Event Planning - A Promising Career

To be a successful event planner opens up great career possibilities for you. In the past, perhaps everybody could undertake the task of event planning since the activities were all on small scale and did not require much investment. Today, however, without sufficient background knowledge it is simply impossible to well organize a big activity. To be an event planner is a promising career for the following three reasons.

1. The Market is expanding.
As business trade and cultural exchange between different countries and regions are on the rise nowadays, more and more activities are being sponsored and organized. This market will be constantly expanding in the foreseeable future. Not only will there be more activities, but also the geographical range of the activities will be increased. A conference may have its first part in Asia and the second part in Europe, in making plans for which you might even have the chance to travel in both continents.

2. You will get more than enough material gain.
If you have well organized an activity, you will be handsomely paid. Also, by proving to your clients your abilities in organizing activities, you will become their long-term business collaborators and organize more and more activities for them in the long run. You may not receive much from your first planning job; in the long run, however, you will get more and more material gain as your reputation increases.

3. You will meet many famous figures.
In organizing big events, you will have the chance to meet many famous people. Perhaps this time you will meet some film starts; next time maybe you will run into some politicians. Very possibly as a planner you will form a certain contact with those people, who will further bring you greater chances in your career.

Building Your Planning Business While Working a Fulltime Job

Many aspiring planners ask me how to build their wedding planning business while they're still working a traditional 9 to 5 job. I tell them that it is entirely possible as long as they plan it well. (Good practice, right? Plan, planner? OK, bad joke!) While starting a wedding planning business on a part time basis may be difficult, it can be successful if you focus on some essentials.

Here are some of the things I feel are important areas of focus while building your business while working full time. Pay special attention to:

Money

Having startup capital that covers your living expenses is a key ingredient anytime you start a business. You can't let your home life suffer while you're building your dream, right? Let's face it...you may not book your first bride right away.

You can operate a wedding planning business on a part time basis as long as you take care to provide yourself enough money to "build" the business. Allocating a portion of your full time job salary will help you to continually grow your business, especially when investing in monthly marketing activities.

Education

Continue to sharpen your expertise with continuing education. Workshops, books and spending time with other more experienced planners are a must. Carve out time in your schedule for each of these on a consistent basis. Set a goal to read at least one business book per month; meet with 2-3 vendors (including other planners) each week and find a workshop or some sort of information sharing event at least 3-4 times per year.

Hands On Experience

Get some experience at real weddings. Either shadow another planner or offer to help friends and family plan their weddings for free or for a nominal fee. It's crucial that you learn what happens at a real event before you take on the planning and coordinating of a paying bride. Weddings are highly emotional events and you must be prepared for all of the things that can go wrong.

Creative and Compelling Marketing

Be creative and intentional about your marketing. The number one marketing activity for new planners is networking! I can't stress this enough. Word of mouth referrals are going to be the best way to build your clientele and to get the word out that you are a wedding planner with a new message. Be different and be bold because if you dont, you'll end up getting lost in a sea of planners.

And attend a variety of networking group events in your community...not just wedding and event related...and start to build the "know, like and trust" factor among the business owners that share your target market. Nail shops, hair salons and spas, popular meeting places for brides like trendy boutiques are great businesses to join forces with. Bridal shows may also be very beneficial if the attendees are in your target market. Learn how to maximize your time at a bridal show and be sure to follow up!

Professional and Precise Systems

Make sure you setup systems to do everything in your business. Attending networking events, educating yourself, etc. will mean nothing if you don't have the right system setup for when you DO get a call from that first bride. Write down and fine tune your client experience. From the moment they first come in contact with you and your brand, until the wedding is over, what is the process? Phone calls, emails, documents and the entire planning process you take your bride through should be written down and followed consistently.

A Plan to Ditch Corporate America

And finally, plan on going full time with planning weddings in twelve to eighteen months. Anymore time than that, and you won't be able to effectively be of service to your growing clientele. Also, you won't be able to spend enough time on activities that grow your business, as described above.

So? Are you ready to make that move?

Is Corporate Incentive Travel Part of Your Management Mix?

Corporate incentive travel is an opportunity to show appreciation

Should your company consider incentive travel to boost employee performance? According to statistics, a huge percentage of employees in the developed world work much below their full potential. For example, surveys conducted in the US indicate that more than 50% of American employees do little more than what they are asked to do. Slowly but surely, companies all over the world have begun to realize that employees are their most valuable asset. An inspired and motivated task force is essential for the success of any company. However, employees need more than their pay if they are to become high performers.

A well planned, attractive and rewarding employee recognition and reward program is the best way to boost employee performance.

Why incentive travel? Although there are many ways to recognize and reward excellence in employees, statistics suggest that corporate incentive travel can motivate employees in a manner that other awards cannot. In fact, travel used for recognition and reward purposes beats cash rewards too. Employees are willing to redefine professional goals to earn the goodies offered by a good corporate incentive travel program.

