Tag Archives: children

Hello I am the…

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I look forward to the opportunity to one day walk up to someone and tell them these exact words.  Sometimes I wish I would have realized earlier when I wanted to get into even planning but as they say, ‘better late than never.’  I am hopeful that my education here at City Tech along with the assistance of my classmates and professors help leap me into the world I so desperately desire to be a part of on a regular basis.

I know planning events for children won’t be easy.  I will have over-protective parents who want to oversee everything.  I will have parents who are completely unreasonable in their requests.  My goal to attempt to bring the parents back down to reality is to ask them, “What does your child want?  Will this make them happy or sad?”  I think if you refocus the parents on the children they will realize that the event is not about them but about their desire to make their kids happy.  If you throw a party and the birthday kid is unhappy….you have to ask yourself was it really a party for them or for yourself?

My goal will always be to focus on the children.  To make sure that the events I am planning make them happy and keep them happy.  My hope is that an happy child = happy parents.  Let’s hope and pray.

Desire to Plan

I’d like to say getting into the event planning field is easy but so far it is not.  I work full-time and go to school part-time so my availability to get out there and promote myself is limited.  Since I have not planned an corporate event in years I figure most companies are looking for recent experience.  This may be my initial downfall but I don’t think it would take me out of contention in the hiring process.

However, I have put together 10 sales events in various states and in another country. All of the events were successful and the clients were very happy (as you can see!)

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However, kids events I have never specifically planned for a company.  I love children and love being silly around them.  I have helped my mother plan an birthday party for my little sisters and I have also helped family with their parties for kids.  I know this is not the same thing but it goes to my overall desire to do this for children.

One of the type of kids parties I would like to plan is for kids with disabilities (wheelchair).  The space would have to be right so that wheelchair access is not an issue outside or inside the space.  Then it’s about finding out what other special needs the child has in order to make the event a huge success for the parents and their children.

The ultimate goal is to make the parents and children happy with their events – and to have it be memorable to them.

Eventful

Most people wonder why I want to get into event planning.  I hear “it’s tedious, the hours are crazy, it’s hard to please clients” and while these statements are true I don’t see them as issues.  Let’s take them one by one.

Events Banner

The tediousness of event planning is it’s beauty.  Every detail matters when planning an event.  Whether it’s the party favors, or the colors or the type of card stock used.  All of these elements go into defining the type of event you are putting together.  Is it a fancy party or more casual? Are the colors based on a theme or are is it the clients’ favorite color?  Are the party favors for keeping or for eating?

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Some examples of my work in the past (above)

The hours might be crazy…it depends on the kind of event you are putting together.  My focus would be events targeted towards children so I don’t think my hours would be too late into the evening.  Although overall planning and putting everything together might take a lot of hours to ensure we are setting the correct tone for the event.

Pleasing clients can be a difficult task.  However, I am a firm believer that if you are meeting all of the clients needs (based on initial discussions of what the event should include) this should not be an issue in the long run.  I think it becomes more difficult when clients change their mind often or last minute and arrangements need to be adjusted.  Some adjustments will be almost impossible to make but if you manage client expectations you will have a successful event and they will be coming back for more in the future.

Next Steps…

Two years into school and I am still trying to figure out exactly how I plan to jump into the hospitality industry.  All I know is that I want to work on events for children.  I work in sales so this is a career change for me.

Originally I thought I would start applying for jobs in the event planning business but I’ve noticed it can be very competitive in NYC.  This time I am thinking the best way to tackle is to target the hotel industry first.  This way I have access to banquets, which are just as challenging to handle.

I also think starting in a hotel will give me the opportunity to understand all of the departments and how they work together to pull off banquets.  I have not chosen a specific hotel yet but I intend to start my research shortly on this next step.

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What’s your next step?

Maria