Starting a Children’s Party Planning Business
We will go over the steps needed to start your own kids’ party planning business in this post.
Throughout the article, we will cover many points to consider about your business. Finally, we will end with a collection of resources you can use when you’re in the start-up phase and when your business is up and running.
1. Research the Industry
The more you know about kids’ party planning, the better decisions you’ll be able to make.
Whether you have experience or not, it’s important to improve your knowledge in the industry before starting your business. You want to look at tips for children’s party planning and running a business.
There are many sources of information out there. You just have to find them and go over the information.
I have made it easy by providing a link to a Google search that will allow you to find magazines, publications, blogs, etc. One of the benefits of such a link is that the information is always fresh and updated.
Take some time to look through the information to pick up tips and insights that will help you start your business and provide information when your business is up and running.
I would also advise that you check in to see what’s new at least once a month so you can stay up-to-date with the latest information related to your business.
Click here for the latest publications related to kids’ party planning.
2.) Choose a Business Location
The location you choose for business contributes to your success.
For example, if you locate your business in an area with very little demand for kids’ parties, there is no use operating your business in that area.
On the other hand, if you are located in an area where the market is saturated with other party planning services, it will be difficult to get a part of the market share unless you have a competitive advantage.
Your optimal location is in an area where demand exists, but the market isn’t saturated.
Another consideration is whether will you be operating your business from your home or a commercial location. Naturally, operating from home has cost-saving benefits.
While locating in a commercial space is more credible.
For example, operating from home could be better if you run this business part-time.
Also, you must consider if you have equipment related to parties, such as tables, bouncy castles, trampolines, etc., you will need space to store the equipment. For more, see Choosing the best location for your business.
3. Choose a Business Name
You will want a memorable and catchy name. The name you choose today is the name you will keep for as long as you own your business. Therefore you want to take some time to go through the process of choosing an appropriate name.
Many resources online can help you choose your business name.
I suggest making a list of names that appeal to you and putting your list on the side for a few days.
Then, when you come back to it, you’ll see it from a new perspective. Next from your list, choose the top contenders and get feedback from a few people you trust.
Once you have your finalist, print them out to see what they look like on paper.
Used them in multiple sentences to see how they sound and how easy it is to pronounce them.
When your list is narrowed down to the top ones, check to see if they are available for registration along with a matching domain name. For name ideas, see google’s latest search results.
4. Legalizing Your Business
Every legitimate business must be registered according to the laws and regulations in the area of operation.
There are many options for the structure you can choose from.
Many small business owners start as a sole proprietorship because it’s easy to set up the least expensive and the quickest.
A couple of downfalls of a sole proprietorship are that you can’t have partners, and there is no personal asset protection, so if your business goes bankrupt you’re served with a lawsuit, and your personal assets are not protected.
With this type of business, you can start as a sole proprietorship, and once your business expands, you can switch it to a corporation or an LLC, which provides personal asset protection. For more, see how to register your business using these resources.
5. Create Your Corporate ID
A corporate ID consists of a few components part of branding your business, such as a logo, business cards, website, business sign, letterhead, envelopes, etc.
When creating the design, you will want something professional because your corporate ID leaves an impression on your customers, and you want to leave a good impression.
Corporate IDs can be expensive to create. However, you can start with the logo and business cards, and once your business is more stable, you can invest in the rest of the components.
For More See:
How to design a business logo – make it good it might last years.
How to design business cards that people will pay attention to
Business signs – have a look at these ideas.
A complete introduction to corporate identity packages.
6. Equipment
You may or may not need equipment for your party planning business.
Whether you do or don’t, it’s a good idea to see what’s out there.
For example, you may want to look at tables, chairs, and cooking equipment such as barbecues, food warmers, bouncy castles, trampolines, etc.
In the beginning, if you have a small budget and are not sure how you’re going to proceed, you can rent the equipment you need, and once you find out what’s more popular, you can purchase your own.
