Plan Ahead Events - Franchise

Profile And Description of the Business
Plan Ahead Events  is a franchise opportunity offered by the United Franchise Group, one of the world’s largest independently owned global franchising groups. The United Franchise Group represents a wide network of well-known brand names such as SIGNARAMA, EmbroidMe, SuperGreen Solutions, and Transworld Business Advisors.  Plan Ahead Events is a home-based, full-service event management franchise serving clients worldwide. Our franchisees offer innovative solutions for meetings, conventions, trade shows, special events and incentive travel programs.  Plan Ahead Events franchisees work with corporate clients to stage and arrange any type of event including, but not limited to:

• Plan Ahead Events Franchise - audience Meetings and  Conventions
• Trade Shows
• Award Ceremonies
• Seminars and Workshops
• Team Building
• Product Launches and Grand Openings
• Special Events
• Outdoor Events

Brief History 
Plan Ahead Events was founded by Ray Titus, CEO of United Franchise Group. .  When the challenges of running their large corporate events got to be too much for his employees, Ray decided to seek out the professionals and contracted with an outside company to run their largest international  convention.   The two women of this company, who had left their corporate jobs and started their business from home, had seen over 15 years of success.  Ray and United Franchise Group  were so impressed with the benefits of using their services that in 2008 they became the first Plan Ahead Events office and part of the United Franchise Group family of brands.  Since that time, over 100 Plan Ahead Events franchises have sold worldwide in nine different countries.  Plan Ahead Events is now the world’s largest event management company and is still the only full-service meeting and event franchise that exists.

Why Plan Ahead Events?
The events industry is one of the most exciting and dynamic service industries to operate within.  It is because of the dynamic nature of creating an event that the clients of Plan Ahead Events require their expertise; quite simply, a corporate client can rarely afford the man-power required, nor do they have the know-how needed, to stage an event without professional help.  Because of this, meeting and event management has become a US$650 billion industry worldwide, with US$263 billion of that being spent just here in the U.S.

Services Offered
Plan Ahead Events franchisees work as project managers on behalf of their corporate clients to coordinate all aspects of an event including but not limited to:

• Budget Creation &  Management
• Site Selection  & Vendor Negotiation
• Event Website  & Online Registration
• Marketing Materials  Collateral Design
• Promotional Products &  Corporate Gifts
• Agenda & Meeting Materials
• Signage & Staging Production
• Equipment & Supply Rentals
• Sponsorship Acquisition & Exhibitor Sales
• Entertainment & Speaker Booking
• Travel Arrangements
• Theme Development
• Food & Beverage Planning
• Décor & Props
• A/V Management
• Security & VIP Handling
• Event Evaluation & Surveys
• Press Releases
• Photo & Video

Plan Ahead Events franchisees coordinate, package and deliver events to their clients, completely and efficiently.  It is an in-demand service that can offers huge cost savings to clients when they can contract it out to industry professionals and can rarely produce the same results when undertaken in-house by corporate staff. 

How it Works
The broad range of work undertaken as part of a Plan Ahead Events franchise opens up a number of revenue streams that can be accessed by franchisees. These include, though are not limited to:

• Management Fee (flat fee, percentage, hourly)
• Markup on Promotional Products
• Markup on Vendor Services
• Online Registration Fees
• Tradeshow Booth Sales
• Hotel Room Commissions

One of the greatest strengths of a franchise such as this is that there is little-to-no overhead. Franchisees require no employees, no equipment, no inventory, and as the business can be run from a computer and a phone, no rent. With this type of setup, Plan Ahead Events franchises have historically been exceptionally profitable.

Software: How The Franchise Will Be Run
Plan Ahead Events franchises are run using cloud-based software, which means that they can be managed from anywhere in the world via the internet.. The exclusive event management and registration software is designed to manage all aspects of the event, including:

• Proposal  & Contract Creation
• Accounting
• Project Management
• Budgeting
• Client Management
• Scheduling
• Exhibitor & Attendee Management
• Event Registration
• Surveys & ROI Measurement

Training
Plan Ahead Events offers their franchisees one of the most extensive and impressive training and ongoing support programs  available. Included in the franchise price is a three-week training course.

Week 1
Franchisees are flown to West Palm Beach in Florida USA for a one-week training course. This course covers all aspects of the industry including:

• Event Planning & Management
• Sales and Marketing
• Customer Service
• Pricing
• Business Management
• Vendor Relations
• And much more

As part of this first week airfare , accommodations, breakfast, lunches,  are included.

Week 2
Franchisees attend a series of virtual training sessions where they familiarize themselves with their online tools, software and resources.  This week can be conducted from anywhere as long as you have your computer.

Week 3
Franchisees are officially in business.  Accompanied by a corporate representative, this week is focused on generating business for the new franchisee and has provided results time and again, with many franchisees signing their first contract within the first couple of weeks.  At the conclusion of the training period the franchisee will have been given the tools and the know-how required to begin running  their business.

Ongoing Support
There are a number of ongoing support programs offered by United Franchise Group as part of Plan Ahead Events , the most notable of which is the individualized support.  Each franchisee will require support in specific areas of the business, based on their background and experience.  The Plan Ahead Events support staff will assist with any and all aspects of the business from brainstorming on ideas to proposal and contract reviews.

In addition to the one-on-one support that franchisees receive, other forms of ongoing support include:

• Tech Support
• Marketing Support
• Online Training Sessions
• Group Conference Calls
• Regional Meetings
• Media Conferences
• One-on-One Support Visits

Franchisee Characteristics
Given that Plan Ahead Events franchises have a substantial marketing, organizational and networking element to them, this business would be ideal for a person who is driven, creative and organized, with good communication skills. Existing franchisees have often come from sales, marketing, project management or ex-corporate backgrounds, though this type of experience isn’t necessary.

Strengths of the Business
The strengths of the franchise are as follows:

• Low overhead
• Low investment
• No employees
• No equipment
• No inventory
• No rent
• Quick startup
• Full training included
• Ongoing support included
• Fully systemized
• Can be run from anywhere
• Multiple revenue streams
• Industry perks such as paid travel and hotel stays
• Access to an international network of planners