Possible ways to charge for your event business

Pricing is the most common important question new event planners ask: “How do I charge for my event business?”  As it is popularly said that cash is the king of any business, so the above question is really important to de-mystify in order to help new breeds of event planner especially, run profitable event business.

However there are some basic factors that affect pricing and the way you charge in your event business. These are:

Location: Event planners in Lagos, Abuja and some other prime areas are likely to be more expensive than places like Osogbo, Ilora, Buguma, calabar, etc. Some people in the locality might not necessarily see the need to hire event planners; and if they eventually decide to hire one they might not be ready to pay you as much as planners in prime areas.

Why I dealt with Onnoghen ― Buhari

Experience/exposure/expertise: Years of your experience count a lot. A fully engaged and experienced event planner will be well known and accepted in his/her locality and beyond and would also have better chances to charge his/her worth.

Perception: The way people perceive you also go a long way to determine how well they would be willing to pay for your services. Therefore, it is important that you build and create positive perception in the minds of your ideal clients. Let them see you as an authority in your area of expertise.

Ideal clients: it is important to identify who your ideal clients are in order to run a successful event management business. You must recognise and accept that your service is not meant for everyone; hence, you must identify and focus/target that specific market. This will allay any forms of frustrations and discouragements.

Having considered the above factors, enumerated below are the possible ways to charge for your event business:

1. Hourly rate

Ask yourself what you are worth. The amount of experience you have will play a vital role in your decision. A new planner can properly start from #5000/hour while a well experienced planner could charge as high as #35,000+ upwards. Put into consideration the overhead cost like, phone calls, logistics, staff welfare and so on and so forth

2. Flat rate:

Charging a flat rate is the most common and preferred method of billing your clients. There are no surprises to you or your clients. Once the fee is with honesty and transparency, you and the client can then focus solely on making the event as grand as possible. Your flat rate can be determined by the total hours you’ll spend on that project, your team’s logistics/overhead, printing, supplies, equipment, etc. plus 10% – 20% buffer in case the event goes over the initial details.

3. Percentage of the event:

Some event planners prefer to charge clients a percentage of the total event budget. The percentage could range from 10% to 20% and you could adjust it if you think it’s necessary. If your clients approve this then it is a done deal.

4. Day of coordination:

This typically happens for wedding and some special events too. This means the clients has engaged all their vendors and all you need to do is to ensure that there is seamless and smooth flow of events on the ‘D’ day. Also have it in mind that you will still need to familiarise yourself with the vendors to ensure that you are all on the same page. So you can actually charge a flat rate; by considering the numbers of hours you’ll be working on the project, for instance if your hourly rate is #10,000 X 10= #100,000.