3 Skills That Most Business Owners Overlook
You’re an event planner and you’re great at what you do. You know all the ins and outs of what goes into creating a successful event, but when it comes to the business side you’re struggling. Don’t worry – this is common! Luckily for you, business skills are something you can learn.
As an event planner, a lot of the skills you use to plan events are the same skills needed to start and grow your business. The only difference is that you’ll be using these skills in a different setting and for a different purpose.
Keep reading to discover some of these skills that most business owners overlook!
Networking
Networking is an event planner’s greatest tool. You understand the importance of establishing and growing relationships. You’re close with many of the vendors that help bring your events to life. Some of your most frequently used catering services and entertainers even offer you discounts in return for all of the business you bring them. Maybe you make these relationships naturally. Whether or not you realize it, it’s a skill!
There are certain characteristics you possess that help you network successfully. You can’t be scared to reach out to people and you have to know how to show them value. As an event planner you reach out on behalf of your clients, but as a business owner you’ll be reaching out to pursue your own vision and goals. Instead of looking for vendors, you’ll be looking for partnerships that can help bring you more clients. You’ll need to be able to show how you can offer you potential partner value so that the relationship is mutually beneficial. The idea here is that you both work to bring each other more business!
Creativity
Running a business can be stressful. You’re constantly looking to minimize your costs and maximize revenue. Don’t get us wrong staying on budget is important, but constantly crunching numbers can draw your attention away from the bigger picture. In today’s world, internet access is so readily available and nearly everyone has a phone or a computer, or both – unlimited options for whatever they may need. This means that differentiating yourself from the competition is harder than ever before.
This is where creativity comes into play. Marketing your business means constantly finding new ways to show potential clients why they should choose you. Even more, it can mean finding new places to market your services. If you’re not on social media, then where have you been? Social media is easily the most popular marketing tool right now. And if you just need the basics then even better, it’s free!
However, it’s not enough to just be on social media. Creating a brand and an online presence that speaks to and attracts the kind of client you’re looking for can be more difficult than you think. Your posts not only need to be appealing, they should also be consistent with your brand and engaging to your audience. Hopefully, as an event planner, you’ll have a lot of material to work with from the many events you plan. Now you just need to find a creative way to present the information!
Leadership
You may not think of yourself as a leader, but if you’ve done your fair share of event planning then you’re probably more of a leader than you think. Day-of-event coordinating is the perfect example of this. You’re in charge. There are so many different vendors showing upbringing in all sorts of different things – décor, food, entertainment, music, and so much more. It’s up to you to tell them where to go and what to do, and even more, to make sure it all gets done right and on schedule! If that isn’t leadership, then we don’t know what is.
As a business owner, you’ll need these same skills when it comes to managing your employees. You probably know this already, but we can’t emphasize it enough: communication is key! It’s vital that you are able to communicate your vision when it comes to how you want your company to be presented to the public. You also have to make sure everybody understands the level of quality and service you want to maintain. Without this shared understanding you’ll find your employees confused about what they should be doing. Even worse, potential clients even more confused about why they should choose you. Inconsistent quality and poor service is the fastest way to lose control of your business!
As a leader, you also need to be able to motivate people in times of despair and keep a calm demeanor in times of chaos. Trust us, this is no easy feat. And nobody knows this more than even planners. If you’ve ever coordinated a wedding, then you’re well aware of just how many things could possibly go wrong. At times, it’s up to you to keep someone’s big day from turning into a complete disaster. The bride gets a wine stain on her white gown, or the DJ cancels last minute, and let’s not forget about rain at an outdoor venue! These are just a few of the nearly endless possibilities of things that could go wrong.
If you’ve been there before, then managing a business is much the same. Maybe you lose a big client, or one of your employees has been slacking on their responsibilities. No need to panic. Simply use the same skills you would when handling any other disaster. Trust us, leadership is in you!
