If you’ve been thinking of how to start your own event management business, here are 9 profitable event management business ideas to get you started with little capital. You can even do some of these businesses from the comfort of your home if you prefer to work from home.
So, this is the right place to be;
- If you’ve always wanted to start an event management business but have no idea where or how to start.
- Also, if you love organizing parties and making people’s lives memorable.
- If you’ve always wanted to own a business but don’t know which business to start.
Overall, this article covers in-depth details on the 9 most profitable event management business ideas and what you need to start.
Consequently, answering all your questions and making you certain of all the right steps you need to take.
Without wasting much of your time, let’s get started.
Table of Contents
Event Management Business Ideas – An Overview Of The Event Management Industry
First, let’s explore what event management is.
Put simply, event management is the act of planning and coordinating the different aspects of an event.
However, as simple as this may sound, there are several nitty-gritty details involved that make it more than just the act of planning an event.
It encompasses all activities from the planning phase to the actual date of the event up until the end.
Next, a brief look into the industry.
The event management industry is quite large as it cuts across all aspects of society.
It all started in the 19th century but became popular in the 20th century.
And since then, it has constantly evolved into an important and profitable industry.
Specifically, research reveals that the events management industry market size was valued at USD 886.99 Billion in 2020.
Even more, it is expected to reach USD 2,194.40 Billion by 2028, with an accumulated annual growth rate of 13.48% from 2021 to 2028.
This implies that the events management industry provides us with the opportunity for potentially profitable business ventures.
As a result, any business venture into this industry will likely be profitable, provided you go about it the right way.
More on this shortly.
First, let’s examine other benefits of the industry.
Benefits Of The Event Management Industry- Event Management Business Ideas
Why event management business?
Well, here are some answers to your questions.
Massive Earning Potentials
The earning potential in the event management business is quite high.
A report published on indeed.com reveals the average salary of an event planner to be $19.63 per hour in California and $3,300 profit sharing per year.
Similarly, a study conducted by Goldblatt into the industry and published on entrepreneur.com reveals the profit margin of this industry to be as high as 40%.
Judging from the numbers, the income potential for this industry is high.
As such, you stand a higher chance of making profits from this business in the shortest time possible, all things being equal.
Networking Opportunities
Another massive benefit of event management business is that it gives you networking opportunities.
Entering this industry will allow you to work with different people from all walks of life.
Depending on how you properly execute projects, this could lead to long-lasting connections and relationships.
Consequently, helping you build meaningful social relationships.
Vast Field To Allow You To Explore Different Interests
The event management industry is also considerably large.
There are many different aspects to event management.
Hence, you can easily pick one or a few subsects of event management to focus on for your business.
It Builds Your Creative Skills
You’ll have to do a lot of creative work when organizing events.
As such, having to do creative works over time will, in turn, enhance your creative skills.
It Builds Up Other Skills
You’ll also pick up other valuable skills in the course of handling event management projects.
For instance, you’ll develop leadership and people management skills when you work with other service providers in the course of managing and organizing an event.
Likewise, you’ll also pick up time planning and management skills in the course of handling projects.
Overall, these skills will not only help you execute your duties as an event manager effectively, but they will also be helpful to you in other walks of life.
It Eliminates The Boredom Associated With Routine Work
In the event planning business, there’s no room for boredom.
This is because several aspects of the business make it interesting.
Firstly, every new project will come with different expectations due to the peculiarities of clients you’ll be working with.
As such, there’ll always be something new and exciting about the job.
Furthermore, you’ll also have the opportunity to travel between regions depending on the event’s location.
This offers you the opportunity to see new places and meet new people.
Thereby making event management one of the most exciting businesses.
Freedom of Time
Naturally, as a business owner, you have the freedom of time that 9 to 5ers don’t have.
However, there’s even more freedom with your time with event management.
Specifically, you have all the time to yourself to engage in other recreational or productive activities when you don’t have any active contracts.
Hence, this is one of the perfect business ideas for people who desire ultimate freedom of time.
Requires Little Or No Initial Capital Investment
Another huge benefit of the event management business is the low-financial barrier to entry that it offers.
Many people desire to start a business but are holding back due to a lack of funds.
Whereas many people have started several profitable businesses with little or no capital at all.
Fortunately for you, event management is one of such businesses.
You can start an event management business from the comfort of your home.
Then as the business grows, you can expand into a physical office space if you desire.
Consequently making it one of the best businesses for stay-at-home moms and dads or work-from-home enthusiasts.
However, note that this doesn’t mean that setting up an event management firm or executing event management projects doesn’t cost money.
However, if you’re just starting with no prior experience, it’s best to start small, e.g., from the comfort of your home, and expand as the resources come.
Gives A Sense Of Fulfillment
Even management business, in our opinion, is one of the most self-fulfilling businesses out there.
