12 Top Qualities of a Successful Project Manager - How Many Do You Have?

What qualities differentiate the mediocre manager from the exceptional?

Behind every great team is a great manager. But being a great project manager is more than just knowledge of methodologies and meeting milestones. It's a fine balance between energy and keeping a cool head, and being both a strategist and a tactician.

Here, we look at some of the key qualities that project managers need in order to optimise the chances of project success and build an effective team:

1. Set the vision

Project managers need to set a clear vision up front and have confidence in that vision. Furthermore, they need to be able to articulate the vision and inspire their team to fully embrace their shared goal.

2. Set inspirational standards

Enthusiasm is contagious and can be a major motivator, helping to mould individuals into a cohesive team. Inspired team members are more likely to go the extra mile to ensure the project's goals are achieved and delivered on time, on budget and to the right quality.

3. Delegate - and then let go

Leadership does not mean micro-managing every aspect of the project. Delegating effectively demonstrates trust in your teams, setting parameters, providing guidance and targets, and handing responsibility over to designated team members. Regular project meetings provide a supportive forum for sharing information and raising any issues.

4. Communicate clearly

Timely, accurate and meaningful communication to both the team and the client is critical to maintaining a cohesive team environment and achieving project success. Encourage a no-blame culture and regularly communicate the goals at each stage of the project to ensure any emerging concerns are voiced.

5. Take a creative approach to problem-solving

Rarely do projects go exactly to plan. You need to deal with changing scenarios, identify new opportunities and create solutions to instil confidence in your team and the client. Does the client have a complaint? A good project manager recognises that handling a complaint promptly and effectively can actually increase client satisfaction.

6. Keep calm under pressure

Events will inevitably crop up during any project that will change its course or affect its momentum. Being able to deal with this quickly, efficiently and in a controlled calm manner is crucial in order to turn the situation around and maintain the enthusiasm of your team.

7. Champion your team

Each member of your team will bring a different set of skills and experience. Understand and celebrate the value each member of your team brings to the project and, if necessary, adopt a slightly different approach to getting the best out of each of them.

8. Make sound decisions

To move a project on to completion, make timely decisions based on a consideration of facts, rather than making hasty split-second decisions. Show commitment to the decision but do not be afraid to change course later should a more appropriate course of action become apparent.

9. Use technology to apply good working practices

Project managers should be confident in handling the various tools and project management software that are at their disposal. The effective deployment of the latest technology will help manage all the team's time to best effect and keep the project budget on track.

10. Help the team to gel

You're only as strong as your weakest member and setting up a cohesive team is a crucial foundation for success. Consider the group dynamics in forming a team and be aware of everyone's strengths and weaknesses. Who will interact well and work effectively together?

11. Build consensus

Manage differing opinions before they escalate into conflict and ensure team members feel their opinions do count. Gain consensus across departments and negotiate over workloads, resources and finance where feasible, but do not be afraid to use your casting vote in order to protect the health and profit figure of the project.

12. See the big picture

Good project managers understand the role their project and team have in the wider business and its long-term strategy. They know the context in which decisions are made further up the hierarchy and any business politics, protecting their teams from unnecessary red tape.

Five Important Tips For Organizing a Team Building Event

Organizing a team-building event is an important process for the growth of a corporate establishment. It involves a series of activities partaking to methods that result in increased communication between the participants. If you want to organize a great team-building event, there are five main points that are essential to be taken care of. Let us discuss these in detail:

1. Take Inputs from the Team
It is always advisable to discuss the aim of the activity with the team. By way of explaining the purpose of organizing the activity, you can be able to get the inputs of the team and know what kinds of activity can make them feel happy.

2. Involve People
In corporate events, try to cultivate a sense of understanding and maturity to get the end results. Usually, larger groups try to dominate smaller groups in most of corporate setup. And while in a team building activity it is ensured that everyone contributes towards the success of the team - the concept of 'big bullying the small' is negated from the mind of participants.

3. Experience the Games Before

By experiencing the game before you can check the timing of the game in advance. Knowing the time will help you in planning out strategies to the fullest.

4. Clarify the Instructions Properly
If you are in charge of organizing an event and considered as an authority by the team, you need to plan out your strategies very carefully. Once you are through with setting up the measures and rules, convey it to the team members. The trainer should be in a position to explain the instructions very clearly.

5. Take Care of the Logistics
Organizing a joyful event involves taking care of everything resulting in success for an activity. It includes through understanding of the logistics and supplies. Prepare a list of supplies so that you don't forget them on the day of the event!

Promotional Gifts For Corporate Events

Promotional giveaways are an important part of any corporate event. After the conference has been held and the prizes have been awarded to the nominees, it is time for the gifts to be handed out. This serves the purpose of both showing your appreciation to the audience present, who may have taken time out of their busy schedule to attend event organized by your company and also to promote your organization to a certain extent.

A number of things come to mind when you are talking about promotional items. However the gifts have to be in sync with the image of your company. Computer accessories will be more appropriate for a software company then branded perfumes. Wines, bags, shirts and office stationery, there are a wide range of gift items to choose from, to suit the needs of your clients and promote your company.

Computer Accessories: Virtual mouse and flash drives are the most popular items in this category. A lot of leading brands manufacture them and they are a necessary item. Mouse with transparent covers are very popular now which the user can customize according to his or her own liking. Imprint your company logo on the top and distribute a user-friendly gift.

Stationery: Office stationeries are probably the most common and popular of promotional items. Folders, digital notepads with pen, journals, pen holders- all are necessary and popular items as promotional gifts. You can choose from a vast range of colours, brands, materials and sizes. There are the leather ones and the ones with sleek looks with a metal-finish.

Eco-Friendly Products: The newest edition to the promotional gift items are organic, eco-friendly products. They are the regular items like office stationeries and other accessories, but all of them are made with organic and recycled materials like grass or bamboo. The cases of journals may be made of bamboo, duffel bags are 100% cotton dyed in natural colours and the papers are all recycled. This is indeed a great way of promoting awareness about the environment as any corporate event is a huge platform, enhancing the chances of increasing awareness.

Thus, show your clients how much you value their business by gifting them thoughtful and useful corporate gifts.

Managing and Funding Performing and Fine Arts Organizations

Performing and fine arts is one of the fastest growing industries, not only in the United States, but throughout the world. The tremendous growth of the music, dance, theater, and symphony industry is demanding staff with effective leadership skills and a good understanding of the arts and entertainment sectors.

Managers of performing and fine arts organizations need to develop strategies to reach out to new audience. To get an edge over their competitors, it is essential to create a loyal base of supporters. Moreover, most of the performing and fine arts shows are organized for raising funds for a good cause. Hence, the organizers are always on the lookout for better ways to collect maximum amount of money from members and new visitors.

An online event management solution is a good alternative for successfully running an event. It is web-based; hence you can access the portal at anytime of the day or night.

The event management service helps a lot in selling the tickets of a single show or multiple ones. Since the tickets are displayed online, any interested person can book them without being physically present. An online ticketing system can thus be utilized to sell maximum tickets within a short span of time.

Event planners can promote their theaters, dance programs, and solo performances easily on Facebook and Twitter. You just need to open an account on these hugely popular social networking websites. After your page gets created, start uploading as much information as you want on these sites for the global audience to view and download relevant data.

The Cloud-based event management platform features modern marketing tools for reaching out to new and existing clients. Online marketing modules, such as Promo Code engine, social media connector, and mobile devices, help you connect and interact with the interested candidates.

The online creation of custom reports minimizes your pen and paper work. You simply open the report page and make different kinds of reports including those on sales, attendance, and others within a few minutes.

The surveying option lets you collect relevant feedback on any dance or music show. Based on the survey results, performing and fine arts managers can rectify the flaws in the current events to make the future events more successful.

The performing and fine arts organizations can also use the web-based fundraising tools to raise maximum funds from diverse sources. These tools simplify the process of submitting donations and pledges, and engage your audience by building your own privately branded online community. The Cloud-based private community management system helps in sharing information with your members and helps you build support for your cause.

How a Wedding Planner Can Make Your Wedding Event a Grand Success

A Wedding Planner is a professional who plans and organizes weddings. The planner looks after the services and supplies required for the wedding. The wedding planner also negotiates contracts with companies, who provide supplies and services for the wedding. A wedding planner is the person who makes sure that the wedding event is smooth and without any hiccups.

Planning for a wedding can be quite taxing and needs a lot of effort from everyone involved in the planning and organizing process. A lot of arrangement is required for a wedding and it sometimes becomes difficult to manage everything perfectly. However, a wedding is such an event that comes once in one's life, so it becomes that much more important to make it a success.

To make their weddings a grand success, couples are hiring the services of wedding planners, who excel in making the wedding event a memorable experience for the bride and groom as well as for the people attending the wedding.

Some of the things that a wedding planner does are:

* Interviewing the couple and their family - It is necessary for the planner to know exactly how the groom and bride and their families want the wedding affair to be conducted. So, it requires the planner to sit with them and discuss the various possibilities and options that they would like to be included in the wedding.

