Hi!
I am a fresh-out-of-high-school graduate, and will eventually start my own business as a Professional Event Coordinator. I am really dedicated to this — I have a book I have written over a month on my ideas, research, and even drawings of my future office building on both the interior and exterior. I even drew dozens of floral arrangements to scenery. I have done hours and months of research on this industry and I still don’t know where to start. My city isn’t informative in this business at all. Is there a way to get started! I’m dying here.
Mariah
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Mariah,
It sounds like you are probably in one of two stages:
1. You have done enough research to start looking for and trying to get your first clients. If that is the case, you should figure out which types of events you want to plan in your early stages and put together a list of clients you want to target. Then, it’s time to start making calls. I would suggest charging them very little over the hard costs of the event just to get some happy clients under your belt. You might consider doing some free work for small organizations to sharpen your skills before going after that client you really want.
2. Or, you are still in research mode and need even deeper insight into this business, beyond what you can get reading online. If that’s the case, I would start looking for 1 or 2 mentors who are already doing what you want to be doing. Since they probably won’t want to create a competitor in their local market, I would research small to mid-sized companies in other regions and reach out to them. Tell them you would love a chance to send them a few questions about how they got started.
(One small pointer: There were a few grammatical and spelling errors in your post. I would suggest writing all of your correspondence in Word prior to putting it into email or otherwise, so that it can suggest proper spelling and grammar for you. This will be particularly important when you are approaching important clients. I write hundreds of emails and always make sure I’m spell/grammar checking before I send anything to someone with whom I want to make a good impression.)
Let us know if you think this is the information you were looking for!
-Joey
Mariah,
I’m new to this site, just found it in fact. So, please, take my suggestions with a grain of salt.
Event coordinators are a dime a dozen; however, that doesn’t mean you can’t be successful. I believe you should start by specializing in a niche area ( or a select few ). While you shouldn’t turn away clients, specialization allows you to fine tune your skillset and advertise more efficiently to those particular clients. Afterall, if you searched the phone book to plan your wedding, you most likely would choose a wedding planner over a generic event coordinator. With that said, I agree with Joey’s first point.
Just be aware that event coordination can be extremely hectic and stressful. If you haven’t worked in the field previously, I suggest interning with local event coordinators or shadowing them temporarily.
Further, you might consider attending college for Event Planning/Coordination. Similar in breadth ( but not material ) to hotel management, you essentially obtain a business degree with event management specializations. While this isn’t necessary, having a business degree is better than having no degree at all.
Good Luck