The perceived value of travel is greater than cash benefits because travelling to interesting places is an experience that is cherished for a long time. Besides, many people would never spend money on a fancy trip themselves. Additionally, most employees balk at disclosing details of a cash bonus, but there is no shame in flaunting photos of a trip to say London, Mexico, Canada or the Caribbean.

A great incentive travel scheme motivates employees to offer better service thus boosting sales results and improving bottom lines. Employers can generate more employee loyalty from their workforce. This is why incentive travel is so richly rewarding, both for the employee as well as the employer.

What to look for when choosing incentive travel destinations Choosing the right event, destination, resort and activities for reward travel is a science. Top incentive travel events are target specific and are designed to cater to the requirements of the entire group.

Destination is an equally important factor. Employees like to go to a place that is perceived as trendy and happening.

Emerging trends in incentive travel According to a survey of recent travel and meeting trends conducted by Global Events Partners, a DMC (Destination Management Companies) partnership, the United Kingdom has emerged as the top spot for incentive travel for many Fortune 1000 companies, followed by the US (Las Vegas, Phoenix and Orlando), Dubai, France and Italy. More than 70 countries worldwide were surveyed.

Some of the top reasons for the popularity of UK as a sought after destination for incentive travel include:

1. Britain boasts of a long and beautiful coastline


2. Coming to the UK presents no language problem for people in the US, Canada and Mexico - something which cannot be said of locations like France, Italy and Dubai


3. Britain is acquiring huge popularity as a foodie destination


4. The UK is an under-exploited tourist destination but is fully equipped to handle the demands of tourists of all sorts, which makes it a highly fashionable place to visit.

By partnering with the right travel activity producer, it is possible to offer employees travel events, group activities, recognition and training programs based on themes that are exciting as well as motivating. Therefore, it is absolutely vital to choose the right provider for your incentive and team building events.

Companies that invest wisely in corporate incentive travel have experienced improvement in performance, retention and client experience, all of which ensure higher customer loyalty and improved sales. These companies know that corporate incentive travel programs are much more than a vacation. These programs are designed to build and strengthen positive association. Attendees open up to each other facilitating the spread of good practices among employees. New levels of commitment are thereby established and engagement levels go up dramatically benefiting the employees as well as the employers in the short term and the long term.

Assessing The Suitability Of Banquet Chairs For Various Events

Comfort provided by seats or chairs play a large role in making any social event or occasion successful. Thus, the quality of the chair, including its design, size and the material used to make it, should always be considered.

It is common to find banquet chairs used as seats in many events. Organizers of events are seen to have preference over banquet chairs over other types of chairs in the events they set up. Aside from the fact that these chairs are known to be more comfortable than most, they can also be used in various events or occasions. It is also easier and simpler to maintain them and care for them. Of course, that would depend largely on the material they are made of. Overall, the chairs are a favorite because they have versatility in design and material used. They are easy to transport and you can easily store them by stacking them. Their transportability and portability also increase if they happen to be of the foldable design.

Events will definitely have a lot more substance if banquet chairs are used. The theme of the occasion should coincide with the design, shape and color of the chairs themselves, which is why a lot of planning should be made when making a choice of the chairs. Granted that all the features and attributes mentioned give the chairs a good image, but nothing lacks flaws. There are bound to be some drawbacks or problems, both major and minor, in these banquet chairs.

The first drawback you are most likely to encounter is the cost. If you run a catering business, or an events organization business, you will need a good number of chairs, and in a stock of different sizes and design. The cost of buying such a volume of chairs is not cheap, yet your budget will depend on the type of chair materials you will buy. An event would look really professional if metal banquet chairs are used, even if they are quite on the bulky or heavy side. You can also choose to buy plastic chairs, but they can prove to be more expensive than the metal chairs. They have the advantage of being lighter, though.

The positive side of it is they will be long-lasting business assets, which is if you handle and maintain them properly. When you have to host a big event, you will not bother will issues of hiring extra chairs if you have a good number in stock. You do not have to worry during the slower or off-peak seasons, too, because you can hire out the banquet chairs to those who need them.

As you focus on cost, you will touch on comfort and durability of the chairs. Comfort should most definitely be considered. After all, these are metal chairs we're talking about. It is no wonder, then, that cushions are often placed on these metal chairs. Your budget would increase considerably if you have to take into account the cushion covers that will have to be used. Compared to metal chairs, the plastic ones would prove to be easier and more comfortable to set up. They are rather expensive, though, and that's something you shouldn't forget. If you manage to find banquet chairs that are made of both metal and plastic, you already have comfort and durability covered. Metal tends to rust, plastic does not, and plastic will add that element of comfort in the chairs instead of have the expensive option of cushioned metal banquet chairs.

Storage will be the other issue of concern. You cannot expect the chairs to never require repairs. They become old, they get scratched and damaged from repeated stacking and storing. That is a flaw with the chairs that many need to come to terms with. You may put all preventive care and maintenance measures but still it would happen. But that doesn't mean that you should be careless in the storage and transport of these banquet chairs.

