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Event Planning Business Plan

Creativity and organization are a formidable combination. And not many of us have it. And to top it off, having good social skills, and the ability to fix problems that usually occur in every event, big or small.

If you have these skills you are a gifted individual indeed and might have thought of having an event-planning business at least once.’

But even after having the right skills many of us find the prospect of owning a business overwhelming at the very least. But worry no more! Before you start planning the most happening events in the town, all you need is an event planning business plan .

Industry Overview

The event planning industry stood at a market value of 3.03 billion dollars in 2021 in the US and is going through a period of rapid recovery after being hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Theme parties, lesser time to organize and plan for events as well as the demand for professional services have been major growth-driving factors for the event planning industry.

Event planners also help make events smoother, more memorable, and out of the box. And with the increasing want to stand out in everything you do is going to help the event planning industry flourish for years to come.

Things to Consider Before Writing an Event Planning Business Plan

Get skills and experience.

Although starting a business is an exciting prospect as it gives you freedom it also comes with a lot of responsibilities. Hence, you should go prepared with event planning skills and experience before getting started.

Develop your communication skills

Bad communication in event management is a recipe for disaster. Develop your communication and listening skills. It goes way beyond talking. You have to explain to and understand your team and clients correctly to do a good job and get good results.

Find a market for your services

Knowing your market saves you from wasting your resources, efforts, and time on mass marketing. Hence, before you decide on your niche, make a marketing plan and get started, find a market for your services.

Have a good team

How can an event planning business plan help you.

We all know that an event planning company’s success depends highly upon an organization. Be it while planning events or while carrying out other activities like budgeting and marketing.

A business plan can help you achieve just that. It can improve your efficiency, give you well-defined goals to follow, and improve your overall management.

Apart from that, planning your business gives you a good knowledge of the market structure and functioning.

Also, planning your business in its initial stages takes the tedious tasks of running a business out of the way, and lets you focus on what you are passionate about.

How to Write an Event Planning Business Plan?

This segment brings us to the main point of this article. How can you, as an event planner, write a business plan ? And what to include in a good event planning business plan?

Well, you can either seek professional help for writing a business plan, write it through a premade template, or through an online business plan software .

We have created this sample Eventel – Event Planning Business Plan template for you to get a good idea about how a perfect event planning business plan should look like and what details you will need to include in your stunning business plan.

Chalking out Your Business Plan

If you’ve organized a few events in the past and feel that organizing is your forte, and you can come up with ideas that are both creative and functional, event planning might be the right career for you.

And although most people start out by working under someone, everyone dreams of owning an event planning company. Also if you are about to go ahead and start yours, wait a moment.

Because although you might have sufficient knowledge for planning events, you need one more thing to turn it into a business. A business plan.

Yes, you read it right. A business plan can be of great help while starting your event planning business. It can take your business to lengths and depths, and solve all of your business problems.

Before we understand how you can write your event planning business plan, let’s understand the importance of the business plan .

Event Planning Business Plan Outline

This is the standard event planning business plan outline, which will cover all important sections that you should include in your business plan.

• Business Overview
• Keys to Success
• Net Income & Gross Margin
• About Business
• Business Ownership
• Startup Expense
• Startup Assets
• Office Design
• Step-by-Step Guides
• Event Planning Software
• Resources Manual
• Event Planners Training Institute
• Competitive Comparison
• Private Organizations and Businesses
• Public Organizations
• Age Breakdowns
• Customer Segmentation
• Target Market Segment Strategy
• Hotels and Conference Centers
• Other Event Planners
• Employees or Persons wishing to do it themselves
• Marketing and Competition
• Private and Public Organizations
• Individuals
• Management Summary
• Organizational Structure
• Personnel Plan
• Financial Plan
• General Assumptions
• Break-even Analysis
• Income Statement (5-Year Projections)
• Balance Sheet (5-Year Projections)
• Cash Flow Statement (5-Year Projections)

An event planning business plan consists of several key aspects. You can include the following sections to write a business plan that works:

1. Executive Summary

This is the first and foremost section of your business plan. It consists of a clear and precise summary of all your business stands for.

It is mainly written for summing up your business idea and for acquiring funding.

For example, as an event management company, you can include your business idea, a summary of your past projects, your marketing strategy, and your financial history.

2. Products and services

In this product and services section, you can include details about your services. Write down everything from your target market to the solutions your services offer and the market gap it fulfills.

For example, as an event management company, you can note the size and type of events you cater to. Also, about the variety of services you offer.

3. Market Analysis

The market analysis section will include everything you know and can find about the market you are trying to get into.

Write down everything from market trends, segmentation, and ways of reaching out to your customers to everything about your competitors like competitive analysis, your USP, etc.

For example, you can note down the strategies your direct and indirect competitors are using, branding strategies like customer reviews and website plans, etc.

4. Management and operational structure

In this segment, you can include everything about your team. And also about your daily business activities and long-term goals.

Planning this aspect removes chaos and hassles from your firm’s functioning.

For example, you can include who is responsible for onboarding clients, who are responsible for overlooking the preparations of the event, who is responsible for budgeting, and who is responsible for marketing in the first half of this section.

You can include a progress tracking system as well as an operational strategy and milestones in the second half of this section.

5. Financial Plan

A financial plan is very important for any organization or firm. Planning your finances in the initial stages can save you from a lot of struggles later on. A financial plan includes the past and the present state of your finances. Also, include the projected cash flow and profits.

For example, you can include the expenses you would incur while starting your firm and organizing your first event. And the sources you have for funding are the same.

You can also include the profit forecast as well as what amount of profits your company needs to make to survive and thrive in the market.

Download a sample event planning business plan

Need help writing your business plan from scratch? Here you go;  download our free event planning business plan pdf  to start.

It’s a modern business plan template specifically designed for your event planning business. Use the example business plan as a guide for writing your own.

Event Planning Business Plan Summary

In conclusion, an event planning business can thrive if you work according to a proper business plan.

Also, a well-written plan would take care of everything, ranging from the daily activities of your firm to its finances. Hence, you can channel all of your energies toward your passion.

It is crucial for an event management company to be well managed internally, for it to manage all of its events well.

So, go ahead and plan all the events you want to, but before that don’t forget to write your business plan.

After getting started with Upmetrics , you can copy this sample event planning business plan template into your business plan and modify the required information and download your event planning business plan pdf or doc file.

It’s the fastest and easiest way to start writing your business plan.

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Event Planning Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Over the past 20+ years, we have helped over 5,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans to start and grow their event planning businesses. On this page, we will first give you some background information with regards to the importance of business planning. We will then go through an event planning business plan step-by-step so you can create your plan today.

Download our Ultimate Business Plan Template here

What Is a Business Plan?

A business plan provides a snapshot of your own event planning business as it stands today, and lays out your growth plan for the next five years. It explains your business goals and your strategy for reaching them. It also includes research to support your plans.  

Why You Need a Business Plan

Source of Funding for Event Planning Businesses

With regards to funding, the main sources of secure funding for an event planning business are bank loans, personal funding, credit cards, and angel investors. With regards to bank loans, banks will want to review your business plan and gain confidence that you will be able to repay your loan and interest. To acquire this confidence, the loan officer will not only want to confirm that your financials are reasonable. But they will want to see a professional plan. Such a plan will give them the confidence that you can successfully and professionally operate a business.

Another common form of secure funding for an event planning business is angel investors. Angel investors are wealthy individuals who will write you a check. They will either take equity in return for their funding or, like a bank, they will give you a loan. Venture capitalists will not fund an event planning business.  

How To Write a Business Plan For Event Planning

When you write a business plan, you should include the following 10 key aspects:  

Executive Summary

The goal of your Executive Summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the type of event planning business you are operating and the status; for example, are you a startup, do you have an event planning business that you would like to grow, or are you operating a chain of businesses.

Next, provide an overview of each of the subsequent sections of your plan. For example, give a brief overview of the event planning business industry. Discuss the type of business you are operating. Detail your direct competitors. Give an overview of your target audience. Provide a snapshot of your marketing strategy and plan. Identify the key members of your team. And offer an overview of your financial plan.  

Company Analysis

In your company analysis, you will detail the type of business you are operating.

For example, you might operate one of the following types:

• Corporate Events : this type of event planning business caters to businesses, charities, nonprofit organizations, and the like to plan fundraisers, receptions, conventions, trade shows, competitions, award ceremonies, product launches, and other types of meetings.
• Social Events : this type of event planning business targets middle- to upper-income individuals and families to plan events such as weddings, birthdays, reunions, and other types of celebrations.
• Niche Events : some event planners specialize in just one of the above event types.

In addition to explaining the type of event planning business you operate, the Company Analysis section of your business plan needs to provide background on the business.

Include answers to questions such as:

• When and why did you start the business?
• What milestones have you achieved to date? Milestones could include sales goals you’ve reached, new contracts, etc.
• Your legal structure. Are you incorporated as an S-Corp? An LLC? A sole proprietorship? Explain your business structure here.

Industry Analysis

While this may seem unnecessary, it serves multiple purposes.

First, researching the industry educates you. It helps you understand the target market in which you are operating. 

Secondly, market research can improve your strategy particularly if your research identifies market trends. For example, if there was a trend towards events that adhere to social distancing guidelines, it would be helpful to ensure your plan details what approach you would take (suggested venues, creative solutions for inclusion, etc.).

The third reason for market research is to prove to readers that you are an expert in your industry. By conducting the research and presenting it in your plan, you achieve just that.

The following questions should be answered in the industry analysis section:

• How big is the event planning industry (in dollars)?
• Is the market declining or increasing?
• Who are the key competitors in the market?
• Who are the key suppliers in the market?
• What trends are affecting the industry?
• What is the industry’s growth forecast over the next 5 – 10 years?
• What is the relevant market size? That is, how big is the potential market for your business. You can extrapolate such a figure by assessing the size of the market in the entire country and then applying that figure to your local population.

Customer Analysis

The customer analysis section must detail the clientele you serve and/or expect to serve.

The following are examples of customer segments: private and corporate clients, high-income households, medium-income households, engaged couples, etc.

As you can imagine, the customer segment(s) you choose will have a great impact on the type of event planning company you operate and the event services you offer. Clearly, businesses would want a different atmosphere, pricing, and product options, and would respond to different marketing promotions than engaged couples.

Try to break out your target customers in terms of their demographic and psychographic profiles. With regards to demographics, including a discussion of the age groups, genders, locations, and income levels of the customers you seek to serve. Because most event planning companies primarily serve customers living in the same city or town, such demographic information is easy to find on government websites.

Psychographic profiles explain the wants and needs of your target market. The more you can understand and define these needs, the better you will do to attract customers and retain your existing customers.  

Competitive Analysis

Direct competitors are other planners and businesses that offer event planning services.

Indirect competitors are other options that customers have to purchase from you that aren’t direct competitors. This includes caterers, venues, and customers planning events on their own. You need to mention such competition to show you understand that not everyone who throws a party hires an event planner each time.

With regards to direct competition, you want to detail the other businesses with which you compete. Most likely, your direct competitors will be other businesses that offer event planning services very close to your site.

For each such competitor, provide an overview of their businesses and document their strengths and weaknesses. Unless you once worked at your competitors’ businesses, it will be impossible to know everything about them. But you should be able to find out key things about them such as:

• What types of customers do they serve?
• What planning services do they offer (wedding planning, baby showers, birthday parties, social events, etc.)?
• What is their pricing (premium, low, etc.)?
• What are they good at?
• What are their weaknesses?

With regards to the last two questions, think about your answers from the customers’ perspective. 

The final part of your competitive analysis section is to document your areas of competitive advantage. For example:

• Will you provide superior event management options (e.g., more cuisine types, better venue options, etc.)?
• Will you provide event options that your competitors don’t offer?
• Will you make it easier or faster for customers to book your services (e.g., utilizing event planning software, etc.)?
• Will you provide better customer service?
• Will you offer better pricing?

Think about ways you will outperform your competition and document them in this section of your plan.

Marketing Plan

In the product section, you should reiterate the type of business that you documented in your Company Analysis. Then, detail the specific products/services you will be offering. For example, in addition to designing the event, locating the venue, arranging vendors, coordinating personnel, and supervising the event, will you offer services such as catering, decor, and entertainment?

In this section, document the prices you will offer and how they compare to your competitors. Essentially in the product and price sub-sections, you are presenting the services you offer and their prices.

Place refers to the location of your event management business, conference centers, and/or venues in which you own and/or have a relationship. Document your location and mention how the location will impact your success.

The final part of your event planning business marketing plan is the promotions section. Here you will document how you will drive customers to your site. The following are some promotional methods you might consider:

• Social media marketing
• Advertising in local papers and magazines
• Reaching out to local bloggers and websites 
• Partnerships with local organizations (e.g., getting on the list of recommended vendors with local venues)
• Local radio advertising
• Banner ads at local venues

Operations Plan

While the earlier sections of your event planner business plan explained your goals, your operations plan describes how you will meet them. Your operations plan should have two distinct sections as follows.

Everyday short-term processes include all of the tasks involved in running your event planning business such as interviewing clients, making arrangements, keeping the store/studio clean, etc.

Long-term goals are the milestones you hope to achieve. These could include the dates when you expect to serve your 100th customer, or when you hope to reach $X in total sales. It could also be when you expect to hire your Xth employee or launch in a new market.

Management Team

Ideally, you and/or your team members have direct experience as event planners or in the industry. If so, highlight this experience and expertise. But also highlight any experience that you think will help your business succeed.

If your team is lacking, consider assembling an advisory board. An advisory board would include 2 to 8 individuals who would act as mentors to your business. They would help answer questions and provide strategic guidance. If needed, look for advisory board members with experience in event planning and/or successfully running small businesses.  

Financial Plan

Your financial plan should include your 5-year financial statement broken out both monthly or quarterly for the first year and then annually. Your financial statements include your income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statements.

Income Statement : an income statement is more commonly called a Profit and Loss statement or P&L. It shows your revenues and then subtracts your costs to show whether you turned a profit or not.

