Jemmy the Event Guru

06/05/2023

Ramp up your marketing efforts

Finding your niche in the events industry will also make your marketing easier. All of your emails, social media posts, and other marketing efforts can be centered around your niche. This will give your customers a better idea of the expert services you can offer. When your company specializes in a certain type of event, you will be more able to go after your target audience, because you’ll know more about their demographics and interests

06/05/2023

. Find out which event types bring in the most revenue

Do you know what event types are bringing in the most revenue for your business? When you use an event management software, like Tripleseat, you can use reports to analyze where your revenue is coming from. This allows for more transparency into your program. Once you determine the top revenue-boosting event types, you can figure out if these events are the ones you want to specialize in.

06/05/2023

Seek out an untapped market

Sometimes, the easiest way to break away from the competition is to do something that no one else is doing. Think outside the box when it comes to the event types your venue would consider hosting.
Are there any gaps in the industry that aren’t being filled by local businesses around you? You could market your venue as a co-working space for freelancers or self-employed individuals to get some work done. Or maybe it’s the perfect place to host a themed party (murder mystery or masquerade gala, anyone?).

06/05/2023

1. Determine the needs of your local customers

Where your restaurant, brewery, or event venue is located is important when it comes to figuring out the needs of your local market. You want to make sure that there is a demand in your area for the types of events you want to host.
If you live in a tech hub that hosts a lot of conferences and employee meetings (like Lusaka, Livingston, Ndola and kitwe), you may want to target and center more promotions on corporate events. Is your space located in an upscale area that draws a lot of inquiries for large parties? Consider catering to these types of events.
If you aren’t sure what event needs are in your market, ask vendors that you have relationships with. They may be able to tell you where most of their business originates and what events they work the most.

06/05/2023

The events industry is competitive. It can be hard to stand out among the slew of restaurants and venues hosting events. One way to differentiate yourself from the competition is to find your niche. And there are so many options to choose from: corporate events, weddings, birthdays, catering, and the list goes on.

Specializing in a few types of events makes your job easier. It will also allow you to become an expert in your field faster

04/02/2023

4. Have your elevator speech ready.

After I set up my first events business, I had a hard time selling it to people because my 30-second pitch wasn’t refined. Make sure to spend time developing this ” it is the key to introducing everyone to your business.
Pro tip: Don’t stress about the name of your event planning business. At the end of the day, the name of your business doesn’t matter ” as long as you produce truly memorable events. However, a catchy event business name idea might stick in someone’s brain better during an elevator pitch.

04/02/2023

5. Do your market research

Before jumping, in I always tell people to understand their market and competitors. What is your unique value proposition? Are your fees similar to, better than or higher than others in your area? Understanding your competition and your clients will give you the leg up in this market. Don’t skip this step!

03/02/2023

3. Clearly define your scope of work, mission and goalsfor your event business.

Your event planning business may evolve over time, but even when you’re just starting out, it’s important to clearly outline what you are and aren’t willing to do. You can even put this on your website to attract the right type of clients.
When you’re still building your business, saying “no” to clients is one of the hardest things to do. But it might save you from dealing with the kinds of customers that take up too much time and don’t offer enough value in return.

03/02/2023

2. Set a marketing budget and use a PR company when possible.

When starting your party planning business, your marketing budget may be 30% or more of your business expenses. Does that seem like a lot? Think about all the things you’ll need:

A website for your business

Business cards

Flyers and other printed info

Digital marketing and online ads

Expenses to travel to events for networking

Don’t leave anything out! You will need to spend money to make money, ultimately. The goal in the early months is to secure your base of customers as quickly as possible. If you deliver on the promise of creating memorable events, your clients will stick around and recommend you. As a result, your marketing costs will start to drop.

03/02/2023

Here’s How to Start an Event Planning Business

1. Build a solid business plan

I can’t tell you how many small event planning businesses fail because the founder didn’t put together a business plan in advance.
Start by researching successful plans and businesses that are similar to your scope of work. Then reach out to others in the events industry who may be able to guide you!

02/02/2023

There are a lot of things to consider when starting an event planning business. To help you figure out how to start your business, I wanted to share a few key pieces that were vital to me when I was researching and starting a successful event business!

02/02/2023

10. OFFER INCENTIVES

Be sure to include some incentives for those who arrive early or purchase early. People generally love incentives and will probably enjoy your event even more. Offer prizes and giveaways as well to get your attendees excited.

