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Academy

Professional

Working or aspiring planners.

Professional: guides, ideas and tools from EventPlans.ca for planning events in Toronto and the GTA.

Client tapping a card on a payment terminal held by a planner

Client contracts and getting paid

Module 12: The Business of Event Planning · 15 min

Your own agreement: scope, fee, deposits, cancellation, liability cap, photo rights. Invoicing and late payment.

A planner seen from behind walking into an empty Toronto event loft with exposed brick

Starting an event planning business in Ontario

Module 12: The Business of Event Planning · 15 min

Sole proprietorship vs corporation, business name registration, HST registration thresholds, insurance, bank account and the first contract.

A photographer seen from behind capturing a styled reception table with flowers and candles in a Toronto event

Websites, SEO and getting found

Module 12: The Business of Event Planning · 15 min

Positioning, a site that converts, local SEO for "event planner Toronto", reviews and directories.

A small event team seen from behind in a Toronto warehouse storeroom, organising labelled-free bins of linens

Systems, tools and scaling

Module 12: The Business of Event Planning · 15 min

CRM, proposals, contracts, payments, project boards, and when to hire your first coordinator.

A planner seen from behind watching a children's entertainer perform for seated kids in a bright Toronto

Specialising: choosing a niche

Module 12: The Business of Event Planning · 15 min

Weddings, corporate, cultural, festivals, fundraisers, kids, virtual. How to choose, and how to move between niches.

A planner seen from behind walking through a quiet Toronto event venue

Module 12 workshop: your business plan

Module 12: The Business of Event Planning · 15 min

Write the one-page business plan: positioning, packages, pricing, 90-day client plan, systems and first-year targets.

Event photographer from behind framing an out-of-focus crowd

Privacy, photo rights and PIPEDA

Module 8: Legal, Safety & Risk (Ontario) · 15 min

Guest data, photography consent, performer image rights, and what you can post. Includes the signage and consent language that works.

Security staff guiding a calm crowd through open exit doors

Crowd management and emergency plans

Module 8: Legal, Safety & Risk (Ontario) · 15 min

Occupant loads, egress, crowd density, weather, medical, security ratios, and the one-page emergency plan every event needs.

Fire performer from behind with a spotter holding a fire blanket

Fire, pyro, candles and performers

Module 8: Legal, Safety & Risk (Ontario) · 15 min

Open flame rules, pyrotechnic permits, fire performer requirements, extinguishers, fire watch and venue approvals.

Crew members seen from a distance raising a white event tent in a Toronto park on a summer morning

City permits: parks, tents, noise, road closures

Module 8: Legal, Safety & Risk (Ontario) · 15 min

Toronto, Mississauga, Vaughan and Hamilton processes for park bookings, tents, amplified sound, road closures and food vendors.

Bartender checking a guest's ID at an outdoor festival bar at dusk

AGCO Special Occasion Permits

Module 8: Legal, Safety & Risk (Ontario) · 15 min

When you need one, the types (private, public, industry), how to apply, timing, signage, Smart Serve, and the rules that get events…

A stagehand seen from behind inspecting a rigging truss and safety cables above an empty ballroom stage

Insurance: yours, theirs and the venue’s

Module 8: Legal, Safety & Risk (Ontario) · 15 min

Commercial general liability, event liability, COIs, additional insured, and host liquor liability.