If you’re an event promoter you might be skeptical and think that making a business plan is unnecessary and just a waste of time when it comes to event planning. But you couldn’t be more wrong. Every promoter should write an event business plan to successfully put on a show whether it be a festival, nightclub party, or concert.
Most times, promoters treat each event as a hobby more than a business which eventually leads to failed shows. There is nothing wrong with loving what you do but everything that involves money and earnings should be planned accordingly in order to gain and not lose.
It almost always takes formal planning in order to secure your funds. If you are funded by capitalists, commercial banks, and even angel investors like private sponsors, it is your responsibility as a promoter to develop an effective event business plan. And if funds come from personal resources, it remains important to have a formulated business plan to follow in order to capitalize on your chances of success.
It can be a great help to keep track of your progress and financial status, including how the money goes in and out of your pocket throughout the whole duration of your event preparation as well as afterwards. It can also be used to develop a strategic plan for continuing events in the future and to bring investors, sponsors or partners on board.
So gather up your materials and jot down these quick tips that will describe the essential components of how you should write an event business plan:
Prepare an Executive Summary
The first page of your event business plan will be comprised of your executive summary. Consider it your event overview or outline. It will follow your title page, thus it has to be concise. Do not beat around the bush and clearly discuss what you aim for in the summary. Keep it short and formal.
The contents of your executive summary should contain the synopsis of your whole business plan. Especially:
- Overall Concept – What kind of event are you throwing? Who are your target market? How will your event standout?
- Important Financial Details – Focus on projected growth of income like your potential profits, event sales, return on investment, and cash flow. Furthermore, you must state the exact capital needed for your event and go into details on how it will be used.
- Your Background – Provide a detailed information of yourself as the event planner/promoter or your company if there are other people involved. Briefly describe your history in event planning/promotion and who is responsible for putting the event business plan altogether.
Remember that when it comes to writing your executive summary, the shorter and more accurate your point is, the better. Be sure to let your reader immediately know what your capabilities and needs are.
Event Description
In this section, you can fully explain and elaborate the details of your event. Unlike the executive summary, this part does not have to be short but it has to be accurate.
Start with a short description of the event. Discuss present and future possibilities. Are you planning to have the same particular event if it turns out to be successful? Point out what makes your event standout. Emphasize unique concepts and ideas. This is crucial if you are seeking investments and financial supports. Your sponsors/investors will want to see your vision and know how dependable and trustworthy you are as a planner/promoter.
Moreover, you should mention how your event will likely be successful and what kind of support systems are being considered. These could come in forms of advertisings and promotions.
The event description statement should be enough to give the reader a clear and definite idea of your objectives.
How Will You Earn?
State why your event is going to be profitable. How will you attract potential attendees? What forms of advertising will you use and how much budget did you set for each. Also explain your pricing techniques and available ticket options and never forget to provide a financial breakdown for all your target goals.
Remember to sum up all your costs before strategically planning your ticket prices. Include both direct and indirect costs and be careful not to overprice or underprice your tickets. Correct ticket pricing can greatly affect your potential event income.
Promotion Strategies
As an event promoter, this is one of the crucial steps that you have most likely mastered. Promoting an event is hard but if you are organized, it can be easy as a breeze. Event promotion is just a matter of controlled distribution of communication in order to sell tickets to potential attendees. To attain this goal, communication efforts must be utilized. This includes:
Risk Assessment
There will be risks associated with your business event plan. Each of them should be assessed and addressed. These risks may involve areas in marketing procedures, personnel requirements, finances, management and operations, facilities, etcetera. By identifying each problem and giving a possible solution to them during your event developmental period, you will lessen your fears with regards to event preparation and those of your investors too.
Appendix
This will be the section of your event business plan that will feature all your supporting documents. From payment receipts to bank statements and inventories. You can also use this part to write down any additional information such as your event policies and reports.
These are just a few steps to get you started. If after reading this article you still feel lost on how you should write an event business plan, do a quick search online for hundreds of business plan templates to choose from.
Don’t worry on how many pages your event business plan is, as long as you make sure that its contents are rich and useful.
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