Meetings Focus: How did you get into the event planning business?
Marley Majcher:
I graduated with a business degree from Georgetown University and went to cooking school in France for fun. I married a chef in 1992, opened a restaurant, and transitioned from the restaurant business into planning events. I started planning parties in the two event rooms of our restaurant, and it later turned into managing a catering company and banquet operations. In 1999, following a skiing accident and a divorce, I began to focus completely on party planning. At the same time as the industry was changing, the Internet was lowering the barriers to entry and more people (not just celebrities and huge corporations) were hiring event planners. A year later, I rebranded as The Party Goddess and began offering full-service event planning, from concept to completion. By 2007 I was getting some significant events like the opening of the Hollywood Bowl and the Critics’ Choice Awards. A few years later, I was signing A-list celebrity clients, which led to TV appearances and coverage in magazines like US Weekly. It is a vicious cycle, because you need a press kit to get celebrity clients but you need celebrity clients to get a press kit.
MF: What challenges do you face in your job?
MM: When you’re working with high-profile events and clients, there is often more than one decision maker and more than one agenda. The celebrity, their manager, their publicist, their significant other; everyone wants to get something out of the party. It becomes really hard when it is not consistent. Also, you’re almost always under tight time constraints. You clients have busy schedules and don’t plan very far in advance, so you have very little lead time.
MF: Do you have any tips for planners? How do you deal with all this?
MM: It’s important to have a solid intake process and a way to get all the information you need and get the scope of a project quickly. Build the system, don’t wait for the clients to come, or you will flounder. You want to deliver a proposal quickly so they can sign off on it and you can move forward. If you’re trying to get to the next level, considering partnering with people or companies who have experience that you don’t have yet. You can even volunteer or intern to learn new skills. And if you do get a big job but feel like you’re not prepared, bring others onboard so the event will go flawlessly. Planners often get a big job and try to manage it themselves when they should ask for help, this sets you up to fail and the client won’t hire you again. It’s more important to have a happy client.
MF: What is your favorite part about working in this industry?
MM: I love completing a big project and seeing clients happy, that is amazing. I started the online division of my company during the recession, as another source of income, but I discovered that I love coaching and helping other planners. The community is great. When I started out, I had no one to ask if I really didn’t understand pricing, for example, so I set out to make somewhere people can get their questions answered. I love seeing other planners have their “AHA!” moments.
MF: You mentioned the recession, how is the future of the industry looking to you?
MM: Fortunately, at the time I had a solid base of corporate and social clients. The market during the recession looked to me a lot like it did after September 11, everyone was being cautious. Even if they had a lot of money, it didn’t seem appropriate to spend it on partying, but that’s starting to ease up now and business is thriving.
For more Party Goddess planning tips, follow Marley @ThePartyGoddess, check out her website or watch her YouTube introduction.
