The Truth About Event Planning

So you've planned a birthday party for your six-year-old nephew and a wedding reception for your best friend from high school. Everything went well; everybody left happy, and your friend even offered to pay you after the fact. How exciting! You could turn this into a career! You're outgoing and friendly and have a great sense of decorating style. Now you're thinking you might like to get into event planning full-time and live a life of glamour and luxury, throwing big parties and traveling to exotic places while raking in the big bucks.

Sounds great, doesn't it? Even better, Google has offered up about 29,300,000 links to articles and books and schools and study-at-home programs that promise to make your dreams come true. You can be an event planner in ten easy steps! So can anyone else with a valid credit card number!

First of all, most of those "become an event planner" schemes are about as credible as the infomercial scams that run in the wee early a.m. hours, when most rational people are asleep in bed. If you're interested in pursuing a career in event planning, your first step should be to seek a reality check.

Before you jump in over your head, test the waters and first understand exactly what the job entails.

1. Hours

If you're envisioning yourself languishing around in a big, cushy Heavenly Bed®, ordering room service and relaxing in preparation for your signature pedicure before your client event in the morning, you might be dreaming.

Try spending sixteen to eighteen hours a day on your feet. Leading up to, during and after an event, the planner is often the first person onsite and the last person to leave. Yes, event planners often travel to exciting destinations across the country and abroad - but few have the opportunity to sight-see during their trips. Planners are responsible for every detail of every event, and that means overseeing every detail of every event, every hour of every day. Little time exists for leisure while you're onsite.

Even back at the office, the job regularly demands far more than forty hours a week. You can expect to put in plenty of late nights and weekends, especially if you intend to open up shop as an independent planner. Office time is almost entirely paperwork time. Depending on the scope of the event, this process can take up to a year or more. You'll get out of the office to perform site inspections, but most of the time, you'll be online and on the phone, coordinating logistics and contract negotiations on an unpredictable long-distance schedule.

2. Salary

Some planners are paid to throw lavish, gala events for giant Hollywood occasions (Academy Awards, anyone?). These planners are a minority in the industry.

While data varies from one report to the next and from one geographic region to the next, event planner salaries can range from $40,000 to $70,000, with the higher end typically working for large corporations. Location plays a large role in the amount of compensation one can expect. An event planner in Council Bluffs, IA, for instance, will make substantially less than an event planner located on either coast. Another factor is the type and number of events planned. Some individuals make a living by planning one major event a year. Others plan smaller events for a number of different clients throughout the year.

Salary surveys are available from meetings and events industry associations such as Meeting Professionals International, the Professional Convention Management Association and the International Special Events Society, as well as several trade magazines dedicated to the industry.

3. Responsibilities

Despite popular perception, the scope of work involved in planning events can be overwhelming. The job entails much more than color schemes and floral arrangements. The reality includes such "glamorous" tasks as contract negotiations, attendance promotion, financial management and risk management - just a few of the serious skills necessary in this line of work.

It is said that professional event planners wear many hats. They often must know and fill the roles of planner, decorator, entertainer, designer, public relations, accountant, lawyer and many more. While the typical "party planner" image conveys little, if any, responsibility, the true work involved in event planning is based in due diligence and accountability. After all, event planners are responsible for the spending of other people's money - and those people will likely want to see that their money is well spent. Many planners are called upon to show return on investment for their events, a duty that is growing ever more complicated with increasing regulations on corporate spending. In addition, planners can be held personally liable for incidents resulting in injury, property damage or litigation. Event planning can, in many cases, literally be a matter of life or death.

For a profile of the work involved in event planning, the United States Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics offers an overview of the meeting and convention planner's job description on its website. To grasp the true width and breadth of an event planner's responsibilities, however, view the Event Management Body of Knowledge (EMBOK) Project online at the website of creator and renowned event professional Julia Rutherford Silvers, CSEP. Spend some time studying the EMBOK and learn what you're really getting yourself into before declaring yourself an event planner. Chances are, there's a lot more involved than you've considered.

4. Competition

Event planning is a very competitive market, with more and more providers going into business all the time. Independent planners, in particular, are increasing in number at a rapid rate. This is the fastest growing segment of the planning industry, according to Meeting Professionals International. More than 12,500 planners hold the CMP designation alone - a certification earned through a rigorous qualification and exam process overseen by the Convention Industry Council. As mainstream awareness of event planning as a career increases through burgeoning media exposure (Yahoo!® recently ranked event planning number-one on its list of the top hottest jobs you can get without an MBA), and as more and more colleges and universities offer courses in event planning and event management, the popularity of this line of work continues to grow.

In short, there are more event planners than ever before, and therefore more competition. Not only that, but there are more professional event planners than ever before. At present, no universal standards are in place for event planning, and therefore, anyone can claim to be an event professional. However, awareness of and participation in recognized industry programs such as the CMP, CSEP and CMM certifications are on the rise, resulting in more planners who know the true depth of the job and can prove their value through strategic planning, procurement and return on investment endeavors.

The competitive marketplace alone should serve as reason to carefully consider all aspects of entering the event planning business. It is not a career path to take lightly. Before you hang out your shingle, you should identify a market niche and potential clients. Is there enough business opportunity out there to support you?

5. Lifestyle

The most common myth regarding event planning is that it is all about glamour and travel and hob-knobbing with VIPs. In reality, it is much more about being mindful of stakeholders' objectives and finances, working within tight budget restraints, coordinating schedules and agendas, and keeping people happy. While those who plan events for a living say it is a rewarding and satisfying occupation, it is rarely due to the "glamour" involved.

Event planning is, in a nutshell, a demanding, fast-paced and stressful job. Planners are responsible for delivering on the expectations and desires of others, which naturally opens the door to conflict, misunderstanding and last-minute changes - factors that are a part of everyday life in the event planning business.

However, the job also offers planners the singular opportunity to create relationships and experiences that can define the most important times of others' lives. And that, in the end, makes all the work involved in event planning worth the effort for most who choose this career.

None of this is intended to dissuade anyone from pursuing a career in event planning. Rather, it is an appeal to understand the wide scope of responsibility involved and to approach it with a spirit of "first, do no harm." While it is possible to throw a successful event without first following the channels of learning, going into the event planning business without proper preparation can result in disillusionment... and worse.