General Tips, Your Event Career
How to Become Certified as an Event Planner as a Stay-at-Home Mom
Whoever says being a stay-at-home-mom (SAHM) isn’t a full-time job deserves to be locked in a room with an active toddler for 10 hours per day, until they beg your forgiveness. That said, being a stay-at-home mom doesn’t have to be your whole identity! You’re still a person with dreams and life goals. If one of those goals is to become a certified event planner, you can totally do it!
They key is simply to plan accordingly.
Look for Online Training
Event planning schools come in all shapes and sizes. Having kids to look after and a home to run all day long means you probably aren’t in a position to attend an in-person, brick-and-mortar event planning school. That’s okay, though! The great news is, you can get an excellent event planning education through online learning!
When selecting your event planner training, look for a school that:
- Offers 100% flexible studies. Some online schools still operate on strict schedules and deadlines. You want a program that allows you to work at your OWN pace!
- Is accredited and reputable. Of course, some online programs will only be interested in taking your money. Find an institution that offers a legit event planning certification.
- Proudly showcases its students and graduates. Schools should be happy to share success stories from students who were in your shoes once. Look for a school who’s trained stay-at-home moms in the past!
Schedule Accordingly
If you’re a stay-at-home mom, you probably already live off a very carefully crafted schedule. That’s actually a great skill that will serve you well once you’ve become an event planner! For now, be realistic in how many hours you can dedicate to becoming an event planner, and adjust your schedule accordingly.
During your training, even scheduling one or two hours per week to complete your event planning course is all you need. If you can stick to such a schedule, you can become a certified event planner in as little as 3-4 months!
Of course, once you’re ready to launch your event planning business, you’ll need to dedicate more time to make that happen. The great news is, event planning can easily be a part-time venture that generates a good income! Setting aside 5-10 hours per week should be more than sufficient to get your business off the ground. You can work on your business plan, website, and marketing materials at any time during the day (or night, when the kiddos are sleeping).
But remember that client consults and other meetings with outside vendors will require some weekday availability on your part. Not to mention, you’ll be expected to actually be present during the event itself, which very well might be during the daytime. You’ll need to secure some kind of childcare solution for these occasions.
Manage Priorities
Your family will always be your top priority. That’s totally fair! So, you’ll need to decide where becoming a certified event planner lands on your priority spectrum as a whole.
Be honest with yourself about this! Is your goal eventually to be a full-time event planner, once your kids are in school full-time? Do you want to run a part-time event planning business that focuses on smaller, private events?
Whatever your goals are, be sure they align with the other priorities in your life. If you intend on remaining a stay-at-home-mom full-time until your kids are 18, you probably won’t be able to become a wedding planner with dozens of clients per year! That being said, you could still have a small wedding planning business that caters to one or two clients at a time. Our point is, you have plenty of options to choose from!