In developing your income statement, you need to devise assumptions. For example, will you plan one event per week or several events? And will sales grow by 2% or 10% per year? As you can imagine, your choice of assumptions will greatly impact the financial forecasts for your business. As much as possible, conduct research to try to root your assumptions in reality.

Balance Sheets : While balance sheets include much information, to simplify them to the key items you need to know about, balance sheets show your assets and liabilities. For instance, if you spend $100,000 on building out your business, that will not give you immediate profits. Rather it is an asset that will hopefully help you generate profits for years to come. Likewise, if a bank writes you a check for $100.000, you don’t need to pay it back immediately. Rather, that is a liability you will pay back over time.

Cash Flow Statement : Your cash flow statement will help determine how much money you need to start or grow your business and make sure you never run out of money. What most entrepreneurs and business owners don’t realize is that you can turn a profit but run out of money and go bankrupt. For example, let’s say a company approached you with a massive $100,000 event contract, that would cost you $50,000 to fulfill. Well, in most cases, you would have to pay that $50,000 now for supplies, equipment rentals, employee salaries, etc. But let’s say the company didn’t pay you for 180 days. During those 180 days, you could run out of money.

In developing your Income Statement and Balance Sheets be sure to include several of the key startup costs needed in starting or growing your business:

• Location build-out including design fees, construction, etc.
• The total cost of equipment and furnishings like decor, sound systems, etc.
• Cost of maintaining an adequate amount of supplies
• Payroll or salaries paid to staff
• Business insurance
• Taxes and permits
• Legal expenses

Event Planning Summary

Putting together your own event planner business plan is a worthwhile endeavor. If you follow the event planning sample template above, by the time you are done, you will truly be an expert. You will really understand the business, your competition, and your customers. You will have developed a marketing plan and will really understand what it takes to launch and grow a successful event planning business.

Finish Your Event Planning Business Plan in 1 Day!

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With Growthink’s Ultimate Business Plan Template you can finish your plan in just 8 hours or less!

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Since 1999, Growthink has developed business plans for thousands of companies that have gone on to achieve tremendous success.

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Event Planning Business Plan FAQs

What is the easiest way to complete my event planning business plan.

Growthink's Ultimate Business Plan Template allows you to quickly and easily complete your Event Planning Business Plan.

What is the Goal of a Business Plan's Executive Summary?

The goal is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the type of event planning business you are operating and the status; for example, are you a startup, do you have an event planning business that you would like to grow, or are you operating a chain of event planning businesses.

Other Helpful Business Plan Articles & Templates

Event Planning Company Business Plan

Event planning business plan.

You’ve come to the right place to create your event planning business plan.

We have helped over 10,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans and many have used them to start or grow their event planning companies

Below is an event planning business plan sample to help you create each section of your Event Planning business plan.

Executive Summary

Business overview.

Special Occasions Event Planning is a startup event planning business located in Des Moines, Iowa. The Company is founded by Jennifer Brown, an experienced event planner who has been planning themed weddings and birthday parties as the manager of a local event venue for the past ten years. Now that Jennifer has gained valuable experience managing an event venue and planning special events of various sizes and styles, she is ready to start her own event planning company, Special Occasions Event Planning. Jennifer is confident that her event planning skills, combined with her understanding of business management, will enable her to run a profitable event planning company of her own. Jennifer is recruiting a team of highly qualified professionals to help manage the day-to-day complexities of running an event planning business – sales and marketing, supply sourcing and procurement, customer relationship management, budgeting, financial reporting, and vendor relationship management. 

Special Occasions Event Planning will provide customized event planning services for special occasions big and small. Special Occasions will specialize in themed birthday parties, but will provide planning services for other types of events such as weddings, parties, and corporate gatherings upon request. The Company will be the ultimate choice for unique and memorable themed birthday parties for clients of all ages. 

Product Offering

The following are the event planning products and services that Special Occasions Event Planning will provide:

• Venue Sourcing 
• Tables & Chairs
• Dinnerware & Utensils
• Caterer Coordination
• Entertainment
• Party Favors
• Photography/Videography
• Lighting/Sound
• Bartending/Liquor 
• Set-up/Clean up

Customer Focus

Special Occasions Event Planning will target individuals, families, and social groups in Des Moines, Iowa. The Company will target people looking to plan a one-of-a-kind birthday party for their child, significant other, friend, or other relative. No matter the customer, Special Occasions Event Planning will deliver the best communication, service, and attention to detail. 

Management Team

Special Occasions Event Planning will be owned and operated by Jennifer Brown. Jennifer is a graduate of Iowa University with a degree in Business Management. She has over ten years of experience working as an event planner for another local venue. Jennifer will be the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and the Head Event Planner. She will lead the more complex events and oversee the event planning staff. 

Jennifer has recruited an experienced administrative assistant, Patricia Smith, to help manage the day-to-day business operations. Patricia has been an administrative assistant in the event planning industry for more than 15 years. Jennifer relies on Patricia’s organization, attention to detail, and punctuality when organizing her schedule, managing clients, and maintaining her files. 

Jennifer and Patricia have recruited an experienced marketing director, John Jones, to become a member of the Special Occasions Event Planning management team. John is a graduate of the University of Iowa with a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing. Jennifer and Patricia rely on John’s expertise to execute the Company’s marketing plan and advertising strategies.  

Success Factors

Special Occasions Event Planning will be able to achieve success by offering the following competitive advantages:

• Skilled team of event planners who will ensure every client receives exceptional customer service and that all reasonable requests are met. 
• Special Occasions Event Planning’s leadership team has established relationships with local venues, vendors, and entertainers, thus providing customers with a wide selection of options to choose from when planning their special event. 
• The Company specializes in the themed birthday party niche and is well-versed in the latest trends in the industry. 

Financial Highlights

Special Occasions Event Planning is seeking $200,000 in debt financing to launch its event planning business. The funding will be dedicated towards securing an office space and purchasing equipment and supplies. Funding will also be dedicated towards three months of overhead costs to include payroll of the staff and marketing expenses. The breakout of the funding is below:

• Office lease and renovation: $80,000
• Office equipment, supplies, and materials: $20,000
• Three months of overhead expenses (payroll, utilities): $90,000
• Marketing costs: $10,000
• Working capital: $10,000

The following graph below outlines the pro forma financial projections for Special Occasions Event Planning.

Company Overview

Who is special occasions event planning .

Special Occasions Event Planning is a newly established event planning company based in Des Moines, Iowa. Special Occasions will be the first choice for unique themed birthday parties for people of all ages in Des Moines and the surrounding communities. The company will provide customized event planning services for parties large and small. 

Special Occasions Event Planning will be able to provide all the essentials for any special event from highly rated caterers to the hottest entertainment due to the Company’s existing relationships with industry professionals and vendors. The Company’s team of highly qualified event planning professionals will manage the entire planning process from ideation to execution. Special Occasions even provides clean-up services. Clients can opt for full-service event planning services or purchase specific aspects (such as decor or catering) a la carte. 

Special Occasions Event Planning History

Special Occasions Event Planning is owned and operated by Jennifer Brown, an experienced event planner who has been planning themed weddings and birthday parties as the manager of a local event venue for the past ten years. Now that Jennifer has experienced managing an event venue and planning special events of various sizes and styles, she is ready to start her own event planning company. Jennifer is confident that her event planning skills, combined with her understanding of business management, will enable her to run a profitable event planning company of her own. Jennifer is recruiting a team of highly qualified professionals to help manage the day-to-day complexities of running an event planning business – sales and marketing, supply sourcing and procurement, customer relationship management, budgeting, financial reporting, and vendor relationship management. 

Since incorporation, Special Occasions Event Planning has achieved the following milestones:

• Registered Special Occasions Event Planning, LLC to transact business in the state of Iowa. 
• Has signed a contract to lease the office space. 
• Reached out to numerous contacts to include local venues, catering companies, entertainers, and decor suppliers to spread the word about her new business opportunities. 
• Began recruiting a staff of accountants, event planners, sales and marketing associates, and office staff to work at Special Occasions Event Planning Services.

Special Occasions Event Planning Services

Industry analysis.

The Party and Event Planning industry in the United States is valued at approximately $4B, with 70,000 businesses in operation, and over 82,000 employees. The market for event planning services is expected to grow over the next several years due to an aging baby boomer population, many of whom have children and grandchildren who will have weddings, birthday parties, graduations, anniversaries, and other special events in the coming years. Additionally, the corporate event planning segment is expected to grow due to more companies pursuing team building opportunities and hosting events that can serve as marketing for the business. 

The event planning market is split into two broad segments: corporate and social. Corporate events such as holiday parties, meetings, trade shows, conventions, fundraisers, and receptions are just some of the events included in this segment. Corporate customers include companies, non-profit organizations, and charities. The social segment includes a wide range of special occasions such as weddings, bridal showers, birthday parties, anniversary parties, reunions, and more. The largest and most lucrative category in the social event planning segment is wedding planning. 

Industry operators can specialize in one or two niches such as wedding planners or corporate planners. Alternatively, industry operators can provide planning services for a wide range of events. Industry operators that specialize in a specific niche and even narrow their niche to a specific type of event, such as “kids’ parties” or “fashion shows” may have more success because they can become an expert in one area and target a highly specific customer segment. Industry operators who provide a broad range of services to a variety of customers can be successful if they provide high levels of organization, customer service, and unique or highly customized services. 

Customer Analysis

Demographic profile of target market.

Special Occasions Event Planning will target individuals, families, and social groups in Des Moines, Iowa. The Company will target people looking to plan a one-of-a-kind birthday party for their child, significant other, friend, or other relative. Special Occasions Event Planning will also target young adults looking to plan a memorable, themed 21st birthday party. No matter the customer, Special Occasions Event Planning will deliver the best communication, service, and attention to detail. 

The precise demographics for Des Moines, Iowa are:

Customer Segmentation

Special Occasions will primarily target the following customer profiles:

• Millennials
• Individuals with disposable income
• Families with children and disposable income

Competitive Analysis

Direct and indirect competitors.

Special Occasions Event Planning will face competition from other companies with similar business profiles. A description of each competitor company is below.

Emily’s Event Planning

Established in 2017, Emily’s Event Planning is now a well-known event planner in the Des Moines, Iowa area. The company provides event planning services for large corporate events, weddings, and birthday parties. Emily’s Event Planning is most well-known for its picturesque venue choices. The company has relationships with some of the most in-demand venues in the area. Emily’s Event Planning provides an all-inclusive event planning and management service with packages that include venue rental, decor, entertainment, food, and clean-up services. 

While Emily’s Event Planning has an established reputation in the market for quality event planning services, it has a list of predefined event packages and does not customize its services or take unique requests from customers. 

Fancy Event Planner

Fancy Event Planner has been operating in the state of Iowa since 1982. This company is a small business run by a husband and wife team that specializes in event planning and catering services for weddings, birthday parties, and other special occasions. Fancy Event Planner provides decor, venue coordination, and food service for events of up to 100 guests. The company specializes in providing gourmet dinners, desserts, and appetizers. Additionally, Fancy Event Planner provides hand crafted decor and floral arrangements for weddings and parties. Fancy Event Planner is for customers looking for an elegant presentation in a traditional setting. 

Fancy Event Planner has a limited selection of services and does not offer entertainment, set-up/clean-up, lighting/sound, or liquor accommodations. 

Wonderfully Perfect Event Planning Services

Wonderfully Perfect Event Planning Services is a new Des Moines, Iowa-based event planner that provides superior service to its customers. The company is managed by an experienced entrepreneur who has been working in the hospitality industry for over 20 years. She opened Wonderfully Perfect Event Planning Services in 2019 when she discovered a lack of options for themed party planning in the area. The company provides customized planning services for any event and will strive to ensure all customer requests are met to ensure a perfect event experience every time. 

The company does not have established relationships with vendors, venues, or entertainment in the area and as such, trails behind Special Occasions Event Planning in this area. 

Competitive Advantage

Special Occasions Event Planning will be able to offer the following advantages over the competition:

• Skilled team of experienced event planners who are able to provide customized planning services and fulfill any reasonable request. 
• Special Occasions Event Planning’s management team has long-standing relationships with industry professionals and is able to provide customers with a wide selection of options when it comes to venues, entertainment, and catering.  
• The Company specializes in themed birthday parties and keeps up on the latest trends in the industry. 

Marketing Plan

Brand & value proposition.

Special Occasions Event Planning will offer the unique value proposition to its clientele:

• Special Occasions Event Planning provides full-services event planning from ideation to execution. 
• The Company’s wide selection of options allows each customer to create their dream event.  

Promotions Strategy 

The promotions strategy for Special Occasions Event Planning is as follows:

Social Media Marketing

The Company’s marketing director will create accounts on social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube. He will ensure Special Occasions maintains an active social media presence with regular daily updates and fun content to get customers excited about using the Company’s event planning services. 

Professional Associations and Networking

Special Occasions Event Planning will become a member of professional associations such as the Event Planners’ Association, American Party Planning Society, and the Iowa Special Event Association. The leadership team will focus their networking efforts on expanding the Company’s vendor and client network. 

Print Advertising

Special Occasions Event Planning will invest in professionally designed print ads to display in programs or flyers at industry networking events. The Company will also send direct mailers to local businesses with employees who are in the target market. 

Website/SEO Marketing

Special Occasions Event Planning will utilize its in-house marketing director that designed the print ads to also design the Company’s website. The website will be well organized, informative, and list all the services that Special Occasions is able to provide. The website will also list information on the Company’s events and promotions. 

The marketing director will also manage the Company’s website presence with SEO marketing tactics so that when someone types in a search engine “Des Moines Event Planner” or “Event Planner near me”, Special Occasions Event Planning will be listed at the top of the search results.

The pricing of Special Occasions Event Planning will be premium due to the high level of customization and hands-on planning services involved. Customers will feel they receive great value when purchasing the Company’s services.  

Operations Plan

The following will be the operations plan for Special Occasions Event Planning.

