Last
time, we started looking at starting an event company and we stopped at carving
a niche market. Today we will finish that and discuss more. We were discussing
analyzing competitors. Below are more points to note in analyzing your completion.
Doing this help you to design you Unique Selling Point (USP).
Competitor’s
Analysis
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Market value (i.e. what is their reputation in the market)
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Market share (i.e. how much business they have occupied)
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Turnover (i.e. annual sales)?
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How many events they organize in a year?
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Why people attend their events?
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What is so special about their events?
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How do they get clients and sponsors for their events?
THEN YOUR SWOT ANALYSIS.
You SWOT analysis define your STRENGTHS, WEAKNESSES,
OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS. Doing this helps you to know what you are bringing
into the industry, what is available there for you, what can either make you or
mar you in the industry.
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SWOT ANALYSIS
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STRENGTHS
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WEAKNESSES
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OPPORTUNITIES
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THREATS
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Strengths
Determine your resources and capabilities and how they can
be used against your competition and in favour of your target audience. What
advantages do you have? What you can do better than the others?
Weaknesses
Determine the resources you lack. Determine the advantages
your competitors have. What could you improve? What you should avoid?
Opportunities
Look at your strengths and determine which opportunities are
opened for you. Determine how you can open up even more opportunities by
eliminating some of your weaknesses.
Threats
Changes in external environment (like changes in economy or
market trends) or any unfavourable situation can pose threat to your company or
business. Determine all present and possible threats to your business venture.
It can be the presence of a very powerful competitor or new or innovative ways
of organizing events or a heavy tax on entertainment
4. GET REGISTERED
You need to get registered. Get your
Event Management Company registered, either as a business name or a limited
liability company. There are clients you meet that won’t pay you cash and they
won’t pay into your personal account if your company is not registered. You
will also not be able to open a company account anywhere in this country if you
are unregistered. Not being registered limits what you can do. There is a lot
riding in doing business without being registered but then who says you still
can’t do business?
BUSINESS
PLAN
You need a business plan, no matter how simple it is, you
need one. I find it difficult writing a business plan because I am too restless
to start putting into written perspective all these bright ideas in my head but
that’s what getting down to actually writing the business plan has done for me.
It has helped to put into perspective what I want to do. Anytime I need to know
the next line of action, I consult my business plan. My business plan is very easy to understand by me because I
wrote it and editing it is not a challenge. I once thought of employing a
professional to do it for me, however, I found no one could define my business
like I could and I actually had fun doing it.
The
business plan won’t make you a successful business owner overnight but it will
help you as a guide. With it you can avoid business pitfalls such as undercapitalization.
It also helps you spot common business pitfalls that you can avoid very easily.
You can follow these simple guidelines to write a business plan for your event
management company;
There
are three primary parts to a business plan.
The business concept, where you discuss the
industry, your business structure, your product or service and how you plan to
make your business a success.
Outline your business objectives. What do you want to
achieve in short term and in long term i.e. what is the mission and vision of
your event planning company? However don't stick too much with long term
objectives as they may become meaningless after a long time or changes in
market situation.
Determine your staffing needs and what should be their skill
sets.
In this case, your vendors. As a start up Event Manager, you
do not need so much staff unless you are starting big. However, if you are
starting small, all you need are just your vendor needs. Look forward to our
article on vendor selection and management. I promise it will enlighten you.
Meanwhile for the purpose of planning the growth of your
event management business you need to develop the organizational structure of
your event management company as part of your business plan. Outline your own
skills, knowledge and experience and determine how they can be used to achieve
business success. Prepare resume of yourself and all of the people who will
like to be involved in your business. These resumes will come handy when you
will look for partners/investors and employees later on.
The marketplace section,
in which you describe and analyze potential customers: who and where they are,
what makes them buy and so on. You'll also describe your competition and how
you'll position yourself to beat it.
Determine how exactly you
will find clients. How you will approach them and how you will sell your
services. How you will expand your business? What will be your rules,
regulations, policies and procedures regarding payments, reimbursement,
penalties, cancellation and behaviour?
The
financial section
contains your income and cash flow statement, balance sheet and other financial
ratios, such as break-even analysis. This part may require the use of a
spreadsheet. An excel platform will do. If calculating the costs gets your mind
muddled up like it does to me, help from an accountant friend of yours will be
helpful.
Estimate your capital
requirements for one whole year. Determine how you will manage the cash flow?
You also need to prepare a contingency plan i.e. what strategies you will adopt
in case of capital loss, economic crisis or market downturn or a business exit
plan if somehow, you got tired and you want out.
Next week, we will start with getting your first client . .
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