Whether it’s a wedding, birthday party, school dance, work event, or another gathering, you’ll likely be involved in planning a large-scale event at some point in your life. Event planning boosts organizational prowess, budgeting expertise, and other helpful life skills. Building those abilities now can make you an impressive job candidate and better equipped to handle the ups and downs of life.
Budgeting
Event planning requires careful budgeting and expense tracking. You’ll likely be working with a set budget and, depending on who the event is for, be required to track and report all purchases to leadership (like school administration, a boss or manager, etc.).
Tips to improve your budgeting when planning an event:
- Break it into categories
Treating your budget as one big lump of funds never ends well, whether it’s a personal or event budget. Whenever possible, divide your sources or income and expected expenses into categories (food, entertainment, venue, etc.). This can help you ensure that you aren’t unintentionally robbing from other budget items when making purchases. - Write it all down
Whether you choose to use a spreadsheet, budgeting app, or other method, make sure that you’re tracking every dollar. You don’t want to get into a situation where you aren’t sure how much money is spent or remaining. - Reconcile regularly
Compare your planned expenses with your actual spending. This allows you to keep yourself on track and correct any over spending in one particular area before it gets out of hand. - Exercise frugality
Planning an event is an opportunity to make your funds stretch as far as possible to make your goals happen.
Consumer Smarts
When it comes to event planning, consumer smarts is absolutely essential. You’ll likely have a mountain of potential expenses—everything from decorations to food to a venue. This is where the consumer skill of trade-offs is helpful. You likely can’t afford the most expensive venue and a five-course meal and jaw-dropping decorations. So, consider what matters most. Can you sacrifice a lesser priority to get a nicer version of your top priority?
Tips to utilize consumer smarts while event planning:
- Check your options
Shop around for vendors and options to make sure you get the best deal, not just the one that popped up first on your internet search. Along the same lines, look at all your options. Don’t be afraid to get creative! Can you rent equipment instead of purchasing it? Can you make decor instead of buying it? - Look into that “great deal”
Advertised deals can be eye-catching and make you feel like you need to act quickly so that you don’t lose out. But make sure to consider any deal carefully. Are you actually saving money on resources you’ll need, or are you choosing it because it’s on “sale” or offered as a part of a bundle or other deal? Ask yourself: would I still buy this if it were full price?
Event Planning Organization
As an event planner, you’re tasked with keeping track of expenses and managing timelines, while coordinating with attendees and vendors, and handling day-of logistics. It’s a big job! If you don’t have organization skills before the event, you certainly will afterwards. And while you may not commonly face tasks where so much organization is required all at once, you’ll certainly utilize these skills in school, everyday life, and your future career.
Tips to improve your organization while event planning:
- Give everything a place
You may choose to organize everything in a big binder, an online spreadsheet, or a dedicated planning platform. Regardless, as soon as you make a decision, track it using your chosen method. Don’t wait until later or you risk forgetting or becoming overwhelmed with updates. - Utilize automation
Whether it’s a spreadsheet that calculates your budget for you or a calendar service that manages vendor meetings, take advantage of technology and automation. That frees up your time for other responsibilities.
Leadership & Decision-Making
Planning an event requires many decisions—big and small. During the planning process, you’ll need to step up and help make those decisions. You’ll also need to guide others through your thinking and develop core leadership skills. Whether you’re fully in charge of the event or simply on a sub-committee, you’re still a leader. You’re making choices that impact the larger scope.
Tips to improve your leadership and decision-making while planning an event:
- Work with your team
Whether there’s an actual team involved in planning the event, or you plan to lean on friends and family, support is key. Consider the strengths of those around you and let them help you deliver the best possible event. One way to do this is to divide your team into sub-committees and give everyone a specific aspect of the event to be in charge of. For example, you may have one sub-committee handle food and one handle decoration. - Consider pros and cons
Every decision you face will likely have pros and cons. For example, a fancier high-end venue may require you to raise ticket prices to cover the cost. What benefits does the venue give you? What negatives could it cause? Give each choice you make proper consideration, rather than rushing through to make a decision. - Communicate often and effectively
You never want to be in a position where you’ve assumed that something was done when it wasn’t (or the other way around!). It’s essential to hold regular meetings with your team and keep everyone up to date on the current status of various decisions. Along the same lines, make sure that deadlines and tasks are clearly communicated so that everyone knows what they need to take care of and when.
Plan an Event
To build event planning skills, look for opportunities to plan an event now. Start with a birthday party, get involved with a local club, or volunteer for the Prom or another dance committee. As your skills grow, you can take on larger responsibilities and events, and translate all you’ve learned to other endeavors, including entrepreneurship opportunities, personal budgeting choices, and more!
Planning an event is a great way to build your financial literacy skills and confidence. You’ll be working on a large scale and with increased responsibility. This is your chance to improve yourself personally and professionally.