How To Produce An Event

What is an Event?

An event is not just a mere happening. It is a powerful communication medium with which you can enthuse, amaze, persuade, unite a group or in fact, with which you can accomplish any public relations purpose you set. Well executed, it can and should be a milestone in your life or that of your company. Planning and executing an Event is both an artistic, creative endeavor and one that requires the utmost precision in engineering all of its parts and sequences. It also requires relentless insistence on quality and the upholding of a high standard. Its success depends on the artistic and organizational skills of the event planner working tightly with its customer in creating the event, planning it, selecting all of its elements down to the last detail, and then... making it all happen.

Envisioned Product & Message

The first step the event planner and customer must do is to envision the event in full. It is necessary to get a complete picture of what one wants the event to be like, look like, feel like for the guests or delegates, and what result one is trying to effect and/or what message one is trying to get across. Naming the result and message very precisely is crucial. Without this in mind, the choosing of event venue, agenda, designing of the set, lighting or decorations, and many details could end up betraying the very purpose of the event. Examples of envisioned results could be: for a corporate party that all employees feel they are part of a great and valuable team, proud to be a part of it, and renew their commitment to the company and its goals. The product of a Fundraiser could be a lot of donations of course, but also its attendees reassured that they are contributing to a great and valuable cause, feeling privileged to be part of this endeavor, and willing to contribute even more. The product of a wedding could be for the bride and groom, family and friends to experience a one in a lifetime moment, be awestruck by it, emotionally impacted, foresee together the best possible future, and of course to have a very good time. The envisioned result of a product launch would be that the attendees want to buy the product, use it, market it further, and have trust in you and in the product. So depending on the type of event, the Event Planner and customer should name together the envisioned result they want the event to result in, as well as its message. The planning of each part and detail of the event will have to align and integrate with this message or envisioned result.

Event Planning

Prediction & Sequences

At this stage the event planner in coordination with the customer names all the parts of the event, all of its sequences, and all required suppliers. The Event Agenda is the exact sequence of actions that will take place from beginning to end. Working it out in detail enables one to visualize the event fully and thus predict any and all details which could otherwise go overlooked. How will the guests get there? Should we supply transportation, maps, you name it. What about parking? What happens when the guests enter the venue? For a congress they would sometimes need name tags, in another event you would have a guest list with a reception set up. What happens then? How do they get drinks? Where are the bathrooms? Where do they sit? How comfortable does it need to be? How do we get their feedback when they leave? These are very few of many questions which get answered. Each of the needed suppliers is chosen based on their ability to meet the demand of the customer, be of the required quality and within the event budget. The event planner will have experience with event suppliers and will therefore be able to choose those that are reliable and proven.

Integration & Quality

There again all parts need to integrate one with another in terms of style, standard, and align to the message and envisioned result. Of course higher quality is often more expensive. A good event planner will put a lot of work in finding the best options of quality versus price for the customer, and most often will get deals that only a professional gets. This is why in many cases, using an event planner is not, in the final count, an additional expense. However, in deciding the required quality and to still meet one's budget one should evaluate the choice of items against the result and message which was envisioned. Replacing an expensive laser show with fireworks could for instance create the same impact and save a lot on the budget. On the other hand, replacing fabric table cloth by paper cloth could significantly lower the effect of the decorations and menu and degrade one's message. A good event planner will help and guide the customer in making all these decisions and in meeting his budget.

Event Production

Leadership & Team Spirit

The event planner will be the central coordination point with all concerned suppliers to ensure that everything comes off exactly as planned. Good event planners have excellent relationships with their suppliers who work hard to retain the work opportunities they get from the planning company. Good event planners also have excellent leadership qualities in getting everyone to execute their part of the event. They make everyone get along and work as a team. It can be a lot of fun to prepare an event and should be.

Integrity

The integrity and professionalism of each supplier is of the utmost importance. Your event planner should be able to guarantee these to you when choosing the suppliers. The event planner ensures the suppliers perform their task exactly and demonstrate integrity and honesty. This is one of the most valuable services which the event planner provides you, as without it, you could find yourself dealing with logistics and details of the event when you should be preparing yourself to lecture, to get married, or whatever the case might be. The event planner is dedicated to taking care of everything so you do not have to worry about it.

Customer Care & Service Orientation

Events can be complicated matters with many parts and details. Things can also come up at the last minute, which need to be cared for. You as the customer, should be undistracted throughout and should something unpredicted come up, the event planner should do its best to resolve whatever it is, make things appear or disappear. If it comes up at a Congress that it is the birthday of one of the delegates and you want a cake to appear during the lunch, your event planner will take care of it. You suddenly require a security set up for a VIP attendee; the event planner will have the needed contacts to accommodate this rapidly. Of course all should be done to predict each and every requirement way in advance. However should such emergencies come up, having an event planner makes all the difference and allows you to remain undistracted... and a good event planner will take the challenge and meet it.

