HOME
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The
2-Second Commute
Based
on the
highly-successful Virtual Assistant training programs Chris Durst and
Michael Haaren developed
for the US Armed Forces and the US Department of State, The 2-Second
Commute:
Join the Exploding Ranks of Freelance Virtual Assistants
brings
you the
knowledge without
the classroom!
Training
program
participants have billed
over $30
MILLION since our training programs started in 2002. Now YOU can learn from Chris
& Mike,
too, and start your own successful VA business!
2-SECOND
COMMUTE
CHAPTERS
Preface
Introduction
Chapter 1
Why
Become a Virtual
Assistant?
- personal & professional
reasons to
explore this
industry
Chapter 2
Exploring
Virtual
Assistance
- virtual assistance defined
- industry demographics
- services, fees, and trends
- why businesses work with VAs
- international outlook
Chapter 3
Reality
Checks &
Self-Assessments
- exploring important considerations -
motives,
lifestyle,
family, children, etc.
- entrepreneurial self-assessment
- VA readiness self-assessment
- Spouse With a Mouse™ -
from our
Department of State
and US
Armed Forces training programs, a special section to help your
"significant other" understand what it will be like to have a business
in the house.
Developing
a "Service
Menu" That You Can Live and Grow With
- inventory your values, interests,
and
skills to
determine
your most marketable skills
Chapter 5
Estimating
Costs and
Setting Fees
- projecting your costs, picking your
"salary", setting
your hour, and our special formula for calculating a reasonable
baseline fee
- comprehensive fee survey (see what
other
VAs are
charging)
- getting paid -contracts, credit
cards,
invoices,
retainers, etc.
Chapter 6
Setting
Up Your
Business and Your Office
- naming and registering your business
- forms of business ownership
- permits and licenses
- insurance
- home office setup
Chapter 7
Building
a Healthy
Foundation for Your Business
- defining your ideal client,
interviewing
clients,
partnering with clients
- the art of virtual communications
- SWOT analysis - discovering your
Strengths,
Weaknesses,
Opportunities, and Threats
- the benefits of "niche marketing" -
identifying your
target
market
Chapter 8
Let
the Marketing
Begin!
- image is everything
- talking about what you "do"
- marketing and email
- your Web site - your "global
billboard"
- press releases
- harvesting the local "business crop"
- leveraging the media
- guest lecturing
- our 5 favorite marketing techniques
- the Strategic Marketing Plan - your
blueprint for
building
a successful business through effective marketing
Chapter 9
Pulling
It All
Together and
Keeping It There
- a collection of tips, tool,
techniques,
and pointers
for
making your business a success
Chapter 10
The
VA Toolbox:
Resources and Information
- VA trade groups, email lists,
certifications and
training
programs
- specialized resources for
homeschoolers,
"trailing
spouses", work at home parents, and people with disabilities
- resources and other information for
the
"frugal VA"
--
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Work from home as a
Special
Events Planner
[Contributing Expert: Jill Moran,
CSEP]
 The niche in a nutshell:
Life as an
event
planner is exciting, hectic, creative, detail-oriented and
fulfilling. It’s never a dull moment, and you are
always trying
to create something new and different every time you respond to an RFP
(request for proposal) or take a call in from a client who wants to
create an experience through an event. Special event planning involves
coordinating the details of an experience for a company, individual or
group. It can involve selecting locations, hiring vendors,
choosing a theme or creative concept and executing the details to make
the experience memorable and successful.
Top 5 Services Provided in this
Niche
- Corporate
Event
Planning - trade shows, meetings, conferences, incentives
- Social
Events –
weddings, celebrations, bar and bat mitzvahs, galas, parties
- Non-profit
Events -
fairs, celebrations, religious events, meetings, conferences
- Fund-raising
Events –
social causes, hospitals, schools
- Fairs
& Festivals
– community and specialty events, sporting events
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Top 5 Hiring Markets
- Small and midsize companies
may consider outsourcing event planning services to a free-lance
planner; larger companies may hire an outside planner to support their
events, marketing or communications departments.
