Do you have a strong social networking and people management skill to survive in this industry? You can use your contacts and your skill to generate revenue in this industry. Event management business is an initiative where people request you to take care of all the processes in conducting an event or social gathering starting from catering services to decorations.
Event Management Business
About the market
This is a very wide market. The customers have more purchasing power and low brand shifting cost and thus, it is a customer driven market. There is a lot of competition in the market due to lack of entry barrier. Thus, it is important to create a niche for your business. You can advertise yourself as an event management company for corporate events or marriages or for marketing campaigns. The research on the niche is very essential. You need to learn about the number of competitors, the customer base they have, any unexplored areas and most importantly, how they charge their clients.
Requirements
You would need a commercial space or you can also start up this company in your home. The main investment would be the event management software, computer and other accessories and internet connection. You might not need a high speed internet connection and thus, the charge would not exceed more than 2,000 rupees per month. The software cost varies from one lakh to five lakh depending upon the company, you choose.
The human resource is very essential in this business. You cannot perform all the activities, single-handedly. You would need a lot of contractors, a receptionist and workers. This would be a high investment. You can also hire freelancers to reduce the operational costs.
Your commercial space requirement would be high because you might need to store your supplies (if you have any). Your office space should be aesthetically appealing. The overall capital that you would need for starting up the business is 3-5 lakhs. In most cases, you would be provided with an initial fund from the clients for managing the event. Alternatively, you would need an additional working capital as per the size of the event you are planning to manage.
Scope of the market
There is a 15% increase in the market annually. The industry is expected to reach 5,000 crore rupees size by the end of the next year. With the increase in social events, there is a demand for this market all over in India.
Return on Investment
Your most valuable asset is your brochures and samples. You should not spend less than 5,000 rupees for this asset. A website is very essential and thus, you need to spend not less than 5,000 rupees per month. Apart from these, the rent of the space, utility bills, insurance amount and salary for the freelancers and employers would go up to 3-5 lakhs for start-up, as mentioned before. Thus, you would have to make at least 40,000 rupees per month to break, even within a few months.
Important tips:
- Contacts are the key assets in this business. If you are planning to start the business and then build your contacts, it is better to start the business out of shoe string finance.
- Trade shows are the most profitable events. If you are able to get one trade show event per year, you can boost your revenue.
- Display your works through your samples and keep a broad exposure.
- Register with the offline and online yellow pages, to increase the exposure.
- If you are planning to manage small events like Christmas parties or small business meeting, you would need a working capital of 30,000 to 60,000 rupees.
- If you are planning to catch high end clients like trade shows, you need to have a large working capital of more than 2 crore to 5 crore.
- For a small time event management business, it is normal to take up to five years to break even. It is a slow revenue industry till you can find some loyal and solid clients. If you are able to break even within two years, it means that you are doing well in your business.
- A SEO driven website would make a lot of different in your return on investment.
- You can also buy list of clients from any information company to increase your customer base. If you are planning to do so, check out the data protection and also be careful with the list that you are about to buy.
This is a very slow revenue generating business in the initial stage. But, if you are able to get more contacts through many associations, you would be able to create a good network that would help you to find more clients and provide a holistic service. This is a fast growing sector and is very competitive. You might have to lock heads with some big giants in the industry to capture a good consumer base.