After the Event

Where feasible and appropriate it is always good to collect feedback from your guests or attendees. This is often neglected but should be done. Whether in the form or surveys, a guest book placed at reception, or by asking around elegantly, one should find out to if one achieved his purpose and to what degree. For instance, the attendees of a product launch should be surveyed as to how they feel about the product and what use they will have of it. This can be key in planning the next step for the customer to take in marketing his product. The attendees of a seminar or congress should similarly get surveyed and can help determine the orientation of a following event. It is part of the professionalism of the event planner to take all such feedback into account to improve where need be, consolidate trust in suppliers, or where appropriate, reutilize successful formats. Good video footage and photography is most often a must. As one small example of many things which can be required after an event; "Thank you" cards for anyone who particularly went out of their way or performed competently can be handled by the event planner. There again a good event planner will help you take care of all the "after event" details and make sure everything is completed to your satisfaction.

Lastly, as a professional in this field for many years, I cannot begin to tell you how much fun it is and how much satisfaction I have in creating and organizing events with and for my customers. Again, an event is not "something that comes and goes" but a powerful communication weapon which well executed can and should be a milestone in your life or that of your company.

Sustainable Green Event Management

There is a new trend in the events management industry to organize functions that are carbon neutral and eco friendly. The trend is called Sustainable Green Event Management and it is an event management system that addresses a number of problems that often arise during events such as environmental, economic and social issues. This means that every sustainable green event management function will incorporate socially and environmentally responsible decision making while using sustainable development principles and practices throughout the entire organization of the event. To ensure that the best practice eco friendly events management principles are adhered to the "greening" of the process needs to start right at the beginning and has to include contributors that understand and subscribe to the same event management principles. These contributors need to include all of the key members of the function such as the clients, organizers, venue owners and even sub-contractors.

Green Events of The Past

The first eco friendly events international events that were held were the 1992 Albertville Winter Olympics in France. This was followed by the first "true green Games" held in Lillehammer, Norway back in 1994. The 1994 games were so successful in fact, and adhered to the eco friendly ideals of the time so closely that the Lillehammer Olympic Organizing Committee was awarded the UNEP Global 500 Award. This award is only presented to companies or organizations that set new environmental standards.

The Benefits of Event "Greening"

Everything from product launches to vast international showcase events are very resource-intensive and often can have wide ranging and lasting negative environmental consequences for the venue and city in which they are held. Because of this most multinational companies and organizations are starting to make a concerted effort to host events in a responsible way and leave a positive and lasting legacy for the community in which the event is held.

The Benefits of Holding a Green, Eco-Friendly Event

There are a number of long lasting and positive benefits to holding an eco friendly or green event. Some of the biggest benefits are:

• There is a significant cost savings benefit as green events typically have a much lower energy need and help to reduce waste. This in turn helps to reduce costs.
• Green events have a positive reputation benefit as every green event is a visible demonstration of a companies or organizations commitment to sustainability.
• Eco friendly events management principles generally lead to environmental innovation. This is because greening efforts promote technological innovation that help companies and organizations use resources more efficiently.

Tips on Corporate Event Planning

Corporate event planning must be done well from start to finish to avoid any last minute issues. Here, you will learn easy and effective ways to effectively plan corporate events.
All businesses run on certain strategies and planning. If certain guidelines aren't followed, the company won't reach their goals and targets. Thus, let us discuss why corporate meeting planning is an important aspect to every business.

Meetings are very important in the corporate world, and are usually held to communicate and discuss significant points and objectives. If they are not planned properly, people may get a bad impression of the company. It is imperative that these meetings are organized in such a way that all possible bad situations are avoided.

Nowadays, companies hold business meetings and events for various reasons. They might want to hold a meeting to recap their success of the year, hold an annual holiday gathering, discuss important decisions, have a sales meeting, or many other reasons. Some companies even hold such events to launch new products, go over social networking and press releases, or for product promotion. With corporate meeting planning, you will be able to carry out any event flawlessly.

Corporate events may have a touch of humor and entertainment. A common misconception that people have is that because these events are official gathering, the event needs to be strict and formal. However, this is not the case. The corporate event planner should add fun and entertaining activities to break up the monotony of the normal, boring work day. Successful meetings are those that make the employees appreciative of the people they work with and also give the feeling that they are working for a good organization.

Professionals who manage every aspect of corporate meetings and events are known as corporate event planners. They have been trained as specialists in the meeting or event planning field and are equipped to carry out the supervision of this process. Corporate event planners discuss all of the client's necessities regarding the corporate meeting, and organize the details accordingly. They are responsible for suggesting the most appropriate venue for the event, managing the staff needed for the event, and ensuring quality and sufficient food for the guests. Professional corporate event planners are especially proficient in multitasking, including time management as a key factor. Other requirements for event planners are interpersonal, organizational and communication skills. A planner knows best on suggesting which clients that are the best option according to the budget. Every event planner also needs a clear understanding of how the venue has to be arranged.