Operation Functions:

• Jennifer Brown will be the CEO and Head Event Planner. She will lead the more complex events and oversee the event planning staff. Jennifer has spent the past year recruiting the following staff:
• Patricia Smith – Administrative Assistant who will manage the budgeting, vendor relationships, and logistics.
• Sam Johnson – Accountant/Bookkeeper who will provide all accounting, tax payments, and monthly financial reporting.
• John Jones – Marketing Director who will oversee all marketing strategies for the Company and manage the website, social media, and outreach. 
• Michelle Garcia – Customer Success Officer who will oversee customer relationships. 

Milestones:

Special Occasions Event Planning will have the following milestones complete in the next six months.

11/1/2022 – Finalize contract to lease the office space. 

11/15/2022 – Finalize employment contracts for the Special Occasions Event Planning management team.

12/1/2022 – Begin renovations on the office and purchase office equipment and supplies. 

12/15/2022 – Begin networking at industry events and implement the marketing plan. 

1/15/2023 – Begin recruiting and training office staff and event planners. 

2/15/2023 – Special Occasions Event Planning officially opens for business. 

Financial Plan

Key revenue & costs.

The revenue drivers for Special Occasions Event Planning are the fees charged to customers in exchange for the Company’s event planning services. Customers will be able to purchase full-service, customizable packages or select specific aspects (such as entertainment or catering) a la carte. 

The cost drivers will be the overhead costs required in order to staff an event planning business. The expenses will be the payroll cost, utilities, party supplies, and marketing materials.

Funding Requirements and Use of Funds

Key assumptions.

The following outlines the key assumptions required in order to achieve the revenue and cost numbers in the financials and in order to pay off the startup business loan.

• Average number of events per month: 4 
• Average fees per month: $20,000
• Overhead costs per year: $360,000

Financial Projections

Income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement, event planning company business plan faqs, what is an event planning company business plan.

An e vent planning company business plan is a plan to start and/or grow your event planning company business. Among other things, it outlines your business concept, identifies your target customers, presents your marketing plan and details your financial projections.

You can easily complete your event planning company business plan using our Event Planning Company Business Plan Template here .

What are the Main Types of Event Planning Companies?

There are a number of different kinds of event planning companies , some examples include: Corporate Events, Social Events, and Niche Events Planning.

How Do You Get Funding for Your Event Planning Company Business Plan?

Event planning companies are often funded through small business loans. Personal savings, credit card financing and angel investors are also popular forms of funding. This is true for an event business plan or an event management business plan.

What are the Steps To Start an Event Planning Business?

Starting an event planning business can be an exciting endeavor. Having a clear roadmap of the steps to start a business will help you stay focused on your goals and get started faster.

1. Develop An Event Planning Company Business Plan - The first step in starting a business is to create a detailed event planning company business plan that outlines all aspects of the venture. This should include potential market size and target customers, the services or products you will offer, pricing strategies and a detailed financial forecast.  

2. Choose Your Legal Structure - It's important to select an appropriate legal entity for your event planning business. This could be a limited liability company (LLC), corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship. Each type has its own benefits and drawbacks so it’s important to do research and choose wisely so that your event planning business is in compliance with local laws.

3. Register Your Event Planning Business - Once you have chosen a legal structure, the next step is to register your event planning business with the government or state where you’re operating from. This includes obtaining licenses and permits as required by federal, state, and local laws. 

4. Identify Financing Options - It’s likely that you’ll need some capital to start your event planning business, so take some time to identify what financing options are available such as bank loans, investor funding, grants, or crowdfunding platforms. 

5. Choose a Location - Whether you plan on operating out of a physical location or not, you should always have an idea of where you’ll be based should it become necessary in the future as well as what kind of space would be suitable for your operations. 

6. Hire Employees - There are several ways to find qualified employees including job boards like LinkedIn or Indeed as well as hiring agencies if needed – depending on what type of employees you need it might also be more effective to reach out directly through networking events. 

7. Acquire Necessary Event Planning Company Equipment & Supplies - In order to start your event planning business, you'll need to purchase all of the necessary equipment and supplies to run a successful operation. 

8. Market & Promote Your Business - Once you have all the necessary pieces in place, it’s time to start promoting and marketing your event planning business. This includes creating a website, utilizing social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter, and having an effective Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy. You should also consider traditional marketing techniques such as radio or print advertising. 

Learn more about how to start a successful event planning business:

• How to Start an Event Planning Business

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Event Planning Business Plan Sample

JAN.15, 2018

Event planning business plan for starting your own agency

Are you thinking about starting an event planning business ? Well, if you have what it takes to properly plan and manage an event, you can certainly jump in this field. The biggest benefit of starting this business plan event planner is that it requires the least capital investment as compared to many other businesses. You can start a business plan for an event planner in a small office with a small team and a little inventory comprising of mostly office and stationery products.

Secondly, a  business plan for an event planner starts yielding a profit as soon as it is launched as compared to most of the businesses which need months or even years to yield the desired rate of return. Another important aspect is that, unlike other businesses, an event planning business has the least amount of risk associated with it provided that you plan and market it successfully.

So before you move on to starting this venture, you will have to prepare a comprehensive event management business plan which will establish the basis of your company’s future operations and decisions. If you are wondering how to write a business plan for event planning then here we are providing you the event management business plan company business startup named ‘Godi Events’.

Executive Summary

2.1 the business.

Godi Events will be a bonded, insured and licensed event management business plan , located in the Manhattan borough of the New York City. We aim to serve the nearby residential community and the corporate sector of Manhattan by proving them the best services for managing their important and memorable events of life.

Godi Events will be owned and operated by Anna Godi. Anna has been associated with the hospitality industry for more than 6 years. She has been working at executive positions in various event planning companies and premium brands throughout the United States to create memorable and unique events. She wanted to establish a name for herself in this industry that’s why she thought, ‘why not starting my own event planning business ’? Hence, she decided to start this venture.

2.2 Management

The main office of Godi Events will be located in Manhattan borough of the New York City. A 200 square feet office has already been acquired on lease in the center of the main commercial district of downtown Manhattan. Anna will manage the overall operations of the company while she will be assisted by some of her friends for the startup.

The success of a startup heavily depends on its staff and management. Likewise, management will play a great role in making this venture successful, so make sure to plan it before thinking about how to start a business in event planning .

2.3 Customers

Our target market is the corporate sector located in the Central Business District of the Manhattan and the community living nearby at the 10 minutes’ drive from our office. This residential community will need our services for planning and managing their weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, and parties. On the other hand, companies and businesses also need to organize work sessions, retreats, team meetings, seminars, workshops, and conferences multiple times in a year.

Our biggest competitive edge over other competitors will be our mobile app business plan which can be used for online booking, selection of food plans and venues, making payments and much more. We have strategically built this app to facilitate the ever-busy working class of the society. Our second competitive edge will be our unparalleled customer service which will be the best in town. We will treat every customer with utmost respect and make sure that they get more than what they had expected from us.

2.4 Target of the Company

The target of the company is to become the best business plan for event planning company  in the New York City within next five years of our startup. This target can only be achieved by growing the sales at the forecasted rate. We also aim to balance the initial cost of the startup with earned profits by the end of the first year, to achieve the net profit margin of $10k per month by the end of the first year, to open up two more offices in different cities of the United States by the end of five years.

Company Summary

3.1 company owner.

Godi Events will be owned and operated by Anna Godi. Anna has been associated with the hospitality industry for more than 6 years after completing her Masters in Human Resources Management from Loyola Marymount University – College of Business Administration. Since then, she has been working at executive positions in various event planning companies throughout the United States, working primarily with premium companies and brands for creating memorable and unique events.

Anna is a philanthropist and celebrated Event Planner, best known for planning some of the New York City’s most important events. Stylish and discriminating, she believes in working only with the very best. From photographers and set designers to budgeting and booking artists, she has formed an exceptionally collaborative team for her venture.

3.2 Why the event planning business is being started

Anna has always been a planner. Since her high school days, she has been planning, organizing and executing school events. Afterwards, she started her own event management business plan society in college to plan and manage the college events organized by the student body. She was born to be a planner and her planning skills are praised by all and sundry.

After completing her studies, Anna pursued her passion by serving in some of the biggest event organizers of the United States but soon she realized that she can establish her name in the hospitality business only by her own setup. That’s when she decided to start business plan event planner  completely by herself. She knows that she can bring radical changes in the hospitality industry by following her natural instincts.

3.3 How the event planning business will be started

You have to consider many aspects before you think about how to start your own party planning business . Fortunately, during her 5 years’ experience in the hospitality industry, Anna made many friends some of whom will join her in this venture and will help her through every step.

The main office of Godi Events will be located in Manhattan borough of the New York City. A 200 square feet office has already been acquired on lease in the center of the main commercial district of downtown Manhattan. The place was formerly used as an office for a small IT firm. Some changes and interior designing woodwork are also required and a contractor has been hired for this purpose.

Anna has planned everything about her event management business plan including the required personnel and inventory and has hired experts from various fields to help her craft a detailed map about it. The financial experts have forecasted following costs for expenses, assets, investment, and loans for the Start-up.

The detailed start-up requirements, start-up funding, start-up expenses, total assets, total funding required, total liabilities, total planned investment, total capital and liabilities as forecasted by experts, is given below:

Services for customers

The success or failure of a party planner business entirely depends on how it provides its services to the customers. A party plans business must be extremely customer-oriented and should provide a wide variety of services to survive in the modern day competitive environment. So before you start your own event planning business , do some research about what kind of event management business plans are most in demand nowadays. In order to excel in the competitive field of event planning, Godi Events will provide the following event planning services to its esteemed customers:

• Corporate Event Planning: We will provide a majority of services to the corporate sector. Some of those services include but are not limited to corporate event planning, corporate retreat planning, team meetings planning, training and work sessions planning, conferences and workshops planning.
• Party Planning: We will provide a majority of party planning services which include but are not limited to anniversaries planning, birthday events planning, graduation and other parties planning.
• Wedding Planning: We will also provide wedding planning services and other inclusive events such as reception and shower planning.
• Social Events Planning: We will provide a wide range of social events planning which include but are not limited to social gatherings planning, banquets and social dinners planning, award ceremonies and other similar events planning.

Our events will be completely customized, reflecting the brand personality of every client. Whether we will act for a product, a family, or a company, our work will integrate innovative designs with the finest in wine and cocktails, dining, music, entertainment and—most important of all—that intangible element of surprise.

Our group of seasoned professionals understands that breakthrough ideas are only as good as the discipline supporting them. At Godi Events we believe that there is a sublime connection between the mastery of logistics and the creation of astonishment. Specializing in the creation of exceptional events for private and corporate clients, we will design, plan and manage every project from conception to execution.

We will be responsible for planning, executing and managing everything needed to make an event successful. We pay great attention to even the tiniest bit of details as this is the key to the success of any event. Whether we are planning a company retreat, a social event or a wedding, we will be responsible for planning and managing of its every aspect such as audio / visual, budget planning, catering consultation, décor selection, entertainment, evening program, floral, guest gifts, hotel room blocks, invitations, lighting and sound, on-site management, photography, rentals, stationery, tenting, timelines, transportation, venue selection & management, videography etc.

In addition, to provide the planning services, we will also sell resource manuals and step-by-step guides. These resource manuals and step-by-step guides can be either purchased directly from our office in Manhattan or they can be downloaded from your official website by making an online payment via PayPal and Payoneer.

The resource manual is a compilation of various services providers such as caterers, decorators, bands, and disc jockeys located in the surrounding area. A ranking is given to them along with their contact details. This manual gives the client the freedom of making a choice based on experience.

Similarly, the step-by-step guides include the detailed guidelines for planning out the birthdays, meetings, retreats, parties, vacations, and special occasion celebrations such as graduations, holidays, showers, weddings, and receptions event. It will guide the readers on what is needed for and how to put together a successful, worry-free and successful event with popular refreshments, recipes, games. By using these resource manuals and step-by-step guides, anyone can easily plan the small-scale events for themselves.

Marketing analysis of business plan for event planning company

The most important component of an effective event planning business plan template  is its accurate marketing analysis that’s why Anna acquired the services of marketing experts to help her through this phase. It is only after this stage that a good event management business plan could have been developed. After identifying the local market trends in the New York City, the marketing experts and analysts also helped her to select the best site for establishing the main office of the company.

The success or failure of a event management business plan totally depends upon its marketing strategy which can only be developed on the basis of accurate marketing analysis. There are four main steps to carry out an accurate marketing analysis which are to identify the current market trends, identify your target audience and potential customers, set out the event management business plan targets to achieve, and finally set the prices of your products and services. Marketing analysis is a must-do thing before you move on to event planner business plan because the planning of many subsequent components depends on it. Therefore, it must be considered before developing a party planner business plan .

Immigration Business Plan

5.1 market trends.

The event management industry is hardly a couple of decades old and has already experienced unprecedented growth. It is estimated that it is experiencing an unprecedented growth of more than 25% per year making it one of the fastest growing industries today, along with the travel and hospitality sectors. Today, event management business plan is not just limited to planning and organization but much more.

Moreover, this industry is one of the few industries which have seen a constant increase in revenue along with the increase in business plan event planner locations with time. It has been estimated that event industry contributes more than a hundred billion dollars to the annual GDP of the United States. The number of event planners has increased exponentially over the past few years. After identifying these market trends, it is clearly evident that the party planner business plan industry is always blooming and can be immensely profitable provided you plan your business plan event planner successfully.

5.2 Marketing Segmentation

Our target market is the corporate sector located in the Central Business District of the Manhattan and the community living nearby at the 10 minutes’ drive from our office. The community consists of all types of people from varying backgrounds. As per the financial position, nearly half of the community has a monthly income ranging from $40k to $50k while nearly 10% people have incomes even around $100,000.

The corporate sector also provides many opportunities to us since the Downtown Manhattan houses many local, national and multinational businesses and companies. On average, these businesses make millions of dollars every year and can easily spend extravagantly on their events for the sake of promoting their brands. That’s why they present many prospects for event planners like us.

