Business, Education, General Tips, Your Event Career
6 Reasons Why Event Planning Certificate Programs Will Help You Find Success!
If you’re reading this article, it’s likely because you dream of launching a successful career in event and/or wedding planning. Well, guess what? You’ve come to the right place! I’m about to tell you the SECRET for success, right here and now. Are you ready? Okay, here it is… If you truly want a thriving, long-term career, all you need to know is 4 little words: event planning certificate programs!
“Really? THAT’S the secret?” you may be thinking.
Well, obviously a successful career will require more than just this. But essentially, yes – the single smartest way to begin your career, and give it a solid shot at lifelong success, is to get professionally trained and certified first.
3 Reasons Why You NEED to Take Event Planning Certificate Programs
Let’s just say that you’re brand-new to the world of professional planning. Chances are, you might not have even known that certification training was a thing. Well, it’s true! Technically, one can work as an event planner without a reputable designation under their belt. But one quick Google search will reveal that the truly successful planners out there have all completed some sort of event planning certificate program.
Now, maybe you’re wondering why this is the case. After all, if professional training isn’t required, why do the best of the best all have it? Here are just 3 quick reasons:
1 – Credibility
The easiest way to understand credibility is to ask yourself: if YOU wanted to hire someone to plan one of the most important days of your life, would you prefer to pay someone with NO professional training or credentials? Or would you prefer to pay someone who’s put in the time, money, and dedication to earn their stripes in this industry?
I think we all know what the answer to this question is.
Your clients are going to want to know that you’re legit – especially if they’re paying you a pretty penny. When you have a reputable certification from an accredited learning institution, such as QC Event School, you’re assuring them right from the get-go that you’re the real deal! You care so much about your craft that you spent your very own time and money to truly become the best of the best. As far as first impressions go, taking event planning certificate programs and having impressive credentials to your name is pretty much the strongest first impression you can make!
2 – A Competitive Edge
Remember when I mentioned that one can work as an event planner, even without an event planning certification? Well, this means that there may be some local competitors in your area who fall into this category! What does this mean for you?
You’ve basically got a leg-up on them!
Of course, there may be seasoned experts who’ve managed to build a lucrative career on skill and in-field experience alone. We’re not trying to knock the credibility or skills of such individuals. However, we ARE saying that if a prospective client has the choice between two up-and-comers – you, with your professional training background, and other person without this key asset – you’re probably going to land that booking.
Not to mention, the more event planning certificate programs you complete, the more you can then BUILD upon your qualifications! This means you can:
- Give your business a unique (and even rare) niche;
- Raise the price of your services with each additional certificate/certification;
- Attract a larger clientele;
- Strengthen your existing skill-set;
- And so much more!
3 – Foundational Knowledge
Being an event planner is a LOT more than simply putting together your client’s celebration. You’re going to need to possess a myriad of other abilities, such as:
- Budgeting knowledge
- Time-management skills
- Team management skills
- Vendor/supplier insight
- Multi-tasking skills
- Event decor knowledge
- Proficiency in coordination and design
- Customer service expertise
- Networking skills
- Business comprehension
- Etc.
For most, these critical skills are learned, not inherently known. If you’ve never worked in the event planning industry before, and especially if you’re starting a business for the very first time, there’s no two ways about it: you NEED to take event planning certificate programs. You need professional training. Otherwise, you’ll be doing your career a massive disservice, and your chances of long-term success will be slim.
3 Other Reasons Why Event Planning Certificate Programs Will Make You Successful
Of course, there are a LOT of additional ways in which proper training will benefit your career and help you to achieve your goals…
1 – You’ll learn how to network!
In this type of industry, who you know is nearly just as important as what you know. After all, it takes a team to put together a truly successful event! Alongside you, this team can consist of a(n):
- Event decorator
- Makeup artist
- Hair stylist
- Photographer
- Videographer
- Production team
- Musician/DJ/Performer
- Floral designer
- Rental business
- Caterer/Baker/Bartender
- Venue/Venue coordinator
- Sponsor
- Etc.
When you first begin your career, you probably won’t have any industry connections. Thus, it’ll be integral to your success that you learn how to make these connections! Event planning certificate programs will teach you everything you need to know about networking, so you can begin forging lasting, professional relationships!
2 – Event planning certificate programs will arm you with business knowledge!
It’s one thing to know how to be an event planner – but it’s a whole other thing to know how to be an event planner who runs their very own business. As an entrepreneur, you’ll need to understand what it takes to operate a profitable business for the long term. This means knowing the overhead costs involved, investing and budgeting your money, and the legal steps required to get your company off the ground (such as registering your business name). Moreover, you’ll also need to know how to market and promote your business so it gets seen. Plus, none of this will matter for much if you don’t understand how to obtain and retain clients, or connect/work with vendors. So, you’ll need to know this, too!
This is where event planning certificate programs are extra beneficial! When looking into different schools and certification courses, make sure to find something that includes business training as part of their curriculum. Trust us: you’ll be glad you did this!
Pro Tip: QC Event School’s self-paced, online certification programs offer an optional Business Unit at the end of each course. While you have the choice of whether or not you wish to complete it, we STRONGLY recommend that you do! After all, it’s already included in your training – so why not take full advantage of it?
3 – You’ll work through countless case scenario assignments, which will arm you for the real world!
One of the main criteria you should be looking for in event planning certificate programs is some sort of training that will prepare you for the working world. I mean, how useful is your “training” if it only consists of multiple choice quizzes? Once you begin booking real clients, you’ll quickly discover that there’s a lot to this career that can’t be covered in a textbook. As such, the only way your certificate program can get you ready for the industry is to give you real-world ideas of what to expect.
No, your assignments may not ask you to actually plan a party, a wedding, or any real-life event. However, there is much you can learn from scenario-based assignments. In such assignments, you’ll be given a bevvy of different clients with different wants, needs, expectations, and limitations. You’ll be challenged to imagine what you’d do if you were working with each client in the real world, and then graded by your tutor based on how you think you’d respond.
Personally, I love this method of learning, because it puts you into the shoes of a real-world planner – without the pressure of handling an actual event. This way, you get to refine your etiquette, approach, and problem-solving skills BEFORE applying them to a paying client. By the time you graduate and enter the working world, you’ll have a solid foundation to build your career off of… and importantly, you won’t feel like a fish out of water.
Instead, you’ll be ready for anything and everything that comes your way!
Thanks for writing this!! It’s very informative!! I’m so glad I’m working on my courses!!