People love to gather. Even when it’s a little tough to do so (*cough* COVID *cough*) we find ways to plan and throw celebrations, conferences, and events.
It’s human nature to want to spend time with people we care about, so we tend to throw events for EVERYTHING. Which means that event planners are always in high demand!
If your event planning business is swamped, you likely realize this is a mixed blessing.
Having a lot of clients isn’t a bad thing for your bottom line, but it can lead to feeling like you never have enough time.
And since event planning involves managing approximately 67 trillion details, you can’t exactly “phone it in” when you’re feeling overtaxed!
Which is why you’d be wise to hire an assistant to help you manage your event planning business.
Just imagine being able to rely on a smart, organized, experienced team member who could handle the day-to-day work for you. Wouldn’t that be phenomenal?
It sure would. So let’s talk about how to make it happen.
Why you need to hire an event assistant
Eager to get help but worried that hiring an assistant for your event planning business will be too costly? Think of it this way: getting help will take some money out of your pocket, but it will also give you more time to focus on the aspects of planning that only you can do.
Instead of sending invoices and tweaking your calendar, you’ll be able to dive deep into the artistic and creative work of event planning. The lights! The table settings! The invitations!
Not only that, but you’ll also be able to dedicate more time and energy to lead generation and building partnerships with vendors, both activities that will help grow your business.
Delegating the behind-the-scenes work to an assistant will let you be more productive, efficient, and HAPPY. Definitely worth the cost.
What can an assistant do for your events business?
Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide what should be outsourced to your assistant.
My main rule of thumb is that any work that doesn’t directly generate revenue can be delegated … but there may be a few tasks you’d just prefer to oversee personally. And that’s just fine.
It’s your events business, your name on the front door (or website, as the case may be!), and you are the only person who can decide what stays in your court.
That said, here’s a short list of things that a skilled events assistant can take over if you want her to:
- Managing schedules and calendars for you and any other team members. She can even create a shared calendar so all your schedules can be viewed in one place.
- Overseeing printed or electronic invitations, and mailing any items that go out in the post
- Ordering party and event supplies, once you and the client have made final selections
- Negotiating timelines with vendors, and managing their contracts. She can be responsible for sending out reminders to vendors, or double-checking with them via phone just before event dates, too.
- Booking any necessary travel plans for you and other team members
- Answering emails or phone calls from current and potential clients
- Ensuring all clients have the necessary information about their event, including contracts, timelines, and vendor names
- Handling follow-up after events have concluded to make sure clients are happy and collecting any feedback they may have
Depending on her experience, your assistant may also be able to help research and vet vendors, book venues, and recommend talents such as DJs and florists.
But since some of those tasks fall under “executing the event vision,” you might want to hang onto them instead!
How to choose the right assistant for your events business
While you can certainly hire a generalist assistant who has worked with other entrepreneurs, it can’t hurt to seek out someone who has events-specific experience.
To hire the perfect assistant, you first need to decide what you feel comfortable handing over. Make a comprehensive list of tasks before you begin screening candidates.
And even if you get a stellar recommendation from a colleague, be sure to interview multiple prospects; you want someone who gels with you and may be willing to compromise on salary or experience for the right personality fit.
Speaking of which, make sure the person you choose is the right fit for your company in terms of culture and values. Your assistant will be representing your business and brand, so you want her to be someone you trust to interface with clients, vendors, and colleagues.
Hiring an assistant for your event planning business is practically guaranteed to reduce your stress and boost your energy levels.
When you’re relaxed and focused, you do better work. And that means you make your clients happier, they recommend you to more new prospects, and the events business continues to boom.
With support from an assistant, you’ll be able to accomplish more and enjoy every minute of your working days!