In order to develop a good event planning business plan sample it was crucial to analyze the market segmentation of the future customers of our services. A successful and efficient marketing strategy can only be developed after we completely know our potential customers. Our experts have identified the following type of target audience which can become our future consumers:

The detailed marketing segmentation of our target audience is as follows:

5.1.1 Corporate Sector:

The biggest consumer of our services will be the corporate sector located in Downtown Manhattan. There are hundreds of local, national and multinational businesses and companies located within 15 km radius of our office. These corporations organize company retreats once or twice a year to increase team building between their employees and to take a break from the hectic and monotonous office routine. Similarly, these companies need to organize work sessions, team meetings, seminars, workshops, and conferences multiple times in a year.

Most of these businesses make millions of dollars every year and can easily spend extravagantly on their events for the sake of promoting their brands and for entertaining their high-profile guests. They will contribute the biggest portion of our revenue and hence our marketing strategy will be specifically tailored to attract this customer group.

5.1.2 Government Institutions:

The second category comprises of various government institutions in addition to schools, colleges, and universities located in Manhattan. These institutions frequently host many public events and gatherings such as award ceremonies, educational events, conferences and seminars, alumni meet up events etc.

5.1.3 Residential Community:

The third category includes the community residing in the residential zones of the city at a 10 minutes’ drive from our office. The residential community is extremely diverse comprising of people belonging to various age groups and varying needs. This customer group will need our services for weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, and parties. As discussed earlier, we are strategically located in one of the richest neighborhoods in the United States where the residents have monthly incomes up to a hundred thousand dollars. That’s why this group will contribute the second biggest chunk of revenue after the corporate sector.

The detailed market analysis of our potential customers is given in the following table:

5.3 Business Target

We aim to become the best event planners of the New York City within next five years of our startup. Our main event management business plan  targets to be achieved as milestones over the course of next three years are as follows:

• To achieve the net profit margin of $10k per month by the end of the first year, $15k per month by the end of the second year, and $25k per month by the end of the third year
• To balance the initial cost of the startup with earned profits by the end of the first year
• To open up a second company office by the end of three years in San Francisco, and a third office by the end of five years in Los Angeles

5.4 Product Pricing

Product and service pricing is one of the most important factors in deciding the strategy for a business plan for event planning company . Selecting the price for the services is a difficult task, especially for the startups, because one has to attract customers while yielding a profit at the same time. These two things cannot be achieved at the same time and the only way out is to select a compromised trade-off or balance between the two.

After considering the market demands, we have priced all our services in the similar ranges as of our competitors. The reason behind our pricing policy is to achieve the minimum attractive rate of return which would not be possible in case of offering our services at low prices.

The strategy of business plan for event planning company

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Like marketing analysis, sales strategy is also an important component of an event planning business . After identifying the market trends, the market demand, and the potential customers of the startup, the next step is to develop an ingenious strategy to attract those customers toward us. Anna carried out an extensive research about various marketing and advertising strategies before she moved to start a party planning business .

6.1 Competitive Analysis:

Event planning industry is one of the biggest industries of the United States contributing $115 Billion to the annual GDP of the United States. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, there is over 100,000 party planner business plan  in the United States and their numbers are increasing exponentially. Likewise, there are hundreds of established event planners in the New York City that’s why we have a really tough competition ahead of us. Considering the immense competition in this field, one has to introduce something innovative before even thinking about how to start event planning business .

That’s why we have already made preparations for entering the competitive industry of event management. Our biggest competitive edge over other competitors will be our mobile app which can be used for a variety of purposes such as online booking, choosing a venue from different venues, selection of different menu plans or create a customized one for your event, selection of different activities for the event, making online payments, and much more.

We have strategically built this app to facilitate the ever-busy working class of the society. Our second competitive edge will be our unparalleled customer service which will be the best in town. We will treat every customer with utmost respect and make sure that they get more than what they had expected from us.

6.2 Sales Strategy

After carrying out a detailed analysis, our experts came up with the following brilliant ideas to advertise and sell ourselves.

• We will carry out a large-scale social media campaign for our advertisement.
• We will introduce a smartphone app which you can use for online booking, selection of food delivery by business plans and venues, making payments and much more.
• We will offer a 25% discounts on our services for the first three months of our launch.

6.3 Sales Forecast

Considering our innovative app, the quality of our services, and our unparalleled customer service, our sales pattern is expected to increase with years. By analyzing our market segmentation strategy, our experts have forecasted the following sales on a yearly basis which are summarized in the column charts.

The detailed information about sales forecast, total unit sales, total sales is given in the following table:

Personnel plan

Personnel plan, like all other plans, is an important component of an effective event planning business plan example . Its importance is due to the fact that success of any business plan event planner significantly depends upon its employees. It is never easy to estimate the number and type of staff needed for a company before it is even launched therefore it is always better to seek the help of HR experts to get through this phase. Anna acquired the services of experts to help her develop the following personnel plan for her company.

7.1 Company Staff

Anna will act as the General Manager of the company while Carl John will serve as the Chief Executive Officer of the company. The company will initially hire following people:

• 1 Accountants to maintain financial records
• 2 Sales Executives responsible for marketing and discovering new ventures
• 1 Venue coordinator to procure the venues
• 4 Decorators to decorate the venues
• 3 Caterers for preparing food for the event
• 2 Photographers to capture the beautiful moments of the memorable events of our customers
• 1 Inventory Manager to manage the merchandise needed for events
• 2 Drivers for moving the event managing team between different places
• 1 Front Desk Officer to act as a receptionist
• 1 Security Officer

To ensure the best quality service, all employees will be selected through vigorous testing and will be trained for a month before starting their jobs.

7.2 Average Salary of Employees

The following table shows the forecasted data about employees and their salaries for next three years.

Financial Plan

After deciding the strategy and personnel plan of the company, the next step is to develop a detailed map about the financial projections covering all aspects of the company. Just like the planning of other aspects, you must also prepare a financial plan before you start thinking about how to start your own event planning business . The financial plan should craft a detailed map about the cost of startup, inventory, payroll, equipment, rent, utilities and how these costs will be covered by the earned profits.

Before getting to think about starting an event planning company business plan , make sure to carry out a detailed profit and loss analysis. The Godi Events financial plan outlines the development of the company over the next three years and is specifically developed to achieve both the company’s short-term and long-term objectives.

8.1 Important Assumptions

The company’s financial projections are forecasted on the basis of following assumptions. These assumptions are quite conservative and are also expected to show deviation but to a limited level such that the company’s major financial strategy will not be affected.

8.2 Brake-even Analysis

The following graph shows the company’s Brake-even Analysis.

8.3 Projected Profit and Loss

The following charts show the company’s expected Profit and Loss situation on the monthly and yearly basis.

8.3.1 Profit Monthly

The following graph shows the monthly profit, as forecasted by the company’s financial experts.

8.3.2 Profit Yearly

The following graph shows the yearly profit, as forecasted by the company’s financial experts.

8.3.3 Gross Margin Monthly

The following graph shows the monthly gross margin, as forecasted by the company’s financial experts.

8.3.4 Gross Margin Yearly

The following graph shows the yearly gross margin, as forecasted by the company’s financial experts.

The following table shows detailed information about profit and loss, and total cost of sales.

8.4 Projected Cash Flow

The following column diagram shows the projected cash flow.

8.5 Projected Balance Sheet

The following table shows detailed data about pro forma cash flow, subtotal cash from operations, subtotal cash received, sub-total spent on operations, subtotal cash spent.

The following projected balance sheet shows data about total current assets, total long-term assets, total assets, subtotal current liabilities, total liabilities, total capital, total liabilities and capital.

8.6 Business Ratios

The following table shows data about event management business plan  ratios, ratio analysis, total assets, net worth.

Download Event Planning Business Plan Sample in pdf

OGS capital professional writers specialized also in themes such as business plan for a funeral home , music festival business plan , wedding planning business plan , speaker business plan and many others.

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Event Planning Business Plan Template [Updated 2023]

Event Planning Business Plan Template

If you want to start an Event Planning business or expand your current Event Planning or Event Management business, you need a business plan.

The following Event Planning business plan template gives you the key elements to include in a winning event planner business plan or event management business plan.

You can download our Business Plan Template (including a full, customizable financial model) to your computer here.

Below are links to each of the key sections of a free Event Planning business plan template:

Event Business Plan Template I. Executive Summary II. Company Overview III. Industry Analysis IV. Customer Analysis V. Competitive Analysis VI. Marketing Plan VII. Operations Plan VIII. Management Team IX. Financial Plan

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Event Planning Business Plan Home I. Executive Summary II. Company Overview III. Industry Analysis IV. Customer Analysis V. Competitive Analysis VI. Marketing Plan VII. Operations Plan VIII. Management Team IX. Financial Plan

The Ultimate Guide on How to Start Your Event Planning Business

6 steps to starting your business

1. establish your expertise, certified meeting professional (cmp) certification, certified special events professional (csep) certification, certificate in meeting management (cmm), 2. build an effective business plan, 3. secure startup capital, 4. invest in the software you need to effectively run your business, 6. establish a marketing campaign and build out your network, marketing your business to clients, marketing your business to potential partners, important reading before you start your event planning business, / was this article helpful to you, there's no time like the present to start your event planning business. but before you get your first customer, you need to do some prep work..

Maybe it started in high school, when you planned out the snacks, the agenda, and everyone's roles for study sessions. Maybe it started in college, when you organized open mic nights at a local bar. All you know is you've got the itch: You want to start an event planning business.

But how do you go from just thinking about it to actually running a business?

There are six major steps that you need to take to start your business. We'll take you through each one so that by the time you're done reading this, you'll be better prepared to open up shop.

If you want people to trust you with their events, you need to demonstrate you know what you're doing.

Outside of an undergraduate degree in hospitality, you can enroll in various certification programs that will help bulk up your expertise and let your clients know they're in knowledgeable hands.

There are so many types of certifications, however, that it can be difficult to know the best to get. Below, we'll take a look at three general (i.e. not specialized) certifications you can obtain.

There are, of course, plenty of other certifications you can obtain and courses you can take that are much more event-type specific. You can also see if your local college or university offers any courses or certificates that might help you get started.

The CMP is established by the Convention Industry Council, and the exam covers planning, site management, event design, marketing, and international standards.

The Council's website offers suggested reading and preparatory materials and the exam is offered every few months. For 2020, the announced test dates are in January, May, and August.

A CMP holder earns about $10,000 more annually than their uncertified counterparts, according to the Events Council.

If there's even the slightest chance you're considering working as a healthcare event professional, they also offer a CMP for that function specifically.

This exam, administered four times a year, can be taken remotely. Similar to the CMP, it was established by a group of professionals (this time, the International Live Events Association).

With your certification you also get industry newsletters and a structured network that can help you build out your resources, get advice, and find mentors to help your business grow. However, there is an expertise requirement (three years in the event planning industry) before you can take it.

Rather than simply taking an exam to test your knowledge, the CMM is an entire training program. It takes approximately 15 weeks and is more academic than practical in its approach.

The downside is that you'll have to travel to Indiana, so if you're not from the area it might take a little more budget than you have readily available to get this certification.

However, people with a CMM make about $30,000 per year more than those without it (and $20,000 per year more than those with the CMP certification).

A business plan essentially establishes what your business goals and strategies will be moving forward.

Having a business plan doesn't just help you organize and road map the success of your business. It can also be a powerful tool to present to the outside world, such as potential investors who are curious about your strategy.

Your plan should include the following:

An executive summary—why is your company different from all other companies?

The company overview—this is what the company will look like.

An industry analysis—our niche of the event industry looks like.

Customer analysis—our customers will look like this.

A breakdown of your key competitors—this is what we're up against.

Your plans for marketing, operations, management, and finances—this is how we'll make our money.

An appendix of all your supporting documents—leases, contracts, trademarks, resumes, marketing materials, etc.

Score offers a handy template that can help you get started.

Within your company overview, you need to firmly establish what type of events you're planning to focus on. You don't need to stick with that event type forever, but it's important to start with a single effort. You can dedicate the full extent of your resources and expertise towards that goal, and then slowly build out from there.

Focusing on a single type of event will also give you a much clearer idea of who your customers will be. This can help in several sections of your business plan.

It only takes about $2,000 to $5,000 to get your business off the ground. Beyond that, there will be recurring costs that you need to factor in to your budget, since you won't be profitable right away.

There are a few ways you can secure that money:

Self-finance

Banks (i.e. lines of credit, small-business loans, or 401(k) business financing)

Friends and family

But what if you don't have any startup money?

If you can't self finance, don't worry—your business plan is here to help.

Whether you're incorporating it into a presentation to a bank, or using a crowdfunding platform such as AngelList , CrowdFunder, or Fundable , your business plan will demonstrate exactly where your investors' money is going, and how you plan to get it back to them.

There's an overwhelming number of software types you can use for your business. Some of them you'll find helpful right away, and some of them you'll find helpful further down the line.

Here's a list of core software types and why you might want to invest in them:

To help manage projects, tasks, and workflow: event management or project management software.

To help interact with your present and future customers: customer relationship management , lead management , email marketing , social media marketing , marketing automation software.

To help keep your information secure: email security , cloud security , network security , and/or SIEM software.

To keep your office running smoothly: budgeting , billing & invoicing , and collaboration software.

To improve attendee experience at your events: conference (be sure to get one with registration capabilities), venue management , and mobile event apps .

You may be able to find some free options (like in this article on free and open source event management software). Just make sure you check the user reviews of your potential purchase to make sure it won't be more trouble than it's worth. Capterra's software directory has user reviews for all of the products listed above.

5. Figure out what you need to legally operate your event planning business

Putting in the effort now to make sure that your event planning business is above board and protected means a lot less paperwork (and a lot less in terms of potential legal fees) later down the line.

The first big step is registering your business with state and federal governments. The IRS offers handy advice for exactly how to do that .

You'll also need to figure out which licenses and permits you need. Many of these will depend on the type of event planning you intend to do, but Brand Name USA has a good guide to get you started.

Finally, you have to make sure that you're covered in case of any accidents—to you, your business, or your employees. You'll need to secure a worker's comp policy, as well as a variety of different types of insurance.

For your business to truly succeed, you need clients and partners.

You know exactly who your target clients are, thanks to the research that went into your business plan. It's time to reach out to those potential clients. Use any channel you have at your disposal—email marketing campaigns, cold calls to businesses, or social media, for example.

