Dahlia El Gazzar, CEO of Dahlia+ Agency, on left, emphasizes the importance of networking and building partnerships as an independent meeting planner. Courtesy of Dahlia El Gazzar

While face masks and mandatory distance rules are, thankfully, a distant memory of the COVID pandemic, some aftershocks of that time that impacted the working world remain in place.

Among those are a rise in independent workers. Whether it’s due to circumstance or choice, more people — including meeting planners — are striking out on their own. In fact, according to McKinsey & Company’s American Opportunity Survey, the number of employed Americans who identify as independent workers rose from 27% in 2016 to 36% in 2022.

According to Vault.com, a leading research company on thousands of industries worldwide, approximately 134,100 event planners are employed in the United States and about 11% of them are self-employed.

The reasons are varied, but many professional planners who work alone enjoy the flexible work schedule and the array of associations they can work with rather than solely managing the meeting planning needs of one organization in a staff role.

However, those characteristics of working as an independent can also have drawbacks. Organizing a wide-open schedule, having multiple clients and selling one’s business is no easy feat. The keys to success are time management, networking and marketing. The personal satisfaction that independent planners draw from doing it all well is the immediate gratification of seeing a well-executed event, knowing they’ve made a difference in people’s lives by designing moments that leave lasting impressions on their clients and their attendees.

Time on Their Side

For some planners, having their own event planning business and not having to work a set schedule is liberating, and that flexibility can even generate productivity. But for others, it can mean work falls by the wayside as the siren songs of family, the television or the laundry pile get louder. For them, it can be a challenge to organize a wide-open schedule.

To maximize productivity, veteran independent planner Dahlia El Gazzar, CEO, Dahlia+ Agency, has some advice for new independent meeting planners: “I definitely would block time on your calendar for client work, new ideas, sales and marketing for your business, research especially on tech and new ideas for events and event management, reaching out to old and new connections and just for downtime, having nothing to do with work.”

Further, she shares some tips for independent meeting planners to track their time: “Always block more time — per client or project — than you think it will take, and always clock not only client hours but also the hours it takes for you to understand how to handle a project.”

Additionally, when it comes to using traditional working hours for doctor appointments, personal errands or other tasks that sometimes must get done during business hours, El Gazzar has a broad take on that, as well as additional suggestions.

“This is where you have to put aside time to make sure you’re taking care of your health, your loved ones and just being,” she says. “That way you don’t burn out, and you’re able to be grateful for the independent life that you have created.”

Sometimes, managing one’s hours becomes an extra challenge for independent meeting planners, like when they are dealing with clients in different time zones. For example, Laura Bergersen, CMP, meeting specialist for LauraB Events, based in Chicago, IL, once had a client in Australia. “For six weeks, I worked from midnight to 8 a.m. But, we worked it out to where I would send a list of questions or a summary of my work for the client to review [while I was sleeping], and then by the next morning, I had those answers,” she says.

Ultimately, the experienced planner says, the situation worked because of some pre-planning. “There was never an issue because we talked about our timing and schedules. You have to establish parameters and expectations right away,” says Bergersen.

When planning their schedules, independent meeting planners must ensure it’s done well. They may change their work settings to exotic locales, as long as they bring a cellphone and laptop.

Veteran independent planner Annette Suriani, business event strategist for AMS Meeting Solutions, worked from Italy last August and plans to do so again this year.

Suriani says, “Unless I’m on site, I don’t need to stay local. Italy is six hours ahead of Washington, D.C., where I live, and I’m an early riser, so when I woke up at 4 a.m., I did emails and paperwork until it was time for me to go to the beach or take a tour. I tried scheduling as many Zoom meetings in the early morning as possible to have my afternoons free. Sometimes, I even scheduled Zoom meetings after I had dinner in the evening and it was still the afternoon back home.”

Networking Opportunities

Another potentially fraught element of being an independent planner is the potential for a sense of isolation. Meeting planners who are by themselves all day can find themselves contending with feelings of loneliness when they’re working on their own.

A big key to combat that, according to experienced independent meeting planners, is to get out and network — both with the industry and with one’s community. Engaging in such activities not only opens up one’s world, but also helps solo practitioners market themselves and their services to others.

As a business owner, fostering valuable relationships is essential to the success of your business. To build a wide network in the event planning field, you must connect with peers, vendors, venues, CVBs and clients.

“The biggest thing is to be connected, especially with your convention and visitor’s bureau,” asserts Bergersen. “Most of my leads have come from a convention and visitors bureau, or if they can’t technically recommend me because I’m not in their network, I always ask if they know someone who needs help, and then they can introduce me. CVBs know everything about a city, and they may have guides and discounts that your event can use. They also can recommend local vendors.”

“It’s super important to go do stuff, like taking a walk, and to go to networking events, because you’re by yourself constantly. It’s not like you can turn around to a colleague and ask, ‘Hey, what do you think about this?’ If I’m invited to an event, I try to go, and I try to set up lunches with people who might be able to help me or who could be a future client. I do whatever I can to have that social aspect.”

Networking also helps independent meeting planners develop a roster of go-to suppliers, Bergersen adds. “You need to network to build a catalog of venues and suppliers — such as linen and floral companies, photographers and speaker bureaus, to name a few. By networking around the country, you should potentially have a source in every state.”

By fostering nationwide professional relationships, independent planners can expand their network and enhance their ability to face any situation, ultimately ensuring the success of their company and the satisfaction of their clients.

In some instances, networking can lead to partnerships that independent meeting planners say are critical for success. “Planners need to figure out their superpower and then bring on partners for work they’re not good at or that they don’t like doing,” says El Gazzar.

Independent meeting planners note that if they arrange an event but can’t be on-site, they enlist a peer to stand-in, and vice versa. Meeting organizers are finding each other on social media, El Gazzar notes.

“There are certain Facebook groups where there is collaboration between event professionals. Someone who’s more interested in logistics will team up with someone who is more interested in technology, for example, or marketing. There are Slack channels where people are getting together to pitch new clients or create business models. I’ve even collaborated with marketing professionals to work on marketing strategy and execution for clients, and it’s worked out great.”

Marketing Yourself

To get clients and to be ready to onboard a new one when a contract with another ends, independent meeting planners have to spread the word on their work and their availability.

“Marketing is a must,” declares El Gazzar. “You have to market yourself to stay top of mind, and so that people are aware of your services.”

How does one do that? She advises, “Don’t depend on only word of mouth or referrals. Set aside time to work on your social media content and how you engage [with clients] from an expertise perspective in the circles you want to be in.”

Bergersen gets to the bottom line in more ways than one, even more directly. “You need to assert yourself and let corporate or association meeting planners know you are available and willing to work. We only get paid when we are working,” she says.

Dealing with Uncertainty

As a planner who mitigates her lack of a steady paycheck by holding several other jobs outside of the industry, Bergersen knows the importance of that. “My income is all over the place, so I work three part-time jobs in the restaurant industry. Luckily, they’re all at night so I can do planning work during the day,” she says.

On the plus side, Bergersen notes, jobs outside the industry can provide more than monetary rewards. “One of my jobs,” she says, “is with a catering company, and they’re so creative! Seeing their work gives me ideas all of the time.”

Ultimately, for those who want to hang out their own shingle, it requires those meeting planners to have faith — both in themselves and in others,” concludes El Gazzar. “Take the leap, trust your gut. If you really want it, it will happen.” | AC&F |