A new franchise of home-based meeting and event planning services was launched yesterday by United Franchise Group, a company that specializes in franchise development and services. The new franchise, Plan Ahead Events, offers full-service solutions to meetings, conventions, trade shows, special events and incentive travel. The Group launched Plan Ahead Events following an article that identified meetings and conventions as a burgeoning market sector. Meeting and event planning was named one of the top "50 Best Jobs in America" by CNN/Money magazine and reported by Entrepreneur.com as a $500 billion industry worldwide. Yahoo Hot Jobs rates event planning as the No. 1 business career that doesn't require an M.B.A.Ray Titus, CEO and founder of UFG, said in a company release that he saw an opportunity to extend the Company's experience to a new industry. "This is a fast-growing industry with no existing franchises," he says. "Plan Ahead Events can carve out a new niche for home-based entrepreneurs."Plan Ahead Events franchisees undergo a week of training at the UFG headquarters in West Palm Beach, Fla. Upon completion, a UFG marketing representative spends a week with them in their local market to help them establish important business connections and begin marketing to prospective customers and referral sources.Franchisees can use UFG's established vendor relationships to negotiate the best prices and terms. They also have discounted access to event management software that provides modules for all facets of their business, from registration to a database of attendees.