The Situation

Imagine the Director of Development for a mid-sized corporation. One day, after a regular monthly meeting, the Executive Director approaches him with an idea for throwing an appreciation dinner for the company’s clientele. At first it sounds to the Development Director like a great idea that he’s capable of tending to. However, after a few weeks of really looking at everything it will entail to find a location, plan the evening’s events, hire some kind of entertainer, develop an advertising strategy, and cater for 300 clients (all while attending to his regular job) he realizes that although the event sounds like a brilliant business move, he has neither the time nor the resources to make it all happen. The only way out of the mess is to call an event planner.

This is the standard scenario that Plan Ahead Events franchisees find themselves cast into every day. However, unlike the company executive who has neither the time nor the previous experience to adequately prepare his event; regardless of what the client needs done, what kind of event needs to be planned, or how big the night is supposed to be, the Plan Ahead Events people make it happen.

The Industry

In recent years, professional event planning has become a far more prominent business than it ever was before. Particularly in a wealthy country like the United States, the need for businesses, organizations, and clubs to throw well-planned and entertaining events that wow current and potential members and clients is becoming a very important part of success. In fact, high quality parties have become so prevalent that today event planning as an industry grosses $500bil worldwide. Clearly, the opportunities for anyone who can orchestrate a large-scale event are rampant.

The Franchise Opportunity

Of course, the ready entrepreneur always has the choice to break into a market by simple force of will, starting up a brand new business. However, considering how many more franchises survive the first few years of operation, as opposed to their independent business counterparts, joining an existing event planning organization as a franchisee is definitely a better way to go.

One of the few franchised business opportunities in this particular field is Plan Ahead Events, who have successfully established a completely turnkey operation that gets entrepreneurs into the market for themselves for far less of an investment than one might expect. For only $26-$33,000 up front, a wise businessperson can purchase a tried and true home based business that comes with all the necessary tools; two weeks of training; the wisdom that comes with 15 years of experience in the industry; and most importantly, a name that people recognize and associate with successful events. » Read more: A Day in the Life of a Plan Ahead Events Franchisee