* Budget preparation - This is the most important factor of a wedding and the planner has to make sure that the money delegated for each aspect ultimately produces the desired results.

* Wedding Attires - The planner has the added responsibility of getting the clothes to be worn by the bride and groom in the wedding and in some cases for a couple of days running up to the gala event.

* Planning detailed checklist - A checklist is quite crucial for any event and more so for a wedding, as one has to take care of every single detail. The checklist serves as a helpful tool to manage the whole event.

* Attendee list preparation - A planner's job also involves preparing the attendee list for the wedding day plus the planner is supposed to send the attendees an invitation for the wedding.

* Identifying Event venue - The planner is also required to assist the client in deciding the venue for the event and once the choice is made, he/she has to do the booking of the venue.

* Identifying and hiring services of wedding professionals - A planner is also responsible to arrange for the caterers, videographers, florists, photographers, beauticians, bakers along with the coordinators required for both the bride and groom on their wedding day. The planner also does the negotiations and executions of the contracts.

* Coordination of deliveries/services on the wedding day - On the wedding day, a planner has his/her work cutout with the requirement of proper coordination and delivery of supplies.

* Contingency Plan - A planner must prepare a contingency plan in case of any glitch that might happen on the wedding day.

Brides can search for professional wedding planners, who could provide the services one is looking for online. Brides can also compare between the services provided and the pricing among available planners and then settle for the one who fits the bill.

Beginners' Guide on Planning the Best Baby Shower Decorations

Since baby showers are one of the most meaningful parties, it is just necessary to give enough attention to each of the important party elements. One of the most important elements of a baby shower, as well as of many other parties, is the venue decorations. Similar to most parties, the baby shower decorations should also be matched to the chosen theme of the event. To do this, you have to prepare enough time for the plan and preparation. You also have to spend time in searching for unique ideas that will improve your plans on decorating the venue.

Many baby shower plans fail to end up with a momentous event because of some misconceptions on the decorations. One of these is the thought that the venue decorations should be similar to that of a children's birthday party where there are colourful backdrafts and lots of props. Although it is valid in a baby shower, you have to remember that this is not an important requirement. Instead, you should give more emphasis on the thought that the guests should gather and spend quality time with their family member or friend who is about to give birth to her first child. To do this, you have to focus on how the chairs are to be arranged according to the number of guests and the physical dimensions of the room. The games should also make the mom-to-be feel the support of the guests for here upcoming life-turning event. Meanwhile, another popular mistake by some planners is that they ignore the plan on the technical equipment to be used in the event. They tend to think that the more special effects, the better. As exciting as it seems, it is still important to consider the relevance of the electronic facilities to be used with the theme of your event. Plus, you should also prioritize the safety measures in using any of these.

Upon the finalization of your initial plans for the baby shower decorations, you should present and discuss it with your clients - the parents-to-be. If they agree on it, then you can proceed on planning for the further details of the decorations and start the preparation. It is best to visit all the nearby party stuff shops that offer the items you have to buy. You should not buy instantly. Rather, you have to determine first the pricing of all the considered stores and take time in making comparisons. You may also contact some stores and ask for discounts on your purchase to make great savings.

The best way to start the actual decoration of the venue is to focus on the entrance. Important objects in this area are the welcome sign, guest book, and a pair of enticing baby shower decorations such as a topiary shrub or a life-size doll. Next area to be focused on is the pathways. You should allocate enough space and put a path guide such as a rope with flowers and ribbons. It is also nice to put some candle lanterns along the way. After that, you can focus on the table sets, the center table, and the food table. Again, proper arrangement is necessary to make the venue spacious.

Why Catering Your Own Wedding Is a Bad Idea

If you're thinking of catering your wedding reception all by yourself, you'd better think again. Planning an event of this magnitude and gravity should be left to the professionals. The amount of work involved and the dedication and patience needed can be absolutely overwhelming.

Your wedding day should be memorable. With good memories, that is. Being in charge of your reception can be fraught with opportunity for disaster. Besides, why would you want to take away from everything else that will be going on that day? It may be challenging enough just to get you down the aisle without tripping let alone make and plan enough food to meet the expectations and satisfaction of your guests.

Even the best cook will most likely need a lot of helping hands on this special day. Hiring a professional catering service has many benefits. The possibility of a close time frame, low budget and stressful situations are the reasons it's mandatory you hire a professional service rather than do it yourself.

Most companies employ a well-trained staff from food preparers to wait staff. And most strive to use the best and freshest food possible that will leave your guests complimenting you every time they pass you on the dance floor.

Catering professionals are also financially affordable and can usually offer delectable menus which will fall into most any price range. Don't be afraid to ask as many questions as you need to. This will ensure you won't have any surprises on your big day.

It's crucial you work with the company of your choice in order to ensure your menu tastes great as well as looks good. Ask if you can sample any of the foods ahead of time.

Food preparation and safety are extremely important and a professional food company will know exactly how to keep food safe. Preparation, delivery, setting up and safe food handling takes know-how.

Another great benefit of using a catering professional is that they will have an assortment of the finest glassware, plates and other assorted items to make your table and landscape look as if it just landed a wedding magazine photo shoot. These are necessities which will add polish to your wedding day. Planning for and the use of flowers, decorations and photography are other advantages.

Full service event planners have access to great vendors and resources. They've learned how to correct last minute errors and make sure your reception goes off without a hitch.

And, when it comes time for you to escape to begin your honeymoon, you'll not want to be straddled with clean up. This is another wonderful feature of hiring a professional.

But the biggest advantage has to be in the area of saving time. As the hostess, do you really want to take a chance for disaster on your wedding day? A professional catering company can supervise all activities necessary from start to finish so you can focus on enjoying your day and your guests.

Event Management Software Benefits

The use of online web management for planning events is a growing trend. Event planning software is a valuable tool. It allows a business to control event preparation, scheduling, marketing and advertising. Data can be stored in one place and organizers have the ability to function as a group, coordinating events. The software can be accessed from anywhere in the world, and optimized for security.

It enables companies to maintain control of every detail in event management. Organization is an important key to successful meetings, conferences, tradeshows and fundraisers. Event planning software streamlines efficiency and lowers risks. Efficiency is often compromised when utilizing spread sheets. The overflow of data can be difficult for companies to manage. The risk of data loss is high, once information is stored in computer hard drives.

Spread sheets need to be saved on a consistent basis. Larger companies produce many spread sheets for each event manager. When individual managers update data, they may neglect to inform co-workers. These unnecessary problems can be prevented by using the software. Sometimes master spread sheets become outdated. Employee usage is limited to one person at a time. Only one spread sheet can be opened by individual organizers.

Event management software automates management processes and lowers costs involved. Companies can eliminate postage and costs that arise from the use of spread sheets. Meeting planners end up spending less time on details, and more time on tasks directly related to planning events. Registration, travel details, accommodations and other tasks are simplified when using the software.

Technological advances have made the planning of events user friendly and secure. An array of features can systematically handle the complexities of any sized event. Event managers can easily plan events from fifty to fifty thousand attendees.

Investing in event planning software saves time, money, unnecessary problems and undue stress. It's a convenient and highly effective way of improving the management systems and professionalism. The success of every event depends, in part, on clarity, organization and efficiency. Any event planners would greatly benefit in these areas by choosing to use the software.

Event Planning Certification - The Importance of Quality in Management

Event planning certification can teach you control, quality management and improvement in the field of event planning. When these three elements are added together; you can provide the best result to your customers. Your customers demand high quality for their money and you need to satisfy their demand. Event planning is all about meeting customer demands and event planning certification provides you with the appropriate information on the subject of satisfying your customer.

Control and improvement are a part of quality management; quality control is the effort made by you to control the quality of the event you are managing and providing your consumer with a qualitative product. On the other hand quality improvement is the effort made by you to improve the quality of the service you are already providing to your consumers. Assurance is another aspect of quality management. According to this aspect you assure your customer with high level of quality. You set a benchmark of quality and you try to achieve more than the benchmark to satisfy your customer's needs and wants.

Quality management is a significant part of your event planning work and it is needed in every area of the event. As an event planner; you need to manage the quality of the setting, the lighting, the food, the beverages, and the quality of visitors comfort. If you are able to maintain quality in all area; your efforts will be appreciated and you will gain free advertisements. Your clients will spread your name among their friends and family members. Quality management can only be learned through event planning certification courses. Management of quality is done through pre set benchmarks and to achieve those benchmarks you have to enroll in event planning certification courses.

Event planners should set a standard of quality in every area of the event and then he should follow those standards and try to achieve their goals. You are only able to get permanent customers if the quality level of your service is high. They will always expect good quality service and if you fail then you can lose special customers. This is why management of value is very important and you should try to maintain good value at all times.

