You Don't Have to Burn It Down: Getting Off the Planner Plateau™
Over the last nine years, there have been several times I wanted to burn the business down and start over. COVID generously gave me the opportunity once.
I have felt stuck. Literally like I was sitting on a plateau where I couldn't get over the hump and make the revenue I wanted.
When I started talking to other event business owners, they had the same complaints. How do we get more clients without doubling our workload? How do we get clients to value us and pay us more for the work we do, instead of bidding us out for the cheapest price?
So I started asking people. Can we be honest? How much are you making, and how much is your events business bringing in?
What people told me, and what the industry data backs up, is that most planners don't make much more than $100K. The ones who do are not the norm. Northstar's 2026 Independent Planner Pricing Survey found that 73% of independent planners earn under $100,000 a year.
Here's the problem I boiled it down to.
The industry does not reward execution.
Execution is great. We all built our businesses on flawless execution. Some of us evolved and gave ourselves fancier titles like event designer or event producer, just to make sure everyone knows we aren't someone who planned our cousin's wedding. This is our career choice. We've worked hard to earn this title. Long hours. Amazing clients. Flawless events.
But execution-only roles are salary capped. Getting faster at your job doesn't buy you less work and more free time. It just means you can book even more events. You just execute faster than the new guy.
Sounds pretty gloom and doom, right? I'm so great at my job, so how the f do I make more money?
If you're like me, you love the company you built. You put your heart and soul into it. You don't want to get a job to make more money, but it's probably crossed your mind a time or two.
So how do you get off the Planner Plateau™?
No fire required
I found the solution a couple of years ago. The good news: it doesn't require fire or starting over. It requires taking the skills you already have and enhancing them.
Enhance. Sounds like a culinary term. Season to perfection, maybe? I like that.
You just need to add seasoning to the already perfect dish of a company you created. For me, that seasoning was strategy. I learned how to offer my clients strategy for their events instead of just execution.
You might be thinking, holy shit, that sounds like data analytics, math, and spreadsheets I'm not trained in. Or, why would I offer a new service when I'm already a rockstar at planning and executing?
Great questions. No, it doesn't require math or an MBA. It requires a framework that lets you say: this event you're asking me to plan, when designed this way, will produce this outcome.
Three things you can start today
You can start the minute you close this post.
1. Ask why we're planning this event. Get to the purpose statement and get everyone aligned on the goals. Why? Less stress. I will die on this hill. No arguments, just one clear purpose statement.
2. Decide what success looks like. What are we trying to get people to do? Purchase a product? Refer someone? This is called behavior. As Experiential Strategists, we design for behavior.
3. Prove the measurable outcome. Take that purpose statement and build three ways to prove the outcome, even when you aren't asked.
These three tiny tweaks take your execution skills to the next level. Clients come back to the people who bring them results. Budgets increase when proof of business results is outlined.
I'm telling you, nothing changed my life more than when I took control of my career. No burning it down. Just adding to it.
Get the full framework
If this sounds interesting, grab my free guide, From Event Executor to Experiential Strategist. I walk you through the full framework so you can get started today.
More revenue, less stress: it starts with proving event success.