02/02/2023

9. SELECT A GREAT CATERING SERVICE

It’s very important to do your due diligence and make sure you select a great catering service. Often, you get what you pay for so don’t shop only on price. Food can make or break your event so this needs to be a priority when planning your event. Check out the local services around you to see what they have to offer and don’t make a quick decision. Test out their food and make sure you are comfortable with the staff that will be available on the day of the event. You don’t want any surprises.

02/02/2023

8. GIVE IT YOUR BEST

Don’t put your feet up just yet. Planning the event is the easy part, but making sure that everything goes like clockwork is the hardest part. Be sure to check out how things are going from time to time. If you see anything that might get out of hand, act on it before it is too late.

02/02/2023

7. CREATE A PROMOTIONAL CLIP

In order to make the event more inviting, you should definitely try and create a promotional clip. And, to make it look even more professional, you should hire a studio to do the job for you. If you are on a low budget, you can try creating your own promotional material. Just remember to bring along a professional camera.

31/01/2023

6. USE SOCIAL MEDIA

You should take full advantage of technology and social media in event planning. As baffling as it might seem at first, social media can really help you promote your event faster than any other means. Before jumping the social media wagon though, keep in mind that your event has a specific target audience and you should use only appropriate social media channels. For example, if you’re throwing a corporate event, it would be a good idea to use Facebook, instead of Instagram or Snapchat.

31/01/2023

5. FIND SPONSORS

Ideally, an event can be planned without the need of outside support. But, in real life, you’re going to need a lot of support from people who actually have money in order to get things started. How do you encourage outside sponsors to invest in your event? By telling them how you are going to pay for the event. If you come up with an accurate profit plan, like how much income you’ll get from selling tickets, they’ll be more impressed and more willing to invest in your event than by showing them just an overview. Also, make sure you share with them how many people are likely to attend and the target audience so they can visualize the event and the success of their brand if they sponsor the event.

30/01/2023

4. KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR BUDGET

Pay close attention to your budget when planning your event. Even if you have a large budget, you should not jump the wagon to buy a bunch of stuff. You may need that money to cover certain things, like a band or extra menus. Emergencies can always come up last minute so make sure you have some cash handy. Moreover, don’t go out there thinking that you can’t do anything on a tight budget, because no matter how small or big your budget is, there is always a solution. You just have to be creative.

30/01/2023

3. FLEXIBILITY SPELLS SUCCESS

Perhaps one of the most painful lessons learned by amateur event planners is the need to become very flexible. Keep in mind that planning an event is part art and part science, meaning that if you go out there expecting things to go exactly according to your plan, you and your guests are going to have a rough time. Be flexible when it comes to selecting the location, hiring a structure, the menus, the band, and everything needed to get your gig up and running.

30/01/2023

2. LOOK OUT FOR MAJOR HOLIDAYS

When planning your event, make sure that you don’t schedule it close to an important holiday like Easter or Christmas. If you do this, the chances are that you are going to end up with a lot of empty seats and a lighter wallet. In order to make sure that your target audience attends your own event, check to see if there are other popular events going on at the same time. You don’t want them to have to decide between your event and another event.

29/01/2023

10 ESSENTIAL TIPS FOR A BEGINNER EVENT PLANNER

1. KNOW WHO YOUR CLIENT IS

The first step to becoming an event planning wizard is to get to know your clients. This is a critical aspect of the job because all your preparations must be done according to your target audience. For example, if you’re planning a corporate party, it may be fine to introduce a moderate drinking or networking game to get things going, but you should probably refrain from this when planning a wedding.

29/01/2023

Thinking of starting your own Events business my page will be a right place to start with free insights. Like and share

Welcome to Event Planning 101, where the sun always shines, and nothing can go terribly wrong. There’s nothing that tough about being an event planner. You just have to plan and design an event from scratch, right? A piece of cake.

Wrong.

A beginner event planner envisions an ideal event, where everything goes as planned while a pro event planner knows that no matter how well you planned ahead there’s always going to be something that goes wrong.

The success of a great event planner is about knowing what to do when things begin to get out of hand. In other words, a great event planner will always be calm and collected, regardless of the circumstances. Don’t know a thing about event planning? Here’re a few tips to get you started.

29/01/2023

Welcome to Event Planning 101, where the sun always shines, and nothing can go terribly wrong. There’s nothing that tough about being an event planner. You just have to plan and design an event from scratch, right? A piece of cake.

Wrong.

A beginner event planner envisions an ideal event, where everything goes as planned while a pro event planner knows that no matter how well you planned ahead there’s always going to be something that goes wrong.

The success of a great event planner is about knowing what to do when things begin to get out of hand. In other words, a great event planner will always be calm and collected, regardless of the circumstances. Don’t know a thing about event planning? Here’re a few tips to get you started.