Behind the scenes of every event is an event manager. So what does it take to plan an event that will leave everyone talking about it for years to come? If you want to know where to start in your event management career, then read this article.
What Type of Events?
Before getting into the how of event planning, you’ll need to ask yourself an important question: what type of events would you like to plan? There are two different types of event planning to make your choice from: social and corporate.
Social Event Planning
Your social events include things like weddings, bar mitzvahs, birthdays, and reunions. To become a social event manager, you can either start your own business or work for an already established event planning company.
Corporate Event Planning
Corporate events, on the other hand, are things like awards, training seminars, retreats, meetings, or trade shows. Working for a non-event planning company is your best bet for getting started in this area of event planning. For example, planning events for HCP engagement is a type of non-event planning.
Education
Whether it’s a full-on degree in event management or online certification, educating yourself in your trade is a foundation that will set you up for success. Having credentials is a sure way to gain confidence from would-be employers and clients.
Getting Experience
Experience as an event manager comes in many forms. If you’re serious about becoming an event manager but have little to no experience, then consider getting hands-on event planning experience by volunteering to plan a friend’s wedding, birthday, or work fundraiser.
The 5 Ws of Event Management
Now that you have a good idea of what type of events you’d like to plan for and how to build experience planning, let’s take a look at where to start once you land your first event planning gig. You’re going to need to answer the 5 Ws of event planning.
Why?
Why are you hosting this event and what are you hoping to achieve with it? By answering this question first, the direction in which you’ll need to go will be clear.
Who?
Think of who your target audience is. Who do you want to come? By building your event around who you want to attend, your planning will have more focus.
What?
What is the event theme or topic? What are you going to convey to your audience with your event? You’ll need to make sure the what is of interest to your expected audience.
Where?
Now comes the logistical part. Where are you going to hold the event? Will the venue have enough space or amenities for what you’re planning, etc.?
When?
Consider if other major events are happening around the time you’re planning your event and schedule accordingly. Planning a work seminar on the same day as a national holiday will cause conflict.
Ready to Plan an Event?
As an event manager, you’re in charge of making sure everything about the event is on point. From the planning stage to the actual event happening, you will need effective communication skills and the ability to multi-task effectively. If event management sounds like something you’d enjoy then this guide is a good place to start. You can read more interesting articles in our blogs section!
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