From small-scale projects to showstopping productions, the events industry remains competitive yet accessible across the globe. Businesses and individuals alike turn to event management businesses to assist with all aspects of pulling off the perfect event — including budget management, logistics, and coordination.
What does it take to start an event management business? This article provides a clear, actionable path for those interested in breaking into this dynamic and rewarding industry.
Why Start an Event Management Business?
Before diving deeper into how to start an event management business, let’s consider the range of reasons why event management can be such a lucrative venture.
For one, when compared to most businesses, starting an event management business comes with relatively low startup costs and overhead. Given the lower barrier to entry, aspiring business owners mostly need to focus on legal/compliance, administrative, technology, and insurance costs off the bat.
Meanwhile, event management business owners enjoy the flexibility to work independently or scale their teams — with a wide range of niches available to suit their interests. Whether you’re interested in overseeing corporate events, weddings, sports and entertainment events, or anything in between, there’s likely to be a niche for you.
Finally, there is steady demand for professional event services across industries. In fact, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), employment of meeting, convention, and event planners is projected to grow 5% from 2024 to 2034. With about 15,500 openings projected annually, that’s faster than the average for all occupations.
How to Start an Event Management Business: Step-by-Step
As with launching any type of venture, there’s plenty that goes into building a successful event management business from the ground up. The good news? You don’t necessarily need to do everything at once; the following steps gradually build upon each other, so you can get the ball rolling without becoming completely overwhelmed.
1. Choose Your Event Management Niche
Start by deciding on your niche within the event management field. By specializing early, you can sharpen your marketing, build expertise faster, and attract the right clients from the beginning. As you ponder which types of events to specialize in, consider your unique skills, interests, and local demand.
Some examples of niches within event management include:
- Corporate events
- Weddings
- Nonprofit events (such as galas)
- Sporting events
- Entertainment productions
- Experiential marketing
Regardless of the niche you decide to focus on, quality educational programs — like the Bachelor of Science – Sports, Entertainment, Event – Management degree through Johnson & Wales University (JWU) Online — span many of the most popular areas of the field.
2. Conduct Market Research
Once you have narrowed down the types of events you want to put on, it’s time to conduct some extensive market research. Doing so will help you:
- Understand your target audience size.
- Evaluate your competitors’ offerings.
- Pinpoint gaps in your local or regional market.
From there, you can make better-informed decisions while differentiating your business offerings from others.
3: Write an Event Management Business Plan
A business plan is an important document to have before starting a small business of any kind. This document serves as a strategic roadmap to which you can refer as your business grows and scales. Key components entail:
- Your company goals and mission
- A target market summary
- An overview of your service offerings
- An explanation of your pricing strategy
- Financial projections (including estimated startup costs, monthly expenses, and projected revenue)
- A detailed marketing strategy
With a thorough business plan, you might also have an easier time securing financing in the form of a small business loan or grant — so this is not a step to gloss over.
Step 4: Handle the Legal and Financial Basics
Another essential aspect of starting a small business is deciding on the business structure that best suits your needs. Below are three of the most common types to consider for an event management business:
- Limited liability companies (LLCs) provide liability protection for your personal assets, which is ideal for medium-risk businesses.
- Sole proprietorships are optimal for one-person businesses, offering a simplistic structure with minimal documentation required.
- Corporations are best for businesses planning to scale and offer the highest level of protection against liability.
Regardless of the business structure you decide, you’ll want to research and obtain any state-specific business license and secure proper business insurance coverage (including, at minimum, liability coverage).
For additional guidance on choosing a structure for your small business, this guide from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) can help.
Step 5: Build Your Brand and Portfolio
Next, it’s time to focus on building your unique brand identity — which encompasses not just your name and logo but also your overall tone and voice. As part of this step, you might benefit from creating an extensive brand portfolio that clearly demonstrates your expertise and competency in the field.
Even if you don’t have any paid event management experience, you can fill your portfolio with other work you’ve done volunteering for nonprofits or assisting at community events. You might also consider offering discounted services to friends and/or family or expanding your portfolio through social media networking on platforms like LinkedIn and Instagram.
Step 6: Set Your Pricing and Land Your First Clients
How much should you charge for your services as an event planner or event manager? Ultimately, this will boil down to your location, specific services you offer, and other factors. You’ll eventually decide on a pricing structure, too, as event management businesses can charge:
- By the hour
- A flat fee per project
- A percentage of the total event budget
- Based on vendors’ commissions
No matter which structure you choose, pricing your services too low could undervalue your work — whereas pricing too high (especially without a portfolio) may create friction.
As you strive to land your first paying clients, leverage your existing professional networks and consider offering one-time reduced rates to build client testimonials. Attending industry events and trade shows, posting on sites like LinkedIn, and even reaching out directly to local businesses/nonprofits can prove effective in finding your first clients while establishing a competitive advantage in the process.
Step 7: Market Your Event Management Business
A bit of marketing and branding can go a long way when it comes to spreading the word about your newly launched event management business. In addition to launching with a professional, SEO-targeted website, you’ll want to ensure you have a strong social media presence on platforms like Instagram (to feature visuals of your events) and LinkedIn (ideal for attracting corporate clients).
From there, the following efforts can be valuable:
- Participating in referral networks
- Getting involved with local business associations
- Adding your business to event industry directories
- Establishing a solid content marketing strategy
Do You Need a Degree to Start an Event Management Business?
While you don’t strictly need to hold a degree in event management to break into this field and become an event planner, a formal education does offer certain competitive advantages that being self-taught simply cannot.
Specifically, the right degree program develops practical skills in budgeting, logistics, marketing, and vendor relations that can translate directly to running your business. Additionally, earning a degree could enhance your credibility with corporate clients and open doors to new networking opportunities within the industry. All of this could help you better prepare and understand how to start an event management business.
The bachelor’s degree in Sports, Entertainment, and Event Management is a four-year online program that builds event planning skills in media literacy, venue management, negotiations/agreements, and more to prepare you for the challenges and opportunities of running your own event management business. Plus, with specialized electives in niche areas like professional sports management, hospitality management, and entertainment marketing, you can narrow your focus to the area of the field that’s most relevant to your business goals.
Take the Next Step Toward Your Event Management Career
Running a successful event management business isn’t something that happens overnight — but it does begin with the right foundation of knowledge and skills.
If you’re seeking a program specifically designed for aspiring event professionals who want to be ready to lead across corporate, sports, and entertainment niches, JWU Online’s Bachelor of Science – Sports, Entertainment, Event – Management could be the ideal fit for you.
For more information about completing your degree online, complete the Request Info form, call 855-JWU-1881, or email [email protected]. You can also get started with your application for admission here.