Home Businesses on a Tight Budget - Part 5

Part 5 of our series highlights a sector that has been one of the most talked about home business in the past few years. It has always existed but it became a little more popular in the last decade or so. It's one of the easiest sectors to start off in because its a very well known service area. So you really don't have to explain what you do! Here's what I am talking about........


Wedding/Event Planning

Now I know that there was a deluge of people entering the event planning arena but it's only a good idea if you really have a passion for seeing events come to life and going the extra mile to make them memorable. Many would-be planners may enter the events management arena but only the very strong and talented survive. 

Weddings have taken on a whole new identity in the past decade, with more and more couples willing to spend a bit more for the 'wow' factor. Some other couples just want to enjoy the experience without the headaches as the pressures of existing in our current generation with our jet-setting careers and other responsibilities don't help much. Pulling off a fun, themed wedding would be a nightmare to put together and they would rather have it at the bottom of their to-do list so they can honestly walk into the marriage and keep their sanity. 

Image: digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

In addition, many more people are taking a bit longer to get hitched and may have a little more cash to spend towards wedding costs. This is good news for the prospective planner but this is not to say that jobs are going to fall on your lap. It is an extremely competitive market and professional planners are always upping the ante to keep up. It's fast-paced, exciting and a really good sector to explore for the creative and very imaginative mind. 

There are two possible ways to break into the market. You can either work with an existing well established planning company to start with or just strike out on your own and work hard on building your portfolio of clients from scratch. Most events happen on weekends so this home business can be handled almost without issues while engaged in a full time job. I remember Funke Bucknor (Now Funke Bucknor-Obruthe) planning a family member's wedding a long while ago and still managing a career in communications till she was ready to go it alone. I was shocked a few years later when she said it was one of the first weddings she had handled because she took it on like a pro! She has never looked back since. 

From research, personal observations and interviews with those in the events management industry, I gathered some useful tips. 

• There are many event planning courses that are run on a regular basis. It would be great to do a local search for possible options in your area. Aside courses, there is loads of free information online that are invaluable resources when starting out. 

• Client meetings can be held anywhere, at the couple's home, the bride's office, over lunch, over the phone or via email. Most times, the first meeting is the most important as this is where the concepts and budgets are discussed. Usually if all the questions are ironed out at the beginning, there would only be need for feedback and progress reports (unless of course you have a Bridezilla on your hands, in which case....I wish you luck!)

Image: Matt Banks / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

• If you cant take criticism, biting remarks and being screamed on once in a while, you might want to rethink this line of business. Tough skin is needed in abundance, reason being that these events have a lot of emotional sentiments attached to them. If you don't get it right, you will definitely know about it. Keep an open mind but be prepared for anything! (including rainstorms!)

• Thinking on your feet should be like second nature because those answers had better come out when pensive family members are asking you why the tents were not draped in the exact shade of aquamarine blue!

• In summary, you need all the information you can get to be relevant in this industry. Visibility is key and every planner worth their salt would tell you that referrals are the way to grow in this business. You want to keep as active as possible because you are only as good as your last event. Try to network as much as you can with professionals in this area and make an effort to get in touch with a mentor. You will be better off leveraging on the experiences of others. There's no point making the same mistakes if you don't really have to.

I found this feature on Funke and her thriving events management business really useful and it would bring a few of the points mentioned earlier a bit closer home...Enjoy!