Think you’re ready to start your own meeting and event business? You’ll need to answer these three big questions first.
When I started my business in the events industry, I knew I loved planning logistics and got a weird thrill out of timelines, but I wasn’t sure where I wanted to apply those skills.
Finding your niche is an iterative process and involves pulling in data points from multiple perspectives. You weigh one thing against another and over time, you find common themes.
What Do I Love?
For most, this is the hardest question. We are so wired to think about our target market when we start a business that we often forget we need to love what we do. I was really focused on services people needed. It took me longer to figure out what services I wanted to offer, which I solved through a combination of experience and reflection.
As I worked on an event, I would analyze the things I liked and the things I did not enjoy working on. This gave me a better sense of my skills. I also spent a lot of time reflecting on what I like to do outside of business. Personality plays into who you are as a business owner. I needed to figure out what was unique about me and how I could apply that to the events world. I discovered that I love technology (as an early adopter, I set myself apart from the majority of planners) and that I am really passionate about community (so much can be done when you build a group of people who share interests and get emotionally invested).
What Do Others See?
Often times, people will see strengths or weaknesses we won’t see in ourselves. It’s important, as you find something you love to do, to weigh it in the public to see if they agree. This should be done on several levels—friends, family, clients and professional contacts. Each group of people will have a different perspective and all should be taken into consideration. As I was getting started, I would write up some copy for my website and then share with people I knew for feedback. Some people would add important keywords I never would have thought to add.
Who is My Target?
Once you have a pretty good understanding of your skills, figure out who would take advantage of your services. I learned I was not made for weddings and special events. I also knew I wasn’t a suit and tie, corporate event gal either.
As I got to know myself better, I realized I wanted to get involved way with the organizations I worked with. I’m an event planner, but I also have a lot of interest and experience in branding and social campaigns. I realized if I worked with entrepreneurs, I could get involved on a deeper level because they simply don’t have the resources to outsource event planning. They have you work with their development and marketing teams. This is something I really enjoyed, so I was able to solidify my niche. TMP
