There are so many reasons to host an event, and these days, you’ll find there are lots of them popping up which serve great purposes. Events can be a meetup with a group of like-minded people, whether its colleagues, a certain work industry, a mum meet up, or more of a celebration like a party or a launch. Events can also be creative workshops, a conference, or a networking event.
Whatever the type of event or purpose it is for, planning an event can be stressful for the ‘host’. You are in charge of rallying people around, marketing the events, overseeing any suppliers, and not to mention, running the actual event!
The reasons why events may go wrong sit in the 3 areas outlined here: Bad planning, lack of strategy, and no clear goals.Remember that the event must be purposeful in order to be succesful, so there is a significant amount of prep that needs to go into it.
If it’s a large scale event you are running, where there are a number of guests, a fair few discussions or activities on the agenda, and a large space for hosting the event, you’ll need to seek external help. If you try to run everything by yourself, you’ll struggle to do them all correctly and then it can start to look too unprofessional. If you have a line up of guests to introduce, you may need a speaker. If you have videos or case studies that need presenting, ideally you want someone motivational and empowering to deliver the speaking alongside any media.
Caterers? Gift suppliers? Entertainers? Start by drawing up a list of anyone external that will add value and purpose to the event. There may be suppliers that don’t need to be there, but they make it look fancy and extra special. Do you need to stretch your budget that much? Be realistic first when brainstorming your list.
To help you understand how you can really nail your first event, here’s some pointers to read through:
Book all external suppliers first
Once you have a line-up of professionals in place to help you, you can relax a little bit. They are here to help the event flow properly and do the things you can’t. Remember – we can’t all do everything, that’s why people do the jobs they do, because that is their area of expertise. For instance, if you’re planning to rent a movie theater for hosting a private event with your friends, it’s crucial to contact the right suppliers and get more information about the cost and other details.
If you need to engage and inspire your guests, it could be worth looking at booking a motivational speaker to take to the stage or front of the room and deliver a speech. You can look for the best motivational speakers through reputable agencies like The Speakers Agency. It could be that they kick start the after dinner events off with a talk which can really inspire the guests. Or, they could talk at the beginning of the event, to set the event off as motivational and inspirational!
Identify the event purpose and objectives
Once you have nailed down exactly what type of event you want to be hosting, it won’t come to full shape until you understand and identify your event’s objectives. Ash yourself: what’s the goal? What is the ‘why’ as to why you are creating this event?
The goals behind the event should be specific and measurable. Understand what the guests will be taking away with them. Imagine them talking about your event to a friend, what do you want them to say? Having an idea of these type of answers will help you to shape up the agenda of the event. It could be that you need to add in ice-breakers, or activities. Some events are planned purely for networking, or brand exposure. Be realistic about what you wish to gain.
Set your event budget
Every event needs a budget, and it’s best to start getting an idea about it at the beginning of the planning stage, as you don’t yet know how much it could cost to run the event You can guess, but as soon as you get swept away with ideas, the budget can spiral!
List all the suppliers you feel you need, and any additional items you need to purchase or hire for the event to run smoothly. Try not to get carried away, as you could make an event scale out of control when you see all the amazing options you could have! Next to everything you write down, ask yourself “is it really needed?”. 9 out of 10 times, it isn’t. But there could be the occasional company to use or items to buy etc that could really transform the running of your event. It’s those that are worth it!
There are only 2 main steps to this part:
- Use your brainstorm from the step above, and put estimate prices above each idea
- List all your planned activities in a spreadsheet to predict expenses, and then work on getting actual quotes for each one
From that point, you should be able to make educated decisions.
Take time planning the right location
Accessibility is one of the most important factors when it comes to choosing a venue for your event. The venue itself can sometimes even sell your event, if it’s a place people have always wanted to go! That’s one of the ways that brands get journalists and influencers to their brand events – by using a beautiful location they have always wanted an excuse to visit!
Some key things to think about:
- What functions does the venue need to lend itself to in order for your event to run smoothly? Does it need an outdoor area, large windows, or just a small seating area? Does it need it’s own bar?
- What is the total capacity? Can it work if you get more/fewer guests than expected?
- What is the distance from public transportation for your guests? Is it easy to find?
- Will guests be able to make their own way to the event location without having any difficulties?What about the parking space situation?
One of the most important factors when it comes to running and hosting an events is the capacity of the venue, and it’s general feel and ‘vine’. The guests will resonate the venue with your brand/service etc, so it’s important to chose wisely.
On a final note, when in the midst of planning the event, make sure you have a good system in place to collect attendees names, email addresses, social media handles and phone numbers so that after the event, you have a way of contacting them for feedback, etc. Plus, they could end up being useful contacts or customers for your business!
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