Make sure that you focus on channels that are highly impactful for your target audience. You can do this by testing out to a wide group of channels and seeing which gets the most engagement from your network. You can also employ social media segmentation which can help streamline this process a bit.

For example, if you want to plan pop-up food experiences, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook are great channels. If you want to plan software showcases, LinkedIn and email marketing might be a better play.

Make the most impactful marketing strategy possible, and you'll grab those leads in no time.

You need to build out your network of vendors, venues, and other industry experts whose services you might require.

You've already established what type of event you want to focus your business on. Think of every facet of a possible event. Go through our guide on how to plan an event . Look at the list of vendors there, and find local vendors that cater to each of those categories. Whether it's catering or security or A/V equipment, you'll need to know who you can turn to for events.

Reach out to them and establish a connection so that when you have an event and need their services, you have an extant relationship you can work from.

This guide should give you a strong understanding of what you need to do to start your event planning business.

As you go off to establish your expertise, make sure to read a few more articles to give you a fuller understanding of what you'll be facing on the road ahead.

How to Find a Venue for an Event: 6 Crucial Boxes to Check

Post-Event Engagement: How to Keep the Event Experience Alive

7 Event Budget Templates to Plan Your Finances

About the Author

Adam Rosenthal

Adam Rosenthal is a Senior Specialist Analyst covering Vendor Marketing. He received his Masters from the University of Chicago and worked on several TV shows you might have heard of.

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How to Start an Event Planning Business: 8 Vital Steps

It may seem like everyone is running their own businesses these days. In fact, there are about 33.5 million entrepreneurs in the US alone – a 24% increase from 2015 .

If you’re looking to start your own event organizing business, you might not know where to start. There’s plenty to do, but following these eight steps will get you started on the right foot.

Ready to roll? Here’s how to make the leap into starting your own event planning business.

1. Establish your event planning business

There’s no requirement for a certification or license to become an event planner in the US. However, it’s still a good idea to establish a legal structure for your event management company, and you’ll likely need other certifications and licenses related to running an event planning business.

Why register your business

If you run your business under your name, you don’t need to register it . But even though it isn’t required, it still has advantages.

When you register your business, you get some great benefits that will help you get started. You get a tax identification number, which will help you separate your business income when tax season comes around, and you also get to open business banking accounts. 

Different business structures also give unique advantages, such as tax benefits and liability protection. But that depends on the type of business you establish.

Types of business

In the US, there is a wide variety of business structures you can choose from. For this article, we’ll focus on the three most popular types of business for small event planning business owners to establish. 

Sole proprietorships

Sole proprietorships are the easiest businesses to establish because you don’t need to register them with the state. But pay attention–you may still need to get a local business license depending on your location.

Sole proprietorships are simple to establish, and you can pay taxes on your business on your personal tax returns. However, being a sole proprietor doesn’t offer the tax advantages or liability protections of other business structures.

Limited liability companies (LLCs)

LLCs are a very common corporate legal entity for everyone from small businesses to publicly traded companies. To establish your own limited liability company, you’ll need to register with the state where you do business , which usually costs a little under $300.

LLCs offer their owners more protection than sole proprietorships in case the business fails. If your LLC goes bankrupt, your personal assets can’t be liquidated to cover any debts the business may have. If you are your LLC’s only employee, the federal government will treat you as a sole proprietorship for tax purposes.

Partnerships

A partnership is a great way to start a business with another person. You’ll need to file legal documents outlining the business entity with the state that say whether there’s one primary owner or an equal partnership. 

Partnerships give you legal protection if you’re working with another person. They make it easier for you to resolve any disputes that can come up, and let you divide the business’s profits into your personal income. This helps sort out each of your taxes without getting into overly complicated corporate structures.

Licenses and certifications

While the US doesn’t require you to get a license to become an event planner, there are some activities that you might do as an event organizer that have their own legal requirements. Here are some licenses and certifications that you might need:

Food handler card

If you’re preparing food that you’ll serve to others as a part of your event planning services, you’ll need a food handler card. This won’t be necessary if you hire the food services out to professional caterers, who are required to have their own cards.

Liquor license

Weddings, birthdays, corporate events, and many other events commonly serve alcohol. If you plan on serving alcohol at those events, you should get a liquor license for the state you’re serving in. This can be a complicated process depending on the state, so it’s a good idea to get it started as soon as possible.

Business license

As discussed above, some states, municipalities, and counties require you to have a business license to start a company there. You should check with local authorities to see what requirements they have, and whether your business registration has already covered them—often, registering your business qualifies as licensing it.

Public performance license

Do you plan on holding public events with music? If you are, you’ll need to license that music with a public performance license. The easiest way to do this is by purchasing a general public performance license from a performance rights organization (PRO). That license grants you the right to play music covered by the PRO at your events.

2. Find a niche

Look at what kinds of events people are running in your area. From there, you can find your target market . For example, if you’re in San Francisco, it could be a good idea to specialize in product launches, kickoff parties, and IPO announcements. 

In New York City, production for private birthday parties, high-end events, and charitable events at large-scale venues might be a better fit. But if you’re in Miami, it could be better to build a party planning business that relies more on weddings, bachelor(ette) parties, and the many festivals in South Florida. It all depends on where you are.

Market research can sound intimidating, but it’s an important foundation for your company. To simplify this process you can use Eventbrite’s marketing resources that can help you make data-driven choices. If you want to start an event planning company that specializes in social events, check what social events are happening in your area, and ask current event planners what most of their business is.

Here are a few of the niches you could specialize in as an event planner:

• Corporate events
• Weddings and anniversaries
• Educational conferences
• Product launches
• Trade shows
• Music festivals
• Outdoor/sporting events
• Bar & Bat Mitzvahs
• Gala fundraisers
• Social gatherings

Any one of these could be a great fit for you. Consider the volume of business for each niche, your ability to run these types of events, your connection to people in related industries, and your desire to plan these events. All of these factors can help you decide if a particular niche is right for your event planning business.  

Once you find the right niche, focus on it. Becoming an expert in that area will set you apart from the competition and make it easier to gain new clients. Spending time learning every aspect of your chosen specialization will be invaluable when it comes to finding new events and planning them successfully.

You will also have a better understanding of the expectations, challenges, and opportunities that come with that particular type of event. By focusing on one niche, you can become an expert in your field, build a strong reputation for yourself, and create loyal relationships with clients. 

3. Create your event planning business plan

Creating a business plan helps you get organized and attract partners, investors, and clients. It’s also a document that will serve as an important touchstone for you as you grow your business.

Future partners, investors, and clients will want to know that your business has a strategic vision for a path to growth and profitability. A good business plan will show them both that you have business management skills and that the company is on solid footing.

The plan will also be useful for you moving forward. It will be your guidebook on how to overcome the challenges that meet every business. Your business plan can help you manage your finances, marketing strategy, and the next steps to take as you grow. 

If you’re thinking about how to start an event planning business, here are the core parts of a solid business plan :

• Table of contents
• Executive summary
• Background and history
• Development plan
• Marketing plan
• Budget and financial plan
• Client list

Two of the most important parts to get right in your own plan are the budget and potential client list. These sections will go far in helping you establish your company’s viability. 

Budget 

There are many small-business expenditures you might not be aware of, from taxes to insurance to licenses. Make sure you check out all the available budgeting resources so you know what you’ll need to pay to run private events, including who you’ll need as a part of your team. 

Knowing how much money you’ll need coming in will help you determine how much to charge for your services. It’ll also help you figure out how much you can afford to pay in startup costs.

Client list 

The events industry is enormous, and there is definitely a place for your event planning business. The global events industry was valued at $887 billion in 2020 and has only grown since then. But what clients can you actually count on? Make a list of potential clients, including local businesses, people you’ve worked with previously as an event manager, and dream accounts. Then, make a plan to approach them. Have contacts that already committed to working with you if you were to break out on your own? Make sure you list them here as well. 

Once you have a business plan, you can take tactical steps to launch your event planning business. 

4. Start marketing your business

Marketing is one of the most important parts of starting your own event planning business. If you’re already an event manager, you’re very familiar with how important it is to market your events , and marketing your own business is just as key. 

Make sure to build social media accounts early on, so you’re ready to start distributing your marketing materials as soon as possible. You’ll also want to build your own website, make a company logo and a business name, and start telling your friends and family to help promote your business. 

Friends and family can also help out as a sounding board for your marketing ideas. Use them as a focus group to test your ideas out with, especially if any belong to your target audience. 

Your niche will likely determine how you market yourself. Be aware that people look for a specialist as their wedding planner, corporate event planner, or party planner. It’s not enough to just have a professional-looking website—you’ll need to model it to the needs of your business and the local market before you can start pitching event ideas .

5. Streamline your tasks

Any event organizer is familiar with juggling multiple tasks. But when you start your own event planning business, those tasks will multiply quickly.

Use technology to automate the tasks you can. Today, there are many apps for startups that can automate a surprisingly vast number of tasks. For instance:

• HelloSign can help you send and receive legal signatures on contracts and liability waivers.
• Email marketing programs like MailChimp allow you to schedule the sending of invitations, announcements, and promotions to your entire mailing list or target segments of it.
• Apps like Zapier let you get creative with linking up your various technologies and automating repetitive custom tasks.
• Finally, online ticketing platforms like Eventbrite help you create event pages quickly and make it easy for people to buy tickets to your events online. Integrations with discovery and distribution partners like Facebook and Spotify make it possible for people to find your events and buy tickets from other places on the web.

But even with the best tools on hand, there is some work you’ll want to do yourself. You’re a small business owner now, and that means taking on all of the accounting, sales, marketing, and operations for your company.

To handle each of these types of tasks, try devoting certain sections of your day to the different “departments” of your business. That way, you can be sure that each task gets your full attention and that you don’t leave anything by the wayside.

If you have your own home office, you can also hang a Kanban board to keep track of your ongoing projects. The visual nature of the boards makes them easy to manage and provides an overview of the entire project at once. By visually representing tasks and progress, Kanban boards help teams manage workflow, anticipate potential issues or bottlenecks, and ensure nothing is overlooked or forgotten.

6. Track your progress

If you’re using technology to automate tasks, sell tickets , and organize your business, that technology will collect data for you. And data is crucial to tracking your progress as a new business owner.

With every tool you use, carve out time to check your metrics so you can gauge how your planning is panning out. And go back to your business plan periodically to make sure you’re staying on track with your vision and hitting your goals.

The specific metrics you choose to track might depend on your business model. For example, if you want to rely on inbound website visitors, metrics like website traffic might matter more to you. On the other hand, if you’re making cold calls to potential clients, you might track those metrics in your customer relationship management (CRM) software .

Corporate clients often want consistent, real-time updates from you, especially with their large-scale events. It helps to have an established system so you can assure them that the event is on track. That’s why they ask event organizers to use tracking software like the Eventbrite Event Check-In App .

These are the types of metrics you can track, even if you’re just starting out:

• Client engagement
• Cost per event
• Number of events organized
• Website traffic and conversions
• Event attendance rates
• Ticket sales and profits earned.

Make sure to use data to make informed decisions as you grow and expand your business—it will save you time, energy, and money. These metrics will also come in handy when you pitch your business to more clients. You can cite these to prove you’ve run a similar successful event to the one you’re pitching and prove your value.

7. Time management

No matter how many tasks you automate and how organized you are, you’ll always have plenty on your to-do list. Managing time well is crucial for an event organizer dreaming about how to start an event planning business.

Meetings, for instance, are simultaneously one of the best ways to connect with people and a total drag on our time. While you’ll need to connect with clients regularly, you can make your meetings more efficient .

Create a solid agenda and stick to it, with just enough chit-chat to build a relationship with clients and vendors. As you build out your staff, resist the temptation to add unnecessary meetings to everyone’s calendar.

8. Manage the stress of starting an event planning business

Most importantly, throughout all of this, stay calm. Being an entrepreneur can be stressful. The more you can keep a cool head about you, the higher your chances of success. 

Your own confidence and calm will also affect how your team, clients, and sponsors feel about you. Your team wants to be led with a steady hand, and your certainty about your projects will reflect on their ability to perform their own duties. 

Similarly, your clients and sponsors want to feel like they’re in good hands. By working on your own calm, you’ll earn their trust and cooperation. The more you respond to questions and issues with appropriate, calm answers, the more they’ll trust you.

There are a few steps you can take to manage your stress levels:

Set realistic goals 

Set realistic business goals to avoid frustration and burnout. This will help you remain focused, motivated, and moving forward, even if it is slow. You’ll be doing a lot of hard work, and you want to be able to measure your success after a big day.

Take time for self-care

As a business owner, it can be easy to neglect self-care. However, it is crucial to prioritize your well-being by eating well, getting enough sleep, and exercising. Make sure you have plenty of good things going on outside of work, and don’t let work be the first thing you think of when you take a break.

Connect with others

Connect with other event planners, business mentors, or support groups. Surrounding yourself with like-minded individuals can help you gain valuable insights and inspiration, as well as relieve stress. See if there are local events for your industry, and check in with your colleagues about how they maintain a healthy work-life balance.

Keep learning

Stay informed by attending conferences, webinars, and training sessions. Learning new skills and approaches can help you stay motivated, grow your business, and reduce stress. You can also take event planning classes to help you feel more confident in your skills, on top of your life experience.

Invest in your business

On top of education, you should also invest in your business. Make sure you have the office equipment you need, and feel free to hire staff to help run the business if you have the financial backing to afford it. Learning to trust others to help out is the most fundamental step in growing your business. If you’re working without the right tools, it can add significant stress to your day.

Start your event planning business off right

If you follow these steps, you’ll be ready to get a good start on your event planning business. Starting a business is a lot of work, but this way you’ll have a structure you can use to succeed.

The most successful event organizers use the best tools to make their jobs easier. So when you’re ready to start selling tickets online and collecting payments from attendees , remember that Eventbrite has your back!

Ready to host your event?

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about the author

Laura Bennett

Laura Bennett is an accomplished freelance writer who specializes in project management, SaaS, eCommerce, and hospitality topics. She’s written for well-known brands such as monday.com and ActiveCampaign. Before embracing a freelance career, Laura worked as a marketing and events executive, where she spent years planning and managing corporate events. When she isn't writing, she loves to be outside either swimming, hiking, running, or admiring people's dogs (without being weird about it).

