The Pros and Cons of Working in Event Planning
Have you ever had someone tell say, “You are so good at throwing parties. You should really think about becoming an event planner”? If so, maybe that’s one of the reasons why the title of this article caught your attention. Indeed, all of us have special talents that we enjoy that we may not use every in our professional lives, but perhaps we should more often. After all, having a job shouldn’t only be about making money, but doing what you love in the process.
If you’ve be mulling over the idea of going into event planning full-time, we wanted to provide you with some of the pros and cons that come with the profession. That way, before you delve in, you know exactly what you’re getting into.
The Pros of Event Planning
If you’re someone who doesn’t like following a daily routine, then event planning could be just the field that you are looking for. That’s because each client and each event is both unique and challenging as you put your knowledge and expertise to work to make a client’s vision into a reality. Another thing that a lot of event planners look forward to is having the opportunity to not only connect with new clients, but to network with other business associates and vendors. Overtime, it can help you to establish some really solid relationships while giving you the potential to run both private and corporate events as a direct result. Also, you don’t have to limit yourself to one kind of event. Event planners can do big corporate functions, intimate dinner parties or even assist in celebrities or charities events. There is simply no telling who you will meet in the process of using your own creative skills to plan different kinds of social occasions.
The Cons of Event Planning
As with most things in life, there are pros and cons to event planning. One big con is not always being able to please your client and sometimes that’s because they are not always clear on what it is that they want (so you have to have great people skills). Plus, while you can’t prevent unexpected things from happening (such as the entertainment running late, the cater messing up the menu or the security bands that you hired from ExpressWristbands.com not arriving on time), the person who hired you usually expects you to get everything right; when that doesn’t happen, the blame usually falls on you and you have to be prepared to handle that. Another con is that the hours aren’t always the most ideal for a lot of people. Many events happen on the weekends and so this means that Friday thru Sunday, you are on the clock and oftentimes working long hours until the function is over. Still another con is that if you are not someone who doesn’t do well with being in an environment where tensions can run pretty high, you might not want to be an event planner due to how stressful it can sometimes be. You definitely have to be someone who is detail-oriented and committed to doing a good job, but who also doesn’t take it too personally when people make demands or overreact. Without a doubt, having good customer service skills and remaining professional at all times is a big part of being a successful event planner.