Starting your own business

[Taualumna]

Has anyone thought of doing this or are doing this? Do you have any advice? I'd like to, someday, start my own events planning/bridal consultant business.

[Little E]

I work for a caterer in Philadelphia and we actually do a lot of it because we are full service. I would suggest that if you have never done it as a profession, you start with a job for another company and grow from there after a few years. Contacts with musicians, caterers, hotels, special venus, florists etc are essential because brides get refered from SO many places. You'll also want to be advertised on The Knot and sites like that and your region's bridal magazine.

I don't know if that helps at all. But I wish you luck. You give up a lot to do this, more than I realized when I started. You give up weekends, holidays, summers, etc. I will say that despite the hours, a happy bride and groom make it worth it.

ps- Caterers do not seem to like event planners. So know your stuff! They tend to slow the process down and can be a real pain when they refuse to return calls.

[aephi alum]

I've done this, although my field is I.T., not events planning.

Check with your local chamber of commerce. They often have tons of resources to help you with writing a business plan, choosing a location for your office, figuring out what computer hardware and software you'll need, etc. Joining the chamber of commerce also helps with networking.

Good luck!

[winneythepooh7]

If I get married and have kids one day, I want to start a private practice in my home for social work/counseling. I wish I could just do this now but I'm not there yet. Anyone else in my field done this? I hate working for a non-profit and dealing with all the bureacracy handed down to us from the state.

[AOX81]

Over the last few years I have been slowing starting my own business. Right now it is pretty small but the extra cash is nice.

www.letters4life.com