People are ready to pay high if the quality of your work is good. They want the quality factor to be maintained because they know that they can only satisfy their visitors with quality.

Corporate Events and How They Can Help a Business

Corporate events come in all different types and sizes. They can range from a simple office party to a full-blown corporate holiday party or anywhere in between. While many events can be quite costly, their importance to a business cannot be overrated.

Some types of events, such as a retirement party for a valued employee, are not terribly expensive but show workers that they are valued by the Corporation and will be missed when they are gone. The same can be said for a small office party held once or twice a year.

Not all events need be treated as an expense, or at least they can be an advertising expense. What could be a better way to launch a new product or service than a corporate event that celebrates this launch? Such an event can be planned around the intended marketing campaign with potential customers being invited for a free sample or demonstration of the new product or service.

Another type of event that is coming to the forefront is a team building day out. Such events provide employees with a fun and diverting day away from the office for which they are paid because the event is geared around teaching them to work better and increase productivity through the use of teamwork.

The situations that can arise during a team building day out allow the natural leaders in a group to rise to the top, even if such individuals hold lower ranking positions within the corporation. This allows such events to be used by managers and executives as a means of prescreening potential candidates for advancement in a neutral setting.

Corporate events are very important regardless of the size of the business. They can be parties held in recognition of service, to celebrate the holidays, or even to launch a new product. The events are designed to be fun for all participants including the employees, even if they have to be off the clock to participate. Team building events have the added value of not only being fun for the employees but providing valuable training that leads to increased productivity.

Event Planner Offers Solutions to Assist Company In-House Groups

Many topics begin to develop concern as an individual or company begins preparations to planning an event. Many of these topics have valid concerns and these topics can include budget, event location, maximum attendance, company goals, event scheduling and event implementation. It is a good idea to consult the expertise of an occasion when an individual or company needs an event to be completed with as few complications as possible while sticking to a preexisting budget. The occasion is best described as an individual who has extensive event planning experience and has the abilities to meet the expectations of a company's demands while relieving the stress of any company individual in charge of overseeing the events progress. Regardless of the events purpose an occasion can offer the professional solutions to achieving your company's goals.

The first step of an event involves planning the event. This goes beyond simply setting a date as a result of all the timing requirements that are associated with the event. If you are planning on serving a dinner an event planner can help you to establish meal plans as well as begin communications with the company needed to cater the event. If you are planning to incorporate oral presentations an occasion will be able to identify the type of staging and sound systems you will require to reach your audience. Identifying if you are catering to a large or intimate crowd is also important because space is a fundamental requirement in identifying the location of your event which also plays into the scheduling of your event to make sure your desired venue is available. The occasion is aware of all of these demands and many more allowing you to get a full picture of what your company requires to address prior to sending out your invitations.

The next phase that an event planner can assist you with is your guest attendance. On many occasions the space a company rents for their event purposes is a large open space. This is a common layout for many hotels and restaurants and they leave it to the company that is renting the room to provide their own seating requirements. When an event planner sees a space they can assess the space needs related to your various event features and can offer you assistance in defining the maximum number of guests permitted. There is nothing more devastating to a corporate event than it being stopped or canceled by an agency like the fire department due to fire restrictions exceeded due to poor planning. The services of an event planner offers a company the best opportunity to identifying the required space and finding the best location for the event.

Event implementation represents the last and most vital step in event planning. Any individual who was assigned the job of setting up an event is most likely going to be required to attend the event. This time demand removes the coordinator from the vendor collision leading to a possible disaster while entertaining guests.

The Advantages Of Using Finger Food Catering In Your Event Planning

Regardless of whether you're a rookie or a seasoned veteran to the needs of event planning, this task will be very hard to accomplish. An individual will frequently find themselves being pulled in different directions as they move towards the ultimate goal of carrying out their event. Normally one of the very best pieces of advice found in the field of event planning refers to delegating few of the many tasks to other people so as to take on the vital supervisory role rather than placing all of the stress on yourself. Finger food catering represents a unique opportunity where an event planner can depend on the services of a professional company so as to delegate the highly complex task related to event catering.

You would find several opportunities which will prove to be helpful to you with finger food catering, this will even help to ease your mind off things. The first possibility which attracts most individuals relates to the opportunity of variety that is found with this service. When you are hosting a large number of guests it often proves hard to satisfy the palettes of every person, particularly when you have limited catering resources. You would soon discover that finger food catering features a wide variety of options varying from cold, hot and even gourmet selections. This will help you in customizing a menu or selection which could attract all of the interests of even the most fickle of eaters, allowing catering to not be a distraction during your event.

One more benefit you would discover with this resource refers to your ability to achieve immense budgeting opportunities. Budget often plays a huge factor in any event planning procedure and your ability to maintain this budget depends a great deal on the resources available to you. With finger food catering you would discover one of a kind menu opportunities which will grant you complete control over your budget demands. This would provide you with the opportunity to both save cash and allow you to transfer your budget to other areas or increase your budget when the chance exists. Personalization is the key advantage of this event planning feature and nothing provides greater opportunity in customization than finger food catering.

Lastly, by using the advantage of finger food catering to manage an aspect of your event planning you will discover a resource that features the staffing you'll need, the accessories you may need, the food you demand and the guarantee of clean up when preferred. It represents an all in one service where you would be able to discover your best opportunity to benefit in your event planning efforts.

An Unsuccessful Event Doesn't Make You Failure

Many individuals tend to avoid leadership because of their fear of failure. Too many times, individuals internalize less than stellar results, often confusing the success or failure of an event with the person being a success or failure. As Zig Ziglar wrote, "Remember that failure is a result, not a person." Events often can turn out differently than they are planned, through no fault of an individual. While the event might fail, it doesn't make the chair of the event a failure as a person, but merely the chair of an event that did not succeed. Many factors are involved in the success of an event, and there are often even more perceptions of what may or may not be a success or a failure.

1. If someone decides to organize or chair an event, he must first undergo an attitude adjustment. He must place himself in a mind set where he is self confident rather than overly introspective. Unfortunately, too many people wallow in a sort of self pity, and when confronted by the eventual criticism (which invariably occurs), take the criticism far too personal. If someone has done all he could do, that is all anyone should ever expect.

2. The eventual success of an event is generally dependent on comprehensive planning. This planning must include numerous back- up plans (or contingency plans), so that changes can be made "on the fly" as necessary. Having professionally coordinated and planned events for over thirty years, I firmly believe that the planner, leader, or organizer must contemplate all details, including marketing (to attract attendance, thus providing some economies of scale), perceived and actual value (derived from professional negotiations of every aspect of the event), lining up helpers and volunteers for both prior to and during the event, etc.

3. An event organizer must be aware of the fact that you can never please everyone, and that he who tries to "serve too many masters" generally offends all and pleases none. The organizer must effectively listen to advice, but have a clear cut vision of what the event needs to accomplish, and what "little details" he wants to add to personally tweak this specific event.

4. Always remember that "Things happen," and sometimes, despite all the best efforts and diligent work, an event is not successful. While it is normal to feel badly because one has committed so much time and effort, and not gotten the results desired, it is important not to "beat yourself up," if you believe you have done your best, and done everything that you could do.

While events can be more or less successful, or "bomb," if the organizer has done what is necessary, and something beyond his control was the reason for the failure, he must understand that while the event may have failed, that is not a personal reflection on him. The most successful individuals face adversity, and come away stronger and better, and far more successful in the future.

Porta Potty Rental - Hire Clean and Hygienic Portable Toilets for Your Guests

Are you planning for a birthday party or any event? Worried about the sanitary facilities for your guests and visitors? Here is a solution! Whenever you are planning for your outdoor event and feel unsatisfied with the sanitary facilities, then go for porta potties.

Portable toilets are widely used by most of the people in various situations like birthday parties, events, wedding, political gathering, get-together, and outdoor events. Portable loos are made up of plastic material which is eco-friendly (do not harm environment). Portable toilets are mostly installed in outdoor events where there is no access to the lavatories for the visitors and gusts.

There are various types of porta potties available in the marketplace. Few of them are:

• Standard portable toilet
• Deluxe restroom flushing
• ADA complaint portable toilet
• Large holding tank
• Mobile restroom trailer and
• Mobile shower trailer

As there are various portable toilets with wide range of styles and designs, people can rent any of these restrooms based on their requirement. However, each portable loo is enclosed with few of the sanitary amenities to the basic needs. Few restrooms are enclosed with tissue paper, holding tank, seat cover, and flush. If you would like to accommodate your special guests or VIP's, there are also few restrooms which consist of more sanitary amenities including the above basic needs.

Standard portable loos are generally installed where there is a huge crowd of people in the event. Standard restrooms are perfectly suitable for public events, political gathering, etc., A wedding outdoor event needs a very good restroom for bride. There are certain restrooms specially designed to accommodate in wedding events.