Nowadays, it's easy to find a list of corporate event planners to help in executing a successful corporate event or meeting, even on a tighter budget.Corporate event planning must be done well from start to finish to avoid any last minute issues. Here, you will learn easy and effective ways to effectively plan corporate events.

All businesses run on certain strategies and planning. If certain guidelines aren't followed, the company won't reach their goals and targets. Thus, let us discuss why corporate meeting planning is an important aspect to every business.

Meetings are very important in the corporate world, and are usually held to communicate and discuss significant points and objectives. If they are not planned properly, people may get a bad impression of the company. It is imperative that these meetings are organized in such a way that all possible bad situations are avoided.

Nowadays, companies hold business meetings and events for various reasons. They might want to hold a meeting to recap their success of the year, hold an annual holiday gathering, discuss important decisions, have a sales meeting, or many other reasons. Some companies even hold such events to launch new products, go over social networking and press releases, or for product promotion. With corporate meeting planning, you will be able to carry out any event flawlessly.

Corporate events may have a touch of humor and entertainment. A common misconception that people have is that because these events are official gathering, the event needs to be strict and formal. However, this is not the case. The corporate event planner should add fun and entertaining activities to break up the monotony of the normal, boring work day. Successful meetings are those that make the employees appreciative of the people they work with and also give the feeling that they are working for a good organization.

Professionals who manage every aspect of corporate meetings and events are known as corporate event planners. They have been trained as specialists in the meeting or event planning field and are equipped to carry out the supervision of this process. Corporate event planners discuss all of the client's necessities regarding the corporate meeting, and organize the details accordingly. They are responsible for suggesting the most appropriate venue for the event, managing the staff needed for the event, and ensuring quality and sufficient food for the guests. Professional corporate event planners are especially proficient in multitasking, including time management as a key factor. Other requirements for event planners are interpersonal, organizational and communication skills. A planner knows best on suggesting which clients that are the best option according to the budget. Every event planner also needs a clear understanding of how the venue has to be arranged.

Nowadays, it's easy to find a list of corporate event planners to help in executing a successful corporate event or meeting, even on a tighter budget.

What Is Event Planning Certification All About?

Most people have heard about event planning business but many of them are not familiar with event planning certification. If you are concerned are becoming a professional event planner then you should know what it is. Many people used to think and still think that it is useless to get education in this subject however now as event planning is growing rapidly getting event planning certification has become quite important. This certification will train you how to work in the professional world and will give you all the knowledge that you require to be good at this profession.

Event management and planning certification is not at all difficult to acquire and pass. Now there are plenty of well known educational institutions that offer courses in different types of event planning. All you need to be is organized; creative and dedicated to what you have opted to do. Some institutions and companies required a little bit of professional experience. Hence, if you have worked under any event planner or as one of the services used in the arrangements of events then this can come to use in getting higher event planning certification.

These courses are also accessible online so if you have any difficulty in obtaining them then you can get this education online. The study material, lectures, presentations and quizzes are given online so you will not have much problem in learning. Even these online courses have a lot of value and play a big role in enhancing your portfolio of event manager. The fees of these courses are nominal and most people can afford them, moreover some schools even offer financial aid.

Getting proper event management and planning certification will provide more job opportunities for the event planner and he will be able to earn good amount of money. Earning this certification will make your base strong because you will learn various techniques which will make this business booming like fire. You will be able to interact with other professional event planners and learn how they have managed to earn good name in this profession.

Besides getting education regarding this field, you have to be very patient and energetic because event management is a very big responsibility and if you did not deliver it properly then you will not only ruin your reputation but your client's reputation as well. Therefore, learning how to keep the clients happy and satisfied can also be obtained through event planning certification.

Event Lighting to Make Your Event a Success

Normally the two main lighting categories can be classified into Entertainment and Agriculture lighting. In the entertainment industry, event lighting is booming since technology plays a huge role in it.

Event lighting has huge scope to improve since more and more people understand the advantages of having proper luminous lighting to make any event successful. Weddings, discotheques and weddings use these gimmicks to transform any empty space into an elegant and sophisticated venue.

In the entertainment industry lighting plays a supporting role with the other elements use for that particular event. Without lighting the event will look dull and boring. So it is very important that you take very good care of your guests by giving them a night to remember. You will always be able to find Event lighting bay area companies that are affordable and who are known for their professionalism.

Event lighting can be used for:

Cake Lighting: So that when the birthday girl/boy cuts the cake the decoration around the cake is visible and noticed by your guests. When it comes to your children you want to give them the best on this special occasion so that it can be captured are a beautiful memory and will stay with you for a lifetime.

Bar lighting: At any occasion where there are beverages served majority of your guests will surround the bar. So that it looks exceptionally exquisite and unique proper lighting must be around to highlight the d矇cor around it.

Buffet lighting: Lights are put around the buffet table to even enhance the beauty of the food presentation.

