Have you ever dreamed of running your own business? Ever thought your goal is out of reach and you’ll need to train and gain years of experience before you can do it? We talk to current student, Ruth Lowe, who is studying on our
online diploma course as she starts up her own Event Management business from scratch.
Ruth Elizabeth Events Ltd specialises in corporate, charity fundraising events and wedding planning. With 16 enquiries and several confirmed bookings in less than 2 months (the company opened for business on 1
st March 2015) Ruth is already making a splash in the events industry.
Coupled with a long time ambition to create her own business, Ruth’s experience in the corporate sector proved her flair for problem solving and organisation down to the tiniest detail. Ruth realised she is a perfect match for a career in Event Management and Ruth Elizabeth Events Ltd was born.
Professional Credibility
Credibility is key for building up any business and Event Management is no exception. Ruth’s next step was to consult with a careers advisor about relevant training courses to provide the accreditation needed to reassure potential clients and build her profile. She found Event Academy’s online diploma course and decided that study with us was a key part of setting up her new business.
The original plan was to complete the course before event bookings started coming in. Ruth started the course in September 2014, launched her company in March 2015 and thought she would have a few months of relative quiet to finish the course this year. It hasn’t quite worked out like that, but we are thrilled to hear her reasons for taking a little longer to complete the course.
Take control of your career
Our two diploma courses, especially the online course, are designed to be flexible and work around your other commitments. With the online diploma Ruth has the option to study when she has time and to fit her training around paid work with her growing client list.
The modular approach to the course, where you are guided through the course modules but can shape your own learning pathway is practically supporting Ruth as she builds Ruth Elizabeth Events Ltd. For example, we offer a module on documentation and contracts that includes access to a set of useful templates. After studying the module, Ruth later returned to the event documentation lectures when she found herself busy creating contracts for use with brand new clients and had further questions.
The sky is the limit
We think of our students as event professionals as soon as they are registered with us and we know it is never too early to start networking with other event professionals and volunteering to gain experience and relevant contacts.
Ruth’s perspective on this shows her entrepreneurial mind-set, as she talked to us about her own focus on networking and promoting her business.
“Don’t underestimate the value of networking and volunteering your time for career development. You need to be careful who you volunteer your time to and on what terms: make sure you are clear about what you can offer and what you can’t. This puts you in a strong negotiating position when the contact likes your work and wants to talk about what further projects they need help with.”
If you’d like to find out a bit more about Ruth you can find her profile on LinkedIn
here. We are excited for her about what lies ahead and proud to be a part of the journey she is creating. We also love hearing positive feedback from our students and her parting shot filled us with a warm glow …
“In terms of above and beyond support I can’t recommend Event Academy enough!”
Featured image credit: Simon Watson Photography
