Info on what step to take to start a party planner company?

Answer 1

Associations may be a good avenue to explore. These organizations will address many of the thoughts, questions and concerns you'll inevitably have as well as many you haven't anticipated yet. See the source box for some relevant links.

Research, research, research – this cannot be stressed enough. Read as much as you can about the industry. Here are some book titles that are relevant:

* How to Start a Home-Based Event Planning Business by Jill Moran
* Start Your Own Event Planning Business: Your Step by Step Guide to Success by Krista Turner
* The Essential Event Planning Kit by Godfrey Harris
* Start & Run an Event-Planning Business by Cindy Lemaire

I also posted links to some free articles in the source box.

Hope that helps! I wish you much success & happiness in all your ventures!

Answer 2

Any advice would have to be tailored to your specific business plan, but here's some general ideas:

1. Write a business plan. Even if you think your business will be simple and easy, write a plan. This will force you to look at every aspect of your business, every detail, and see if it's something you really want to do. Check here for sample plans:

http://sbinfocanada.about.com/cs/businessplans/a/bizplanwhy.htm?terms=business+plans

2. Determine you business Entity: You'll have to decide type of company you're going to be: Sole Proprietor, LLC, etc. Go here for more info:

http://www.corporate.com/entity-comparison.jsp

3. Licensing: Contact your state's licensing department (usually the Secretary of State's Office) about getting your business license. They'll direct you in going about to get one.

4. Get a Tax ID: The type of business entity you decide to create will determine whether or not you need to get an EIN. If you operate as a Sole Proprietor you'll be able to use your SS# as your Tax ID. Any other type will require an EIN. GO here for futher info:

http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=102767,00.html

5. Marketing / Advertising: Once you've established yourself legally, you have to concentrate on creating and maintaing business. There are quite a few ways you can go. If you have experience in this particular field and already have a client base, then you're a step ahead! If not, read on...

- Start with friends and family. Assist family and friends with any events they have; kid's birthdays, dinner parties, adult birthdays, baby showers, etc. Treat them as clients and gain the experience of working with different people.

- Network: Join your local Chamber of Commerce. This is a must. It's great (low cost) way to get your name out there to local businesses in town!
Different networking opportunities; Realtors (when they throw and Open House on a new property), Catering Companies (most only provide food for functions, not event planning), Entertainers (DJ's, clowns, etc they may already have client lists)

-Determine a target audience: Do you want to do mainly kids parties? Baby Showers? Weddings and wedding parties? People hire event planners (better term than "party planne") based on reputation. Would you hire someone who's known for throwing kids birthday's to do your wedding? Or would you hire a wedding planner?

- Reasearch: I was a Banquet Manager for a large hotel chain years back and I was given a study guide on Kosher Weddings when I was hired. It was a surprise because I had never thought of that, but we ended up having quite a few clients requiring specific dietary needs. Also, if you do children's birthday parties, do reasearch on allergies.

6. Web Presence: Even if you do local events within your town/city, a website is a valuable tool. As an event planner, you won't necessarily need a "brick and mortar" storefront, so your website becomes your storefront. It provides a source of information about you and your company, outlines the resources you can provide, and serves as a valuable overall marketing tool.

A good place to start when starting a small business is an organization called SCORE. They're an organization of retired professionals from all industries. The sole purpose of SCORE is to assist small business in getting off the ground.

Click here for their website: http://www.score.org/

You can enter your zipcode to find the office nearest you.

Feel free to drop me a line if you'd like any further info!

Hope this helps!