if you're thinking how in the heck do I succeed in this rapidly changing somewhat stressful industry you're the right place in this video we're talking about what it takes to be a successful event planner welcome to the element experiences YouTube channel where we share tips and best practices for your next event friend we are part of an industry that is constantly changing and it takes special skills to really succeed at planning events but here's the thing that doesn't mean event planner requires one singular type of person and in this video I'm going to give you
four skills you will need to completely rock it as an event planner and listen be sure to stick around at the end because the fourth and final skill is super import it for you to make or break it in this industry be sure to subscribe to our channel to stay up to date as we share even more tips for you as you dive into planning your event my name is billy bowie founder and president of elevate experiences from consulting to creation I have over 20 years of event production experience I've seen what it takes to
thrive in the event industry and I want to provide that information for you and give you some steps to be a successful event planner all right you ready let's dive in the first skill needed to successfully plane events is to be organized now as an event planner organization is something you've hands-down need to prioritize now this doesn't come naturally to you it certainly doesn't to me it doesn't mean you shouldn't become a world-class event planner it does however mean you need to work extra hard to make sure you learn how to be organized and carry
this throughout the event planning process so why does organization matter in this type of career when I was first starting out in the events world I didn't realize exactly how important it was in planning an event as an event planner your job is to manage every part every single mighty detail of the event and you have hundreds of details or responsible for you try to keep all these in your head and won't take long for some of those to fall through the cracks right now having a plan to keep all the details organized is key
to being successful here are the two tips I want to give you to stay organized while you're planning your event number one create a contact sheet and share this with your event staff having one central location where you can find the contact info of all your vendors clients key players is Oh necessary for an event and sharing this with your event staff is also important to make sure you're not the only one with all the knowledge hopefully this never happens to you but say you have a family emergency or someone gets sick the day of
the event the last thing you want is for your event team to be unable to call the caterer or the custodial staff because no one else has the contact sheet so the first tip and staying organized to create a contact sheet and share it with your team the second tip and staying organized is to have an event planning checklist this checklist should include all the steps to take to plan and execute a successful event it's even more helpful if you break down your checklist into a timeline and we actually have a free event planning checklist
to get you started you can download this in the description below and use this checklist as a starting point in planning your next event please feel free to add your own lista to dues that might be unique to your particular event because following a checklist will help you stay organized throughout the entire planning process so again the first skill needed to be a great event planner is to be organized the second skill is to be flexible and prepare for the worst that's not it might sound a little bit crazy but there's no secret that events
have a reputation for constantly changing right from backup rain plans to last-minute vendor cancellations the skill is crucial to playing an event it's not enough to be flexible you need to be prepared as well at elevate we actually call this flex ik you should it's the idea that you want to plan and prepare for your event as much as you possibly can but also as you're creating a remarkable plan a creative workable plan B and even a remarkable Plan C but when all hell breaks loose and things spin out of control which by the way
will happen at some point in your event-planning career it's important to be ready flex ik you means you're prepared to execute your back-up plan if needed but you're also prepared to be flexible even if your back-up plan to your back-up plan fails the reality is as much as we try to prepare for events it's simply one of those industries you can't always predict what's to come that brings me to the third skill you need to rock it as an event planner which is to be quick on your feet like I mentioned earlier no matter how
much you plan for your event there will be things that come up last-minute whether it's a caterer that cancels or a detail you may have forgotten to think through or a surprise change the client throws you the day of the event all I know is sooner or later you'll have to deal with some last-minute problem solving now it's essential to be adaptable and be able to quickly think through solutions and look at those problems dead in the face and say I got this at anything that arises your event have you ever had something go wrong
last-minute and you've had to quickly think through a solution drop a comment below and share because I'd love to hear about it and listen if this isn't a strong skill you currently have you'll want to take strategic steps to practice and grow in this area ask your friends to come up with a mock scenario or help you think through things that could go wrong during your event as you think through that you want to know what could happen if this happens and if a and B and spend time thinking about worst-case scenarios to get your
mind used to quickly thinking through that process all right now the fourth skill and this is going to come in handy as you aim to be a successful event planner this one's easy networking right it sounds a little crazy but as an event planner it's crucial to build your network it's important to get the word out that you're really good at what you do in your industry and it's even better when you have others speaking on behalf of you and your experience you can grow your networking by attending certain events building strong relationships with vendors
and clients and asking brand ambassadors and other people you meet who will keep you top of mind and give you recommendations in the event industry now this might seem like an unnecessary skill but in fact this could be one of the most important skills needed to succeed in the events industry most cities have many choices when it comes to choosing an event planner but when you're first launching your career it's crucial to get your name out there as the top choice in this industry and in order to do this you need a network of people
who can vouch for you and share your name and the skills you have all over town so if you're asking yourself how do I become an event planner and do I have what it takes just remember event planning my trip fire certain skills but it certainly isn't limited to one type of person if you're passionate about people and gathering them together and you love planning events then yes you have what it takes to be an event planner if these skills don't come naturally to you just means you have to work that much harder to make
it happen now I hope you enjoyed this video and you feel empowered to get started in your event planning career in fact if you did enjoy this video go ahead and click the thumbs up and be sure to subscribe as more stuff is coming out to help you now don't forget to check out the event planning checklist I mentioned this in the description below and it's my way of saying thanks for checking it out stay tuned as we continue to dive into best practices for planning your next event now get after it [Music]