This is because it gives you the rare opportunity to make important occasions or events in people’s lives memorable.
Each time you’re given the project to manage an event and the event goes smoothly such that your clients are happy, you’ll feel a sense of satisfaction that you’re making people’s lives better and making money while at it.
This will, in turn, lead to self-fulfillment.
In conclusion, these are some of the good sides to event management business.
As with all businesses, there are challenges as well.
But do the challenges outweigh the benefits?
Let’s find out.
Challenges of Event Management Business- Event Management Business Ideas
Time and Energy Consuming
One of the many benefits of the event management business we stated earlier is giving one freedom of time.
This is due to the nature of the business.
Specifically, sometimes event management projects come occasionally or seasonally, except for a few occasions when you’re often fully booked.
Given this, you get to enjoy as much free time as possible.
On the flip side, however, executing the projects will take a bulk of your time when these projects do come.
Even more, you may find yourself working long hours just to meet deadlines.
Strangely, you also find out that you’ll never have enough time to plan the event as you’ll find yourself doing some last-minute arrangements or adjustments.
Further, besides your time, event management is also energy-consuming.
You’ll find yourself moving about to ensure that everything is in other as per your plans.
So if you lack time management skills and energy for work, you may seriously struggle in this business.
The Need To Travel Occasionally
As much as you may love the idea of traveling to different regions and meeting new people, this might not be feasible if you have some commitments in your location of residence.
For instance, if you have a family or you’re a nursing mother, this might be a huge burden for you.
As such, you may be restricted to taking projects within your place of residence.
Dealing With Difficult/Hard-to Please Clients
This is common for every business.
There’ll always be that one client who’ll always have a problem with your services.
Sadly, this is the dilemma most event managers often find- clients who are extremely hard to please.
This often gives rise to situations where you think you’ve done your best planning the event as it ought to be, only for you to have to start making changes again just because the client isn’t satisfied with one thing or the other.
Unforeseen Circumstances
Uncertainties are a part of life, business included.
As such, it’s only natural that you come across some in your event planning business.
There’ll be times when certain uncertainties will mess up with your plan.
For instance, having to reevaluate your budget due to a sudden hike in goods’ price.
Also, having to reschedule an event due to a federal government ban on the movement of persons.
These are some of the problems that could make running your event management business quite challenging.
Lucky for you, these are not problems without solutions.
So all you need to do is take a step back and seek out the right strategies to solve these problems.
Overall, it’s evident that the benefits of the event management business outweigh the challenges.
Now you know that the event management business is a worthwhile and profitable venture in this current age and time.
However, you’re still wondering how about in a few years to come?
Will it still be relevant and profitable in the coming years?
Let’s find out.
Future Potential/Opportunities Of The Event Management Industry
Before starting any business, it’s vital to inquire about the business’s potential.
Put simply, ask yourself, is it an evergreen niche?
An evergreen business niche is a business that transcends time and seasons.
It is not negatively impacted by trends or changes in times and seasons.
Ideally, all businesses are always impacted by recent trends one way or the other.
For instance, the corporate world was impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
We saw several co-operations shut down.
However, that event popularized remote work – a concept that has existed for a while that not many people cared about until recently.
Bottom line, all businesses will face uncertainties and harsh trends.
But even more importantly only, the strongest businesses will stand the test of time.
So, to answer the question of whether or not the event management industry will be relevant in the future;
First, you should ask yourself, will there always be a market for this business?
Also, is it a necessary part of human life?
Fortunately for you, the answer to all these questions is YES.
There’ll always be a market for this business as long as humans exist.
Likewise, events are an essential part of human life; talk about weddings, meetings, seminars, business conferences, concerts, etc.
More so, a study by the U.S Bureau of labor statistics further asserts this.
Based on the findings from research, the bureau projects that “Employment of meeting, convention, and event planners is projected to grow 18% from 2020 to 2030, much faster than the average for all occupations”.
Given all these, the event management industry will still remain relevant, at least for a few years to come.
Now that all your objections have been addressed, let’s get down to the main focus of this discussion- event management business ideas.
9 Event Management Business Ideas And How To Start
All pumped up to start an event management business?
Here are 9 business ideas to choose from.
1. Wedding Event Planning
This is one of the core areas of the event management business.
Weddings are a big deal, and it’s an essential part of our lives as humans.
There’s not a day/week/month that passes by where a wedding is not being held somewhere around the world.
Hence, the market size for this business is huge.
Consequently, it could be very lucrative for you if you go about it the right way.
As a wedding planner, you’ll be responsible for the planning, design, and overall management of your client’s weddings based on their preferences and your expertise.
So, if you’d love to take the burden of planning a wedding off your clients’ shoulders and give them a most memorable wedding, then this wedding planning event management business idea is just right for you.
Here’s how to get started;
First, decide on the type of wedding planning service you want to offer.
