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“They’re like mushrooms. You go outside after it rains and it seems a dozen more planners have sprouted under a tree. They’re popping up everywhere.” 15 year event designer in LA. Can we talk about this now? Is it heresy to say there are too many event planners out there? The quotes above were all given to me within the last month by frustrated, no, incredibly frustrated, event planners. They are pulling their hair out. What I want to know, however, is why anyone is surprised. It seems like only yesterday when practically every planner I knew was complaining they were not getting enough recognition as professionals. They wanted to be taken more seriously. Well, they’re taken more seriously now. Event planners appear, as professionals, in dozens of tv shows and movies. The number of colleges offering courses in event management grows every year. Trade organizations continue to develop best practices & industry standards. New conferences and seminars are developed every year. And, most importantly, it is now widely accepted that you need to have professionals manage social and corporate events. In short, everyone’s wishes have been granted. Is it no surprise then, that all this advancement and publicity have attracted gazillions of people to enter the industry? This is the logical consequence of everything we all wanted, isn’t it? What did we think, that the industry would take giant strides forward but that we’d keep it all to ourselves?