- Hotels, resorts or specialty
venues – may hire coordinators for meetings, conferences, to
coordinate
and work with clients on social or business events
- Colleges and universities -
hire for fundraising, sporting events, capital campaign events,
commencements
- Non-profits- Social causes,
community organizations, or associations often need assistance to
oversee volunteers who work on annual events
- Social events:
parties, weddings, anniversary’s, religious occasions
(bar/bat
mitzvahs/baptisms/first communions), sweet
sixteen’s, engagement
parties, gala’s
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Pay Range for this Niche
Compensation
for
special event planning services will vary on the type of event you are
planning, your experience, the level of support you are delivering and
what the market will bear. As an independent planner or owner of a
small event planning business, you will be paid mostly by the projects
you are planning. Estimate for yourself what your earning
capacity may be. If you have 10 clients that are paying you $5,000 per
project, your earnings would be $50,000. This figure will change based
on your marketing success, the time you put into it, and how much
business you can and are willing to take on.
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Recommended Skillsets
- High-energy
- Organized
- Driven
- Good with
people
- Detail
oriented
- Motivator
- Solution
oriented
- Creative
- Self-motivated
- Leader
- Multi-tasker
- Cooperative
- Focused
- Flexible
- Good
Listener
- Passionate
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Niche
Overview
What are the benefits?
A career in the field of special events can be exciting, exhilarating,
glamorous and fulfilling. It can also be fast-paced, stressful, and
full of contingency-planning and problem solving. If you like action,
you’ve picked the right field! It offers
flexibility – you can
work from your home; a creative outlet – you are constantly
coming up
with ways for people to celebrate in style; and the best reason -
income- you are getting paid to help people with your skills as an
organizer. Once you develop a list of vendors you can count on, the sky
is the limit for the types of events you can produce.
What are the
biggest challenges?
Some of the challenges to becoming an event planner include business
development – getting and keeping clients, business training
– running
your business like a pro to be profitable and professional,
time-management – knowing your limits for the types of events
you can
do and budgeting your time wisely during the planning process so your
pricing accurately reflects the time you spend planning each event.
What is the
best way to get started?
Some people fall in love with event planning after planning their first
event. Others experience the planning process by observing an event
planner in action. Still others begin their love affair with special
events by working behind-the-scenes on an event. Even though it may
look glamorous when all the elements fall into place, there are many
skills necessary to get an event from conception to creation!
The first step is to make an assessment of your interests, skills and
acumen for special events. Are you organized, diligent,
professional and detail-oriented? Do you have the
perseverance to
start your own business? Can you acknowledge your fortes and
reach out to find people to complement the skills you do not have?
The start up costs can be nominal – basic office equipment
(computer,
printer, cell phone, fax, supplies), marketing materials (business
cards, stationary, presentational material), resources (vendors and
suppliers you can count on to help you execute your fabulous ideas), a
car or use of public transportation and most importantly
training. Once you feel you can truly
deliver what
you dream of, you are ready to go.
How can I get
the training necessary?
There are several ways to become knowledgeable in event
planning.
A combination of coursework at colleges, universities or conferences,
internships with successful planners, employment at event facilities or
volunteering with industry associations or on non-profit projects all
provide a mix of refining your skills and training. The best training
includes a bit of all. Nothing can beat experience
– knowing how
to handle last minute surprises, how to solve event challenges and how
to develop your event and bring it to fruition.
If you have little experience, it is best to spend time getting well
grounded in the industry. Attend monthly chapter meetings of ISES, the
International Special Events Society. Visit www.ises.com for a
chapter location
near you. Attending workshops or educational conferences will also give
you some sure footing in the industry. Before you sign your
first
contract, make sure you can deliver what you promise in a safe,
professional manner. Start slow for events that are
successful to
build a reputation you are proud of.
After five years in the industry, a professional credential, such as
the Certified Special Events Professional designation, issued by the
International Special Events Society, is a great goal to reach to set
yourself out from the competition and show customers that you are a
true pro!
How do I find
business?
The best way to get business is a recommendation from a valuable
source. Your reputation can be built from the moment you volunteer on
your first event. Spread the word that you are open for
business.
