START AND RUN AN EVENT PLANNING BUSINESS COACHING SESSION BE YOUR OWN BOSS! You know the pros and cons of working for someone else versus running the show yourself. The events industry is an exciting fast paced, growing industry which demands highly qualified event management companies & coordinators. If you have decided to take the leap to full time professional events person there are a few things you need to know to get started. If your dream is to start, run & maintain your own event management company, then this coaching session is for you. PROGRAM OUTLINE: The coaching session is four hours, and is one on one. You can decide on the date and time of the session that you would like the coaching to be conducted on. GETTING STARTED · Self assessment questionnaire · Reasons for staring an event management business · Determining your market · Researching your competitors · Setting realistic time limits STARTING THE RIGHT BUSINESS · A dose of optimistic reality · Knowing exactly what is involved & understanding your new business arena · Industry knowledge · What they don't teach you at business school · Business resources & equipment IN THE BEGINNING · Deciding on a name for your business & deciding in which direction to move · Being clear about what message you want to send & what you want to say · Picking your business type · Sole proprietorship · Partnerships · Corporation · Public or private · To work at home or away? · Pricing your event management services DECISION MAKING · What type of events to specialise in? · Doing the market research BUSINESS PLAN BASICS · Why prepare a business plan? · Stages of a company's growth & understanding strategy realistically · Short & long term planning AUTOMATION · Telephones · Local area networks · Electronic mail & faxing systems MAKING YOUR BUSINESS LEGAL · Your legal structure · Sole proprietorship · Partnership · Limited partnerships · Incorporation · Choosing your name legally & using CIPRO METHODS OF FUNDING · · · · How much money will you need? Tax, SMEs, VAT, BEE & choosing an accountant Accounting software Getting business loans & credit EVENT MANAGEMENT & MARKETING YOUR NEW BUSINESS EVENT MANAGEMENT · The event planning process · Protecting your business · Event management contracts · Confidentiality agreements · Understanding vendor, venue & clients contracts MARKETING OPPORTUNITIES · Learning from competitors · Smart marketing · Branding your eventmanagement company · Naming your business · Developing your image & brand promise · Designing your new logo · Dealing with graphic design/copywriting & photography · Choosing your marketing medium · Print · Direct mail · Electronic · Where to market? WHO SHOULD ATTEND: Anyone looking to start their own event management business. For more detailed information please contact: Tel: +27 11 465 2272 • Fax: 086 673 6142 Email: [email protected] www.thehedgehogevent.com Janna Gers Director of The Hedgehog Event Janna is the Director of The Hedgehog Event - an event management and training company started 8 years ago. She has a BA Honours Degree in Industrial Psychology. Her experience has come from working for events and training companies both in South Africa, and in the UK. Janna has dealt with clients & speakers from around the world and is passionate about providing people with the skills they need so that they can be the best at what they do. She is also focused on providing solutions to organisers within the events industry so that they can overcome their event challenges. Janna has been involved in conceptualising, designing and implementing events for clients such as British Airways, SABMiller, Standard Bank, O'Keeffe & Swartz, SAMRO, UCS Solutions, The PGA (Professional Golfers Association) of SA, Coca-Cola, Junk Mail and SABS just to name a few. She has been involved in training event management companies, government and corporate event managers from the top 200 companies in SA. Janna is very knowledgeable on the events industry in South Africa and comes very highly recommended.