How To Decide If Decor Sales Is For You
First off, self-motivation is key to running any home-based business effectively.
Know that you will be working your own hours, considering that most home decor sales parties take place in the evenings and on weekends. Are you willing to commit to nontraditional hours?
Now, you cant look at decor as strictly a job. Your enthusiasm for your products will show, so choose your products wisely.
Lastly, can you sell to others without buying for yourself? Note if you spend all your profits on your products, you wont make any money. Be careful not to purchase anything you dont truly need.
Come Up With An Event Company Name
As fun a task as choosing a name for your party planning business may seem, its not something to be taken lightly.
Your name is the first thing most customers will hear about you, and so its important that it accurately represents what they can expect from your services. Plus, it needs to be something youre proud to shout from the rooftops.
To come up with a name, try these tips:
- Think of the type of events you want to plan and the style of service youll aim to deliver. Write down every word that springs to mind no matter how obvious or abstract. The more, the better. Then single out your favourite words and explore them. Do they have synonyms that are better? How does it sound when you combine them in different ways?
- Consider your own name. Can you name the business after yourself?
- If youd like your business to be one that doesnt take itself too seriously, try thinking up event-related puns or phrases you might be able to use as a name. Just try not to be too cheesy!
- Think about existing events planning businesses whose names you really like. Take inspiration from what makes them so great but make sure you dont simply copy them.
When it comes to coming up with a name, simplicity is key.
On the concept of coming up with a name, Stockmans says:
Keep it simple, catchy, and memorable. Keep the name strong and simple, the strapline mission statement simple and the branding clear.
Remember, your event planning business name should be:
Invest The Revenue You Have Wisely
Play it right and you may only need to raise funds for your very first party. Then, reinvest the revenue you make from that event, in growing your party planning business to stretch every dollar further.
Use your ticket revenue to:
- Pay vendor bills in a timely way: Your catering and floral art can make or break your party. Keep your relationships with vendors in good standing by paying them on time.
- Put money into your marketing: Let more people know about your parties, and you sell more tickets. Sell more tickets, and you have more money to put into your marketing. Its a virtuous cycle.
- Lock in the next event: Competition for venues can be intense. Use your earnings to put a down payment on your dream venue for next year so you can start party planning early.
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My Top 4 Tips To Help You Start Your Own Party Planning Business:
- What Do I Charge? Ill start by saying that my advice is strictly based on my own experience which is in a small Southern, conservative city. I also cater to smaller events with less than 50 guests usually birthdays, showers, and theme parties. The question I get asked most often is how do I price my services?. The best way for me has been to charge a flat professional fee for a job + a fee for expenses. I think experience is the only way you will know what the right fee is for you to charge. It will depend on the economic area you live in, the social culture of your target market & what they are willing to pay, and of course the amount of time you know you will be spending on the project. This is why its a good idea to volunteer for jobs for friends and relatives in the beginning so you will have the experience to make informed proposals to clients. Once youve done that a few times youll have a good idea of what your base fee should be.
- Professional Fee: As for a hard number, I was informed by some pros a few years ago that $20 to $25 per hour is rock-bottom pricing for your service and expertise. Some of the things included in that fee are meetings with the client, travel time & gas, set-up & removal of party decor, time spent on email or phone correspondence, shopping, crafting, brainstorming online, and collaborating with vendors. A great way to keep track of this is to set up a spreadsheet and log in your time as needed.
How To Start A Decorating Business For Parties: Final Thoughts
If you are a creative person, then starting a party decorating business will be perfect for you!
Youll be able to express yourself while also earning money. Plus, you can set your hours and prices what could be better? Networking is one of the most important things youll need to do as a small business owner. Use the free resources that are available to you and encourage word-of-mouth marketing.
This is going to be one of the most fun and challenging experiences, but it will be worth it!
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Do Your Market Research
Before jumping, in I always tell people to understand their market and competitors. What is your unique value proposition? Are your fees similar to, better than or higher than others in your area? Understanding your competition and your clients will give you the leg up in this market. Dont skip this step!