Dance floor lighting: When it comes to having fun at any event, the dance floor is the place where it all happens. You need some very good lighting to give the dance floor a more vibrant and inviting look. If the lighting is good your guests will have a wonderful time since the lights and the music will go hand in hand.

Different Event lighting bay area companies analyze the project and check which kind of equipment is required. Once they know which lights are needed they start to install them, probably one day before the event or on that same day. It is always advisable to get all the work done from one service provider so that there is no chaos during the event. Another thing to keep in mind is that the company you decide to hire should make full arrangements of any backup that is required.

The lighting that is used for an event should have a purpose and a theme to it. It should highlight areas like the stage, ramp, bar and so on. It's also important that you keep the lighting simple so that there is not too much going on in one space, so that the impact of the lights is distributed equally.

Selecting the Best Business Catering Company

Any large scale business or corporate event requires the services of a business catering company. It is essential to treat all your valuable clients and customers with the utmost attention, and there is no better way than treating them to a deluxe luncheon. However, this might become a bit troublesome when you have a large group to deal with. In all such situations, it is best to hire a catering company that specializes in business events.

Business catering service allows you to treat your clients with high quality meals without the need to visit a restaurant. All the activities, right from decorating the buffet table with the best of linens and cutlery to spreading out a sumptuous feast, are taken care of by the catering company itself. Hence, instead of going for boxed lunches, which look dull and boring, an elaborate food spread consisting of all kinds of food items and drinks is a better way to add an element of elegance and class to your meeting, which is bound to impress your clients. You can have all this with the help of a business catering service provider.

In addition to this, most of the organisations make use of business catering for in house meetings or training sessions as well. A nicely laid lunch or tea party keeps your executive staff happy and keeps them interested in your training sessions. Business catering can also be used for holiday celebrations, staff appreciation events, company anniversary or birthday celebrations of a staff member. Hiring a business catering company to celebrate such events, and treating your staff with a special meal will make them realise how much their company values them.

Most of the organisations hold occasional evening events such as a meeting with the shareholders, a fundraiser party or an annual party. It is a smart idea to have a catering provider look after all arrangements of these events. However, you must make sure that the corporate caterer you are hiring has enough experience to take care of such formal events. A highly professional and experienced business catering company will be well aware about the food quality, appearance and level of service which is required during these events.

The best way in which you can select a reputable and credible corporate catering service is through word of mouth recommendations. No amount of advertising can work as a substitute for a good recommendation that comes from somebody you trust. This is because instead of hiring the services of a new corporate catering company, it is best to go for a tried and tested one.

Hiring a professionally experienced business catering company will relieve you from a lot of worries with regards to the staff and equipment required for a big corporate event. What is required out of you is to fix the venue, give the exact number of guests who need to be served and the food items that must be a part of the menu. In order to ensure that your business catering service provider is able to deliver the best performance, it is better to work along with them.

Use Event Planning Software for Organizing Your Business Event

Organizing a big or small business event or function can be much easier and convenient using software. Online features and functionalities can be used for marketing the event, conducting registration and preparing reports that can help the organizers in getting more information, related to the participants or attendees. There are many event planners who are not yet accustomed with computer software. They still manage, coordinate and handle each task of planning a seminar, workshop or conference, manually. But dealing with the entire process manually might be ineffective, as there are often chances of discrepancies and errors.

Here are a number of factors that will explain how the software can benefit you by helping and managing your upcoming business or corporate event, easily.

Factors to be considered:

Organizing a corporate event or conference or seminar will obviously demand more than just choosing a venue and caterer. You will have to work on the budget, the deadlines, the accommodations and the other floor plans. You will also have to sell the tickets, register the participants and send email confirmations to your registrants.

Depending on the category of the event you will also have to select the best speakers and the entertainers or performers. A great amount of coordination is also required for lining up the vendors and the suppliers. If you are planning to organize a trade show, then you have to take care of the sale of floor spaces also.

Making your plan successful will certainly require managing multiple tasks, simultaneously. Your responsibility is to ensure that every single activity is coordinated and complements the other. As, meeting up all the requirements single-handedly is becoming a complex task with the running time, event planning software, which is often termed as a luxury is likely to turn up as a necessity for event planners.

Why opt for the software?

The main aim of a corporate event organizer is always to maximize the number of attendees. But the problem is that doing this in a virtual way is impossible, if the above mentioned activities are performed manually. Online software will simplify the burden, as the attendees can register online anytime. They can enter their details on the online form and an automated confirmation email reaches the attendee, after the registration process is over. Additionally, the software will also allow you to create reports that will help you in evaluating how well is the sign up process, progressing. You will have an updated report about the number of enrollments and can ultimately predict the number of participants attending your event.

Thus, event planning software can play a vital role in hosting business and corporate events in a professional way.

Top 4 Occasions for Chocolate Corporate Favors

Corporate gifts are an important tool in the marketing communication mix. In the corporate world, gift giving can be a double-edge sword, according to the Prentice-Hall Complete Business Etiquette Handbook. On the other hand, according to A Guide to International Behavior: Do's and Taboos Around the World, verbal communication is easily forgotten, whereas corporate favors with a company's logo on them can reward you by directing a business decision to your advantage. There are some special occasions where such gifts can work to strengthen your business ties.

