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We have all been involved in events at some point, whether large or small, personal or professional. While participation is fun and enjoyable, organizing one takes a lot of effort. Finding a venue, inviting guests, arranging logistics, food, etc. take a lot of time. This need has opened huge business opportunities in the field of event management in India.
According to the EY-EEMA (Event and Entertainment Management Association) report, the Indian events and activation industry is expected to cross the INR 10,000 crore mark by 2020-2021. The report revealed that the industry was at INR 5,631 crore in 2016-17 and growing at a CAGR of 16%.
Businesses share an important bond with the event management space, as holding large-scale conferences, workshops, and presentations is a huge amount of work. If you have a knack for hosting an event, connecting with people, and hosting conferences and presentations, you might want to consider starting an event management business.
How to start
Sandeep Lodha, CEO of Weddingz.in, explained that it is very important to understand that events are extremely important for the organizing brand. Events bring connections and partnerships to the table, it’s also a great source of marketing for the brand. So, if you are looking to start their business in this space, you must genuinely identify an existing problem in the space and adapt a methodology to solve the problem.
According to Mazhar Nadiadwala, General Manager of Dome Entertainment, here are some important things to keep in mind before getting started:
- You need to create a solid business plan with a strong vision
- You need to understand your niche and define your core competencies,
- Make sure you have a marketing and public relations plan
- Create different proposals or presentations for your potential clients and suppliers – elevator presentations, presentations for casual meetings, presentations at conferences, etc.
- Start networking and meet groups and institutions that can give you business
- Focus on hiring good managers who believe in your vision.
- Keep in mind that you have to start small, think big
Investments
If you are worried about investments, rest assured because you can start your event management business with a low monetary investment. To get started, all you need is a good laptop, which can cost up to INR 35,000. The major investment will be a strong team of 5-6 skilled workers, which will be your monthly recurring cost of INR 1-1.5 lakh. According to Ruchi Garg, CEO and co-founder of Venuelook, you will also need a working capital investment of around INR 1-3 lakh per month to support running costs. However, costs may vary depending on the type of event services you offer.
Once you start attracting clients, you can raise funds to expand your services.
We recommend that you reinvest at least 10% of all revenue into capital equipment needed for events, as this is a good way to shore up the business in the first 10 years of operation.
Income
According to experts, for any event management company, the core revenue is generated from agency fees which usually range between 10-20% depending on your negotiation with the client. Other than that, revenue generation depends on the type of event and the type of services offered.
If you’re just helping with the coordination, you can charge a good agency fee. But if you are entirely responsible for the production and overall execution of the event, you can also increase the price of the equipment and materials needed for the event, which will generate more revenue for the company. The range can change depending on what area of the event one specializes in or depends on the clients willingness to spend.