There are four types of wedding planning services you could offer depending on your preferences, resources, time, and schedule.
These include;
Full-Service Wedding Planner
This means you’ll be in charge of every tiny detail about the couple’s wedding- from the day the couples pick the wedding date up until the wedding date.
Your clients tell you their expectations for the wedding.
Then, you share your expert advice on how to bring their expectations to reality.
Furthermore, you’ll have to work with and coordinate other wedding service vendors to handle specific details of your client’s wedding.
Overall, full-service wedding planning is a lucrative yet sensitive business because any wrong step could ruin the entire wedding.
So you need to ensure you bring the best hands-on board to help you give your clients the wedding of their dreams.
Partial Wedding Planning Service
For this type of wedding planning service, you’re not responsible for handling every aspect of the wedding.
Instead, you’ll be responsible for handling specific aspects of the wedding.
It could be helping the couple draw out a plan for the wedding ceremony.
Furthermore, it could be helping the couple with budgeting and resources management for the wedding.
As such, you could set up a few hours in a week few months to the wedding to meet with the couple and plan the wedding.
Month of / Day Of Wedding Co-ordination
Here, you won’t be responsible for the planning process.
The clients themselves do the planning.
So, your duty here revolves around providing the sources, e.g., the contact list of professional wedding vendors, to your clients.
Also, when the vendors have been booked, and the wedding plan is complete, you’ll be responsible for coordinating the event according to the client’s plan.
Next, Decide on a Business Entity/Structure
Having a business entity or legal structure is essential for business.
It helps to mitigate business loss and prevent litigations/unnecessary lawsuits.
So, before you begin your event management business, decide on the type of business structure you would want.
Some of these include;
LLC: limited liability company- the best business structure that doesn’t make business owners liable for debts or loss in the business and obligations.
LLB: limited liability partnership- if you’ll prefer to work with partners, then the LLB would be excellent for you.
Once you’ve decided on a business structure, get the services of an attorney to help you register your business with the state with your desired business name and structure.
Draft a Business Plan
A business plan is one of the most crucial element of every successful business plan.
It serves as a road map or blueprint for your business.
So, you should also consider having one for your event management business.
If you don’t know how to create one for your business, consider getting help from an expert.
Get The Required Funds, Market Your Services, And Get Ready To Take On Your First Client
If you’re starting small, you may not require huge finances to get started.
However, if you’re starting a big wedding planning firm, ensure you have enough funds or the means to get the required funds.
With that taken care of, you need to get your first client.
How do you do this?
By marketing your services.
A good place to start is with your inner circle (friends, family, colleagues, etc.).
Lastly, you can market yourself online or pay for online ads.
2. Party Equipment Rentals
If you’re not into the wedding planning thing, then you could settle for party equipment rentals.
This is another fun and lucrative business idea under the event planning niche.
In fact, it is something you can start from home.
Party equipment rentals involve leasing party supplies or equipment to event organizers, e.g., chairs, tables, sound system, cooking equipment, etc.
As a party equipment rental service provider, you need to know the trending party equipment and have them in bulk to lease out to as many clients as possible.
How To Start.
This business is quite capital intensive.
As such, it is not advisable to embark on this business venture if you have low business capital.
Before you start; first ensure to do the following.
- Research the market.
- Pick an area of specialty, e.g., corporate events, social events, outdoor events, weddings, etc.
- Identify your competitors.
- Develop a business/marketing plan.
- Come up with a business name.
- Decide on a business structure and register with the state.
- Pick a location for your business.
- Get the required funding.
Then you can;
- Purchase the necessary party equipment you’ll lease out.
- Employ the necessary manpower that will be responsible for moving the equipment.
- Get a truck for transporting the equipment from your location to the client’s location.
- Market your services and be ready to take on your first client.
3. Corporate Event Planning
A corporate event planner will specialize in organizing corporate events such as meetings, conferences, seminars, retreats, cocktail parties, and other business events.
Like every other business out there, you’ll need to take care of the prerequisites like;
- identifying your target market,
- having a business plan,
- registering your business,
- securing funds, etc.
Afterward, you’ll need a proper understanding of how corporate events work- that is, what each type of corporate event requires.
Then, you’ll need to have a supply or a supplier for all the equipment required for organizing a corporate event.
Also, you need to get ready to market your services to start getting clients.
4. Event Decoration Services- Events Management Business Ideas
This is also a specific niche in the event management business industry.
The sole responsibility of an event decorator is to decorate the event location.
Likewise, you could decide not to do the decorations yourself but offer leasing service to other event decorators who lack the funds to purchase the accessories for decoration.
How to start
As you already know, there are some essential elements every business cannot do without.
One of these includes a business plan, a business name, location, funds, among other things.
So, if you have all these, then you should;
- Select a niche, e.g., themed weddings/birthdays, conferences, seminars, outdoor parties, concerts, etc.
