Meeting Planner Careers

A freelance meeting planner might seem like a glamorous job at the outset, but nothing good comes without a catch. Getting to rub shoulders with the elite and make a great living obviously comes with some serious responsibilities, including:

• Most successful freelance meeting planners try to wake up early in the morning so that they can get a head start on what typically proves to be a busy day. It also helps to be up and awake when business starts in New York, and working when things in Los Angeles start to slow down as that provides access to an entire country of companies needing meeting planners.
• Top notch meeting planners are well equipped with a desktop, a laptop, a smartphone, and plenty of notepads ready to take down notes with almost no notice. Why? Because the best meeting planners know that asking twice is a no-no.
• Unlimited phone access is important for a freelance meeting planner as they are often on the go. This means multiple batteries, unlimited long distance, and often more than one phone. Being connected equals making money for a freelance meeting planner.
• Reliable transportation is also critical for any freelance meeting planner. Some people feel that just because they work out of their home that a reliable vehicle is not important, but they are wrong. Not only are they wrong if they are meeting planners, but they need to keep in mind that image is important.

Meeting planners draw reasonable salaries when they work for companies, usually on par with a college graduate or better despite not the fact that many meeting planners lack degrees. Freelance meeting and/or event planners can make even more, especially if they can remember one thing: meetings are about people, not the issues. Some people believe that meetings are about issues, but the fact is that people create the issues and cause them to exist and not the other way around.

John Rockefeller may have said it best when he said that he would pay more for employees with people skills than any other resource or commodity under the sun, and he was one-hundred percent correct; people-skills are more important than anything else, especially for a meeting planner. This does not mean that diligence and attention to detail are not required. Instead, it means that anyone who has basic time management skills and modicum of organization can become an all-star meeting planner if they have people skills.

A meeting planner can expect to make upwards of $40,000 their first year, and they almost always enjoy substantial benefits. One of the best benefits is often going to meetings in exotic or interesting locations on the company dime, but meeting interesting people can be a boon as well.

The last blog mentioned networking as one of the most important things you can do for your career. But how do you do that in the digital age? The answer consist of more than developing Myspace pages and logging in to Twitter once a day. It consists of leaving the digital behind and finding ways to meet people face to face.

Why Meet Face-to-Face?

Once of the most important purposes of meeting people personally is to develop trust. Anyone can say anything on the internet, but most folks have fairly decent built-in lie detectors. When they meet someone and see their facial expressions and body language, their lie detector is either silent or not. Read more…

Many people think that working for non-profits means not getting paid, or being paid less than they normally would have. Nothing could be further from the truth. Working for non-profits can be some of the most lucrative work you will ever find, not to mention rewarding. Here are some reasons why you should consider this as your specialty as a meeting planner.

They Need You

Non-profits have the same considerations as any other business when trying to organize an event, so there is plenty of work there. From the small performing arts school to large emergency response teams like Red Cross, each has fundraisers and could use the services of someone who is trained to be efficient. Read more…

Now that people are losing their jobs coast to coast in the United States, it is difficult to know where to start when looking for a job. But have you considered hiring yourself? Today more people are turning to self-employment instead of crying in their soup about the economy. If you are one of those adventurous people who refuses to be held down, read on.

Starting a Business

Although this can be a daunting process, if you take it slow and steady you will end up with the best base for your operations. First, check with local and state governments to see what sort of regulations may be required for your particular business. Apply for licenses and permits as necessary.

Then decide where you want to conduct your operations. If you want to work out of your home, check local zoning regulations before having your stationery printed–you might be surprised to find out that you have too many restrictions to run a business there. If you have to find space, make sure you have all the paperwork necessary as well as any possible loan approvals before you shop. Read more…