As mentioned, make sure you have a storage area to organize and protect your equipment for easy access whenever you need it. Click here for the most recent google search results related to kids’ party equipment.
7. Estimating Your Start-up Cost
The start-up cost for this type of business will depend on your setup. For example, if you’re thinking of having multiple locations.
With a large staff of employees and all the latest equipment for parties, then your cost will be a lot higher than starting as a part-time business out of your home.
Each is a viable choice, but you won’t estimate your start-up cost accurately unless you have your setup plan in place.
List all your start-up costs because there could be a lot of issues that you haven’t considered.
Once you start listing the cost, other issues may appear, and you can add them to your estimate.
It’s a good business practice to always have accurate estimates with any project you take on.
For more, see Estimating start-up costs: are you missing anything?
8. Writing a Business Plan
Depending on your setup will determine if you must have a business plan or not.
However, I recommend you create one whether you need it or not because a business plan is a document that will help keep you on track and develop your vision.
Another function of a business plan is a required document if you are looking for a start-up business loan.
A lender will not even process your application without a professional one. For more, see how to write a business plan.
9. Banking Setup
You must separate your personal and business transactions. The best way to do this is to open up a separate account for your business.
Many new business owners will do so at their current bank.
However, if you seek funding, you might open an account at the bank where you receive funding.
Another consideration is that you may need a merchant account that allows you to accept payments using a credit or bank card, depending on how busy you are.
Another option is using something like PayPal or square. See our page on Choosing a business bank and opening a merchant account for more.
10. Get the Funding Business
Depending on the size of your business, you may need funding, especially if you’re planning on opening a large-scale operation in a commercial space.
If so, you will need to have your business plan in hand and make an appointment to meet with lenders to discuss a start-up business loan.
One thing to keep in mind is that banks view start-ups as high-risk.
Therefore, they would rather lend money to a business with a proven track record than take a chance on a start-up.
With this in mind, it doesn’t mean it’s impossible to get a start-up loan, but it is difficult unless you have the credentials and collateral to reduce the risk. Also, take a look at our post on, Getting a small business loan.
11. Software Setup
Take some time to explore the software available for party planning.
Many of these applications can help you save time and offer a checklist that will keep you on track, so you don’t forget any details.
Scheduling is a function you want because it helps you stay on track with multiple clients and keeps you from scheduling conflicts.
You’ll also want a program to help you with your business transactions.
For example, you may find a program compatible with your bookkeeper or accountant. You enter your transactions into the software, email them a copy of your files, and they will process your account during tax season and ensure you have taken all your deductions correctly.
Check out google’s latest search results for software packages related to kids’ party planning.
12. Get Your Business Insured
You must get the right insurance for your party planning service. If you’re hosting the parties, you are liable for the safety of the people who attend.
For example, if you offer a bouncy castle at one of your parties and a child gets injured, you are liable and need adequate insurance.
Any incident without the proper insurance coverage can put you out of business, especially if your business is set up as a sole proprietorship, where your personal assets are at risk.
Speaking with a competent insurance broker will help you get the right coverage for your party planning business. For more, see our page about business insurance.
13. Office Setup
Whether you are business as a part-time home-based business or a multi-location operation, you’ll need a space where you can manage your business.
It may be a spare room in your house or an office in a commercial space.
You need your office set up in a way where it’s comfortable and functional because the more popular your business becomes, the more time you’ll need to spend in your office; therefore, set it up correctly in the beginning. For more, see Considerations for the setup of your office.
14. Hiring Employees
In the early stages of operating your party planning business, you may be considering doing everything yourself, and that’s not a bad idea as long as it doesn’t interfere with servicing your customers effectively.
However, as time goes on and your business builds momentum, you may need to hire employees.
One of the key factors to success is ensuring you hire the right person for each position. You can lose a lot of time and money by hiring someone who is not right for the position.
Keep in mind that it’s harder to get rid of an employee than hire them.
