How to Start an Event Management Business in India

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What is Event Management and its types:

There are different types of events being held nowadays where the services of an event management company are needed :
  • Weddings
  • Fashion shows
  • Parties
  • Meetings
  • Conferences
  • Exhibitions
  • Music concerts
Now, the question that inevitably comes up is why do people need the services of an event planner? Event management organizations can assist in the following ways and more :
  • Choosing the perfect site for staging the event
  • Handling the main attendees like celebrities in case of entertainment shows and speakers if it is a conference or a seminar
  • Coordination with vendors
  • Managing the entire event while it is going on

Steps to be taken in order to start an event management business

Deciding on the services

As has been stated above, there are plenty of services where an event planning company can focus. It is better to choose the one in which the owners have a lot of control and knowledge and where a lot of revenue can be generated. Experts think it is better to not focus on all at once. They also feel it is better to not venture into the corporate meetings sector because of its immense viability.

According to analysts, this sector is a lot different from events such as wedding with regards to preparation, assessment, and execution. Since various corporate events are planned in different ways, it is tough to be successful in this initially.

Doing market research, SWOT analysis and evaluating the competition

There are two groups of people that an event management company should focus on while doing the market research – people who are interested in the sort of services it does and potential clients who might actually employ the services.

It is better to find out, in the initial phases, if the immediate community is interested in their services or not as they are most likely to avail them. The following points should be given top priority while doing research in this regard:
  • Age group
  • Income
  • Sex
  • Preferences
  • Qualification
  • Customs
  • Profession
  • Religion
  • Lifestyle
  • Traditions
The new event management organizations should also focus on finding out what people want from their show. Regarding the competitors the following aspects have to be looked at closely:
  • Number of employees
  • Yearly sales
  • Amount of clients
  • Number of people at their events
  • Market reputation
  • Specialty of their events
  • Market share
  • Methods for attracting sponsors and clients
While evaluating its own strengths, an event management company should primarily be looking into the following:
  • Resource determination
  • How to use these for the target audience
  • Ascertaining capabilities
  • Advantages
  • How to employ these against competitors
  • Ways of improvement
The following points should be looked at while assessing the weaknesses:
  • Resources that are yet to availed
  • Areas that need to avoided
  • Advantages of competitors
Event management firms need to focus on the following aspects while analyzing their opportunities:
  • What are the positive points and how can they be utilized to improve the market position
  • Which weaknesses have to be removed in order to get more opportunities
In case of threats, importance should be given to the following:
  • Changes in market trends
  • Strong competition
  • Economic changes
  • New methods that may be used by competitors
  • Unfavorable situations
  • Taxes

Preparing a business plan

The business plan is normally prepared on the basis of the following:
  • Market research
  • SWOT analysis
  • Analysis of competitors
However, there are certain things that have to be kept in mind. They should not be overly optimistic when they are looking at factors like capital requirements, profits, and sales. They should also create plans that will be helpful in case the business faces some problems. The following areas need to be highlighted in the business plan:

Business objectives:

what does the company want to achieve in the short and the long term. Experts feel that it might be foolhardy to adhere to the long term goals for a substantial period as they often lose their meaning after a few years or due to external conditions like market changes.

Staff recruitment:

an event management entity should have a proper organizational structure in place. The business plan should properly mention the following qualities of the owners:
  • Skills
  • Experience
  • Knowledge
It is for the owners to decide how these can be leveraged for making the most out of the business. They also need to keep track of others who they think will be useful for the company – this will be handy when the future recruitment is done.

Getting clients:

the event management organizations need to determine how they will approach a client and market their services. In the later stages they need to determine how the business can be expanded. They also need to fix the rules, policies, regulations, and procedures for the following purposes:
  • Payments
  • Cancellation
  • Reimbursement
  • Behavior
  • Penalties

Financial aspects:

the first factor to be considered in this area is cash flow management. The companies also need to figure out the strategies that have to be adopted in the following cases:
  • Capital loss
  • Market meltdown
  • Economic crises
The owners need to determine the operational expenses on the basis of the business plan and based on the expenditure they have to decide the salaries to be paid to employees and the service fees.

The business plan should also include the logo and name of the company. It should also highlight how a company will operate – as a company, establishment, or firm.

Initial business procedures

To start with, an event management company needs to rent an office space, employ workers, and purchase stationery to be used for official purposes. It should also create an attractive website that offers all the details of the services.

It is better to employ professional internet marketers to promote the website. As and when the website becomes popular, the company will get a lot of visibility as well as some clients, which should help it get started on the right note.

Company registration

It is necessary to get the entity registered in India as per the following legislations:
  • Company's Act – if it is a company
  • Shops and Establishment Act – if it is an establishment
  • India Partnership Act – if it is a firm

Registration for paying taxes

An event management company needs to pay different types of taxes and they need to register to pay them properly. The various forms of taxes may be mentioned as below:

  • Income tax
  • Entertainment taxes
  • Taxes deducted at source
  • Taxes for moving merchandise and goods between locations
  • Service taxes
The company needs to obtain a PAN card so that they can file the income tax returns and a TAN card for filing the TDS returns. They also need to register for paying the service taxes. At present the event management companies operating in India need to pay service taxes in the region of 12.5%.

List of Leading event management companies in India

Following are the most prominent companies of the event management sector in India:
  • 360 Degrees
  • Sita Conferences
  • Percept D Mark
  • E-Factor
  • Wizcraft International Entertainment Pvt Ltd
  • Sercon
  • DNA Networks Pvt Ltd
  • Tafcon Group
  • Cineyug Entertainment
  • TCI Consultancy Services and ‘e’ Events
  • Fountainhead
  • Cox and King

Challenges in the event management business

The first question that entrepreneurs looking to start an event management business should ask themselves is if they are prepared for the challenge or not. The essential skills needed to make it big in this domain are business development and social networking.

Only a lot of knowledge and experience will not be sufficient for an event management company to last for the long haul – some other factors will also be needed to succeed:
  • Public relations
  • Marketing skills
  • Negotiation skills
  • Entrepreneurial skills
Experts feel that the below mentioned skills also come in handy for succeeding in this business:
  • Getting the job completed
  • Management of cash flows
  • Time management
  • Accounting for fiscal transactions
  • Prioritization of tasks
  • Understanding team formations
  • Finding better and newer ways to solve problems
  • Leadership capabilities
  • Decision making
  • Motivational skills
  • Option evaluation
  • Analytical capabilities
  • Interacting with clients
  • Attending to details
  • Finalizing deals
If an entrepreneur wishes to prosper at a quicker rate, it is advisable to get an authentic certification. There are several institutes that provide such certification- the certificates provided by these entities show that the concerned company has proper skills, experience, knowledge, and ability to make sure an event is managed and planned successfully.

Last Updated on May 15, 2015