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 wear many hats, and they have many responsibilities to which they must attend. The success or failure of the event is on the meeting planner's shoulders; therefore, they must work diligently to ensure the meeting goes as planned. While there are many aspects of the event that must be taken into consideration and given high priority, one of the most important elements of a meeting or event is the site location. Meeting planners should be sure that the site location is ideal for the type of event as well as the number of attendees.

There are a few things that meeting planners should keep in mind when considering prospective site locations. Meeting planners need to consider who the prospective attendees are. The location should be chosen based on the groups needs and expectations. Meeting planners also need to consider how the attendees will get to the meeting. For this reason, many meeting planners reserve site locations that are near a major airport. Meeting planners need to ensure the site location is attractive. The value of aesthetic appeal should not be minimized. Finally, meeting planners need to consider the number of attendees. It will be important for the site location to be spacious enough for meeting participants.

Most meeting planners are offered not only a generous salary, but other incentives to keep them interested and working hard. This is true in almost any industry that uses meeting planners, but what might vary from one industry to the next is the type of incentives offered to meeting planners. Some industries have special individual and/or group incentives, depending upon how their meeting planners operate. These incentives are typically goal-based, such as reaching a certain level of performance.

Most corporate and business-level meeting planners receive health benefits, and many receive a combination of retirement and/or educational benefits as well. These might seem like great perks for some, but freelance meeting planners have their own incentives: the opportunity for as much work as they can handle.

Extra work means extra pay, and it is entirely possible for highly skilled freelance meeting planners to make well over twice the salary of their office-bound counterparts. This does come with a price in terms of establishing connections and hard work, but nothing is free.

Whether one decides to work as a freelance meeting planner or get a job in the corporate towers downtown, one of the biggest perks of the job is always the relationships that are built. Meeting planners get to rub shoulders with important people on a daily basis, and that alone is enough excitement for some to consider becoming a meeting planner.