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How to Start an Event Planning Service Want to be an event planner but not sure how to start your own event planning service? Discover how to start this business in our step-by-step guide.

Feb 22, 2001

Some people get a lot of personal and professional joy out of making big events and special days even better for their attendees. If you have the hosting itch, and if you love to tackle complex problems and make big days go smoothly, you might have a future as a professional event planner.

But whether you choose to work alone or with a small team, starting an event planning service is no small task. Today, let's break down how to start an event planning service step-by-step.

What are the basics of event planning?

Event planning is the art (and sometimes science) of event ideation, planning, coordination and operation. When a big, important event needs to go smoothly, it's time to call an event planning service or coordinator.

Event planners are key service providers who can ensure event production and execution happens smoothly. They perform these duties for trade shows, senior events, nonprofit galas and much more.

Related: Find Your Event-Planning Niche

Event planning is most often used for purposes like:

• Big educational meetings, like graduations or conferences.
• Major promotions, like marketing events, product launches and fashion shows.
• Corporate events, like after-work cocktail hours, galas, etc.
• Celebrations and social events like parades, weddings, birthdays, reunions, etc.

Event planning is highly important to make sure the above and other major events go off without a hitch, especially so that the most important guests can enjoy themselves.

The primary duties of full-time or part-time, on-site event planner jobs include:

• Doing research prior to the big event.
• Event design and team-building for project management.
• Finding the appropriate site for the event.
• Creating event budgets and running fundraisers if necessary.
• Arranging for decor, entertainment and food for the event.
• Sending invitations to potential attendees.
• Planning transportation for attendees to and from the event.
• Arranging any other necessary accommodations, like seating.
• Coordinating activities for event personnel, like caterers or entertainers.
• Supervising activities at the event site.

The events industry, both for wedding planning and other events, requires good communication skills. Additionally, obtaining a bachelor's degree in public relations or related areas can be helpful but is not absolutely required. Let's look closer at this job type and business.

Why do people hire event planning services?

People primarily hire event planning services for two reasons:

• So that event-goers and guests of honor can enjoy themselves without focusing on the event.
• So that the event in question goes smoothly.

Imagine a typical example of a wedding. Many engaged couples hire event planners or event planning services to coordinate, organize and carry out their wedding plans. In this way, the couples can enjoy their special days and focus on getting married rather than worrying about things like catering, parking and kicking out rowdy guests. Instead, the wedding planner takes care of that stuff.

Furthermore, some events are so complex – particularly those with hundreds of guests or more – that it's almost impossible to properly plan and organize them without the help of a specialist. Knowledgeable, experienced event planners know how to organize groups of people, how much food to provide and other details that can make or break an important event.

Related: The Price Is Right: Turning a Profit in the Event Planning Business

Who should become an event planner?

You might consider becoming an event planner if you love hosting parties and the thrill of organizing a complex event and running it without an issue. Planners often have to handle many moving parts at once. Many event planners have histories as managers or coordinators in other industries. You should become an event planner or start your own event planning service if you feel that you would enjoy this kind of work.

It's also worth noting that event planning often requires you to work on weekends or holidays (since these are the days when people have free time to schedule and hold events), as well as handle chaotic, sometimes confusing work and competing agendas. You should also consider acquiring certification for your event planning service, as it can help you acquire relevant professional skills and attract more job opportunities . Meeting Professionals International (MPI) is an association that offers a list of degrees and certificates from colleges and universities. The right degree or certification can lead to more job opportunities and even pave the way to a higher salary.

Alternatively, try to become a CSEP or Certified Special Events Professional or CMP or Certified Meeting Planner. Both of these are given out by the MPI or the ISES (International Special Events Society), which also highlight your skills and designate you as an expert event coordinator.

Now that we've covered the basics, let's get into the steps you need to take to start an event planning service:

Step 1: Make your company

Your first step involves making your company and filing the right paperwork. You should first draw up a business plan, which will include details like:

• The business's name.
• The business's tax structure (like a sole proprietorship, LLC, etc.).
• How you'll make a profit.

Related: Check out these business plan templates to get started.

You'll also want to get an EIN, or employer identification number. This will allow you to hire employees for your event planning service if you desire later down the road.

Step 2: Choose your target market

Next, do market research and pick the target market you want to work for. For instance, if you want to primarily work with weddings, you need to research that target market to know how much to charge for your services, what's involved and what you need to be experienced in.

By doing some research ahead of time, you won't find running your first events to be too overwhelming. You'll also know how much to advertise your event planning service to be competitive relative to other services in the area.

Step 3: Consider startup costs

When you start an event planning business, you'll have to consider startup costs. Working from home or primarily by yourself will keep costs low as opposed to hiring employees (who will require salaries).

However, if you want to expand your event planning business, you'll eventually need extra equipment, business premises like an office or warehouse and more. All of these things can add up, impacting the kind of business you begin.

Note that you can always scale your business after acquiring steady work. For instance, you can start off as a one-man event planning service that only provides services to small events you can tackle by yourself. After you save up some money from some successful jobs, you can hire a few more employees and rent out a warehouse for your equipment, like cameras, chairs and more.

Step 4: Understand the work involved and hire employees (optional)

For your event planning service to be successful , you need to fully grasp the nature of the work involved and understand whether you should hire employees.

Planning and executing an excellent event generally involves:

• Designing the event, which means sketching out the feel or look of the event in question. Some clients will have very specific ideas you'll need to incorporate into the design.
• Putting together a proposal for your clients so they can improve your plans.
• Organizing the event, which involves almost everything else, like renting the site for the event, hiring vendors, hiring entertainers, organizing caterers and much more.

There's a ton of work that goes into planning even the smallest event. Fortunately, as you acquire experience, you'll be more adept at anticipating and completing this work.

Related: The Event Planning Recipe for Success

Generally, the larger the events you want to manage and coordinate, the more employees you need to hire. At a certain point, you can't be everywhere at once! Consider hiring employees when you have the cash to do so; this will allow you to plan events for larger groups of people and make more of a profit.

Step 5: Settle on a price structure and fee basis

How you price your event planning business will impact how often you get requests. You can determine your pricing structure and fee basis by things like:

• The market segment you serve: For instance, social events usually have different fee structures than corporate events.
• Your geographic location: If you have a higher cost of living, you are justified in charging your clients more to plan their events.
• Your experience and reputation: As your business gets a reputation for success, you'll be able to charge a higher premium for your services.

Step 6: Start marketing your event planning service

Once you have all of your ducks in a row and you know how to charge your clients, you can start marketing your event planning service. Do this online through Google PPC (pay-per-click) ads, social media marketing and other efforts. Don't hesitate to use in-person marketing materials, like posters or TV ads, as well.

Related: 8 Savvy Ways to Promote Your Event Planning Business

As you can see, starting an event planning service is a matter of preparation and deep consideration. If you plan everything properly, your event planning service will launch smoothly, and you'll get your first batch of clients in no time.

Check out Entrepreneur's other guides and resources today!

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1. Build a solid business plan

I can’t tell you how many small event planning businesses fail because the founder didn’t put together a business plan in advance.

Start by researching successful plans and businesses that are similar to your scope of work. Then reach out to others in the events industry who may be able to guide you! 

Reach out to others in the events industry that may be able to guide you. Click To Tweet

Even if you’ve never seen a business plan, there are plenty of resources and templates online that can get you started. Additionally, when you look to grow your business, an up-to-date business plan is vital to secure any kind of investment.

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2. Set a marketing budget and use a PR company when possible.

When starting your party planning business, your marketing budget may be 30% or more of your business expenses. Does that seem like a lot? Think about all the things you’ll need:

• A website for your business
• Business cards
• Flyers and other printed info
• Digital marketing and online ads
• Expenses to travel to events for networking

Don’t leave anything out! You will need to spend money to make money, ultimately. The goal in the early months is to secure your base of customers as quickly as possible. If you deliver on the promise of creating memorable events, your clients will stick around and recommend you. As a result, your marketing costs will start to drop.

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3. Clearly define your scope of work, mission and goals for your event business.

Your event planning business may evolve over time, but even when you’re just starting out, it’s important to clearly outline what you are and aren’t willing to do. You can even put this on your website to attract the right type of clients.

When you’re still building your business, saying “no” to clients  is one of the hardest things to do. But it might save you from dealing with the kinds of customers that take up too much time and don’t offer enough value in return.

4. Have your elevator speech ready.

After I set up my first events business, I had a hard time selling it to people because my 30-second pitch wasn’t refined. Make sure to spend time developing this ” it is the key to introducing everyone to your business.

Pro tip:  Don’t stress about the name of your event planning business. At the end of the day, the name of your business doesn’t matter ” as long as you produce truly memorable events. However, a catchy event business name idea might stick in someone’s brain better during an elevator pitch.

5. Do your market research

Before jumping, in I always tell people to understand their market and competitors. What is your unique value proposition? Are your fees similar to, better than or higher than others in your area? Understanding your competition and your clients will give you the leg up in this market. Don’t skip this step!

6. Spend some time learning tax laws and business filing in your area.

No matter what kind of business you want to start, there are lots of legal pieces to understand. I spent time researching which type of business would be best for me (LLC made the most sense for my consulting business).

It’s also critical to understand the tax implications before you dive in. For example, when I moved my business from Virginia to California, I had to go through the process of dissolving the business. I should have taken more time to research other possibilities!

There’s a lot to navigate, but some great resources exist for building small businesses. Here are a few I recommend:

• IRS.GOV “ Starting a Business
• SBA.GOV “ 10 Steps to Starting a Business
• Legalzoom.com

One of my favorite resources in Women In Events . New event planners can take advantage of our mentoring/coaching program after signing up.

Now You’re Ready to Start a Great Event Planning Business!

Have questions? We’ve got answers. Connect with @socialtables on Twitter.

Up next, here’s how to pick an event company name for your business . Or check out Social Tables free event planning tools to manage seating, meals, and so much more.

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More tips for aspiring event planners.

• The 6 Must-Have Event Planning Skills You Need for Career Success
• The Top Event Planning Conferences This Year
• 10 Event Planning Tips Every Budding Coordinator Needs to Know

Still searching for answers about starting an event planning business?

Do your research, make a plan, set a budget, define your scope of work, and throw amazing events!

You should plan to set aside at least $15,000 to $25,000 to start a small event planning business.

Event planning can be quite a profitable career choice. The best event planners will make a name for themselves and be able to charge high prices for their vision, creativity, execution, and results.

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Starting an Event Management Company: Business Plan Template

Every new business start-up needs a business plan. Without one, it’s easy to lose focus and you may find it difficult to attract investors. Therefore, it’s important to sit down to write one. The good news is that writing a business plan doesn’t have to be an arduous task! Chances are you’ve already got most of the information that you need, and all you need to do is put pen to paper.

Let’s take a closer look at what’s involved in the process.

What is a Business Plan?

A business plan is simply a short document which sets out your event management company’s objectives. It helps you and your potential investors to clearly see what the business’s aims are (both financial and non-financial), and details how you’re going to ensure that you achieve those goals.

The business plan helps you to remain focused on what’s important for success.

Download a Free Event Management Business Plan PDF here

What Needs Including in a Business Plan?

A business plan doesn’t need to be a long, wordy document. For a small event planning company, a side or two of A4 will suffice. Your aim is simply to write down all the key information about your business in a clear, logical order.

The topics to include in your event management company business plan are:

• The name, address and contact details for your business.
• Information on the management of the business ; who’s in charge?
• Your company’s Mission Statement : in one sentence, summarise the overall aim of your company.
• Where you will operate from. Include where you will be based plus information on any overhead costs associated with the business premises.
• Your start-up costs . Do you need to buy any equipment or hire transport? Do you need to pay anyone a wage? Have you got insurance?
• The everyday costs of the business. How much will you spend on a weekly or monthly basis? Include all overheads and outgoing costs, such as wages and petrol.
• Funding and financial projections. Where do you plan to get the money from to start the business? What are your projected profits/losses for the next month, year, 2 years etc? How will you maintain the cash-flow?
• Will you work on the business full-time? What will your working hours be?
• Does your business have any local competition? What is the USP of your own business that will make it stand out from the crowd?
• What is your marketing strategy ?
• Your pricing strategy. What are you going to charge for your service? Will you charge per event or per hour?
• How you will be paid for your service? Do you plan to issue invoices, ask for a deposit or require people to pay in full up-front?

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Download a One-Page Business Plan Template

Download our free one-page business plan template at the link below to get yourself started. This template is just a guide, so feel free to add in your own headings on a second page to ensure that all information relevant to your business is recorded.

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Further Resources:

• 10 Elements to Consider When Organising a Corporate Event
• 42 Tips for Producing a Memorable Small Business Event
• Business Essentials Courses

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Her favourite article is How to Start a Food Business From Your Home

How to Write an Event Planning Business Plan

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Event planners know how important organizational skills are in planning and executing a successful event. But as an event planning business , you may be overlooking the importance of having a business plan that keeps you organized and on track in the big picture operation of your business.

What an Event Planning Business Plan Is

An event planning business plan is a document that outlines the major aspects of your business. It articulates what the business is, its objective, how it operates, the structure and other important elements.

The Need for a Business Plan

Perhaps you are just starting your event planning business and because it is so new, you then wonder if you should devote time to developing a plan. Or, you may have been operating your solo operation from your dining room table for the past several months, and everything seems to be running along just fine.

Either way, a business plan is an important component of your business. Just as you have an event planning checklist to spell out the goal of an event, the budget, the target audience and other such factors.

What to Include in Your Event Planning Business Plan

A business plan will put your objectives in writing and keep you focused on the long-term goals of your event planning business, so note the plan in as much detail as possible to ensure that when you go to actually start your business, you have already ironed out potential setbacks in the planning stage. Use your event planning business plan to keep you on track. Reevaluate your business plan every three months and determine if you need to modify anything to reflect changes in your event planning business.