When to Offer Chocolate Corporate Favors

Use the following ideas to offer chocolate corporate favors to improving your chances in the growing business sector:

• Fundraising events: Marketing your business at events related to social causes, charity firms, schools, colleges, etc, allows you to build additional goodwill. Make the most of it by extending innovative and useful corporate favors to the prospective clients. Marketing with the logo of the company is highly popular and professional. You can customize one-liners, your business motto or inspirational messages on your gift items as well. Customized chocolate gold and silver coins are good options and different from the usual mugs, desk clocks, stationary and t-shirts that people usually give away.


• Sealing a deal: The happiness of signing a big deal is to be shared with your valued clients first. Display your thoughtfulness by sending over a box of chocolate corporate favors. Treats made from rich Belgian chocolate are ideal for formal gifting. You can customize the chocolate coins with the color, message and graphics of your choice. The logo will leave an everlasting impact and help the client to remember your business for a long time to come.


• Christmas: If you know that the receiver is a poker fan, you could gift chocolate poker chips with your company's logo embossed on it. You can simply get a personal wishes etched on the corporate favor if the receiver knows your business well. Sending gifts on festive occasions helps you to form relationships as well.


• Trade shows: Trade shows are very competitive events. Therefore make sure that you find a retailer who offer superior quality treats. While everyone will be offering the usual, boring gifts that just clutter up the office table, you can delight prospective clients with gourmet gifts. Customization with photos, logos and impressive one-liners will help your business stand out.

Before placing the order, make sure that the retailer has experience in preparing as well as customizing corporate favors. Also, look for an affordable retailer, so that the business budget is not too stretched with these gifts.

Wedding Centerpieces - Get to Know About Wedding Event Planner

Wedding is a special event that needs attention in decorating the party hall, wedding centerpieces, designing invitations, ordering cakes and much more. There are lots of event management companies that perform these activities for a nominal cost. You can choose the help of these services either to take up one service or all the services that are offered by them. The cost of the event planning service is based on the type of services you opt.

If you are planning to save cost on your wedding, then you have to organize the wedding in an efficient way. You have to pay close attention even to intricate details. Doing so will save you time and cost. Many individuals don't have enough time to organize a large wedding. So they often take the services of event management companies to plan the wedding event.

The flower centerpieces play a important decorative part in an wedding. Choosing the right set of flowers will give an elegant look to the wedding hall. There are certain things you have to consider while deciding on the flowers for the wedding centerpieces. Decide on a budget that you can afford for the flowers. If you are having an event planner, tell them well in hand about the budget that you can afford for flower centerpieces. It is always better to use flowers that are sold out in the current season. If you try to import flowers that are off season, it will cost you heavily.

If you are planning to have your wedding in a different locality, then you got to buy the flowers in that locality rather than having it transferred from your place. This way you will be able to save on the flower transporting cost. Invest in unique containers or vases that will intensify the beauty of the flowers. If you are running short of money, then you could rather choose to buy artificial flowers than buying real flowers. You can buy artificial flowers from any crafts store. When you buy flowers, choose a color combination that goes well with the theme of your wedding.

If you are very good at organizing events, then you can better pursue a career in wedding plans. The career of a wedding planner is lucrative. However, you need the essential skills to become a wedding planner. You can search online to find courses on wedding management. Some companies require you to plan for several wedding events simultaneously.

You have to be very organized and efficient to do your best as a wedding planner. You have to talk to the wedding couples and organize events according to their interests. You should be prompt in responding to the wedding couples at the time of need. You should possess strong multi tasking and follow up skills in order to plan a wedding efficiently. As a wedding planner, you may be asked to perform a variety of services like arranging for catering and concierge services, travel reservations for guests, decorating cakes, wedding centerpieces and much more.

Custom Printed T-Shirts for Personal and Corporate Gifting

Custom printed T-shirts can be a great way to create your own style statement. There are advanced technology available to allow you to create a unique print on your T-shirt to reflect your style of dressing and your personality. There are input, technical advice and technology available online for individuals, professionals and major brand names to use and create fabric prints that meet their precise quality needs and are easily affordable too.

You just have to let loose of your creative outbursts to design and create T-shirts that capture the imagination of those who set sights on it. There are hundreds of colour combination and sizes to choose from for prints. The best creative T-shirt manufacturers use materials of the highest quality and can handle orders of any quantity and design. They assure quick delivery without compromising on the quality of work in any way.

Powerful online design tools are available for designing the best quality if creative t-shirts using the latest techniques and software. You can even choose the font type you want from hundreds of available options. Most of the concept involves dragging your images and text around the product and creating the most unique designs within minutes.

