Recently we sat down with Debbie Orwat of The Planner’s Lounge to dive into her business tips about event planning. Debbie provides wealth of information for aspiring (and even seasoned) event planners. We are so grateful to her as she often promotes Wecora as one of the many helpful tools for designers. We absolutely love the empowerment, community, and the resources that TPL offers to other event planners! Thank you, Debbie!
MH: How do event planning businesses tend to get into a rut? What are the best tools for getting out of that rut?
DO: Many planners start out as more of a freelancer with a simple website offering planning services when they start out in this industry. Then we get busy, do some weddings and events, and realize we have a legitimate business…except we haven’t done the necessary steps to have a financially and legally stable business. At that point, it’s important to either get a coach, work with a small business development center, or hire an accountant and lawyer to get systems and legalities in place. Details like business licenses, insurance, accurate accounting, cash flow projections, knowing your monthly business expenses, and having separate business and personal finances are a few things that are often overlooked by new event planners. Your business won’t grow if you don’t have the structure and systems in place to handle more clients and bigger events.
MH: Where do you find that event planners tend to lose money? Do you feel that there’s a solution to avoid this, so profits can be maximized?
DO: Many event planners LOVE to help people. We have a huge passion for helping engaged couples plan an incredible wedding celebration. While this is ideal, it can cause us to charge less than we are worth because we love what we do. As a professional planner, it’s critical to always think like a business owner. The business needs to make money, it needs to be profitable, and it needs to be sustainable in the long run. If you are charging $500 for wedding day coordination, you are never going to make a full time income based on that because you are essentially giving away your work (Link to helpful blog post on this: http://plannerslounge.com/are-you-giving-away-your-work). The solution to this is to charge appropriately based on your experience, type of services, and what is sustainable in your market.
The other way I see event planners lose money is by including too much in their service offerings. For example, just because you offer “full service” wedding planning doesn’t mean you need to include unlimited phone calls or meetings with your clients. It also doesn’t mean you need to plan other events such as the rehearsal dinner as part of your wedding planning service. Nor do you need to assemble and deliver 100 guest welcome bags as part of that service. Create your packages or service offerings with specific guidelines and inclusions then offer other services such as rehearsal dinner planning and welcome bag service as add-on or ala carte. Also, be specific with your office hours, when clients should expect a response from you, and how many meetings are included. When you are very specific about what is included, it is easier to price services to ensure you are maximizing profits.
MH: Why is it important for event planners to use a mentor?
DO: The easiest explanation is “Why reinvent the wheel?” When there are coaches and mentors who have done what you want to do, built the type of business you want to have, and have achieved the level of success you desire, why wouldn’t you hire them to teach you? Instead of making costly and time-consuming mistakes and spinning your wheels for a few years, invest in a coach or mentor to fast track you to success. In addition to teaching you how to create what you desire in your business, they are often a great sounding board and cheerleader to keep you motivated and accountable. My best investments over the years have always been for coaching and education.
MH: How has Wecora helped you in your efforts to design events?
DO: Wecora has given me the tools I need to make the design process easier and more efficient. I can organize and store my inspiration photos, event photos, inventory, and color palettes in Wecora so that I can quickly access them when creating designs for clients. I also love having Wecora as a way to professionally present event design. My clients have loved it too!
*This guest post was written by Debbie Orwat. In addition to owning a successful event planning company for ten years, Debbie is the Founder and Chief Inspiration Officer at Planner’s Lounge (www.plannerslounge.com). Planner’s Lounge is a community and resource site that empowers wedding and event planners with the tools they need to succeed including classes, coaching, online forums, tools, and business resources.
Thank you, Debbie!
