What you need to know about this opportunity
Thirty years ago all you needed was some jelly, ice cream and a parcel to pass. Twenty years ago a quick visit to McDonald’s would probably have done the trick. But children’s parties have come a long way in the last decade.
Rise of the children’s birthday party planner…
Today, swish, themed children’s parties are the height of fashion and there’s a lot of pressure on parents to come up with the ultimate party everyone will remember. But, throwing a really great party isn’t always easy. That’s why a growing number of parents are handing the reins over to as profession children’s birthday party planner. If you’re well organised and not too easily spooked by a marauding horde of children, this could well be for you.
Now the first point I should make: This sort of service isn’t aimed at everyone. Professionally organised children’s parties don’t come cheap. So this service is aimed at cash-rich, time-poor parents who want to give their kids the best party with the minimum of work, hassle (and lost temper!) on their part. And remember: Parents often organise swish parties to impress their own friends as much as they do to entertain their children’s friends. A professional party organising service capitalises on this aspect very nicely. The good news is that, as far as I can see, the recession doesn’t seem to have affected this opportunity too much. There are plenty of party organising services out there and they seem to be doing very nicely. Even a fairly modest party could earn you a few hundred pounds, and lavish parties can cost £5,000 or more to organise. I’ve even seen a press report of a children’s party that cost over £100,000 to organise… although those are probably few and far between.
Take a look at these ideas
Dinky Dancers based in Hertfordshire offer movement-based parties that are individually designed to reflect the children’s ages and interests.
They include a mixture of physical games, dance, singing and PE activities for an ‘all singing all dancing’ action-packed party! They specialise in birthday parties for children aged two to five years old. Website: www.dinkydancers.com Giddy Diva do makeover pamper parties which include funky hairstyles, glam and glitz makeovers, nail art and gems, temporary tattoos, karaoke, disco, jewellery making, etc. Catering for girls and boys four to 16 in the London area. Website: www.giddydiva.com
Go Kart Party. Go Kart Party specialise in Go Karting for a children’s themed party or event. Indoor or outdoor they offer a unique kind of children’s party that is exciting but safe. Website: www.go-kartparty.co.uk
Emporium Parties in Kent have a range of parties that are especially suitable for boys… including army parties, pirate parties, football parties and Pokémon parties. Website: www.boyzparties.co.uk
Basics for starting up this business
I think this is best for a part-time operation. Most children’s parties are held in the late afternoon/early evening. Only toddler parties (a fairly small number) are held during the day. Although most parties are organised for birthdays – so your workload will be fairly evenly spread through the year – there are also end of term, end of school and Christmas parties, so some times of the year will be busier than others. You won’t need very much start-up capital. Just a small amount for advertising and marketing. The good news is that you won’t need any upfront capital for organising expenses. It’s standard practice to ask each customer to pay a deposit upfront, which you can use to cover your initial expenses.
You will need good organising skills and of course it helps if you’re good with children. But don’t worry. You won’t have to run the whole show yourself. A lot of the work involved can be ‘farmed out’ to other people, while you just organise and oversee everything. You do not need any kind of insurance for this business because you are simply acting as an organiser. However, you must check that any venues and any entertainers you use (see later) have public liability insurance and are qualified where necessary. Now to child protection issues. I’ve investigated this and you do not actually need any kind of licence or official check to become a children’s party organiser.
That’s because you are only organising events and not working with the same children on a regular basis in the same place. However, it’s sensible to ask for and take up references or carry out a criminal records check with anyone you might employ, such as children’s entertainers. There are several commercial services that can do this for you. It’s also wise to ensure there is at least one parent present at your events. By the way, there are a number of franchise opportunities for children’s party organising where you can buy a whole business package for a set licence fee. However, I think this is something that is ideal for operating as a unique, independent business.
Finding a niche for your party organising service
This is one of the most important things about children’s party organising and something you need to fix before you start.
Decide what type of party you are going to specialise in. Find a niche.