All the other luxury restrooms are enclosed with various sanitary amenities like tissue paper, holding tank, seat cover, towel, washing station, mirror, flowerage, and deodorizer etc., Renting such restrooms for your guest can sure satisfy them and make your event successful. If you would like to rent restrooms, you need to contact the right portable toilet rental service provider in your location.

There are many porta potty rental companies available in the United States of America. To choose the right restroom rental company, it is better to do Internet research. You can filter all the other companies choose the right one that is nearer to your location. The cost of the porta potties varies according to the company and location. Choose the right restroom renal company that can provide quality service at affordable cost. By renting portable loos in your event, the visitors and guests can easily meet the sanitary needs in clean and hygienic condition.

How Can Salesforce Users Be Benefitted by the Cloud-Based Event Management Software?

Businesses of all kinds use the Salesforce Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software to manage their customers and budget simultaneously. The software helps to seamlessly create and track the day-to-day administrative and accounting services. Now-a-days, many Salesforce CRM-using companies are taking the help of Cloud-based event management software to offer their customers the benefit of easy events registration and payment solutions from within the Salesforce platform.

The online event management software providers have designed a unique connector that can be used by the Salesforce organizations to quickly and most conveniently manage their event needs. For example, you will get an online registration solution to automate the process of managing the procedure of signing up attendees without the need to rent staff for the same. Then, there is the online payment software to allow you to accept money sent via credit cards, PayPal, and such other popular payment gateways.

The Salesforce Connector application enables automatic two-way seamless data integration between the event solution database and Salesforce CRM. The connector allows organizers to easily invite contacts and leads from their Salesforce CRM. Simultaneously, it automatically populates and updates Salesforce records with registration data for easy tracking and reporting by the event organizers from within the Salesforce platform.

Most of the online event management solution providers offer an AppExchange-certified Salesforce connector to allow automatic bi-directional synchronization of information. Now what is this AppExchange-certified connector?

AppExchange is the world's first marketplace for Cloud computing applications and services. When a connector gets approved by this marketplace, it becomes AppExchange certified. It means that the connector will now be displayed on AppExchange list and thousands of Salesforce.com customers can immediately access it. Thus, the value of your software and solutions increases tremendously once they get listed on the AppExchange.

Salesforce users can start using the connector to:

•Set up and manage web-based registration for meetings and conferences
•Create and manage online events without leaving the Salesforce interface
•Manage invitations, notifications, and reminders via the email marketing tool
•Automatically sync the leads, contacts, and campaigns in Salesforce
•Accept online payments via Salesforce CRM software

The AppExchange-certified Salesforce Connector helps event organizers simultaneously build organizational memory to improve customer relationship, collect feedback post event, as well as track the attendee participation history. The AppExchange-certified connector can help you create and manage the most successful seminars and trade shows. You can use the connector to arrange from simple to complex corporate parties, fundraisers, and similar other happenings in the days to come.

All About Corporate Entertainment

Organizational activities are important strategies to improve the production of your bottom line. Having entertaining programs help encourage mutual communication between corporate members, colleagues, superiors and subordinates. Instead of ongoing interaction during work time, altering the environment and having the tinge of relaxation will help them get rid of the stressful days and enjoy learning more about each other. In contrast to the pressured work environment, corporate entertainment programs can provide opportunities to extend relationships rather than conversing only about job-related issues.

Corporate business owners may organize events to develop business strategies, expand the corporation network and explore new ideas. The events can be done during the evenings, weekends or breaks. You can come up with some team building activities besides social entertainments. Entertaining organizational activities that requires the involvement of all members and making a common decision will inject basic teamwork skills and inculcate the mutual respect for each other. During the program you may also include internal review courses to keep your staffs updated about new policies and business ideas. Do not hesitate to distribute reward to boost up motivation for your employees.

Organizational activities can also improve the loyalty, confidence and working ethics of your staffs. With the chances of every staff mingling around one another, learning new stuffs about each other will turn out to have great impact towards your business. Corporate entertainment is never a waste as they will be productive if they are happy and positive. A company that has well-trained employees will ensure that any arousal of problems or business calamities will be resolved quickly.

A company can never ignore the fact that it needs corporate entertainment to develop better interpersonal relationships between the staffs. The benefits of implementing the get-together may have a profound impact in the production of a corporation. From the interaction and idea of positive inspirations plus the relaxation and team spirit, every employee will definitely look forward to the corporate entertainment plan.

Negotiating With Hotels - What Pattern Can I Offer to Get a Lower Rate? - Event Planning

What can I offer the hotel to get a lower room rate? Can I make any changes or bring something to the table that will make a sales manager give me a better rate or another perk in the contract?

First, you might be able to make slight room pattern changes to make this a "Win-Win" for all, but you need to know all of your options first.

So, before even talking with the hotel, think about everything you want in a contract. Eventually we will discuss meetings, food, beverage, exhibits, suites and comps, but today's focus will be only the room block.

Sleeping Room Block / Pattern - how many sleeping rooms do you need and what days of the week do you prefer? You might prefer a Sunday - Tuesday conference or maybe a Wednesday - Saturday pattern. However, are you dead set on what you need?

If you approach your hotel sales manager and request a specific set of dates with a pattern of arrival and departure that can not change, your contact has no choice but to quote you a rate they have budgeted for that time period.

However, if you can be flexible and move your arrival-departure pattern up or back a day or two, or even a week or two, then your sales manager might be willing to work with you and offer a better rate.

Nothing is wasted anymore than a hotel room that is not used. So, it is extremely important for your hotel contact to book groups into the hotel so they fill up all the rooms and the groups do not overlap.

For example, if a hotel has 500 rooms, ideally their best pattern would be to have one group of 400 rooms arrive on Sunday and depart on Wednesday. Then the ideal situation continues with another 400 room group coming in on Wednesday and leaving on Saturday or Sunday. This would fill up the group block and maximize revenue.

Note, no hotel will commit all their sleeping rooms to convention room blocks. In the previous example, 100 rooms are set aside for individual arrivals, corporate clients or special guests.

So, if your request for rooms can match the pattern the hotel desires, they can sell more rooms per night, maximize revenue and still offer you a better rate, since it will allow them to increase occupancy.

On the other hand, if your pattern does not fit theirs and does not allow them to maximize occupancy and revenue, your sales manager will have to quote a higher room rate to meet budget revenue projections.

So, the question asked was "What can I offer to get a lower room rate?" The answer lies in your preparation for your meeting with the hotel sales manager. You have to know what room pattern works for your group. If you are restricted to a set pattern, you may not be able to offer the hotel anything to get a better deal. But, if you offer to change arrival dates and patterns, you might get a lower rate offer from your sales contact. Be prepared, know your group and do not be afraid to ask what it will take to make it a "Win-Win" for both you and the hotel.

Event Management - The New Order of the Day

Managing events in traditional ways is passé. The new trending way is to hire professional Event managers. They will schedule, arrange and execute events ranging from birthdays, wedding parties to political rallies in an efficient and orderly fashion.

Going by dictionary meaning, it suggests the applying of managerial skills to the conceptualization, development and executing perfectly festivals, conferences or events. In India various firms are taking up this trade because it is very closely linked to promotion, marketing and bringing out creativity. This concept is relatively new in India but has a lot of scope in it to grow and prosper. The persons involved in this particular field must possess important skills like hard working nature, a lot of energy and zeal, a high level of flexibility, exceptional creativity, organizing and logistic specialty. They are actually involved in the process of brand building, promotion, advertising and marketing. It demands certain unorthodox qualities like giving attention to even little details, persistence, meeting deadlines, managing within the budget and most importantly keeping cool in case of any misfortune that might happen at the last minute in spite of the hard work and co-ordination involved.

Various professional courses are now available in different institutions for students if the choose to take up this trade as their career. If they choose so they can find themselves in event management consultancies, travel and hospital sectors, PR firms, media firms, advertising agencies, event budgeting and accounting corporations very soon in the near future. Amongst the most famous ones Event management in Ahmedabad is most sought after because of the happening nature of the events and the amount of exposure it gets through different media's like television, radio, newspapers or Internet. Various other cities are also pitching in, in order to gain much needed exposure like Ahmedabad, Pune, New-Delhi etc. among these Ahmedabad companies are really doing well because of their completely different cultural style, the way in which they handle events and the participation of locales in various events.

Event management corporations and firms doing Event management in Mumbai cater to a variety of field which includes the elite ones like international corporate events which include conferences, press meets, product launches etc and many public programs sponsored by various companies like grand openings, award ceremonies, road shows, rallies, film premieres, concerts, private parties, fashion shows etc.

This new trend is here to stay and flourish taking all those who are with it to new heights.

Event Planners - Sit at Home and Relax at Your Own Special Event

Are you thinking to host any party or event in the most fascinating, stylish and vibrant city of New York? Planning any event require lots of concentration. New York event planning requires proper management and planning. Whether it is small personal event or big corporate event, it requires lots of work. It is a subject of hectic and proper management. Event can be any event such as personal party, corporate event, birthday party, wedding ceremony, etc. Every event requires lot of attention on every arrangement be it small to big. It is difficult to plan event in New York because everyday lots of parties are held there. Therefore, it is tough to make all the arrangements on the time.