Learn More About The Local Party Planning Industry
First of all, define is it a red or a blue ocean. The red one? Great! Therefore, do some research. Try to grasp as much information as possible. Understand your competitors` strategies, positioning, occupations, targeted audiences, special propositions, etc. Look carefully at caterers, suppliers, entertainers, and other professionals they are collaborating with. Later on, you`ll definitely need reliable and highly professional ones.
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Experiment With Pay Per Click Ads
Pay-per-click is a performance-based marketing method that allows you to show specific ads for services or products oriented to a very defined target, with the goal that the user visits your website or landing page.
Here are some tips to consider:
- Consider connecting the ad to your corresponding landing page so that the audience receives the necessary information after clicking on the ad.
- Conversion Tracking: When running PPC campaigns, be sure to run the ads with conversion tracking.
- Focus on quality keywords, even if there are few as this will save you time and money. When assessing the performance of a keyword, it’s important to track the expense, conversion, and cost per conversion, as well as the ROI.
PPC advertising can be a very important lead generator as long as it’s done properly. Your PPC campaign is intended to drive traffic to your website and help the business scale.
Additionally, if the campaign is not having the desired results, you can make the necessary changes immediately to improve them.
Ryan Schortmann, founder of Display Pros talks about their investment in PPC Ads:
My name is Ryan Schortmann and Im the founder of Display Pros. We are a custom trade show display booth company offering easy to use portable display kits for small and medium businesses wanting to get into the trade show game.
From experience, I know that it is important to give Googles hivemind some time to settle in before each campaign starts seeing consistent results .
Do Have A Marketing Budget
Generally, a business becomes profitable if it makes more money than an expense. Having a marketing budget is important in a decorating business. This helps you determine your rates as well.
Figuring out your marketing budget does not come so easily. It takes a few parties before you are able to determine a marketing budget. But once you have figured it out, things will be so easier and smoother.
Make sure to never overspend, or you will not be earning.
When setting up a marketing budget, make sure you have everything listed. A list will help you see how much you are looking at. Generally, your list must include your marketing expense, overhead cost, labor cost, as well as your professional fee, and many others.
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Provide Great Customer Service
Providing exceptional care and creating relationships with clients is a great way to build your reputation and retain customers.
Whether you are an online business or a physical business, it’s highly important to communicate with customers and make them feel like they are the priority.
Just remember: customer service represents your brand, values, vision and YOU as a person.
Look For Additional Income Opportunities For Your Event Decorating Business
Finally, always look for ways to make money with your party-decorating business that goes beyond just the decorating and planning.
For example, if you make your own decorations, consider making more and selling them on Etsy. Or, you can buy a helium tank and rent it out on the side!
There are lots of ways for your business to grow. Adding related income streams is one of the most popular ones. Every time you rent decor or work with a vendor, ask yourself how you can do that job yourself!
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Are You Looking To Hire For Certain Positions Right Now
Our company currently has most of its positions filled. We are currently looking for a warehouse manager that would overlook the entire rental and decor operation. They would be in charge of booking clients, hiring and firing employees, delivery schedules, and employee work schedules. They would need to make sure the business grows and makes a profit.
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What Skills Do I Need To Succeed In Starting A Balloon Decor Business
As a balloon decor business, there are several essential skills and characteristics that are important to identify prior to starting your business.
Lets look at these skills in more detail so you can identify what you need to succeed in your day-to-day business operations:
Self Motivation Skills
Self motivation and discipline skills are critical in order to become successful in this field.
It’s likely that you will find yourself starting and running your balloon decor business from home, which could mean there are more distractions for you.
Here are the basic skills needed for self motivation & discipline:
- Becoming a self starter: It’s important that you are capable of independently completing a task without the help or direction of anyone else
- Listening and following directions: When you are given direction by others, it’s critical that you are able to follow directions and ask the right questions in order to get your job done
- Taking the initiative in problem solving: Instead of taking the easy route, you’ll need to learn to troubleshoot issues on your own as much as possible.
Crafty Skills
Whether you are on the creative side or the business side of your product, crafty and creative skills are a must for starting a balloon decor business.
