You like parties. Why should you not become an event planner?
Organizing large gatherings is not as easy as it sounds. An event or a party has so many different moving parts, and keeping everything working as intended is challenging. However, there are a few people who do it naturally. When a crisis arises, they can immediately respond and find a solution.
These are event planners. They are a wiz when it comes to throwing parties. If you want to become one, here are some of the duties and responsibilities that will fall on your lap.
Talk to a Lot of People
If you are an introvert who is not comfortable with speaking to numerous strangers all day, this is not the job for you. As an event planner, it is part of your job to sit down with clients to figure out what they want, negotiate with catering services and venues, etc.
You need strong listening, speaking, and writing skills to be able to communicate with all kinds of people from all sorts of backgrounds without a problem. Depending on your niche, you may need to meet with stakeholders of popular companies or a young couple about to get married.
Regardless, if you want to become an event planner, you should be ready to face many people.
Plan Details and Manage Budget
An event planner, you mostly will handle the logistics part which, for many people, is the difficult part. You will find that trying to reconcile the schedule and preferences of multiple different people is a nightmare.
Organization skills is a must for this line of work. You would not survive if you are the kind of person to forget appointments and be late to meetings. You need to have everything, down to the smallest of details, figured out or else the whole party might fall apart.
You would not want, for example, to forget to contact an important speaker and get a confirmation of their attendance a few days before the event. You may end up not having a guest speaker on the day of the event. You also have to take care of entertainment, transportation, lodging, gift bags if needed.
Respond to a Crisis Fast
What if the host you hired did not show up? What if one or several of your guests could not eat the food you are serving due to dietary restrictions? The work of an event planner does not end when the contracts have been signed.
During the event, you have to be present not to have fun but to monitor and make sure that everything is going as planned. As an event planner, you rarely can enjoy the event that you organized. Often, people will call your attention to make a decision and solve an ongoing crisis.
You need to be able to anticipate any issues that may arise before and during the event. You need to have a Plan B in place to be able to respond to a problem immediately. If something that you are unable to foresee happens, you need to be able to come up with a solution on the spot.
Event planning is not easy, but it is rewarding to see your clients happy. It is a job that will challenge you, keep you on your toes, and excite you. If you think event planning is the right career path for you, go ahead and start organizing your first big party.
