Business, Event Planning Tips, Your Event Career
4 SIGNS YOU’RE READY TO EXPAND YOUR EVENT PLANNING SERVICES
When you first started out as a professional event planner, you were on top of the world! You worked hard to build your business, attract clients, and plan gorgeous events. But are you starting to feel blasé about it all? Are you are at a loss for ways to breathe new life into your career?
If you find yourself flipping through travel magazines and daydreaming about what being a destination wedding planner would be like, now could very well be the time to branch out and expand your event planning services. Are you wondering about event logistics, how to build you event planning brand, or how other planners perfect their décor?
If you identify with any of the following signs, then consider it time to start thinking about expanding your event planning services!
1. You’re Getting Bored
Does event planning no longer inspire you the way it once did? Do you find yourself planning the same kind of event over and over again? Same theme, same colors, same style? Not too long ago, you were positively bouncing with energy on your way over to your very first meeting with potential clients. Now the latest event planning magazines don’t even tempt you.
While you still enjoy your chosen career, it probably seems more mundane now that you aren’t challenging yourself every day.
If you want to distinguish yourself as an event planner or you just want that thrill back, pursuing further education and expanding your event services might be ideal. Just imagine how exciting learning new event practices will be when you finally diversify your skillset.
2. You Can’t Give Clients What They Want
Above all else, you became an event planner because you want to make clients happy. Your event planning skills transform an ordinary day into a special occasion and it’s your planning that will make or break an event.
If you feel overwhelmed by different events that clients are approaching you with, it may be time for you to expand your event planning services. Stress is a healthy part of being an event planner—it means you care about doing a good job. But anxiety that stems from feeling unprepared to take on certain events is a major indicator that you need to regroup and branch out!
This is where it might be a good idea to do some cost-benefit analysis. If the cost of expanding your skillset outweighs the benefit (i.e. only a few clients a year will ask for a certain event service, and training is costly), then perhaps it’s not worth it. If you know that you can recoup training costs because you’ll definitely be able to sell those new services, then opt for additional event training.
Whatever the case, expanding your event planning services can make a big difference in how you develop client relations. Having the appropriate knowledge base will allow you to enjoy yourself again!
3. New Client Visits Have Slowed Down
Are you finding it hard to book new events? If it feels like you’ve exhausted your contacts but it’s been a while since you made it past that initial consultation, it could be because you need to expand your services.
Look at it this way—event planning is a huge industry, but it’s competitive. Clients want to work with a designer who keeps on top of changing demand. Knowing your trademark style is crucial but you should always be willing to evolve and update your services. Otherwise, clients are going to book with another event planner!
You may need to re-examine who you are as an event planner. No one can be an expert at everything! That’s why it’s important to narrow down what areas of the event planning industry you want to work in. However, narrowing your niche doesn’t meant limiting it! Once you know where your talents lie, you can figure out exactly who your target clients are, what they want, and want you have to deliver in order to become a competitive event planner.
4. You Love to Learn!
Still thrilled by your career? Do you wake up every morning delighted that you get to plan events for a living? Continue to grow as an event planner by adding to your expertise. The most successful event planners tend to repeat an important point: don’t allow yourself to fall into a creative rut.
Even if you are booking new clients, and these clients are leaving satisfied, staying current with the latest industry trends is part of what a competent event planner does. Some individuals do have a true passion for learning itself—and this is such a wonderful aptitude for event planners to have.
Not only can you go above and beyond to wow your next client, the excitement and fulfillment that comes with being a leader in event planning is a feeling that’s tough to beat. However, keep in mind that pacing is everything. Set up attainable learning objectives! Take the time to truly master each event service you branch into. Even if you’re working on building your initial client base, there is never a wrong time to consider all avenues of opportunity. A special workshop or a part-time event planning course will keep things fresh, and who knows where it will take you in the future.