Here are a few skills that are important to have for starting a successful balloon decor business:
Customer Service Skills
Friendly communication with customers and the ability to address service issues is a critical part of the job.
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Downsides Of A Party Decorations Business
These are the problems and challenges you will face when you start a party decorations business.
The First International Accredited Event Designing School In The Us
The Event Decorating Academy is accredited by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training . The Event Decorating Academy complies with the ANSI/IACET Standard, which is recognized internationally as a standard of excellence in instructional practices. As a result of this accreditation, The Event Decorating Academy is accredited to issue the IACET CEU.
The Event Decorating Academy is a global center of excellence, working with event designers and entrepreneurs to transform their creativity into profits.
Our highest value is to help students achieve success through originality, leadership, and commitment, While supporting every students growths.
Our mission at the Event Decorating Academy® is to provide powerful tools and strategies with online and hands-on training providing students with the knowledge for professional development towards career enhancement to become exceptional event designers. As the originators of event design schools, we are their road map to success since 2007 offering credentials that add trust, credibility, and value to our designers.
Certified Event Decorator®
Certified Event Master Designer
Certified Balloon Designer
Certified Event Draping Designer
Our instructors will lead step-by-step through our hands-on and online courses focusing on fundamental techniques to be able to transform any venue into an elegant masterpiece.
Certified Event Floral Designer
Certified Event Manager – Event Business Courses
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Advice For Other Entrepreneurs Who Want To Get Started Or Are Just Starting
Always follow your dreams and whatever you enjoy doing, put 100% of your time and energy in it and you will succeed. Do not listen to anyone that gives you negative comments about your idea. If you have the dedication and compassion for what you do you will succeed. I have seen many people fail in business because they get too big too quickly. We used to work out of our house shed and garage that was our warehouse. We just recently got a 9000sqft venue and an 18,000 sqft warehouse and showroom. It takes time and effort the slower you move the more successful you are.
Promote Your Cake Decorating Business
Now that youre ready to start a cake decorating business, its time to promote your business.
The truth is that without customers, you have no business. So its important to make sure people know youre there. And even more important to reach out to prospective customers.
So make sure you have a plan to get your cake business and your products in front of them.
Pay attention to your Yelp page, as many people search for a company and review ratings before selecting a vendor.
Use social media to promote your cake decorating business!
Use Facebook and Google for advertising if youre willing to shell out the funds to run them. Maybe you can start by creating a Facebook page for your business to showcase your sweet creations on. But dont limit your posts to offers, either. Share suggestions,recipes and videos of how you create your cakes. Either way, you want to have content that people can share.
But remember, one of the best ways to get new customers is by word of mouth. So, make sure youre winning over your customers with great service and quality products.
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Why Identify An Opportunity
Research party decorating businesses in your area to examine their services, price points, and customer reviews. Youre looking for a market gap to fill. For instance, maybe the local market is missing a party decorating business that specializes in corporate events.
You might consider targeting a niche market by specializing in a certain aspect of your industry, such as wedding receptions or kids birthday parties. This could jumpstart your word-of-mouth marketing and attract clients right away.
How Do I Become An Event Decorator
Now that weve answered some of the most frequently asked questions about event decorating, its time to give you a few tips on how you can get started in this field. Importantly, it wont matter whether you want to add decorating services to your existing business or start a decorating business from scratch
These 6 steps will be just as useful either way!
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Create A Thorough Business Plan
You may be tempted to jump into action and start pursuing those dream clients, but taking the time to write a well thought out plan is an essential step for any aspiring entrepreneur, including party decorators. This step will help you think through all of your small business details and give you a chance to catch flaws in your plan, such as an unsustainable pricing structure before they become a problem.
Legal compliance on auto pilot
Spend less time worrying about paperwork, and more time running your business
Another reason to create this document before you start an event or party decorating business is to access funding. Banks, creditors, and granting organizations will typically want to see that you have put thought into your operation to help them make sure they want to fund your small business. They also want to see that youve considered your budget and can operate within it. A business plan allows you to demonstrate your knowledge of the industry, the market size and opportunity, an overview of your services, how you will go to market, and how your business will turn a profit.