- Procure your decoration items/equipment (this will depend on the area of specialty you pick).
- This is a labor-intensive niche- you’ll need a lot of hands to decorate large events, so make plans to get the staff (mostly contractual staff) you’ll need to execute contracts.
- Promote your services among friends, family, acquaintances, and even social media to get clients.
5. Event Catering Services
Food is the heart of every event.
As such, you can never go wrong with this idea.
Even more, you do not necessarily need an office for this business.
Event catering services entails providing food services for events.
However, this is a demanding and stressful business.
Hence it should be for only those who are fit to handle physically demanding tasks.
How to get started.
- First, you need to understand that the event management industry is broad. As such, you’ll need to niche down and identify your target market.
So you’ll need to decide what events you’ll want to provide catering services for.
Your options include; parties, weddings, birthdays, corporate events, etc.
- Also, you’ll need to get a business name, business plan, licenses, and fundings.
- You’ll need to hire staff (assistant cooks, waiters, dishwashers, drivers, etc.). It’s preferable if these are contractual staff.
- Market your services and get ready to work with your first client.
6. Event Photography & Videography Services
This is another lucrative event management business idea to explore.
Some events are not complete without memorable moments.
Even more important is capturing those memorable moments for future reference.
Hence, as an event photographer or videographer, you’ll be responsible for capturing key moments in the events in still photos or motion videos.
So if you have a passion for photography or videography and have creative skills, then it is right for you.
How To Start
- Of course, you’ll need a business name, something to make you stand out in your field.
- Then depending on your preferred business structure, you could register your business name.
- Also, you could get an office/location where you’ll process the photos or edit the videos.
- Then, you’ll need your gadgets- cameras, lenses, ring lights, flashlights, etc.
- Above all, you’ll need to have photography skills.
7. Virtual Event Planning- Events Management Business Ideas
The recent global pandemic gave rise to this niche, and it’s certainly worth exploring.
A virtual event is simply an event held online, e.g., webinars, virtual conferences, virtual shows, concerts, etc.
As a virtual event planner, you’ll be responsible for managing and coordinating all the logistic details, tech, and personnel for the online event.
Starting this business will require you to do the following;
- Firstly, decide on a target market.
- A business name and/or registration.
- A website to host these virtual events as a virtual event organizer/planner.
- Some CRM tools like Pigeon, Hubspot, etc., and event management software.
- Acquire some tech skills
- Lastly, promote yourself to get clients.
8. Outdoor Events Planning
As an outdoor events planner, you’ll be responsible for planning and ensuring the success of your clients’ outdoor events.
There are different outdoor events such as sports tournaments, expos, trade shows, campaigns, outdoor weddings, concerts, etc.
So, you can offer outdoor event planning services for any type of outdoor event you prefer.
You are good to start your outdoors event planning business when;
- Brainstorm and come up with a name for your business.
- Have a business plan.
- Register your business name.
- Identify your target market.
- Secure fundings.
- Get the necessary equipment such as decor, sound system, catering services, etc., or the vendors specialized in supplying these areas.
- A marketing plan/strategy to get clients.
9. Events Transportation Service
This business requires that you provide transportation for attendees to and fro an event.
Hence, you’ll be responsible for handling all the logistics related to the transportation of attendees to the location of the event and back.
Here are the things you’ll need to start;
- A registered transportation company.
- Licenses/registrations.
- Vehicles that are in their best condition.
- Staff (Chauffers or drivers).
- Your business plan.
- Finances to run the business.
Overall, event transportation service business is both capital intensive and demanding.
So, ensure you have all it takes to do the business before venturing into it.
Requirements For Starting An Events Management Business
Here’s a quick rundown on the general requirements you need to run any events management business of your choice.
- Education: you need formal education (e.g., a bachelor’s degree or diploma in business, public relations, hospitality management, and other related courses, formal training, or some years of experience in this field.
- Certifications: depending on your area of specialization, having some professional certificates will make your clients take you seriously. So you may need to take on some professional courses relevant to your field.
- Skills: you’ll also need some vital skills in the event management industry if you’re going to succeed. Some of these skills include; people skills, communication skills, organization skills, attention to detail, etc. You can always learn these skills.
- A niche or area of specialization: the more niche-focused you are, the greater your chances of success. so pick a niche.
- A solid business plan
- Finances
- The right mindset: focus, determination, patience, and commitment.
Final Words On Events Management Business Ideas
There you have it.
A complete guide on some profitable event management business ideas ready for you and how to start.
So, it’s left to decide which of these businesses appeal to you and get started.
Granted, the events management industry is a lucrative one, and any business idea in the industry has the potential for success.
But then again, business success is not automatic.
You achieve business success through a commitment to excellence and consistent hard work.
So, keep these in mind as you get ready to start your own events management business.
Best of luck!!!