In that case, you should hire professional NYC event planners that are able to plan your event effectively. There are various features of event planners such as:

o Resource Knowledge: a good event planner has good knowledge of goods and its prices. They know the perfect price and quality of goods and services. Like, they know from where to purchase everything from wedding cake to marquee. It save lots of your precious time.
o Stress relief: a perfect event planner make you feel relax and stress free. They can do all the arrangements on the time and suitable as per the event. They can also supervise every arrangement during the party or event.
o Ideas: a professional event planner offers you unique ideas to make your event memorable. They have new and imaginative ideas for decorating an event. They have enough ideas that you can never think of.
o Scheduling expertise: a good event planner knows how much time the florist, decorator, pastry chef, and caterer are likely to need. They can arrange perfect venue for your special event. They know how other factors can have an impact on your event schedule.
o Contract expertise: they are familiar with your event contracts. A professional event planner knows what is standard and what is not. It can save lots of money.

The work of planning any special occasion lies in the hand of someone involved with event. There are lots of event planning companies in New York that offer the services to organize your event properly so that your event becomes memorable for everyone. Your guests will not forget your special event as the time fades away. Each and every aspect of your event can be supervised properly such as decoration, catering, lighting, seating, entertainment, etc. If you hire an experienced event planner, it means you give away all your tensions, frustrations and problems. The experts of events planning can make all the arrangements as per your event requirements.

One thing you should always remember that your New York event planning company should be cost effective who can make all the arrangements according to your budget.

Event Cancellation Insurance Can Cover 100% of Your Costs

You can take the worry out of planning ahead in an uncertain world with event cancellation insurance services. They will be there to help, when things just don't go as planned. As an experienced event organiser, you know to expect the unexpected and the things that are beyond your control means you have to cancel or abandon your event. And you can't always rely on your business insurance to cover you if something goes wrong. If your event is canceled for reasons beyond your control, then these companies will reimburse your irrecoverable expenses, up to the limit you choose. They will also pay you up to 100% of your irrecoverable costs, should the event has to be rearranged for another day - some insurers limit this to a lower percentage of your costs.

1. Whatever kind of event you're planning, you can rely on event cancellation insurance companies for truly insightful advice and cover that is tailored to meet your specific requirements.

2. Whether it's an award function, a conference, a musical event, fashion show, an exhibition or a product launch, these companies are always there to help you. The cover mainly includes loss of, or damage to, the venue's buildings, fixtures, fittings and machinery. Your policy may also include power failure and any other eventuality like late or non-arrival of items essential to the event such as AV equipment, exhibit items and non-appearance of a large number of participants. You can also get a cover for injuries from food poisoning caused by food or drink served as hospitality by you.

3. When plans get disrupted, the last things you need to worry about are living expenses and the cost of return transportation. These event cancellation insurance companies can also help you, when flights are delayed, luggage is lost, or connections are missed. They may even help you with ticket sales. This may include cancellation prior to departure - unused ticket charges associated with your trip that are not refundable and which were incurred before your departure date.

4. By using these services, you can protect your investment, as bad weather can ruin your corporate golf day or other special outdoor event. Either the event has to be cancelled or abandoned or your golfers get drenched and do not enjoy the day. This type of insurance can be used to cover not just your costs and expenses but also the profit your charity would have made had the golf day not been canceled or abandoned.

5. This type of insurance can be also be a very helpful tool, especially if you want to run a special prize competition to promote your business. As many local businesses (particularly car dealers) like to be associated with charity events you may well be able to find a company willing to pay the premium for you by way of sponsorship.

Event cancellation insurance companies can help you make your event into a joyous occasion. You can insure against cancellation, abandonment, property damage and public liability, thus enabling you to enjoy the celebrations without a worry.

Planning Marquee Hire Events

There are many things to consider when organising and planning a marquee hire event, such as sending invites, marketing and promotion, location hire for the marquee itself, caterers, seating and carpeting, flower arrangers and audio and lighting equipment. But the main thing to be aware of is to be prepared to book the marquee hire some months before the date of the actual event itself.

This is mainly because of the high demand for marquees, particularly in the warmer months of the year, typically early May through to late September. With so many people organising weddings, sporting calendar events, garden parties and corporate events in the summer months, you may find that you have to plan to book as early as the year before to avoid disappointment.

 
Marquee Hire Event Location

For those businesses which have ample space within their grounds or indeed a large car-park, choosing where to erect the marquee is less of a problem. But for those smaller companies without adequate space for a marquee on their premises, finding a marquee hire venue is more time consuming and more importantly costly.

If you are a business which is hosting a corporate hospitality event or a promotional event for a new product line then, ideally you want the location of the corporate marquee to be as close to your business as possible.

There are many reasons for this, most notably to keep costs down from transporting members of staff, products, promotional displays and audio/video equipment to and from the marquee hire event venue.

Also if you wish to show potential investors around your company premises after or during the course of the corporate event, then the closer your marquee event can be to your business or factory, the better.
 

In addition, you may find that guests to a corporate event tend to be impressed some what, if you as a company can organise and host a corporate event on-site themselves. This is vital to encouraging potential new interest in your company from guests and helps create a good image of your organisation.

A company which organises its own corporate events and marquee hire and can host events on-site, is seen as a modern, well organised and forward thinking. This in turn may help you stand out from the crowd, beating competitors for investment, having the edge is vital in business nowadays.

Marquee Hire Services

If you are a company which wants to host a corporate marquee hire event, but haven't got the infrastructure in place to organise an event, then there are company which specialise in just that. Corporate event planning service companies can either take care of the planning and organisation of the whole marquee hire event or work in partnership with a representative from your company. The sorts of things that corporate event planning companies provide as part of their service are things such as like:

 

• Catering suppliers & licensed bar hire


• Transportation of staff


• Limousine hire for guests & local dignitaries


• Marquee interior design / event themes


• Audio, visual equipment


• Staging and sectioned-off areas for cloakrooms, changing areas, etc


• Dining & lounge seating and other marquee furniture


• Portaloos and on-site security for larger events

 

Additional Marquee Hire Event Services

Corporate event planning companies also offer additional marquee hire event related services such as team building games and exercises, event video-recording services. As well as the booking of live music and or speakers and organising local press coverage for your event.
 

Some marquee hire companies nowadays offer corporate event planning services as well as event management services, to enable them to offer the whole event planning package.

Hiring an Event Manager

Regardless of what sort of event you are planning, it is great to plan everything well in advance with the details being clear and the arrangements being organized, that is of course if you are hoping that your event goes off without a hitch. Of course some events may be too big for one individual to effectively pull off and may require the services of an event management team to make it a success.

When seeking the services of someone to plan your event it is important that you choose wisely, whether the event is as simple as a birthday party or some corporate function that is required to promote business or outside relationships with other companies, the individual who will gain the fame is the one who will make the event a success. In most cases that individual will seek a professional who can make it happen.

Weddings are a perfect example for going in search for an event planner as this function must not be allowed to fail at any cost. There are too many things that can possibly go wrong when considering a wedding and no possibility to correct then after the event has been concluded. While many people prefer to plan their own weddings going through all the motions and hopefully avoiding all the possible pitfalls, the ones who end up with a smooth event are the ones who seek outside assistance.

An average birthday party may not require the services of an event manager because of its size on the other hand if you happen to be planning a birthday for someone like your boss or a celebrity and your invitation list resembles the who's who of society it may be a wise idea to look for a reputable event manager to ensure that it is successful, especially if your name is attached to it.

The planning of a business or corporate event is as important an event as they come as this is where a company must shine and put forth to others the example that they are professionals and know what they are doing. An event management team will ensure that your guests are treated to an environment that reflects the fact that you and your company are capable in everything that you touch.

Handling your event by yourself is never a wise thing if you are depending on its success to pull something else off. Don't take the chance of looking bad through a poorly planned event that could cause you to lose face, hire an event manager and ensure that you will shine all the way through.

Conference Planning Checklist - 10 Things to Consider When Engaging Speakers

It can be a great challenge to organize a seminar or conference, but for many people who are given this duty to do, it can be a matter of maintaining their job or it may lead to getting a coveted promotion. To plan a successful conference or seminar, an event planner needs a few tools and a fair amount of insight into what is needed.

A timeline needs to be created and the first plan of the event nutted out fully so that the purpose of the event is clearly understood. Do you need new clients, do you need to brand your company, do you need to spread the word about something new? A company wants an event created that will achieve their purpose, as well as being fun for the participants.

The creation of a conference planning checklist is like the building of a train track.

You start with a map of the terrain, discover where you need to place the track and where to place the resources to overcome obstacles and then you create a timeline for the event. Along the timeline, you will need a range of conference planning checklists, in place ready to check off at various important stages along the timeline.