Develop a business identity that you can grow through your business
cards, a catchy postcard that you mail to prospects or an ad that you
place in a newspaper or specialty magazine. Go with the
belief
that someone out there needs your help, and find them!
What are
typical duties of an event planner?
The role of an event planner includes writing proposals, presenting
ideas to clients, finding and managing staff to support the elements of
the events and coming full circle with a formal evaluation of what
worked or could have been improved for each event. You must
be
able to hire and manage a wide arrange of vendors such as caterers,
lighting and production companies, transportation services, florists
and designers, linen companies and rental companies. You must
be
able to market you company and your events with print materials ranging
from flyers, postcards, invitations or web-based announcements. You may
be responsible for press coverage for your events or sponsorship and
fund-raising. You must consider the legal, ethical and risk
elements of your events and cover all bases to protect your company and
your client’s interests.
What kind of
event planning should I do?
Many event planners have a mix of business while some choose to
specialize in an area that fits their style. Your mix may
include
weddings, non-profit galas, corporate events and perhaps a few high-end
social clients. By diversifying your “book of
business”, you can
fill in gaps that are created during seasons, economic dips, or
business trends. You may choose to focus on only one market and become
the go-to person in that industry. There are no right’s or
wrong’s, but
responding to your successes and building on them will help you define
your focus market.
How do I set
my fees?
By pricing your services properly, you will approach each project in a
positive and professional manner and help the client to understand the
value in using your services. If you under price, you risk
not
giving the project your full attention, because you can’t
afford
to. If you overprice, you risk losing a customer if he or she
feels the pricing is not competitive. In any case, careful
consideration must be given to the scope of the project and the time
your will put into it. As you progress through the planning process,
this will also help you in constructing your time line and project
overview. Pricing options include percentage of the event budge, fee
for service, hourly rates, and commission. These should reflect the
level of service required and that you deliver and are clearly outlined
in your contract.
What is the
best event market to target?
The best job to have is a job you love. Focus on your
strengths
and what you love to do. In terms of finding the clients, do
some
research on your area of interest. Find a hole in that market that you
could fill. Offer a unique twist to your service to capture clients
that aren’t getting what they need.
Recommended Reading
- How
to Start a Home-Based Event Planning Business, 2nd Edition
- Jill S. Moran, CSEP
- Special
Events: Best Practices in Modern Event Management (Hospitality, Travel
& Tourism)
- Joe Jeff Goldblatt
- The
International Dictionary of Event Management, Second Edition
- Dr. Joe Goldblatt, CSEP
& Kathleen S. Nelson, CSEP
- Professional
Event Coordination
- Julia Rutherford Silvers,
CSEP
- Dollars
& Events: How to Succeed in the Special Events Business
- Joe Goldblatt and Frank
Supovitz
- The
Ultimate Guide to Sport Event Management & Marketing
- Stedman Graham, Joe Jeff
Goldblatt, CSEP, Lisa Delpy, Ph. D.
- Exceptional
Events: Concept to Completion
- Elizabeth A. Wiersma, CSEP
and Kari E. Strolberg
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Tools of the Trade - Professional
Designations
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Organizations &
Associations
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Resource Links
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 About Jill
Moran, CSEP
Jill Moran,
CSEP,
launched jsmoran,
special event
planning & management, in 1989 producing
international
events for exhibit and display clients attending major industry trade
shows and has expanded into other corporate initiatives and celebratory
events in destinations around the world.
She is one of only a few Certified Special Events Professionals in New
England. She has held various Board positions for the International
Special Events Society and was President of the New England Chapter in
2003 – 2004. She is currently third term chairman
of the
Education Committee Chair for ISES International. She has won two
esteemed Esprit Awards and was honored with by ISES for Best Industry
Contribution for her book, How
to Start a Home-Based Event Planning Business. She was recently
featured on a
WHDH – Channel 7 segment on Holiday Table Designs and
nominated in 2006
as Best Wedding Planner by CBS4 A-List. Her speaking engagements
include numerous ISES Chapter meetings, The Special Event, Eventworld,
and CSEME in Toronto. Upcoming engagements include ISES Northeast
Regional Education Conference in Washington DC in March, 2007.
Jill S. Moran, CSEP, www.jsmoran.com
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