The Secret to Starting a Party Planning Business

Starting a party planning business from scratch need not be difficult. If you think about it, there are no technical skills involved, and everything depends on your resourcefulness and common sense. No, you don't need to have a marketing degree or the business acumen of a capitalist. You simply need a vision, the sincerity to help out and the determination to face challenges head on.

What is your vision?

When you think of the "typical" party planner, what comes to mind? Do you see a bubbly, extroverted individual wearing a trendy outfit and amazing potential clients with her dazzling smile and presentation skills? Do you see a phone-wielding guy in a home office with neat folders all around him? Our notion of how a party planner should dress and act reflects the nature of the party planning business we are putting up.

The secret to a successful party planning business is this: Know Your Key to the Industry.

You need to get real with yourself, and determine which part of the whole process you excel in. When you have identified your main strength, you can build your party planning business around it!

You can start your self-analysis by going back to your childhood days. If you're like most people, you probably have lingering memories of putting up your own soda store (or play store) with your friends, manning it and feeling so darned accomplished at the end of the day. Party planning works like your first childhood business venture. You had a concept, you had a product or a service to sell, you had a staff, and you had to split the responsibilities amongst yourselves.

Now, which part of the lemonade business did you excel in? Were you the one smiling in front of the store calling out to people? Were you the one who determined how the lemonade should taste?

If you study the background of the successful party entrepreneurs, you will realize that they started out in a tiny corner of the party planning scene. Those who knew how to cook became food caterers. Those with people skills became the public relations consultants or event hosts. Those who owned spacious backyards became the venue providers. Those who had artistic talent became the vendors of party supplies, the table skirters and the photographers.

The party industry opens its doors to people who are willing to contribute something and continue learning. When you learn the ropes, you will also be able to pinpoint your weaknesses, and the aspects of party planning that you need to spend on. An introverted budget allocation genius may not be the best event host, but he can always hire someone else to do the hosting for him. His strength is in budgeting, which is also an important need in this industry.

When you know exactly what you can contribute to your own party planning community, you are one step closer to being the well-rounded party planner you have always envisioned. Keep your eyes open and observe how people go about their business. Truly successful party entrepreneurs are not shy about their ignorance. They will keep on learning and growing, and having a lot of fun in the process.