It might sound a little bit cliché, but starting a business is never easy. And when you’re venturing into an industry as highly competitive as event planning, it can be even harder.

There are tons of possible hurdles and challenges to navigate. Whether you have limited funds to get started or your location doesn’t attract much foot traffic, you need to be resourceful if you’re going to succeed.

In this piece, we shall go over five of the various challenges to expect when launching an event organizing startup.

1. Capital Challenges 

Starting an event planning business will require investing a big chunk of money up front to get it up and running. It’s not like you can wait until you get a clientele or revenue stream so you can start making a sizable amount of money.

Moreover, startup loans do not come by easily.

Thankfully, there are a few ways you can raise starting and running capital for your event organizing business. Besides your personal savings, you can also consider:

• Selling your property
• Taking out a personal loan
• Inviting Angel Investors
• Crowdfunding
• Venture capitalist

2. Marketing and Promotion

Selling your services will require some substantial marketing, which you might not have a strong passion or interest in. And especially in a world where event industry marketing trends have evolved incredibly, you have to make sure you’re marketing yourself effectively.

So, what are some ways you can make the most out of your marketing efforts? Here are some suggestions.

– Create an optimized website for your event planning business

– Make use of social media

– Use event listing websites to build your online presence

– Create unique events that you’re passionate about

– Create a strong brand identity

3. Event Venue Management 

In addition to planning events, you will also have to start managing event venues. That’s right, many entrepreneurs think they can skip that part, but in reality, they need to take on this aspect at some point, especially if they’re serious about growing their business.

Some venue management challenges to expect may include?

• Venue expenses could get to roof-high levels
• Scheduling can be stressful
• Disorganization is common

To navigate these and other challenges associated with event venue management, it is best to embrace technology. A good venue crm software can help make your life easier by ensuring you and your team stay organized and that your business makes the most out of every event.

Some of the best event management tools also let you keep track of each event in terms of communication with customers, booking, scheduling, sales, billing, and much more.

4. Lack of Experience

You might think that having academic qualifications in event planning is all it takes to succeed as an entrepreneur in this industry. In reality, however, experience is needed to ensure you make the most out of your skills.

If you don’t have experience in event planning, you can consider educating yourself and gaining that experience by attending local events, signing up for webinars, finding a mentor, and keeping tabs with industry leaders on social media.

5. Deciding on A Niche Market

There are certain sectors in the event planning industry that will always have demand and the space for more startups.

With so many competitors vying for the same revenue, you will have a lot of decisions to make when deciding where to get started. And when you’re up against many of your competitors, it’s hard to stand out, let alone succeed.

Picking the niche to focus on can be a buzzkill, but the decision might come down to:

• Services
• Location
• Your pricing strategy

But you also have to be open-minded when determining what kind of event to organize and charge accordingly.

So, will you be targeting all sorts of events or would you rather focus on bridal parties, corporate events, festivals, vendor expos, or birthdays? The best way to go is to try what you’re more passionate about, considering your budget and experience as well. 

All in all, event planning can be an enjoyable, lucrative, and profitable business. However, it also comes with its fair share of challenges. Luckily, the above few pointers have provided insight into how you can navigate some of those challenges, make your venture profitable, and spearhead it to success.

(Photo by Richard Clyborne of Music Strive)