their events, no matter how large or small.
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Place a free ad online on local community bulletin boards, like Craigslist.
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Make up flyers and post them on community bulletin boards, like supermarkets, schools and churches.
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Offer your services at a reduced rate or free for charities or non-profits in exchange for an ad in their event programs. Your amazing event will be seen by the people attending, who are all potential full-paying clients, and your ad will allow them to contact you.
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Become an "instant expert" in event planning by offering local radio stations and newspapers a weekly party-planning segment in exchange for advertising or a link to your website.
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Tips & Warnings
Make sure you draw up a contract for every event you plan, signed by you and the client. Have it state the date, time and location of the event and exactly what your duties are. State the fee (whether it's hourly or a set fee) and the payment terms (half in advance or payment in full upon signing the contract).
Make sure you have a cancellation policy in your contract. Many times a company will have budget constraints or a couple will call off a wedding, so make sure you have an iron-clad agreement and non-refundable deposit to protect you if the unfortunate happens.
Make sure the person signing the agreement has the authority to do so. Many times a secretary or receptionist is charged with arranging a party, but he or she doesn't have the authority to enter into an agreement on the company's behalf.