• Description: The first aspect of your business plan is a description of who you are or what you want your business to be. This can be as simple as just a few sentences. For example, “ABC Event Planning is a full-service event planning business…” or “ABC Event Planning specializes in planning weddings…”.
• Objective: What is your business objective? What are the goals of your business? Are you aiming to be the top event planner in your town or do you have your sights on a loftier goal?
• Structure: How is your business structured? Are you the sole operator or do you have partners or support staff? If you have employees, outline their job responsibilities.
• Products and Services: What product or service does your business offer? Include everything from negotiating hotel contracts to hiring vendors and providing on-site staffing. 
• Target Market: Who are your potential clients?  What segment does your event planning business want to attract? Identify the people who would be interested in your services.
• Marketing: How will you market your business to attract customers? Do you have plans for a website? Will you utilize social media? Attend local business events? 
• Finances: How will you handle any upfront costs of conducting your business? How will billing and payment be processed?

What to Do Once the Plan Is Written 

Do not write out a business plan, check it off your to-do list and tuck it into a drawer. This business plan is the roadmap for your event planning business. Keep it front and center so that you never lose sight of why you started this business, what it is about, where you want to go and how you plan to get there.

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Corporate Retreat Professionals

Ownership & structure.

CRP is a Washington corporation whose sole stock holder is Jeff Organizer. Jeff will be incorporating to protect himself from personal liability.

Management Team

Jeff Organizer, Founder and President, has a degree in Business from the University of Washington. After college, Jeff spent five years working for Andersen Consulting. During these years, Jeff became familiar with a large number of companies and the important players in the Seattle business community. While working for Andersen, Jeff attended an MBA night program and received his MBA in 1996.

After completing his degree, Jeff decided to join Boeing in their PR department. It was at Boeing where Jeff learned the bulk of his organizing and event planning skills. These skills, in conjunction with his MBA education, gave Jeff the confidence to handle a wide range of business propositions. After three years at Boeing, Jeff decided to start his own business. Corporate Retreat Professionals was finally born

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The 10 Biggest Business Trends For 2024 Everyone Must Be Ready For Now

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It is time once again to look into the crystal ball and predict the direction that business and industry will take in the coming year.

With the general global economic downturn predicted to get worse before it gets better, companies are likely to remain cautious when it comes to spending and investing in radical new ideas in 2024. However, there are a number of technological and societal trends that are simply too big to ignore or put off until better days. These are the areas where we can expect to see continued innovation and investment, and I'll highlight the most prominent in this article.

As has been the case for the past few years, there's some overlap between these and my other predictions, which focus primarily on technology. Simply put, this is because business trends today are largely driven by technology. However, as we develop a better understanding of a technology - artificial intelligence (AI) being the obvious example - we also understand what it isn't. In 2024, this will lead to new perspectives on what makes us human - a theme I believe is reflected in this year's predictions.

Generative AI Everywhere

The Boston Consulting Group asserts that “to be an industry leader in five years, you need a clear and compelling generative AI strategy today.” AI and machine learning have been making waves for more than a decade, and are thoroughly integrated into many of the products and services we buy from major companies. Now, generative AI puts the power to create and intelligently automate the customer experience - as well as internal operations - in the hands of nearly every organization.

Soft Skills And The Human Touch

As it becomes increasingly feasible to automate technical aspects of work - coding, research, or data management, for example - the ability to leverage soft skills for tasks that still require a human touch becomes critical. For this reason, in 2024, we will see organizations increasing their investment in developing and nurturing skills and attributes such as emotional intelligence, communication, interpersonal problem solving, high-level strategy, and thought leadership.

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The Skills Solution

We’ve been hearing about the skills shortage for several years now. Changes in hiring practices that emphasize selecting candidates with the specific experiences and skills needed for a role, rather than qualities such as educational attainment or age, are a part of the industry's response and will continue to be a strong trend. We will also continue to see increased investment in training and upskilling, particularly around disruptive technologies such as generative AI and skills that will be in demand in an AI-driven economy.

Sustainable Business

One driver is clearly customer demand, as research continues to show that consumers increasingly prefer companies with a solid commitment to reducing their environmental footprint. On the other hand, as the green economy grows, we're learning that green solutions often lead to bottom-line growth. For example, Walmart WMT dramatically reduced its spending on fuel and vehicle maintenance by transitioning to an EV delivery fleet. We'll also get better at spotting greenwashing, where companies pay lip service to environmentalism in an attempt to divert attention from environmentally unfriendly practices.

Personalization-at-Scale

One driver is clearly customer demand, as research continues to show that consumers increasingly prefer companies with a solid commitment to reducing their environmental footprint. On the other hand, as the green economy grows, we're learning that green solutions often lead to bottom-line growth. For example, L’Oréal has developed personalized cosmetics to match customers' skin types, and Nike NKE and other manufacturers offer custom shoes in thousands of combinations of styles and colors. This will lead to companies of all sizes offering customized solutions to build stronger relationships with customers.

The Data Economy

Data is an increasingly valuable business asset. By 2024, more companies will have streamlined their operations and improved their customer offerings by taking a strategic approach to their data. As a result, they will be ready to take the next step - monetizing data itself to drive new business opportunities. Leading the way are companies like John Deere, which has pioneered the model of selling data from its sensor-laden farm equipment back to farmers as insights to improve productivity. As access to large-scale data collection and AI-driven analytics becomes increasingly democratized, we'll see this trend adopted by smaller companies in niche and diversified sectors.

The Customer Experience Revolution

Imagine a line on a graph that rates your customers' sentiment at every touchpoint where they interact with your company, goods, or services. This illustrates the concept of customer experience. While traditionally a company might build a business model around superior quality or value, in 2024 the impetus is to ensure that every single interaction and experience makes the customer smile. This means personalized marketing that delivers what they need at the right time, on-time delivery, frictionless setup and installation, and efficient problem resolution. It's becoming increasingly common for companies and brands to appoint a Chief Experience Officer to ensure these principles are fully integrated into all business strategies.

Remote and distributed work

It's no longer about companies surviving the pandemic, it's about offering flexible arrangements, valuing employees' time and harnessing the potential of a global workforce. Yes, workers returning to the office has been a theme of the past 12 months. But employers are also ensuring that they retain the ability to work with geographically dispersed teams and attract talent from anywhere in the world. For these reasons, we'll see the number of job postings with "remote" or "hybrid" locations remain well above pre-Covid levels throughout 2024.

Diversity and Inclusivity

Talent comes in all ages, shapes, sizes and colors. Unconscious racist, sexist or ageist bias can easily seep into systems around hiring, training, performance management or development, resulting in talent being marginalized, mismanaged or overlooked. There has always been a business case for ensuring diverse and inclusive workforces, but in the age of AI, as we increasingly rely on machines to make decisions that impact humans, it's more important than ever.

Resilience.

Ensuring an organization is protected from whatever threat is around the corner. That could mean cyber attacks, economic downturns, environmental events, war, global pandemics, or the emergence of a disruptive new competitor. It's about taking what we've learned from companies that have survived and even thrived in turbulent times and using it to plan and prepare for what might happen tomorrow. Despite my crystal ball, the future is never certain, and building resilience to any threats that might emerge will be a key business trend in 2024.

You can read more about these topics in my book , The Future Internet: How the Metaverse, Web 3.0, and Blockchain Will Transform Business and Society and ‘ Business Trends in Practice , which won the 2022 Business Book of the Year award. And don’t forget to subscribe to my newsletter and follow me on X (Twitter ), LinkedIn , and YouTube for more on the future trends in business and technology.

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It’s Time for a New Model for Operations Management

• Magdi Batato,
• Xavier Mesnard,
• Suketu Gandhi

Companies can no longer consolidate decision-making at the top.

Covid-19 was the death knell for traditional hierarchical command-and-control operations management. In its place a new model has emerged that’s far better equipped to deal with today’s disruptive, volatile, and unpredictable environment. In this model, decision-making responsibility is broadly dispersed to where it makes the most sense, resulting in faster, more accurate decisions in response to changing conditions. This model is built on four pillars — trust, talent, transparency, and technology. Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate Nestlé is an example of a company that has embraced this concept in its factories and, as a result, has built a resilient operational model that has helped the company effectively respond to adverse events and challenges.

Is the traditional command-and-control operations management model — which reigned supreme for decades in an era of relative stability and predictability — finally dead? All the signs we see say it is. In a post-pandemic world characterized by unpredictable supply and demand, companies can no longer consolidate decision-making at the top. Doing so is counter to the kind of agility, flexibility, and speed they need in a world of rapid and chronic disruption and volatility.

While it’s been slowly eroding for years, we saw the command-and-control model’s final unravelling during Covid. Amidst the chaos and volatility of the pandemic disruptions, companies were forced to loosen the decision-making reins. They had to, if they wanted to survive. When basic goods were suddenly flying off the shelves without warning, and supplies of critical raw materials and components were quickly drying up, there simply was no time for operations managers to gather data, analyze it, and then tell the operations teams how to respond. Companies just had to act, with the best information they had, and the right people to make those decisions were those closest to the action.

These shifts presaged the emergence of a new operations management model, in which the goal is to optimize how accurately and quickly operations responds to threats and opportunities by dispersing decision-making to the points in the organization where it makes the most sense for them to be made.

For example, strategic decisions with cross-functional or cross-enterprise implications and long-term impacts — such as allocating capital, relocating a factory, redesigning a product, or entering a new market — are best made by those who can focus on the big picture and broader horizon. Responsibility for more tactical decisions — in sourcing, logistics, manufacturing, and distribution — is driven elsewhere into the organization to the most logical point — i.e., “where the rubber meets the road.”

The New Age of Operations

Social and government organizations call this subsidiarity , which is the principle that social and political issues should be dealt with at the most immediate or local level that is consistent with their resolution. In operations, this means, for example, closest to where raw materials are allocated as inputs, where products are made, and where finished goods are shipped from the factory to the distribution center — points where the most accurate and relevant information needed to make the best decisions resides. Dispersing operations decision-making in this way is key to a company’s ability to respond rapidly and appropriately to disruptions and changes in the business environment.

This is a profound shift for most companies, large or small. Operations leaders who are used to having control must stop trying to micromanage and firefight. They need to loosen the reins and empower others to deviate from the existing plan or targets if conditions have changed. Operators who used to look to their bosses for instructions and direction must get comfortable assuming much greater responsibility and accountability for what happens in the company. With disruptions coming so fast, there’s no time to escalate issues to get guidance on how to react to them. At the same time, operators need to be clear on what decisions they can make for themselves and when and where they should seek support.

Key Enablers to Fuel the Shift

Making this model work requires four vital enablers. Each of these must be in place for leaders and operators to both embrace their new roles and execute at the highest level. The absence of any one of them will make a successful transition impossible.

Trust is the bedrock of this model. Leaders must trust that the people to whom they’re delegating decision-making are capable of making, and will make, the best decisions for the company. At the same time, operators must understand which issues to escalate and how. They must also trust that when they run into trouble, they won’t be on the chopping block for making a bold decision to change plans when the signals told them that it was the right thing to do.

Giving people the freedom to make decisions and act isn’t enough. For people to feel comfortable taking on decision-making, they need skills and capabilities they may not have needed (or had) before. These include analytical thinking, contemporary market intelligence, digital and data expertise, logic and reasoning, and soft skills such as interpersonal communications, and the ability to convincingly defend one’s decisions. Therefore, a robust education and learning effort must accompany decision-making empowerment.

3. Transparency

Leaders need access to information to understand what’s happening in their organization and with their people, while operators need all the relevant data to understand the impact of their decisions and actions. In both cases, clarity on the right metrics, linked to specific outcomes the company desires, is critical.

4. Technology

Technology provides transparency — it enables a company to gather and disseminate the information leaders and operators need to do their jobs well. Additionally, powerful AI tools can provide insights to decision-makers at all levels, acting as a coach or co-pilot and, in some cases, making certain decisions on their own with oversight from humans. And, in a learning setting, technology is critical to helping people build the new skills and capabilities they need to be successful with their new responsibilities.

Nestl é ’s Experience with Its Operator-Centric Organization

Trust, talent, transparency, and technology are at the heart of what Nestlé calls the “operator-centric organization,” which focuses on three things: empowerment (giving people the freedom to make decisions and act); engagement (providing the tools, data, and information needed to make good decisions and see the results); and enablement (providing skill- and capability-building so people can appropriately use the information they get to make the right decisions).

In 60 Nestlé factories, operators have iPads through which they can scan a code on a piece of equipment and see all data relating to it, including safety features and performance. They can also control some elements of the equipment from the iPad. This gives operators a true sense of ownership of their equipment, just as a dashboard on a car gives drivers a feeling of being in control of the vehicle. Nestlé also uses the same device to provide skill building, giving operators access to the training and information they need to continually enhance their capabilities. Nestlé plans to deploy this approach throughout its 350 factories globally.

With the operator-centric organization model, Nestlé has effectively created “ mission-directed work teams ,” a concept introduced by Competitive Dynamics International. These are not truly independent teams, but rather teams that understand the boundaries in which they can make decisions. Operators, for example, are aware of the limits to what they can decide on their own and when they need to refer something to the line manager or team leader. Factory managers know when and where they need to contact the technical manager who is head of all the factories in a specific geography.

For the operator-centric model at Nestlé to work, everyone also must embrace the same culture and values within the factory. Of course, the social and emotional culture of each factory’s country or region may differ because Nestlé has factories around the world. But it’s important for the company’s people to understand that when they enter the factory, the same business culture and values are present in every facility — whether it’s in South Africa, Malaysia, or Switzerland. In this way, that factory still benefits from Nestlé’s values of transparency and honesty without forcing employees to do things that are inconsistent with how they behave normally in their day-to-day lives.

Building Next-Generation Operations Management for a New World

The environment in which companies operate has clearly changed — and that has put the final nail in the coffin of command-and-control operations management. With companies needing to be quicker not only to react, but to anticipate, it’s time for a new operational model—built on trust, talent, transparency, and technology — that can enable them to accelerate decision-making, respond more effectively to disruptions and unforeseen events, and continue to be regenerative by organically adjusting and reinventing themselves as the world around them evolves.