When it comes to the cost of hiring, instead of looking at the hourly wage, look at the yearly cost because it will put things in a different perspective, and when you consider a small crew of just five employees, it can cost you in the six-figure range every year.
When you look at it from this perspective, you think twice about each position you’re going to hire for, and you only hire when needed while ensuring you hire the right person for each position. See how and when to hire a new employee for more on hiring.
Resources
In this section of the post, you’ll find a collection of resources you can use now and when your business is up and running.
Many of these resources lead to search results offering new and updated content. So it makes sense to visit this page often to use the resources.
Trends and Statistics
When you spend some time looking at industry trends and statistics, you’ll get an overview of the market and can identify if it’s rising or declining.
In addition, you’re also getting ideas for what’s popular, and sometimes you can implement those ideas in your service.
Click here for the latest google search results related to trends in the kids’ party industry.
Supplies
Take some time to view the link below to see supplies available in the marketplace that can help you improve your parties and offer a better experience for the kids.
See the latest google search results for kids’ party planning supplies.
Associations
Many associations also offer educational information, trends, statistics, and host events, allowing you to network with others in the industry.
You may also want to consider joining your local Chamber of Commerce so you can get to know local entrepreneurs and bring awareness to your business.
Click here to view event planning associations. you may also want to check out our page for tips and insights about Joining a trade association.
Top Kids Party Planning Businesses
When you view businesses similar to yours, you get an idea of what’s in the marketplace. For example, you can see what services are offered and get an idea about the pricing in the marketplace.
Sometimes if you study all the businesses at one time, you may pick up on something that’s missing in the industry.
If that’s something your customers like and can implement, you may have found a competitive edge.
On the other hand, you may find something you’re missing in your business that the others offer, which you may want to include in your service. Search Google for the top kids’ party planning in your area.
Marketing Tips
A business without customers isn’t really a business. And getting customers without marketing isn’t a reality. When you think about it, marketing doesn’t have to be complicated where you need a New York agency to promote your business. It can be as simple as bringing awareness.
For example, you could host a school event for free just to promote your kids’ party planning business. During the party, you would create gift bags for the kids.
Then, when the kids go home naturally, they’ll tell their parents about their experience. Your gift bags will include cards, brochures, and promotional items to promote your business.
This can bring awareness to your service, and it’s just one tip for marketing.
There are many tips for marketing your business. Access the information and act on those marketing tactics that make sense to you.
It’s a good idea to visit the link below at least once a month so that you stay up-to-date and generate new ideas for marketing campaigns to build your business. Have a look at the latest articles for marketing a kids’ party planning business.
Kids Party Planning Tips
Whether you are an experienced party planner or not, you want to improve your skills and keep up-to-date with the latest information.
Take some time to visit the following link to explore what’s new. Look at the search results for tips related to kids’ party planning.
Books
Books are a great source of information. You may want to have a collection of books that can help you run your business and improve your skills and party planning.
A time-saving tip with nonfiction books is you don’t have to read the book from cover to cover to get the information you want.
Instead, you can go through the table of contents to locate the section you want.
View the most recent Google search results for kids’ party planning books.
Training
There are many sources of training online. Why not take a few minutes to see what’s available and decide if you want to improve your skills with the material available.
The way I look at training is if you are familiar with the material, then it’s a refresher, and even if you just get one idea or a tip, then it’s worth the investment in the training.
See Google’s search results related to kid’s party planning.
News
The news is another source of information I like to use. So, naturally, I don’t watch the evening news waiting for a topic I’m interested in.
Instead, I use Google news. I type in my keyword, and I have instant access to the latest, plus archived news stories related to my keywords.
See Google’s News Search results related to kids’ party planning.
Videos
YouTube is an excellent source of information for tutorials. Many of the videos are well-produced and offer advice on various topics.
When it comes to YouTube, I like that anybody can post a video and share their experience. See the Most Recent Videos Related to Kids Party Planning