There are two main reasons for this: Firstly there are so many different types of party. It is difficult to be good at them all. By specialising in a few types of party rather than ‘everything’ you will be able to build up your expertise and build a good reputation, which will help with findings bookings no end. Secondly, there are already quite a few party organising businesses out there – which is a good thing rather than a bad thing as it shows demand exists. Finding a niche will help differentiate your business from the competition.
Have a look round at what existing children’s party organisers in your area do to get some ideas for what might be popular, what might be done to death, or to try and spot a gap in the market. For example, some organisers specialise in toddler parties. Others do arts and crafts parties. Or face painting. Others do makeover and pamper parties for teenage girls. Some do sports and activity parties. Others do disco parties, or ‘prom’-style parties for teenagers. A couple of important points here: Bear in mind the niche you operate in will be different according to the ages of the children involved. Ten year olds are not interested in the same things as five year olds. Boys and girls also have different interests, again often depending on their ages. Also, you must check fashions and trends. These come and go regularly: Take care not to specialise in something that might be hot this year but have the children yawning with boredom next year. Try and be flexible. Operate in a few niches and try new ones from time to time.
Promoting your party business
This is the sort of business that, with a bit of luck, should benefit from free ‘school gate’ publicity in the medium-long term. Hopefully customers will hear how great your parties are from other customers and will ask you to organise one for them. (I’ve discovered a VERY clever way that some party organising services do this. More details later.)
Short term though you’re going to have to do some publicity to get things started. The usual methods like door to door leaflets, window cards and local newspaper advertising should all bring in a few leads. Also consider Yellow Pages. However, try and target your advertising and marketing more accurately to your likely customers – the parents of children aged between about three and 16 (or whatever age group you want to serve).
Here’s how to do this: Try putting some ads in school, church and community newsletters. Ask schools, nurseries and playgroups and so on if you could put up a poster, or if they would hand out some leaflets for you – perhaps in return for a small donation to funds.
A very good idea is to try and get some coverage in your local newspapers and free newspapers. If you advertise in them, ask if they’ll also run a story about your new business. Local newspapers love local interest stories like this, and it can also generate you a lot of publicity.
As you look into this opportunity more closely you’ll see that most party organisers have a website. I reckon you could start this without having a website, but that you should probably get one once you are up and running. There are quite a lot of party organising directories on the Internet, both free and charged-for. Having a website will mean you can link to these directories.
Designing the perfect party
When you get an enquiry from a customer you need to have a good long chat with them to find out exactly what sort of party they want. Some people will know exactly what sort of party they want, while others will be happy for you to offer your ideas. Don’t be tempted to rush this all-important briefing. The more information you get from them, the easier it will be to organise the party, and the better it will be.
Here are some things you should discuss:
The budget. Ask what the customer wants to spend, including your fees for organising everything and the overheads. Tip: You can create a party to fit any budget BUT you’ll struggle to make a decent profit with a budget of less than about £250. The guest list. Ask how many children will be coming to the party. Around 30 is the largest party size that can be handled conveniently, although most parties will be for fewer. Find out the age range and whether they will be boys or girls or both – and in what proportion.
Remember that where the children are under about five years old, parents will usually want to stay with them. So you’ll need extra space, and perhaps to allow for the cost of providing some refreshments for them in your budget.
The date. Weekdays are normally best for children’s parties, either in the late afternoon or early evening. If the party is for very young children (three and under) mid-morning can be a good time to fit in with meals, naps, etc. Weekends tend to be less popular, as it cuts into family time.
Usually you will need at least six weeks notice, preferably more. If you are using outside services (like a hall or entertainer) these can get booked up well in advance, especially at busy times such as pre-Christmas. Also, this is important from the customer’s point of view: The longer the notice, the more guests will be able to come, the better the party and the happier the customer will be.
