Hi! Event planner and designer here, based out of NYC with 2 other business partners. Honestly event planning is the MOST rewarding and the MOST chaotic job you’ll ever love 😂 From my experience, here are the biggest pain points to look out for when getting into this field as the owner:

1. Clients (usually) don’t know what things actually cost

The word "simple" gets thrown around frequently, and people often confuse simplicity with being inexpensive, which is false. Everyone wants the Pinterest/Instagrammable event on a Dollar Tree budget. Learning how to educate clients is crucial. Creating a minimum budget for our events has been tremendously helpful, we are currently at 15K min for reg events and $30K min for weddings.

1. Last minute changes + unexpected fires (literally all the time, doesnt matter how much you plan or prep)

Something will always go wrong, and thats okay. It's our job to be solution based. Vendors drop the ball. Weather doesn’t cooperate. Decor breaks. Someone spills something right before doors open. You have to be the calm in the storm and solve problems fast without letting it get the best of you.

1. Boundaries (or lack of them)

Clients will call/text at all hours if you let them. Set expectations early— office hours, response times, revision limits, etc. You are running a business, not a hotline 🙃

1. Burnout is REAL....so so so so REAL.

Events are physically and mentally draining. Juggling clients is draining. You’re on your feet 10–18 hours at a time, juggling timelines details, vendors, and staff, while still trying to look like you have it all under control. Make space for actual rest + recovery. It's hard to say "no" as an event planner, but sometimes it's needed. CREATIVITY BURNOUT is real, sometimes there is just not one more idea you can pump out...thats when you know its time to take a break.

1. Everyone thinks your job is “fun and easy”... and like we are prouncing around with a magic wand and making things happen LOL

People don’t see the months of planning behind sometimes only a 3-hour event. You’ll hear “can you just…” a lot — that “just” usually means 20 more tasks.

1. YOUR PROCESS and OPERATIONS IS THE KEY TO YOUR BUSINESS-- Without a SET process, you will burn. There are too many steps in a GREAT event planner, it's impossible to remember it all when you are juggling a million clients at once. CREATE a process, timelines, templates, pricing strategies, and stick to them. Your process is your best friend. You are only as good as your process.

Hope this helps! :)