You've got a great idea for an event. You know it'll be a hit, but you need to make sure it's worth doing. This guide will show you how to start your own events company and build an audience.
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Find your niche.
Be the best at what you do—and have a passion for it!
Build a community around your brand, and don't be afraid to be yourself!
If you want to start your own events company and build an audience, the first step is finding a venue. There are many options available, but before you settle on one, be sure to consider:
Budget. How much are you going to spend on the venue? Are there any hidden fees or costs that might pop up later?
Location. Where would your ideal location be? Is there space available nearby for parking—and if so, how much do they charge per car? Do nearby streets have good public transportation access (especially if alcohol will be served), and what time slots would work best for getting people in and out safely?
Space requirements. What size space will work best for what kind of event? Will it need a stage or podium where people can speak in front of everyone else (or just sit down at tables)? Do you already know who might be interested in speaking at such an event—if so, scan through their social media profiles so that when you talk with them about coming along as well as sharing their experiences publicly via video recording/live streaming/etc., they'll feel more comfortable accepting because they've seen what kind of place it is beforehand!
Now, you need to do your research.
Research the market. Look at what's already out there, who's doing well and why? What does the industry look like in terms of trends and audience types? What are your competitors doing that works for them? How can you improve on their ideas or better serve their customers/audience?
Research your competitors. Analyse what they're doing right, wrong or different from you--and see if there are any ways to apply their models or technologies to what you're planning on creating.
Research your customers: Who are they (i.e., age range, gender)? How do they want to be communicated with (email vs social media vs text messaging)? How do they prefer to engage (in person vs online)? These questions will help inform how much time should be spent on each type of communication so that it is most effective as well as how much money should go into each kind of advertising medium."
Create a marketing plan.
Know your audience, know your competition and know what you want to achieve.
Create a calendar of events, create a list of content to share and create a list of marketing channels that you can use.
The first step in building your event audience is to build your personal and professional audience. Here are some things you can do:
Create a mailing list of people who are interested in being notified when you have an upcoming event. You might use MailChimp or work alongside a ticketing platform for this purpose.
Build a blog where you can share information about events that aren't yet public, but that will be someday soon (e.g., "Hey guys! Check this out!")
Create social media accounts for yourself as well as for your company-to-be (e.g., Facebook page, Twitter account) so that others can follow along with what you're doing on those platforms. Use these platforms to promote upcoming events as well as related content like podcasts and other online resources like webinars; don't forget about Instagram too!
Once you've built an audience through these methods, it's time to start promoting the actual events themselves by using social media channels—like Facebook ads—to drive traffic back over towards their respective landing pages where attendees can register their interest or purchase tickets directly from within each platform's app store (if applicable).
If you’re just getting started, the best thing you can do is to find partners who can help you build your business. This will include:
Partners who can help you with your business (i.e., legal advice and marketing)
Partners who can help reach your audience (i.e., media companies and social networks)
Partners who can help with finances (i.e., investors)
Although it might seem like a lot of work, partnerships are very important for events businesses because they provide access to audiences that may not otherwise be available to a single person or company.
The first step to starting your own events company is to figure out how much it will cost you. This includes the venue hire, marketing, travel costs and wages for staff members. If you’re looking at doing one-off events then the most important cost to consider is the venue hire fee which can vary significantly depending on location, size and amenities offered (such as a kitchen).
Once you know what your costs will be, think about how much profit margin you need. The profit margin is how much money you make on each ticket sold so that you can invest back into the business itself. For example, if an event has 100 tickets available and sells 75 tickets then it needs 25% profit margin for there to be enough funds left over after paying off costs such as venue hire or food suppliers etcetera.
If you want to start your own events company, it's important to take the time to plan and research. First, you'll need to research the market and determine if there is a demand for what you're selling. Next, it's crucial that you plan all aspects of your business so that it can be successful from day one. Finally, as an entrepreneur with lots of ideas on how things should be done right now (and who isn't?), it's important that you set goals and measure progress against them so that your business doesn't fall off track or go too far astray from its original goals.
Congratulations on taking your first steps towards starting your own events business! We hope you found this guide useful and can implement some of its tips to help get you started.