The duration. It doesn’t seem long, but two hours is the ideal duration for a children’s party. It can be difficult to find enough entertainment to fill longer parties. If the customer particularly wants a longer party be sure to allow for the extra expense of providing more entertainment in the budget. The theme. Good parties should generally always have a theme that runs through all aspects of the party. Look at the party organising biz and you’ll find this is what everyone seems to want at the moment. This makes the party more fun but easier to organise too. Your customer might have an idea for a theme they want or they may want you to suggest something. Very important: Most children other than toddlers have pretty fixed ideas about what sort of party they want and who they want to invite, so be sure your customer consults with them.
Once the main details are agreed: Collect a deposit from your customer. Thirty per cent is a suitable figure. This will cover your initial basic expenses and any deposits that you need to pay out. You can ask for the balance to be paid about a week before the party takes place.
Finding ideas for party themes
As I said, it’s very important to have a theme for your party. But how do you find the most popular and best themes at the moment?
Do your own market research. Remember that tastes and fashions change over time. Different themes tend to ‘do the rounds’, everyone wants them, and then they fall out of fashion. Tastes and fashions are also different in different areas. This might vary depending on what other parties have been held recently. Try and keep abreast of what children are interested in at the moment. Watch children’s TV – it’s a big influence on what children are interested in. Visit toy stores and ask them what their best selling toys are at the moment. Surf the Internet. The review site Squidoo has a useful page for background information on this: www.squidoo.com/top-ten-toys.
If you’ve got children in the age group concerned you’ll probably know what they’re interested in. If you haven’t, ask friends, relatives and colleagues with kids of the same age what they are currently into. The great thing about doing market research with children is that you usually get a very straight answer as to what’s hot and what is most definitely not.
To give you an example. I asked my four-year-old niece and nephew what kind of party they’d most enjoy. Their response? A very clear vote for ‘princesses’ and ‘pirates’ respectively. Now, maybe the idea of Princess Barbie being chased round the village hall by Captain Hook from No. 6 seems a bit surreal to us. But if the children really want it, and it’s practical to do, it would be crazy to ignore them. Lastly, you can get a lot of inside info on what parents (well, mums mainly) are looking for by following the chat on the well-known Mumsnet website: www.mumsnet.com, It reveals what parents like about children’s parties and, equally, what they really hate about them!
Free Market Research. I’ve been doing some market research into popular children’s party themes at the moment. And I’ve identified over 70 of the most popular current themes. If you’d like a copy of my list go to www.canonburypublishing.com/xmasparty and download it.
Pricing and profits
Once you’ve found out what sort of party your customer requires add up all your expenses and add your profit margin on top to find the price you will charge to your customer. You can then tweak it to fit within their budget. For example:
Venue hire:
Decorations:
Entertainer(s):
Catering:
Party bags:
Sundries:
Sub total.
Profit margin:
TOTAL:
Good idea: Find out what similar party organising services are charging in your area. Visit their websites. Call them up and ask for a quote. Aim to charge about the same.
Now, my research tells me that most party organising services seem to charge a basic price for a certain minimum number of guests, say six or eight. Then they add an extra per head cost for additional guests over the minimum number. For example, £295 for a party for up to six children plus £25 for each extra child or whatever. This way you can’t lose. Because the minimum charge will cover all your basic fixed costs.
Another good idea is to offer different options where possible. For example, you can offer a range of differently priced catering options, or different kinds of entertainer within each theme. This way you can charge customers who want a more lavish party more, while still keeping within the budgets of the more costconscious.
Organising a successful party
Here are a few tips and pointers to help you with actually organising children’s parties.
Bear in mind that the concept of this business is that you are the organiser. It’s probably not a good idea (or even possible) to try to do everything yourself. Where possible ‘farm out’ the work to other suppliers.
Invitations and RSVPs. Provide your customers with either printed or hand-made invitations to send out to their guests. This way you can co-ordinate them with your theme.
Ask all guests to RSVP. Some party organising services offer to ‘chase up’ invitations for their customers. This is a nice extra touch, will usually mean that more of the guests who are invited actually come, and you will know exactly how many to expect. Tip: If your theme is out of the ordinary be sure to include something on the invitation to tell parents what will be going on. For example, do the children need sports clothing – or a change of clothing if the activities are going to be messy? Also ask them to let you know if their children have any health problems, or special dietary needs.