The authors would like to thank Markus Vejvar for his valuable contributions to this article.

• Magdi Batato is the executive vice president and head of operations for Nestlé. He has extensive experience in the manufacturing and technical area, combined with business experience in both developed and emerging markets and a passion for sustainable food systems.
• Xavier Mesnard is a partner with Kearney in the strategic operations practice. He has more than 35 years of strategy and management consulting experience with a focus on operations excellence in the consumer goods, retail, and engineering industries.
• Suketu Gandhi is co-head of the global strategic operations practice at Kearney. He is a recognized industry leader and subject matter expert on a wide range of operations topics, with an emphasis on end-to-end supply chains.

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Moscow International Business Centre (MIBC)

The Moscow International Business Centre (MIBC) is an ambitious engineering project in the centre of Moscow. The site is

Estimated Investment

$12 billion

Construction Started

Moscow, Russia

Project Type

Business complex (city within a city)

CITY JSC, Moscow City Government

The Moscow International Business Centre (MIBC) is an ambitious engineering project in the centre of Moscow. The site is on an old urban area near the river embankment. The goal of the project is to create a new business district within the city.

The whole complex is to be built on a 100ha site (divided into 30 plots) designated for new development on the Krasnopresnenskaya embankment. The management company for the project is CITY Joint Stock Company (CITY JSC), a company first set up in 1992 as a collaboration between the Russian government and private investors.

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The project was first launched in the early 1990s but has been stalled for much of the last 10 years due to a lack of investment. In 2003 the project started to attract investment again and has been gaining momentum ever since.

PLOT 1: BAGRATION BRIDGE AND TOWER 2000 OFFICE COMPLEX

The first major building constructed in the MIBC project on Plot 1 was the Bagration Bridge (pedestrian bridge) and mall, completed in 1999. The second project was the Tower 2000 office complex, a multi-use business complex begun in 1996 and completed in 2001. The building is 106m high and has 30 storeys above ground and four storeys below. The total floor area of the complex is 60,000m².

The underground area contains parking garages, restaurants, retail areas and a fitness centre. Floors 3–15 and 17–26 are business offices while floors 8 and 27 have a media centre, large exhibition hall and piano bar.

The business areas are served by structured cable network, fibre optic cable, satellite broadcasting, Wi Fi and ADSL Internet access, automatic digital telephone exchange with integration of services, local broadcasting system, municipal broadcasting network, electric timing system, data collection and processing system, audio and video systems, simultaneous interpreting system, conference system, video projection system and security systems including biometric access control and a monitoring system.

The tower also has a central air conditioning system, auxiliary exhaust ventilation system, cooler and heat supply systems, Uninterruptible Power Supply system (UPS), automatic fire security system, automatic volumetric fire-fighting system, sprinkler system and automatic smoke removal system.

The general contractor for the tower was Promstroytechnologia-M Company Ltd. The facade of the tower, which is made of glass and structured concrete, was constructed by Transwall Technology. The tower is equipped with 17 computerised rapid elevators, supplied and installed by Schindler Aufzuege AG, and an outer panoramic elevator, supplied and installed by Kone Lifts. The exterior lighting equipment was supplied and installed by Thorn.

PLOTS 2 AND 3: MOSCOW WEDDING PALACE AND CITY SQUARE

The sites designated by plots 2 and 3 are now to be developed as the Moscow Wedding Palace and City Square. This will include a city square, an underground retail complex and a 14 storey multipurpose complex, which will include the Wedding Palace, banquet halls, restaurants, shops and a hotel.

The developer is Capital City Developments. The architect is Mosproject – 2. The construction started in 2005 and is scheduled to be complete by the end of 2007.

PLOT 4: AQUAPARK

The Aquapark leisure complex was started in 2002 and was completed in 2005. The site occupies a 1.74ha area adjacent to Krasnopresnenskaya embankment. It includes:

• Complex of swimming pools, water mountains and leisure attractions, restaurants and cafes and retail areas (24,352m²)
• Five-star, 30-storey hotel complex (54,640m²) built on a six-storey podium containing retail areas, restaurants and nightclubs
• Parking to accommodate 425 vehicles (13,050m²)
• The aqua park will be connected with a mooring on the Moscva River

The developer of the complex was Aqua-City Palas Company Ltd. The project required an estimated investment of $230 million. The general contractor was Liard Stroy Ltd and the designers were Mosproekt-2 of Russia and Tkhomesto Engineering of Finland.

PLOTS 6, 7 AND 8: UNDERGROUND MALL AND METRO STATIONS

A large underground complex containing the central core of the MIBC, an underground mall and two metro stations is located on these plots. Construction started in late 2001 on the 5.1ha site and was completed in mid-2004. The complex has a total floor area of 150,000m² and includes:

• 35,000m² shopping mall
• 20,000m² multi-purpose performance complex
• 10,000m² dancing complex
• 15,500m² sports and leisure complex
• 30,000m² ‘Wonderful World of Entertainment’ theme park
• 7,000m² restaurant complex
• 30,000m² hotel

The complex developer was CITY JSC and the designers were Mosproekt-2. The construction engineers were Bovis Europe and Jones Lang Lassale of the UK.

PLOT 9: CAPITAL CITY PROJECT

This project involves the construction of two connected tower blocks and a dome. The towers will be of 73 and 62 storeys high, with a 16-storey domed building containing an atrium. Connecting the buildings will be a podium building with three storeys above ground and 4–6 below ground.

The lower levels of each tower will be for office space (200,000m²), while the upper levels (above 80m) will be residential and the dome will be used as a retail area. The investment for the project is $250 million.

The developer is Capital Group; the construction engineers are Bouygues Construction and the architects are Erick van Egeraat Associated Architects of Holland. Construction has been underway since 2005 and the project is scheduled for completion in mid-2007.

PLOT 10: NABEREZHNAYA TOWER

This project involves the construction of a new office and apartment complex consisting of three A-Class buildings 16 (86m), 27 (135m) and 52 (250m) storeys high, with a total floor area of 220,000m². The construction began in mid-2003 on the 2.55ha site with the smallest of the three buildings.

The first building was completed in autumn 2004. Enka, a Turkish construction company , is carrying out the development and construction. Enka has invested a total of $150 million so far. Work is continuing on the other two buildings with completion expected in 2007.

PLOTS 11 AND 12: MIXED-USE TOWER BLOCK

The major project on these plots will be a 300m, 75-storey, mixed-use tower block with over 204,000m² of floor space. The facilities will include commercial and government offices, residential areas, retail space, leisure and health centres and a four-star hotel.

Offices will occupy the floors 4–45, while apartments are on floors 48–66. The building was designed as a two-tier skyscraper, 30 floors in the first tier and 37 in the second one. The second floor of the building will be occupied by a casino. The 47th floor will be occupied by a gymnasium.

The designers for the project are Swanke Hayden Connell Architects and the investors are Techinvest, who are investing $270 million. The contractors for the construction are Summa, a Turkish development company. Groundwork was carried out by Kaskatas. Construction on the building started in the third quarter of 2004 with completion scheduled for late 2006.

PLOT 13: FEDERATION OFFICE COMPLEX

The Federatsiya (Federation) office complex is to consist of two towers, one 57 storeys high and the other 87 storeys (345m), and a podium. The 87-storey tower will hold offices and the 57-storey tower will include residential apartments and a hotel. The total floor area of the complex will be 240,000m².

The podium will have three to five levels and 30,000m² of floor space and will contain retail areas, banking facilities, cafes, restaurants and leisure facilities. The complex will have 14 lifts built between the two towers, including four ‘Shuttle’ round-observation lifts.

Stroimontage and NIKoil Financial Group will invest more than $500 million in the project. The architects for the project are P Schweger, S Tchoban and A Asadov of Germany. Stroimontage is the general contractor for the project. Construction started in April 2004 and the complex is scheduled for completion by 2008.

PLOT 15: CITY HALL AND DUMAS

Plots 2 and 3 are owned by the Moscow City Government and original plans were for the new City Hall and Dumas (Parliament) buildings to be located there. However, these buildings will now occupy Plot 15.

The construction on Plot 15 consists of four 70-storey interconnected 308.4m buildings. The project started in November 2005 and will be finished by the end of 2007.

It is expected that all government administration will be accumulated in the new complex to provide better organisation, allowing the buildings currently in use to be sold.

The four skyscrapers will be connected by several two storey bridges between towers and eight storey bridges at the top. The highest bridges will be built in shape of letter ‘M’ for ‘Moscow’.

PLOT 16: RUSSIA TOWER

Plans for a 600m-tall tower to be built in Moscow to designs by British architect Sir Norman Foster were released in March 2006. ST Towers is the developer behind the project and is part of the ST Group.

The Russia Tower will be more than 50% higher than the Empire State Building and is to be built within the Moskva-City development on Plot 16 near the site’s border with the Third Ring Road. It will overshadow the 430m Federation Tower under construction at Moskva-City, which developers say will be the tallest building in Europe when it is completed in 2008.

The 420,000m² tower is a striking design comprising three blade-like structures arranged in a trefoil-like plan around a central core and tapering sharply toward the top, with part of the steel structure exposed on the outside like an exoskeleton.

Described by the architect as a vertical city, the tower is to house parking and retail space on nine underground levels, a public ice rink on the first floor under a spacious, pyramidal atrium, a hotel with serviced apartments above, 24 floors of office, high-end apartments on the top levels and a public observation deck at the very top. The resident population of the tower could be 25,000.

The Russia Tower is billed as an environmentally friendly project, maximizing natural ventilation and lighting, with solar cells, the collection of rainwater and snow to reduce water demand and the recycling of energy between areas with varying levels of demand. In addition, atria several floors high are to be spaced throughout the building’s central core and decorated with plants, providing the luxury apartments on the upper floors with private gardens in the sky.

The construction of the tower is expected to cost about $1.5 billion; of this about $150 million to $200 million would be supplied by ST Towers. Plans for the tower have been approved and it should be finished by about 2010. Construction has not yet started.

PLOT 17 AND 18: MULTI-PURPOSE OFFICE-HOTEL COMPLEX

The multipurpose complex will include two towers (80 and 78 floors), with a common underground space for parking. The high tower will contain office premises and the second tower will be a hotel.

The complex will also contain a roof-top restaurant with a panoramic view, cafes and bars, conference halls and billiard club. The architect is Skidmore, Owinds, and Merrill LLP. No dates have yet been announced.

PLOT 19: NORTHERN TOWERS

An office complex is being developed on this plot by ZAO Severnaya Bashnya. The Northern Towers will consist of three buildings – two 12-storey and one 29-storey. These will contain 135,000m² of floor space.

The architect is Project Institute 2 and the construction engineer is Bau Holding Strabag AG (Austria). Interior design in the building will be carried out by ABD Limited, and legal services with regard to lease documents are provided by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The first phase of Northern Tower is scheduled for shell and core delivery by the fourth quarter of 2006. The marketing and leasing campaign has already started. Raiffeisenbank has agreed to become the first tenant of the complex.

Northern Tower will feature spectacular atriums, prime office premises and a multi-level parking for 688 cars. There will also be a multi-functional conference hall for up to 200 people, banking premises, restaurants and cafes, a fitness centre with a swimming pool operated by Reebok, a professional dental clinic and a beauty parlour.

POWER PLANT CONSTRUCTION

The power supply for the new MIBC has been a subject of much contention among foreign investors. The complex requires an efficient power distribution system operating at 20kV rather than the more typical 10kV.

CITY JSC and power supplier Mosenergo JSC put forward a proposal in 1999 to the Moscow City Government to develop a new power network for the MIBC, mini-metro, metro junction core, Eurostation and Sheremetyevo-Moscow Rapid Transit System.

The power and heat supply for the MIBC will be provided from three sources: the Mosenergo power station ‘SS-CITY-1’; the district heat and power station ‘Krasnya Prsnya’; and the MIBC power plant on Plot 7A, which entered its first phase of construction in 2002–2003 and is now well into its second phase with completion expected in 2006.

Having established the power supply sources, the next part of the project was the bulk power and distribution network to support the MIBC. Phase 1 of the MIBC power plant has seen the construction of a Gas Turbine Unit (GTU) and Heat and Power Plant (HPP) with a capacity of 50MW and a substation with two transformers for 110V from 20kV and 110V from 10kV and two 63MVA distribution units. The next phase will see an increase of capacity up to 100MW.

The developers of the power plant are CITY JSC and CITY-ENERGO Company Ltd. The contractors for the project are Liard-Stroy Ltd and the designers of the plant were Mosproekt-2 and VNIPI Energoprom.

TRANSPORTATION CONSTRUCTION

The Moscow–Sheremetyevo line is the first phase of the RTS to connect the three satellite airports to the centre of Moscow. This first line, 34.3km in length, will provide interconnectivity between the airport, regional centres and urban junctions and also interconnect with the existing municipal transport system. The project was started in 2001 and eight stations were planned. This stage is now complete.

The developer for the RTS is CITY JSC in collaboration with the City of Moscow; the designer is SNC Lavalin of Canada. The Phase 2 section of the project to extend the line to cover Vnukovo Airport was started in 2004 and is now nearing completion (scheduled to open in 2007).

The RTS development not only concerns rail links to the new commerical centre of Moscow but it is also a development in its own right. The Plot 11 development will include the construction of the new Moscow transport terminal uniting the RTS, three lines of the underground and the intercity bus terminal.

The complex will include transport stations with waiting rooms, boarding areas for VIPs, a hall of customs inspection, left-luggage offices, a 342 room hotel and ticket offices.

For this section of the development Citer Invest B.V. of the Netherlands is the developer, Behnish and Behnish Architekten of Germany are the architects. The investment is $200 million and construction is underway with an expected completion in 2007.

MINI-METRO LINE

A mini-metro line was also constructed to provide transportation within the MIBC and to connect with the historical centre of Moscow. There are three stations, one constructed in Phase 1 of the project and two in Phase 2. The three stations are Dorogomilovskaya, International and Moscow – City.

The length of the line is 5.85km. The engineering and transport contractors were Metrogiprotrans JSC. The line along with the International and Moscow – City stations came into operation in September 2005.

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