Are you thinking of starting or expanding an Event Planning business? Well, if you have what it takes to properly plan and manage an event, you can certainly grasp the opportunity and jump into this field. Before you move on to starting or expanding this venture, you need to prepare a comprehensive event planning business plan which will establish the basis of your company’s future operations and decisions. Additionally, it will enable you to acquire finances to get the business running or meet your growth prospects, increasing your chance of success.
Overview of a Business Plan
A winning business plan provides a roadmap for your business to achieve the set goals and objectives. To have a clear path in achieving a successful business or capture the attention of your prospective lender or investor, you need to comprehensively describe the eight crucial components of an event planning business plan. This should not worry you as we are going to discuss each of the components as listed below.
- Executive Summary
- Introduction
- Business and Industry Overview
- Market Analysis and Strategy
- Risk and Significant Opportunities
- Location and Assets
- Management and Human Resource
- Financial Plan
The Executive Summary
The executive summary provides an introduction to your event planning business by summarizing each of the important sections discussed in the entire plan. The goal is to quickly engage the reader. Make it precise and clear pointing out the important facts. The aspects to include in the executive summary are a brief overview of your event planning business, objectives, products and services, target market, and your unique selling proposition. Also, provide an overview of your marketing strategy and plan, identify the key members of your team, and offer a snapshot of your financial plan.
Introduction
Begin by describing what your company does. It would be important to point out the market segment you are serving this can be:
- Corporate Events (Planning fundraisers, receptions, conventions, trade shows, competitions, award ceremonies, product launches, etc.)
- Social Events (targeting middle to upper-income earners to plan birthdays, reunions, and other types of celebrations)
- Specializing in a particular niche of event planning i.e., sports, tourism, etc
Once you have pointed out exactly what you are going to do, give a brief history of the company, the vision and the mission statement, core values that are the foundation of your business operations, and the company’s strategic objectives. Wrap up this section by clearly highlighting the everyday short-term processes and the long-term goals of the event planning business, the growth prospects and strategies, and the organizational structure.
Business Industry and Overview
This section begins by providing a vivid description of your products and services. Having pointed out the exact events you will be planning, list down the specific products/services you will be offering. For instance, in addition to designing the event, locating the venue, arranging vendors, coordinating personnel, and supervising the event, mention other services that you plan to offer such as catering, decor, and entertainment.
Proceed by describing the nature of your business, the nature of the industry (size, life cycle, the potential for growth, etc.), major players, and the industry trends. Important to mention is the factors affecting the success of the business demographically, economically, socially, culturally, legally, and politically. As you discuss each of the factors point out how your business will make the most from the opportunities. Also, have mitigation plans for the impacts not favoring your business. Complete the section by stating the government and any regulatory agencies that impact the operation of your business.
Market Analysis and Marketing Strategy
Show the investor or lender that you have done thorough market research in this section pointing out the unique selling proposition that will give your event planning business a competitive edge. This can be done by doing a competitive analysis of other businesses offering similar services within your area of operation and pointing out how you will meet the gaps. Your competitive advantage could be in line with your location, product/service features, pricing strategy, advertising strategy, or market segment/ customers.
Finally discuss how you will aggressively introduce your brand into the market, attract and retain customers. Some of the marketing channels you may consider include social media marketing, advertising in local papers and magazines, reaching out through company websites and blogs, issuing out business cards, referral cards, and flyers, partnerships with local organizations (e.g., getting on the list of recommended vendors with local venues), local radio advertising and banner ads at local venues.
Risk and Significant Opportunities
This section basically discusses the SWOT analysis of your event planning business. Identify the strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats immanent to your business, and the response plan. Key points you can mention under strengths could be highly skilled and experienced staff, excellent customer service, established clients, etc. A major weakness could be penetrating an already saturated market. Opportunities and threats are external factors, and they could be identified through industry analysis.
Location and Assets
State the location you intend to have your physical premise highlighting whether you will be renting, leasing, or buying the space. Point out the economical, demographic, and general factors making the place lucrative for your event planning business. Among the important factors to consider include rent expense, accessibility, visibility, business taxation, target market, and social amenities. For a startup, you may also consider having a lean business model by commencing your operations from your home office to cut leasing costs. If this is the case, discuss how you will connect with your clients and effectively offer your services. To wind up, mention the furniture, fixtures, and equipment you need to get your business running.
Management and Human Resource
Here, demonstrate you have a strong management team with whom you share purpose and goals to see the event planning business to success. Highlight your key players’ backgrounds, emphasizing those skills and experiences that prove their ability to grow a company. You could point out every employee’s role according to the experience and expertise. For instance, you can include who is responsible for onboarding clients, who is responsible for overlooking the preparations of the event, who is responsible for budgeting, and who is responsible for marketing. You can then address your planned compensation packages and benefits for your employees.
Sometimes you may be starting small as a sole proprietor. Mention this if it is the case and how effectively you will manage the operations. You could talk about how you will solely organize small events or have associates to help you plan and coordinate for bigger events or events that you do not have the expertise in.
Financial Plan
Investors/lenders pay close attention to this section. Make sure to clearly document your financial plan including your 3 to 5-year financial statements, broken out both monthly or quarterly for the first year and then annually. The key financial documents to include are your income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statements. You could capture the expenses you would incur while starting your firm and organizing your first event, and the sources you have for funding the same. You can also include the profit forecast as well as what amount of profits your company needs to make to survive and thrive in the market. Remember to attach your full financial projections in the appendix of your plan along with any supporting documents that make your plan more compelling. The financial plan can be used to project how profitable your business will be if you are not using the business plan to acquire funding.
Conclusion
In conclusion, an event planning business can thrive if you work according to a proper business plan. Additionally, a well-written plan would not only enable you to acquire funding but also guide you to stick to your initial goals and plans. To enable you to effectively capture all the elements of your business in the plan, we at Vaisus, offer professional services to not only create a comprehensive and customized event planning business plan but also one that is funding ready. You can either use it for acquiring funds or generally as a roadmap for achieving your goals. Schedule an appointment with us to speak to one of our consultants today!
Photo credit: Pixabay on Pexels