Finding the right venue. For most parties you’ll need to organise a venue. Not many customers will want to hold a party in their own homes. (Often, one of the main reasons for booking a professionally organised party is to avoid the mess and disruption at home!) One of the most important things about choosing a venue is to get the size right. It should be big enough for the anticipated number of guests and planned activities. But not too big that it gives the children too much space to run around or go missing and not join in. Before you get started it would be a good idea to draw up a list of possible venues locally. Find out what their hire charges are, and what sort of facilities they offer.
Here are a few ideas:
Village, community, church and scout/guide halls.
Often basic, but good value.
Leisure and sports centres, sports clubs. Good for sports-themed parties.
Hotels. Function rooms. Often reasonably priced mid week.
Restaurants and pubs. Can be good but they need to be family-orientated and have a completely separate private room.
Nightclubs. May be suitable for a no-alcohol disco or prom night.
Indoor play centres. Although bear in mind they could be in competition with your party organising business.
Bowling alleys and ice rinks.
Unique locations. Most areas will have a range of unique venue possibilities. So have a look into these as they could provide a really impressive and unique party venue and are not always expensive to hire out of peak times. For example, there might be a castle or stately home, zoo, wildlife park, theme park or petting farm with a room to hire.
Checks to make. When choosing a venue check that it’s suitable and safe for the age groups you have in mind – especially that young children won’t be able to leave without anyone noticing. Decent toilets are well worth looking for, and good parking usually goes down well with parents.
Decorating the venue. Decorations can be the making of a party, and should be in keeping with your chosen theme. This is an area where a small but carefully planned outlay can save time and money. Buy some decorations, garlands, bunting and so on that can be used for any party. Then for each individual party add some themed decorations and matching tableware. Bear in mind that lighting can totally transform a venue for very little cost.
You don’t necessarily need to buy expensive equipment as things like disco lighting, glitter balls, smoke machines and bubble machines can be hired from hire shops and DJ/theatrical equipment suppliers. Catering. Almost every party needs food and drink. Apart from being a way to impress, this can be an extra money-maker for you. Tip: Try to avoid venues that insist on providing the catering as this can cut down on your profit margin.
Always consult with your customer when planning food. It should match your party theme wherever possible. Bear in mind that, while every party should have some treats, most parents will appreciate it if there are some healthy food and drink options on your menu. There are a few different options for catering: If the venue has a kitchen you could do it yourself, perhaps hiring in part-time staff to help you. Or you could call in a professional caterer. A more cost-effective option is to order in from a local restaurant, takeaway, bakery or confectioners… many will put a special menu together and deliver at a specified time if your order is large enough. Finally, putting party food boxes together from pre-packaged items is an easy way to cater for a party without having to do any catering as such. If the party is a birthday party, which most will be, you’ll need a cake. Some customers might want to make their own cake, so always check. If not, set up an arrangement with a bakery or cake maker.
Games, entertainment and activities. Every party needs some kind of entertainment. This needs to fit in with the party theme, but also be suitable for the children who will be coming too.
Generally you shouldn’t try to entertain children yourself. Apart from the fact it’s virtually impossible to do the entertainment AND run the party, these kinds of parties really need professional entertainers. So pull in a professional entertainer to do the job for you. Have a look around, you can find entertainers offering everything from puppet shows to magic shows to sports coaching and story tellers.
Here are some online directories you can use to find entertainers:
Equity www.equity.org.uk/entertainers.aspx?page=0 (The artists’ and actors’ trade union. This is a really good one.)
Entertainer Directory
www.entertainerdirectory.co.uk/childrens-entertainers/
EntsWeb
www.entsweb.co.uk/entertainers/childrens
Net Mums
(This has a really good searchable directory of entertainers plus venues, ideas for themes and party organising tips too.)
The Yellow Pages is also a good resource.