It can be very difficult to try and balance organization duties with the responsibilities of a current job. That is why it is important to have a team (or two or more teams ) of helpers that can have jobs delegated to them. To keep track of what each delegated job is and which team are working on it, you need a good schedule system and this information about "which team - what job" also needs to placed on the conference planning checklist.

Each grouping of jobs needs to noted on the various different conference planning checklist and linked back to the timeline. Separating starting jobs from completed jobs helps as well.

Below are ten steps that might be added  to a conference planning checklist when you are engaging speakers for a conference. A similar event planning checklist needs to be constructed for the caterer, or for the DJ. These steps are only guidelines, because each conference or seminar will have a specific agenda particular to your company. That said, most events have some specifics common to all, whether the event is a special event party, a destination wedding, a convention, a conference or a seminar.

The conference planning checklist (or event planning checklist, or seminar planning checklist) is an essential tool to any event co-coordinator and the more detailed the check list is, the better - as much can go wrong by simply assuming it will all just work out.

When you invite people to an event, their comfort and enjoyment is of prime importance. Anything that needs booking needs booking months in advance. Timing is essential to get everything right. The greater percentage of frequently asked questions need to be considered and answered before they are asked, because during the hectic day when the event is taking place, people are far too busy with other things to make decisions on the fly. 

Conference Planning Checklist - 10 Essentials For Speakers  

So here are 10 examples to consider placing on your conference planning checklist when you are engaging speakers for a seminar or conference.

• 1. List and make the final confirmation of selected speakers with the committee.


• 2. Contact the chosen speakers to request their participation.


• 3. Send follow-up letters to confirm the speakers commitment, their program agenda, its title and a description of their session.


• 4. Request the speakers biographies or profile and a photograph.


• 5. Prepare the descriptions of the speakers profiles for your program and promotional material.


• 6. Send a letter to confirm the exact wording that will appear in the program description for each speaker.


• 7. Request or prepare photocopies of all handout or promotional materials. 


• 8. Book the required audio visual equipment, and check the venue room setup.


• 9. Plan travel and accommodations for the speakers.


• 10. Maintain contact with the resource person just prior to the conference for last-minute arrangements.

And 5 More Essentials for the Conference Planning Checklist For On the Evening of the Event:

• 1. Inspect the room arrangements, the equipment, and the handouts.


• 2. Meet with the speakers to introduce fellow committee members or resource people.


• 3. Escort the speakers to their rooms and inform them about meals, etc.


• 4. Be available to facilitate speakers' requests at all times.


• 5. Thank them for their participation before they leave.

The average conference or seminar is generally planned and coordinated by a busy person trying to balance the hosting of the conference or seminar with their regular jobs. That can be a very taxing thing to try to do especially if that person has never done it before. Write up detailed checklists and check everything off and you won't end up with a train wreck. In fact you'll probably get that promotion.

What is Event Management?

Event management companies will design and manage events, projects and programmes, whilst being strategic and creative in their thinking. They should have a dedicated team that can create, with you, all elements of your exclusive/bespoke event, programme or project.

Is it more expensive to use an event management company?

No, it is actually more cost-effective to use an event management company. Event Management companies will have cheaper rates and good relationships with suppliers and the expertise of organising and managing events can save you a lot of money.

Why can event management companies offer services cheaper than what I can get those services for?

Event management companies use suppliers, entertainment, venues, caterers services frequently and consequently obtain agency or discounted rates which they pass on to their clients. Event management companies buy services in mass, which end up a lot cheaper.

Can an Event Management company save me time?

Yes, an events management company will know exactly where to look for the services you want. If you were to look for these services yourself, it would cost you, which is often not included in budgets. Hidden costs incur in the manner of time, labour, transport, communications, etc

If you choose an Events Management company that don't own their own kit, you will benefit vastly because they will look around for the best equipment to suit your requirements and budget.

What percentage should I spend on décor and entertainment?

In an ideal situation, your budget should cater for equal amounts for food and beverage and for decor and entertainment. The more elaborate however your spending on decor and entertainment, the greater the impact on your function will have (but please do not under-cater).

Unfortunately, this ideal solution is seldom achievable, as most venues charge steep prices for food and beverage. Therefore it would also be workable if you allocate a minimum of thirty per cent (30%) for decor and entertainment.

How Event Management can bond your team

It is important to choose an Event Management company that has experience of working with top blue chip companies that engage and inspire.

Seminar Organisers Can Evaluate the Success of the Event and Deal With Financial Matters

The seminar organisers are skilled and experienced personnel, who can evaluate the success of the event and deal with many things, including the outstanding financial matters. They can offer interaction and connect individuals and groups that previously would not have collaborated, which will help increase the demand for meetings by these new groups and individuals, as well. They can enhance any conference and help keep your clients motivated and happy throughout the event. They closely monitor the meetings, making sure they are a source of revenue rather than an expense and specialise in various fields including planning, management and operation of conferences, incentives and corporate events

- The seminar organisers companies are usually quite small firms, with fewer than twenty staff. Some of them may just consist of just one person, who buys in expertise as necessary. They can present you with a listing of options that meet your specific needs, as well as a cost breakdown for each of those choices. All the work is carried out under the strict supervision of senior meeting professionals.

- They can deal with all elements required for a successful event under one roof, including onsite management to ensure a smooth operation. They offer constant quality control of the project and can make arrangements for a range of technology features, a ballroom, excellent in-house catering services and much more.

- Highly skilled seminar organisers can work to project time lines, which is usually set by the client and event manager and you can access the services of these organisers at no cost at all to your company. They are quite experienced to keep an eye on multiple operations at one time, face numerous deadlines, and orchestrate the activities of several different groups of people.

- These organisers can create an interactive training environment, with a high level of staff participation. They always make sure that the venue they chose is a good fit for you before scheduling anything and can help you get deals on certain venues and can even direct you to venues that specifically meet your corporate needs.

- They offer assistance for making the right selection and arrange for you to visit the site to make sure, if it's best for you and your event. Their responsibilities include, booking a required number of rooms for meetings as well as qualify for and take advantage of the discounts on offer.

Well trained seminar organisers can manage everything perfectly, whether you're planning a unique incentive programme, an international conference, a seminar, a simple meeting or an exciting activity. These experts can work to budgets and briefs complied by the client and the event organiser and are able to provide what really matters for your special event as well as for your business, through their knowledge and expertise. They are quite skilled and have the resources to ensure that your corporate event or themed function is successful, enjoyable and memorable and can really help you to create an amazing and calm atmosphere on your special day.

How Mobile Marketing Impacts Event Management

The increased use of mobile applications has spelt a huge change in event marketing. It has transformed the way business organizations connect with their target audience to share event related news and updates. No more do organizations have to depend on the traditional ways of newspaper advertising, pamphlet distribution, and banner hosting to let people know about an event. The advanced technology devices and communication modes have made things simpler to a great extent. Following is how mobile applications can be used to promote an event:

Smart texting facilities help your audience stay updated

Mobile applications, or to be more specific, Smartphone based applications for corporate events are in huge demand. The basic application allows event organizers to send text messages or SMSs to their target audience. While doing this, they can send their website links or direct links of the online event registration pages embedded in the messages. This helps the organizers to inform prospective participants about the features of the event and how they can benefit from attending the same. Moreover, the application also allows any interested party to register for the event by directly accessing the registration portal and the payment processing page via the handset itself.

Following are the advantages of using Smartphone based applications for marketing an event:

The fastest mode of promotion

What can be a faster way of promoting an event than by publicizing it over Smartphones? In the U.S., there are presently 9.8 million Smartphone users. Marketing an event using these mobile applications increases the chance of spreading the news to the maximum number of people in the least possible time. This in turn, places your brand ahead of other market players; additionally promotes your activities ensuring great long term value additions.

Easy event information accessibility for your attendees

There is nothing like giving your attendees the highest level of satisfaction when it comes to planning an event successfully. By availing of the Smartphone based apps you can allow them to access all event related information conveniently. This helps them to stay updated with all the recent happenings on your front and plan things accordingly with regards to participating in the event.

Immediate notification about a change in the schedule

For notifying of any last minute change in the schedule, organizers can bank on Smartphone based applications as doing the same on other media takes up a huge amount of time. This also enables them to receive instant responses from their prospective attendees.

Versatility betters business prospects

Marketing your event and its related activities using mobile applications only takes your business promotions to the next level. This adds a kind of versatility to your promotional endeavors, which go a long way in improving prospects of your business operations and service offerings.

Following the latest trends makes you a winner

Using mobile applications for event promotions adds a 'Wow' factor to your event. The mode of communication is trendy, and following it makes you more popular amongst the new age business professionals who are taking the lead in such innovative promotional strategies.

The Secret to Starting a Party Planning Business

Starting a party planning business from scratch need not be difficult. If you think about it, there are no technical skills involved, and everything depends on your resourcefulness and common sense. No, you don't need to have a marketing degree or the business acumen of a capitalist. You simply need a vision, the sincerity to help out and the determination to face challenges head on.

