31 Pros & Cons Of Starting An Event Planning Business (2024)

Flexibility

You can put as much time into the business as you'd like. If you like the work and have some initial experience, you can start small and manage all aspects of the business on your own.

Meaningful business connections

You never know who you will meet as a event planning business. This could be the start of an incredible business opportunity!

Pick & choose the clients you work with

Event Planning Businesses have the ability to choose the clients they work with. You have the freedom to work with only a few loyal clients or with hundreds of clients!

Gain exposure and experience

This career allows you to gain experience working for multiple different businesses - which will benefit your resume and also keep things interesting for you!

Unlimited income potential

With starting an event planning business there is no cap as to how much income you can make. The stronger your business skills and the more energy/time you put into your career, the more you'll make.

Daily physical activity

Event Planning Business's typically involve a much greater degree of movement than other lines of work. Most days, you will spend your day walking, running errands for your business, and performing a multitude of tasks. This can have a positive impact on energy levels and your overall health.

Predictable income stream

Your businesses income stream tends to be predictable based on the number of customers you have signed up. This makes financial planning and outlooks much more seamless!

Higher likelihood of getting referrals

This business is all about referrals, which can be a a very impactful way to attract and retain customers. It's critical that you have a great referral program in place that incentivizes your customers to tell their friends about your product.

Location is everything!

When operating a physical storefront, the location often speaks for itself and serves as it's very own marketing tool! It's important to choose a location in a high traffic area so you can spark curiosity and get people through your door!

Greater Income Potential

With this business, the sky is the limit in regards to your income potential.

You get to do something you truly love

With starting a event planning business, you get to put your energy into something you are truly passionate about! You'll find yourself devoting as much time and energy as possible into the business to make it successful.

You can decide who you work with

Gone are the days of working in a toxic work environment with employees that you may not vibe with. As a small business owner, you get to decide who you work and surround yourself with.

Express your opinions

With starting an event planning business, you can express your opinions and knowledge to your audience, which allows you to build your own reputation and identity.

Travel Opportunitites

There are many travel opportunities that come with starting a event planning business You will need to travel a lot to see and experience some of the destinations you are selling.

You get to inspire others

Your business is one that encourages and inspires others, which in itself, can be very fulfilling.

You establish yourself as an expert

With starting an event planning business, you establish yourself as an expert in your niche, which builds your credibility. In return, customers are more likely to trust you and refer you to other friends and family.

Can build solid foundation of clients

It's unlikely you will have one-off customers as a event planning business. Typically, you have a solid foundation of clients that use your product and services regularly.

Motivation of employees

If you plan to have a sales/content team on board, finding creative ways to motivate them can be a challenge. It's important that you're able to offer great incentives and a good work environment for your employees.

Longer Sales Process

A event planning business can be a big time and money investment for your customer, so it's important you plan and predict a longer conversion funnel and stay in communication with potential customers.

Low margins

The gross margins for your event planning business are typically around 32%, which can make it more challenging to incur new expenses and maintain profitability.

Niche Market

A niche business is not necessarily a bad thing, in fact, it can be the key to your success. However, it can be more challenging and time consuming to find the perfect niche market and target audience.

Churn

In this business, customers can cancel their membership or subscription for your services - which can make revenue forecasting challenging and unpredictable. It's important to focus on your churn rates and trends so that you can prevent this as much as possible.

Time commitment

With starting an event planning business, all responsibilities and decisions are in your hands. Although this is not necessarily a negative thing, work life can take over at times. This can place a strain on friends and family and add to the pressure of launching a new business.

Difficult to build trust with your customer

With starting an event planning business, there can be minimal face-to-face interaction, which means it can be a lot more difficult to establish trust with your customers. You'll need to go the extra mile with your customer to grab their attention and business.

Impatient customers

You may offer an engaging user experience for your customer, but customers expect a lot and may be impatient if they aren't pleased with your product or service.

More of a challenge to run your business from home!

Running your business from the comfort of your own home is a big appeal for many entrepreneurs. With a event planning business, you are more likely to run your business out of your office or storefront space.

Difficult to scale

With a event planning business, it can be challenging to find ways to scale. Check out this article that discusses scaling your business and the challenges that come with it.

Learning Curve

When you start your own business, you no longer have upper management to provide you with a playbook for your roles and responsibilities. You should know the ins and outs of every aspect of your business, as every decision will come down to you.

Recession-Impacted Industry

When the economy is down, event planning business's are one of the first things to be cut.

Technical issues can be frustrating

Technical issues are common in this business. If you struggle with the technical side of things, you may want to consider outsourcing this responsibility to save yourself the time and frustration.

More challenging to earn passive income

It can be more of a challenge to make passive income in this business. Often times, the amount of revenue you bring in is limited by the amount of time you have in the day.