Party bags. Party bags are a must for most parties. This is one of the most difficult and time-consuming things to get right, so something that your customers will most appreciate you handling for them. It’s a good idea to fix a separate budget for the party bag itself, and consult with the customer as to what sort of things they’d like. As always, try to theme them to the party too.
Contents can include: Small toys, games, confectionery, books, jewellery, badges, balloons, stickers, key rings, fridge magnets, art and crafts materials. The actual party bag itself is important too – the better it looks, the better the contents will seem to be!
Tip: Most customers and parents will appreciate a small number of decent quality items in a party bag… rather than a large quantity of junk! You can buy all sorts of contents for party bags from wholesalers at trade prices. Secret Source Finder at www.secretsourcefinder.co.uk has lots of contacts for wholesalers in all areas.
More handy party organising tips
Draw up a programme of events for your party and stick to it. Tell the guests what you’re going to be doing next. Avoid asking children what they’d like to do next… which can be a recipe for disaster.
Ask each parent to fill in a card giving their name, address and an emergency contact number when they bring their children to a party. As well as providing a contact in the case of any accidents or illness you could use this list to generate new business. Remember, parents of children who come to your parties are ideal future customers for your business.
While parents should be welcome to stay at the party with their children, don’t let them help out… no matter how well-intentioned they might be. It can make it difficult to keep to your schedule… and favouritism doesn’t go down well at children’s parties.
When working with outside suppliers, such as venues, caterers and entertainers, always tell them you are a professional party organiser and aim to negotiate a trade discount. Many will give you a trade discount, especially if you use them on a regular basis.
Inflate your profits with a lucrative add-on: the party inflatables business
If you’re interested in the children’s party organising business then you might also be interested in another, related opportunity… the party inflatables business. You’ve probably got an idea of what this business involves. The traditional bouncy castle is the main kind of inflatable. These can either be used in a party organising business or hired out to parents who want to organise their own parties – so widening your market considerably. There are a whole range of other inflatables too, including bouncy inflatable boxing rings and bouncy assault courses. There are even some inflatables that might be suitable for parties for adults. Here’s a really unique inflatables niche we found… sumo wrestling! Take a look: www.supersumo.co.uk. Paul Carolan wrote in to tell us about his business. Paul used to run a very successful weekend bouncy castle business. He gave me some really useful inside information about this opportunity. Paul tells me:
“I ran a part-time bouncy castle business from home for about eight years, starting with one castle and building it up to eight inflatables! “New castles cost from £800-£1,200 but rent out for £50-£60 a time. You will also need a sack trolley, crash mats and sandbags. Most of the hires are in back gardens and at school fetes with bigger pieces of equipment. “Buying your first castle: There are many places you can buy your first castle, second-hand or new. The minimum size you need is 12 feet x 12 feet, together with a shower cover.
“Buying new: You sometimes can buy from stock, or to your design with your choice of artwork. The best time to order is the winter months when the manufacturers are short of work! Good manufacturers include: Jumpjump. BeeTee. Inflatable World Leisure. Bounceabouts. Air Inflatables – imported from China, owned by Inflatable World Leisure using the same designs but different materials. Just Inflatables –imported from China.
“You can also buy second-hand. eBay is a good source. Make sure you look before you buy. Also make sure the inflatable has a valid test certificate (like an MOT for a car).
“Remember to allow for insurance. Public liability is a must in my opinion, cost from £250 up. You pay an additional £70+ for each inflatable you add to the policy. Insurance companies include Leisureinsure and FHM. “Transport. You can actually fit a 12 foot x 12 foot in the back of a hatchback. But don’t forget changing your car insurance to cover you for this. Later you can move up to a Transit type van which will hold four 12 foot castles.
“Advertising. Methods to use include Yellow Pages etc. The best way is word of mouth and a well optimised website, together with inflatable hirers directories. The outdoor season is April to September and the indoor season is October to March.
“Useful organisations include TIPE (www.tipe.co.uk) and BIHA (www.biha.org.uk). There are also trade shows for the industry: ILW in September and INPAS in March (www.inpas.co.uk).”