Triple your income by simply throwing a party...

The South African family will rarely consist of a stay-at-home mom or dad. And parents are too busy working to plan their child’s birthday. They'd be thrilled to dump the responsibility on someone else’s shoulders. If you search the Internet you'll find that there are countless sources for them to find entertainers, caterers and suppliers, yet there are only few companies that offer the entire package...

Whether you need some advice for your child or grandchild’s birthday party or if you want to tap into the children’s party market, here are a few ideas to get you going... In today’s climate of “cutting back”, you’re sure to get a good slice of the pie if you market your budget approach to children’s birthday parties.
 
Let your fingers do the walking for a quick and easy 10% profit

The simplest party service you can offer is to act on the parents’ behalf and organise the services they’ll need for an awesome day of kiddie fun! You’ll need to ask your potential customers how much they want to spend and what they would like to have at the party. Do they want a professional entertainer like a magician, a jumping castle or a specific venue? If so, you could do all the calling and booking for a 10% commission. Do this for tableware, caterers and party bags too and you’ll easily cover your own expenses (of phone calls and time) and make a profit. Be sure to double check dates, times and the name of the birthday kid to avoid embarrassment or confusion on the day.

Make R2,000 in just 2 hours

You could take on the entire responsibility yourself. Making even more money is easy if you have a flair for fun, a good way with children and some creativity up your sleeve. Here are 5 ideas to ensure great parties

1.    Facepainting: Buy good quality, water soluble paints and paint your small guests’ faces as they arrive

2.    Storytelling: This is a popular form of entertainment for the under 5s. If the party has a theme you could link it (think pirates or teddy bears). Ask the kids questions about what they think will happen next and use different voices for the characters

3.    Organise games: Children can be very demanding and parents dread the idea of entertaining a whole wack of them. Be the hero of the day by running games and activities! Be sure to give the ‘classic’ games a twist, for example 'pin the horn on the Triceratops' for a dinosaur themed party. The options are endless and bursting with potential for fun for all!

4.    Balloon model: There are many books and kits available with everything you need to make exciting and fun balloon models. They’re usually cheap and easy to master and make unusual (and cheap) prizes.

5.    Crafts: Kids enjoy practical projects and this could make a great event at your party. You’ll avoid hysteria and mayhem, impress parents with the educational content and the children will have a sense of fulfilment and achievement. If you have a Polaroid camera you could think about making and decorating photo frames. Options are endless with paper maché!

Take home a 50% profit after every single party

In the upper income markets you could make a killing with a party food delivery service! Many of these kids are on special diets so if you can cater for these – vegetarians, vegans, wheat or lactose intolerant, nut allergies – you’re ready to demand great prices and the customer stream from personal recommendations will be steady. The wealthier neighbourhoods are keen for their children to eat only the best or purely organic food. Offer customised party menus for each diet and you’ll corner a market that hasn’t even begun to grow! Add interesting touches like shaped sandwiches, pizza-snakes (olives for eyes, green pepper slice for its tongue) or specially decorated cakes. You could easily charge R40- R70 a head for party food that is imaginatively presented and you should make a 50% profit from your catering, excluding your time.

Master this and you could look into organising parties for your local community centres, schools or churches. Make sure you’re aware of the budget before hand. A little imagination can transform them into something magical and that will build up your reputation and order book!