What is your vision?

When you think of the "typical" party planner, what comes to mind? Do you see a bubbly, extroverted individual wearing a trendy outfit and amazing potential clients with her dazzling smile and presentation skills? Do you see a phone-wielding guy in a home office with neat folders all around him? Our notion of how a party planner should dress and act reflects the nature of the party planning business we are putting up.

The secret to a successful party planning business is this: Know Your Key to the Industry.

You need to get real with yourself, and determine which part of the whole process you excel in. When you have identified your main strength, you can build your party planning business around it!

You can start your self-analysis by going back to your childhood days. If you're like most people, you probably have lingering memories of putting up your own soda store (or play store) with your friends, manning it and feeling so darned accomplished at the end of the day. Party planning works like your first childhood business venture. You had a concept, you had a product or a service to sell, you had a staff, and you had to split the responsibilities amongst yourselves.

Now, which part of the lemonade business did you excel in? Were you the one smiling in front of the store calling out to people? Were you the one who determined how the lemonade should taste?

If you study the background of the successful party entrepreneurs, you will realize that they started out in a tiny corner of the party planning scene. Those who knew how to cook became food caterers. Those with people skills became the public relations consultants or event hosts. Those who owned spacious backyards became the venue providers. Those who had artistic talent became the vendors of party supplies, the table skirters and the photographers.

The party industry opens its doors to people who are willing to contribute something and continue learning. When you learn the ropes, you will also be able to pinpoint your weaknesses, and the aspects of party planning that you need to spend on. An introverted budget allocation genius may not be the best event host, but he can always hire someone else to do the hosting for him. His strength is in budgeting, which is also an important need in this industry.

When you know exactly what you can contribute to your own party planning community, you are one step closer to being the well-rounded party planner you have always envisioned. Keep your eyes open and observe how people go about their business. Truly successful party entrepreneurs are not shy about their ignorance. They will keep on learning and growing, and having a lot of fun in the process.

Research on Event Software Shows the Use of Technology in Event Management is Growing

A recent study into the uses of event software in the event management industry shows that event organisers are embracing the use of various technologies to help plan and manage their events. The research was conducted online, during the month of November 2009. Participants were asked to rate what type of event software they use on a regular basis. The four most popular tools were:

- Email Marketing

- Online Registrations

- Online Surveys

- Event Reporting & Analysis

13% of respondents said that the use of email marketing was now one of the main event software tools being used to help manage their events. This increase in use can be attributed to the advancing sophistication of such tools, as well as their ability to provide a cost effect method of promotion during the current recession.

Email marketing can be used to promote an event beforehand, to send targeted personalised invitations and to manage delegate surveys after the event has occurred. Email marketing software can now track how many emails are opened, deleted, what links were clicked, if the email was forwarded onto someone else and many more measurements. This is enabling event managers to learn from their past campaigns, helping to shape future promotions into more cost effective and efficient campaigns.

Linked into a database or CRM system, email marketing helps make the recipient/delegate selection even easier. The database can be segmented into various groups, with the message in the email invite tailored accordingly. Integrating the email software tool with a CRM system also means that the contact data will remain current and up to date at all time - automatically updated as and when contact information changes.

Since email marketing saves on printing and postage costs, it is now also becoming the method of choice for those organisations wishing to cut down on their event costs, as well as providing a more ethical, lower carbon option of event promotion.

After the event has occurred, event managers can use their email marketing tool to send follow up surveys. These can be personalised based on the delegate and can be automatically generated after the event. A link in the email will take the delegate to a webpage where they can complete an online survey. Event managers can easily track who has completed the survey and who has not yet even read the survey email; allowing them to make their follow up calls more productive.

Over half of all respondents of the survey (56%) also stated that the ability to allow delegates to register online was also an important part of modern event management. Online event registration empowers delegates to manage their own registration process - by removing event managers from this stage, it enables them to focus on more productive areas. Online registration forms can be customised to the individual event, ensuring that the specific data required from delegates is easily obtained. Registration forms can also be saved as a template, allowing them to be easily replicated for future, similar events.

Directing delegates to the host website to register also helps to boost website traffic and can be used in conjunction with online promotions to help increase the number of website visitors and online conversions in other areas.

The use of events software to help manage part or all of the event management process can be further extended to cover the post event analysis. Ensuring events provide a high ROI is one of the key metrics that event managers are measured on. Being able to effectively measure ROI and other KPIs quickly and effectively is now something that event planners demand. The use of event management software to quickly and accurately create post event reports means that event organisers are able to effectively evaluate the success of their events.

Used in conjunction with the email surveys mentioned earlier, event software reporting tools can measure event metrics such as:

· Attendance vs. Delegate registrations

· Expense to Revenue Ratio

· Conversion rate of invites sent vs. delegate registrations

· Delegate Lead Quantity and Quality

· Opportunities and Sales Cycle

Automatically importing the results of the email surveys into the event management software enables the user to create customised and event-specific reports. These can be done automatically by the software and has the ability to drill down into very minute detail. Quite often the process of creating post-event reports can be a very time consuming job, however the use of event software to help manage this activity means that event managers are able to quickly and easily see the results of their events.

Event software is now one of the fastest growing areas in the event management sector. Taking advantage of the benefits of automation and online software tools is helping to keep the event industry afloat during this recession. Increasing efficiency and reducing the cost of event management all helps increase the return on investment provided to both delegates and event hosts. Many event managers are choosing to use a full end-to-end event management software solution that encompasses:

- Website registrations

- Email marketing for promotion, invites and post event surveys

- Automatic badge production

- Resource management

- Online payment facilities

- Sophisticated reporting suites

Making the investment in a total event solution that offers all the event management functions required for event planning can help make the difference between a poor event and a successful event.

Corporate Team Building With Food And Drink Events

There are a number of events which one can organise for corporate team building events and incorporating food and drink can be a lot of fun. Below we look at corporate team building using food and drink.

The team food challenge. This team building activity varies sometimes in that you can set the cooking task to the specific country you are in. The idea is that you split the group into a few groups and they have to create food from the very beginning from planning, buying produce (on a budget) and making the food. This is on organised as a one day task and the participants will not know what the task is until at the start. You do NOT necessarily need cookers etc as part of the task is that it needs to be created using a small camp stove cooker for example. At the end you can organise a food tasting with one or two judges from the teams and yourself as the organiser and then give a fun price, or even a fun forfeit to the losers. The food challenge can be a real fun way for team building and it can include many areas of team building you ant to include such as organisational skills, implementation, practical skills, budgetary skills etc.

If you want a team building event which does not involve the team having to cook you can organise a wine tasting trip for the team and put them into teams to find out specific answers to wine questions and have them grade different wines from the tasting. Wine tasting can be a more light-hearted event than the cooking events, but it still gives the team members a memorable time whilst also giving members a chance to let their barriers down in a relaxed and enjoyable environment. This in turn can help to give the members a very good environment for building an understanding.

Some vineyards at the right time of year will give you the chance to get team members to work in the field picking grapes. You can add a little competition into things before the wine tasting but seeing for example who can pick the most grapes.

The food and wine cruise is a similar event. This is perhaps as much a social and corporate event as a team building event but it is still worth considering if food and drink is something you would like to include in the team building. Whatever event you choose, there are some some fun ways you can include food and drink into the corporate team building events.

Important Stages to Planning, Promoting, and Executing a Memorable Event

This article will guide you through the stages to successfully; Plan, Promote, and Execute a Memorable Event. Use this guide to host events of all sizes.

1. Determine the Type of Event You will Like to Host: Will it be a Private, Public, or Corporate function?

2. Define the Objective You Wish to Accomplish with the Event: Will you be promoting a product, service, or raising awareness?

3. Identify the Target Audience that Will Benefit from Your Event: Are you just inviting your friends and family, or are you inviting people with specific interests?

4. Decide on a Date and Time for the Event: Depending on the size and type of event, it is important to ensure that your event does not take place on the same day or weekend as a popular event. Your audience can only be at one place at a time.

5. Consider Locations and Types of Setting to Host the Event: Depending on the season, and type of event you are hosting, you should consider the most effective setting to host the event, Indoors or Outdoors. If you choose to host it indoors, how much space will you need? Is a Banquet Hall sufficient or do you require a Convention Center. If you choose to host it outdoors, you will need to find a large open field that suits the objective of your event. Public Schools and Parks are ideal locations to host outdoor events, be sure to contact your city officials for permit details.

6. Consider Partnering with Local Businesses and Organizations for Sponsorship Support: Many business and organizations are happy to contribute to the success of your event, through donations of monies, volunteers and/or equipment. Encourage larger contribution from a sponsor by promoting the sponsor's name and logo in your event's promotion materials, based on the size of contribution. Small contributions might only display a sponsor's logo, while larger contributions might earn a sponsor front page exposure, and/or business details in the event brochure.

