What to Consider Before Becoming a Freelance Event Planner?
Do you like speaking to people, organising several different things at once, and working under pressure to deadlines?
Event planners arrange unique events for customers and make sure they run smoothly. It may be a really exciting, hectic, and fast-paced job. Degree programs at universities and colleges may prepare you for a career in event planning, but this is by no means required. You don’t strictly require something to break in and to succeed, but without experience in a related field, you may find it difficult. It is a job of multi-tasking, networking, and being highly organised. Having experience in arranging and coordinating events at University might be of great benefit.
Employee engagement is dropping, with more people looking to the Gig economy to make up lost earnings or to give some exciting opportunities to a life of full time work. More people have a full time job, but are looking for a side-gig or something fun to do outside of their normal working hours. It’s becoming typical for employees to express dissatisfaction with and boredom at their jobs.
The development of better means of communication and more adaptable methods of work have helped bring about freelancing which is growing in popularity and accessibility for people who want to quit their nine to five job. However, as with most life choices, this job transition requires some contemplation, not least to ensure that you are pursuing a career in event planning for the best of reasons.
Event planning might seem like fun, you get to be invited to all the parties, you get to try out food, drink and music as a part of your job. But the hours are long and unsociable, the pressure is high, and teh deadlines can be tight. Working to a deadline and a budget is less fun than it sounds.
Taking on the job of an event planner may be a challenging and time-consuming endeavour, so think carefully before taking the plunge. As such, it is essential to assess what your business is earning in contrast to other revenue by preparing ahead for the monthly expense of operating your own event planning firm, and even the bills you need to cover personally. You must know these numbers in advance since becoming a freelance event planner requires substantial energy to attract and handle events. It is a seasonal job, so money is not going to flow in, like it does regularly in a full time job. Some months will be great, others will be tight, so managing a budget is essential.
Going freelance is not for everyone, and if there are bills to pay, health insurance costs and children to support, it might not be the best time of life to start it. But with hard work, dedication and a lot of networking, you never know, you could be having more fun and earning more very quickly.
A significant reality check occurs when you realise that event organising requires a daily list of duties, some of which you might not have thought of and you might not enjoy. A lack of understanding as to what is truly involved in event planning and having the incorrect assumption may rapidly lead to disappointment and discontent. You should always speak to others in the trade, watch people at parties, and see how they do it. Learn from people, go to hotels and monitor the more experienced people. Is that something that you can do, or do they make it look easy due to their experience?
That said, before taking this freelance career for good, you must fully come to terms with yourself if you will be okay with the advantages and disadvantages you’ll face as a freelance event planner. There are several good points to enjoy, there are several heartaches that will be experienced, it is a balance, but then having a good work-life balance is also a balance, and worth it in the long term.
