Do you have fun putting together parties for your children, spouse, or friends? Do you find that your imagination seems to take over as you plan out details ranging from the theme and decor to the food and entertainment? Perhaps you’re so good at it that friends and family ask for your input when planning their own events? If you’ve answered yes to any of these questions, becoming a party planner might be a business opportunity of a lifetime.
Just imagine getting paid to help people celebrate milestones in their personal and professional lives. Though there’s a lot more to party planning than coming up with a theme or decorating the venue, it can be an experience unlike any other. The fact that you’ve already got plenty of experience under your belt makes it easier to get started. Before you start lining up customers, here are a few things you want to do to get your home-based party planning business up and running.
Business Structure and Registration
Before starting any business you want to decide on a name and business structure. Business structures are necessary for tax, fundraising, and personal liability. There are several structures to choose from including sole proprietorship, limited liability partnership, limited partnerships, limited liability companies, and corporations. Review each of these business structures to determine which is best suited for your party planning business.
After you’ve decided on the appropriate business structure for your party planning business, you’ll need to register your name. Registering is ideal to protect your name and company brand so that others aren’t able to start a company using the same name.
General Liability Insurance
Once your party planning business has been registered with your state, you want to take the proper steps to protect yourself. In the event planning industry, people are essentially relying on you to provide them with quality services that either meet or exceed their expectations. There is a lot of attention to detail involved and also a lot that could go wrong. Should a dissatisfied customer want to file a lawsuit, a general liability insurance policy protects you from having to pay for any awarded damages out of pocket.
Decide on a Target Audience
Now that all the logistics are out of the way, it’s time to dig deeper into starting your party planning business. As you’re already aware, there are lots of different types of parties. While you could eventually try your hand at all party types, it is best to start with a target audience. So, consider where your experience lies. Are you great at coming up with baby shower and gender reveal ideas? Do you prefer to do children’s parties? If you’re a fan of weddings you might consider doing engagement parties. There are also corporate parties and events to consider.
Create a Website
Word of mouth is still one of the most effective methods of marketing and building your business, however, having a digital footprint has also become essential. When consumers are looking for services, they often start off by asking others for referrals and then doing an online search. If they cannot find a website (or some other form of online presence), they may become skeptical of doing business with you.
Websites also serve as your digital business card providing online visitors with all the information they need from your services, rates, portfolio, and more. Therefore, you should invest substantially in creating a website that is not only aesthetically appealing but designed in a manner that makes it easy for potential clients to navigate and find the information they need to make an informed decision.
To increase website visibility, authority, and traffic, you should also include a blog. The blog should include tips, guides, advice, and information on the party planning industry. Whether it’s articles entitled what is a rainbow baby for clients interested in hosting a gender reveal party or a list of trends for engagement parties, the more content you add to your blog the higher your chances are of converting visitors to clients.
From birthday parties and baby showers to intimate family gatherings and corporate events, party planners are an essential resource that people often turn to to celebrate these moments in life. If you consider yourself to be creative, organized, sociable, and business savvy, starting a home-based party planning business could be your calling. Simply follow the above-mentioned steps to get started and then begin using marketing techniques to spread the word and build your brand.