7. Create an Event Budget: A budget is an essential component to the success of your event. A written and organized budget will keep you on track and keep you within your financial limits. Most sponsors might request a copy of the event budget, to ensure that their contribution is being used effectively.

8. Determine Deadlines: Make a time-line that outlines the progression of the planning stages. Define the responsibilities of each individual involved in the planning process. Who will be responsible for booking the venue, renting event supplies, contacting sponsors and so on? Ensure that you give clear instruction to all those involved in the planning process, in order to avoid confusion, duplication of effort and most importantly waste of resources.

9. Create an Event Program: Outline how the event will progress, from start to finish. This can be accomplished using printed programs given to each guest at the beginning of the event, or simply announced at the introduction.

10. Special Guest(s): Often the presence of an important person or group at your event will increase the number of guests in attendance. Politicians, Celebrities, Athletes, and Industry Experts are great for encouraging a greater guest turnout; however they could be quite costly to book. Many will appear at no charge if they support the objective of the event.

11. Equipment: After you have determined where to host the event, it is important to consider whether the necessary equipment will be supplied by the venue or you will need to rent them. If you choose to host your event indoors, you will need to consider renting various items such as; Chairs, Tables, Linens, and etc, to accommodate your guests. If it is an outdoor event, depending on the season of course, a function under a rented tent will shelter you and your guests from the elements while enjoying the outdoors. Renting a tent and all the necessary equipment to host an outdoor event is quite simply. A reputable party rental company can guide you through the renting process and advise you on the type of structure to suit your event.

12. Awards: Determine whether your event will have an awards portion, if so who will be making the presentation and who will be receiving it. Ensure that the recipient is on the guest list, and remains oblivious to the fact.

13. Event Promotion: There are many methods in which you can employ when promoting your event. Press Release, Print Advertising, Web Advertising, Classified Advertising, Face Book Advertising, and Word of Mouth are all effective methods to promote your event. Decide which method is appropriate for your event, and who will be responsible to disseminate the details. Also who will be responsible to handle public inquires and media relations.

14. Execute: It's the day of the event, and you are calm and relaxed because everything goes as planned. All necessary supplies have arrived on schedule, the venue is full of guests and everyone is having a good time. Your event is one to be remembered and your guests are looking forward to the next one.

15. Quick Note: Ensure that you take into consideration these special items if needed; Food, Music, Decorations, Flowers, Photography/Video, Clean Up and so on. Also remember to take photos throughout the event, these could be used to promote the event if it happens to be an annual occasion, or simply for memory.

Why You Should Look For a Turnkey Wedding Website for Sale

Brides-to-be everywhere are constantly looking for help when it comes to planning their weddings. With a turnkey wedding website, you can offer these brides the assistance that they need while still turning a great profit for yourself. There are a lot of benefits to finding a turnkey wedding website for sale instead of building your own from the ground up. Building a website is expensive, since you often have to hire a web designer, and it can take a long time to tweak your website until it is ready for business. You can get to work making money immediately, if you find a good turnkey website for sale that is designed for wedding-related marketing and sales.

There are tons of affiliate programs out there that you can get involved in if you want to make money with your online wedding website. Bridal wear is always a big deal for brides of all ages, shapes and sizes, and offering tons of options through affiliate advertisements and banners can help these women to find the wedding dress of their dreams while providing you with a decent commission. You can also promote formal wear for the rest of the bridal party as well as shoes, accessories and jewelry.

Soon-to-be brides are not the only ones who will find your turnkey wedding website useful. Professional event and wedding planners will also purchase items from your website if you have the right options. Consider working as an affiliate for companies that sell decorations, tableware and other items that can be used for wedding purposes. You can even work with florists in order to earn a commission, and wedding planners everywhere will purchase items through your links if you find the best deals and the highest-quality products for the events that they plan.

If you own a bridal wear shop, wedding catering business, wedding supply store or other business that is related to the wedding industry, you are really missing out if you do not have a website. Not only can you use your turnkey wedding website to make an online profit through affiliate marketing and advertisements, but it is also the perfect outlet for advertising your own business and establishing yourself as an authority on the subject.

Another way to bring in plenty of cash through your wedding website is to sell advertising space. Since wedding-related searches are very popular all over the world, you might be surprised by just how much even text ads and small banners can bring in. Google AdSense is one good program to go through, but there are other advertising opportunities out there for bridal websites.

Whether you are looking to promote your business, are considering a career as a wedding planner or are thinking of opening your own wedding-related business or if you simply want to run a fun and helpful website for brides and wedding-related professionals that will also bring in a nice income, you should look for a turnkey wedding website for sale in order to get started today.

An Appropriate Venue - The Key to a Successful Event Planning

Finding an appropriate and perfect venue for an event is an essential task and needs to be performed with care. Going for monotonous spots and venues will not only make your event boring but also will fail to attract the attention of attendees who are willing to attend the event. A good choice of venue can result in a memorable and unique event. Here are some tips that can help you while choosing a venue for your event.

· Plan in Advance:

The initial step that must be taken in order to find out a perfect venue is to plan the event in advance. The best locations or venues are sure to be busy during the peak times of the year and you can miss out the chances. So to avoid risk of not getting the perfect venue, book it as early as possible. However if you are not able to manage the time, do not be disappointed as there are enormous variety of venues within the country, that can offer a good venue for your event.

· Identify the category of event:

The type or the kind of event that is going to be organized completely influences the choice of the venue. So you must have an in depth knowledge of what the event is and what can be achieved from it. Whether it is a trade show, business meet, product launch party, exhibitions, anniversaries or any other type of events, there must be a different venue for each kind so that the event does not become conventional.

· Track the size of the attendees:

Event planners must be aware of the number of the people who are attending the event. It is a very important task and must be dealt smartly. If you are expecting few people to attend your event and the budget is limited, there is no point of booking a big hall or auditorium. However, if you want to please your guests and attendees and there is no budget constraint, you can choose an expensive and more appropriate venue accordingly.

· Accessibility, security and parking facilities:

Reaching the venue is vital. As an event planner, you must ensure that there is easy accessibility to the venue and no security issues that can further hamper the event. Parking is also a vital part that must be considered. Indentify whether there are adequate parking spaces within the venue.

· Proper Budget planning:

Consider the budget while choosing a venue. Extra cost incurred can ultimately lead you to great problems. Ensure that your payments are cleared before the event gets started and there is a proper documentation. This will help you in situations like event cancellation and other such problems.

Thus, event planners can take the help of the above mentioned tips for finding out an ideal and affordable event venue, which can make your event successful.

Start a Home Business As an Event Planner For Love and Money

If you love people, parties, and planning, why not start a home business as an event planner. Everyone is throwing events today and there are not enough planners to go around. Plus that, you can have fun and make money.

According to the International Special Events Society (ISES), the event planning business has annual sales of about USD$500 billion. Dr. Jose Goldblatt, founder of ISES, says that profit margins are 30% to 40% and they continue to rise. There is room for your endeavor.

An event is a one-time occasion that is put on for a specific reason. The three most common reasons for an event are weddings, fund raisers, and cocktail parties.

People also hold events for graduations, birthdays, anniversaries, debutant coming-out parties, and baby showers.

Companies and institutions often hold events. They include political rallies, fundraisers, in-house parties, team homecomings, award ceremonies, product launches, fashion shows, and reunions.

Full time event planners can make $80,000 to $120,000 a year. The start up costs can be as low as $2500 including insurance.

Recommended skills and training for an event planner include classes and certification. Particularly valuable are classes in sales and management as well as accounting.

To help you make money fast, it is important to become certified. As a Certified Special Events Planner, or CSEP, you have the benefits of education, networking, and a list of jobs available. The same is true if you become a Certified Meeting Planner, or CMP.

Consider membership in The Event Planners Association. They offer insurance, legal assistance, marketing help, and job search services. They also have a forum, marketing tools, and networking resources.

Other organizations to join are the International Special Events Society (ISES), the Chamber of Commerce, and the Better Business Bureau.

As an event planner, you have to actively market yourself to find new clients. Set up a Web site. Do some direct marketing. Spot ads on the radio, an ad in the Yellow Pages, and word of mouth all help drive business.

An event planner's work is to make sure an event goes off as planned. After conferring with the host, the planner chooses the venue, sends out invitations and publicity, arranges for food, music, entertainment, decorations, flowers, and guest accommodations. The planner is in charge of all personnel, vendors, caterers, photographers, wait staff, security staff, and clean up.

Here are a few helpful tips from experienced event planners:

1. Work with an established event planner before starting out on your own.


2. Know the goals of the host and make them your own.


3. Stay within budget.


4. Make a written agreement with the host.


5. Send a gift and thank-you letter to the host after the event.

Becoming an event planner is a great way to make money - but it also takes being a cool-headed organizer. Event planners are in demand so this is the perfect time to start a home business as an event planner. You can make hundreds of new friends and a lot of money while you have fun.