Events Planning Inside-Out: An Ultimate Startup Kit

Planning events is rigorous and extensive but there is only so much of that you can do. Perhaps, every event planner has found herself in a do-or-die, make-it-work situation. At one point or another, there can be instances that you cannot foresee like emergencies or even natural phenomenon.

Bright Business Media, LLC’s founder, and also the publisher and editorial director of Smart Meetings magazine and the Smart Meetings Action Kit, Marin Bright shares various insights that she hopes can help women in the event planning industry in her guest post “Make it Work: The Zen of Event Planning” published in Forbes. Marin is also a publishing veteran with extensive experience in the hospitality and meetings worlds.

Making it work, and striving for excellence is a significant part of every business. This concept should be at the root of every single thing that an event planner does.

• Meeting and Events Misconceptions

Marin begins, “There are a lot of misconceptions about the meetings and events industry. To outsiders, event planning must appear to be too much fun to also be hard work.” She said that we must take it from an expert. Event planners are not necessary party planners. She added that women attending meetings and events are not there to enjoy the complementary shrimp and score a goodie-filled bling bag.

“Networking at events lays the groundwork for serious business deals, some of which are actually signed and sealed right there in the exhibit hall,” Marin said. She also added that the adage meetings mean business might sound like a cliché, but it's the absolute truth of the matter.

• A $450+ Billion Industry

“The meetings and events industry is responsible for $458 billion of the country’s gross domestic product. It employs 1.7 million people in the United States alone,” Marin shared. She also argued that this industry is often overlooked but “has a more significant economic impact than the automotive manufacturing and air transportation industries.”

Businesses keep circling back to the importance of face-to-face contact with their prospective customers and clients amidst the digital age. Prospective clients “want to see a smile and feel the strength of a prospective partner's handshake.” Marin said, “That is what the meetings and events industry is all about. Even if you don’t leave a gathering with a check in your pocket, or the promise of one in the mail, we've created the environment you need to make connections and open the doors of opportunity.”

• The Devil in the Details

You may be surprised to hear how important small details are and its significance is amplified in this industry. Marin said that what might seem trivial to attendees can threaten the ruin of an entire convention.

“On the day of an important event, name badges without neck cords were delivered to an associate of mine,” Marin said. She thinks that this might not seem like a world-shattering problem, but emphasized that name badges at meetings are vital. She cited an instance when she immediately deployed her staff to every hardware store in a ten-mile radius to snap up all the cords in town.

When planning an event, the key to success is in the details regardless of the size. May it be getting the right caterer, finding a perfect location, or choosing the right, every single detail makes all the difference.

Always keep in mind that as important as the details are to you, they are even more important to your attendees. It only takes one uninformed (or worse, misinformed) attendee to turn a perfect night into a ruined relationship or a missed opportunity for your business. So make sure you “mind the details” to maximize attendance at your next event.

• When Everything Goes Wrong . . .

Marin shared a more thrilling tale that comes from another colleague in the industry. Marin shared, “At three in the morning of event-day, her entire hard drive was wiped just as she was finalizing appointments for upwards of 150 attendees. Everything she'd prepared for the next day’s 15-hour event was gone.”

“Panicked but calm,” Marin continued, “she called her company’s IT guy, left a message, and only then burst into tears. Wiping them away, she called her mother and started surfing Craig’s List for a new job. Then reason set back in. She pulled it together and began rebuilding what she had lost. Eventually, the IT guy called her back and together they restored the lost materials, just before the conference opened.”

As the cliché goes, “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.” Ask any event planner and they will tell you the same can be said for organizing events. Sometimes, all the planning in the world cannot prepare you for the extenuating circumstances that pop up on the day of your event. One important thing to remember is that there is only so much you can do so when those unexpected things transpire, it’s important to keep in mind that panicking won’t help you at all. So better keep calm during event disasters—breathe, improvise, and smile!

• Technology

In today’s generation, Marin said that she doesn't know a single professional who hasn't faced a similar Technological Armageddon. “At Smart Meetings we use Certain Software to manage our events department. Their event management technology allows us to be more accurate, precise and efficient in everything that we do. Because it is a hosted program, there's no danger of our data being wiped out,” Marin said.

Planning events, working with other event planners, and writing about meetings and events has required the implementation of a very important business skill that every event planner must learn. Marin said that this is a skill that she has learned and has practiced in 20 years of being in the events industry. She said, “There has been one constant over time—showing up every day to put in the time and dedication necessary to succeed.”

Marin added, “In my opinion, flex time is a myth and part-time an endangered species. We live in an age where "time off" is earned with blood, sweat and tears. That being the case, it's absolutely necessary to love what you do. Because in the absence of passion, you'll never be able to do what's necessary to Make It Work!”

Indeed, in any industry, passion is one of the most important traits you can possibly have. No matter how talented you are; no matter how skilled and adept you happen to be at what you do, if you lack passion, it’s going to be noticeable in pretty much everything you do. All event planners share a common trait—a profound, steadfast love of their job. For them, there are a few things more rewarding than putting together an enjoyable event for their attendees. In short, without passion, nothing else really matters. So if you’re considering a career in event management, ask yourself if it’s your dream job. Otherwise, you might want to consider a different career path.

Hope this would help you create your event planning recipe for success and make things work!

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