{"id":10304,"date":"2016-10-27T07:00:43","date_gmt":"2016-10-27T12:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.qceventplanning.com\/?p=10304"},"modified":"2016-10-27T07:00:43","modified_gmt":"2016-10-27T12:00:43","slug":"5-ways-not-kill-event-planning-business-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.qceventplanning.com\/blog\/2016\/10\/5-ways-not-kill-event-planning-business-part-1","title":{"rendered":"5 Ways to NOT Kill Your Event Planning Business: Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><i>QC tutor Heather Vickery is the Owner and Event Director of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.greatestexpectations.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Greatest Expectations Special Events and Weddings<\/a>, one of Chicago\u2019s most celebrated event planning and design firms.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>If you are not doing these 5 things, you could be killing your business.<\/p>\n<p>I have been an entrepreneur for 14 years and have been planning weddings and events for nearly 20. I have learned more than a few things in that timeframe which I utilize in my second business where I coach entrepreneurs on business systems, strategies and boundaries for success. In this post you will see five things that are so essential to your business that if you are not doing them, you could completely kill your business\u2014or at the very least drive yourself insane. <\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_80 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 eztoc-toggle-hide-by-default' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.qceventplanning.com\/blog\/2016\/10\/5-ways-not-kill-event-planning-business-part-1\/#Managing_Expectations\" >Managing Expectations<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.qceventplanning.com\/blog\/2016\/10\/5-ways-not-kill-event-planning-business-part-1\/#Business_Structures_and_Boundaries\" >Business Structures and Boundaries<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Managing_Expectations\"><\/span>Managing Expectations<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The number one thing that I personally believe can make or break you as a planner is <b>managing expectations<\/b>. Not just your client\u2019s expectations but also the expectations for your vendors and for yourself. Think about it: if you meet with a potential client and say, \u201cGreat! I will send over a proposal,\u201d but don\u2019t tell them when to expect it, they are tapping their toes within a few hours and you look like you lack follow-through. However, something as simple as saying \u201cI will have this proposal to you by the end of next week\u201d lets your clients know what to expect and they are able to wait patiently. Even if they are not patient, you can respond with a reminder of your timeframe, such as saying \u201cI indicated upfront I would have something to you by the end of next week. I am still on track for that.\u201d <\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"672\" height=\"448\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.qceventplanning.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Not-to-Kill-EVP-.jpg\" alt=\"ways not-to-kill-event planning business\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-10309\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.qceventplanning.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Not-to-Kill-EVP-.jpg 672w, https:\/\/www.qceventplanning.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Not-to-Kill-EVP--300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 672px) 100vw, 672px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This same logic applies to the vendors you work with. In many cases they need things from you to do your job or vice versa. Having the confidence to ask \u201cwhen should we expect this from you?\u201d makes you sound professional and gives you the information you need to keep your clients happy. Asking questions is a good thing!<\/p>\n<p>Last but not least, managing expectations is really important for your sanity and personal space. By being clear about what you expect from clients and what they can expect from you, you are setting boundaries that will stay with you throughout the entire planning process. One really important way to do this is by managing your clients\u2019 expectations of your time. Give them solid work hours and do not respond outside of those hours, barring an emergency. Don\u2019t email or answer calls after hours. Just like with anything else, if someone knows they can take advantage of you\u2014they likely will! Do not leave room for that.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Business_Structures_and_Boundaries\"><\/span>Business Structures and Boundaries<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In order to be able to fully manage expectations, it is crucial to <b>have proper business structures and boundaries<\/b> in place. This means that if you have not already taken the time to sit down and map out your business <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.qceventplanning.com\/2016\/10\/4-questions-ask-building-business-plan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">plan<\/a>, stop everything you are doing and get this done! Below are just a few items that you absolutely must have in order, if you want to be an effective business leader:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Solid work hours<\/li>\n<li>Apps that ensure you work smarter and not harder (like Google\u2019s Boomerang, shared folders that are kept in the cloud, great accounting software)<\/li>\n<li>A customized email address<\/li>\n<li>A consistent, organized and clean place to work<\/li>\n<li>A well-designed and well-run website<\/li>\n<li>A solid social media presence<\/li>\n<li>A welcome letter to new clients so they know what to expect from you and when<\/li>\n<li>A sense from your clients of how they want to be contacted (email, phone, text) and what is the best time to connect with them<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 align=\"center\"><i>What else should you be doing to keep your event planning business flourishing? Check back next week to find out!<\/i><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Heather shares 5 steps that are crucial to growing your event planning business. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":10311,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,9,11],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[349],"class_list":["post-10304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-from-the-experts","category-career"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.6 (Yoast SEO v26.6) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>5 Ways to NOT Kill Your Event Planning Business: Part 1 - Pointers for Planners<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Are you an event planning entrepreneur? QC Tutor Heather Vickery shares 5 steps that are crucial to growing your event planning business.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.qceventplanning.com\/blog\/2016\/10\/5-ways-not-kill-event-planning-business-part-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"5 Ways to NOT Kill Your Event Planning Business: Part 1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Are you an event planning entrepreneur? 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