One of the biggest challenges of creating custom printed T-shirts has been how to bridge the gap between virtual images online to creating high quality real offline prints. There are tools available to transfer the special effects and clarity available online to real life models. You can even upload designs directly, zoom in to view from close quarters how the design overlays onto the fabric. You can get an accurate and precise preview of how the product will look and feel in the real world.

The custom digital printing process can be used to create custom T-shirts. You can add photos, text and logos that can be perfect for personal use and also as unique, creative gifts for children and adults. Leading service providers do not insist on minimum orders. Their systems can even create singular custom designed T-shirts at a low and affordable cost. You can choose from hundreds of styles and colours and get them delivered in as little as two to three days flat.

Custom designed T-shirts are perfect for business, events or gifts at professional or personal levels. The no minimums condition means you can order even one custom designed T-shirt without having to spend extra. Free text digitalization is available from most service providers.

Career in Event Planning - What to Look Out For in a Career in Event Planning

A career in event planning is something that can be considered as a new profession. It has been little more than a decade since the event planner's work was officially recognized as a management profession.

If you are interested in a career in event planning, you must be prepared to learn a variety of duties. The event planner must select a suitable location for the event. He or she must see to arrangements for travel, accommodation and food. The event planner must oversee registrations and plan programs.

The event planner is also called a convention planner, a conference coordinator, a meeting manager or a special event coordinator. The logistics of company meetings have become much more complicated as corporations have expanded and grown globally. A person must now train for a career in event planning in order to competently carry out all of the jobs involved in such an undertaking. Professionalism is absolutely necessary for this complex service.

For a career in event planning, you will be trained to negotiate, plan and coordinate meetings and conventions from the local municipal level to the international level. You might have to organize a small meeting for inner-office personnel, or you might have to organize a major convention attended by thousands of people from all over the world.

Some people who choose a career in event planning have their own companies. They are hired by organizations and corporations to plan and coordinate big events. Some even hire out their services for events like weddings, school reunions, family reunions and birthday parties. Many large corporations employ event planners as part of the management staff. Some people who have trained for a career in event planning are employed by large hotels or big convention centers.

Young people interested in a career in event planning should take business courses. A Bachelor's degree is the minimum requirement, and it would be a very good idea for the student to look into professional organizations that offer certification programs for a career in event planning.

This line of work requires excellent English and communication skills. It would also be to the student's benefit to learn a foreign language. This is a position that calls for leadership qualities and strong management skills. People who are successful in this field are very strong in public relations and have good sales and marketing skills.

This is certainly a profession in which it pays to be a "people" person. A career in event planning means you will at times be working with hundreds of people performing many different jobs, and that can mean an infinite number of potential problems.

The event planner must be able to think fast and find solutions; in short, be a reliable trouble-shooter.

Create Your Own Lavish Events

Sometimes we feel like organizing our own lavish events. However, what happens most of the time is that we fail to make it successful. Sometimes the event does not push through and you've spent a lot of money already. Or it could be something else, that you get substandard results. You don't want this to happen. In addition to those, getting an event organizer can be really expensive, and at times, we still don't get what we exactly want.

This is why we should create your own lavish events but before that, you'll have to know some guidelines to get the best outcomes.

Plan Ahead

In every event, planning is always a part of it. The process of organizing events takes time. It won't be an easy task mind you. You'll have to thoroughly prepare and you will have to set a goal in mind. Also, a vision is needed to create a clear picture of what your lavish event would look like. If you continue to create concrete plans and do changes along appropriately and timely, everything will go well.

Think of the budget

Think of how much you wanted to spend for the event. Of course, major events demand major spending. This includes weddings or anniversaries and so on. However, most of us may want some help with others to act as an audit. You want to take control on this area so that you won't have to spend carelessly. Lavish events don't have to be that expensive, in fact you can make successful lavish events with just spending a small amount of money only.

Research

You should do research all the time. Find out more about events online and see how they made it. You may also ask professional event organizers and seek for advice, especially if you know them or are connected with them. A bit of research on themes, other items needed cheaper alternatives for decors and so on are done weeks or months to the event. Research goes hand in hand with planning and cost allocation.

Go for it

Always go for it and don't hesitate on your plan. Most people fail on their event they organize when they hesitate. Don't hesitate, ask help from your close friends and go all the way. Try your best and enjoy the whole process.

These may be just simple tips to go about creating lavish events. The thing is you should know that it involves a lot on your part.

The Positive And Negatives Of Event Planning Courses

Event planning might be an interesting and fun filled work as long as you make plans for any event in your mind but when it comes to particle many people find it hard to manage and depend on event planners and seek their help. There are many people especially women who are blessed with this talent and manage their events alone but not everyone and this is the reason why there are plenty of institutions offering event planning courses. The event planning courses are helping many people who are seriously involved into this profession. Where there are many positive aspects about such courses, you can find a few negative points about these courses. So let's start with positive points.

• These courses have helped many people to learn the techniques and basic principle of event planning or event management and they are running their business successfully or enjoying their jobs with a confidence.


• Many of you might have talent of planning an event but lack the knowledge of basic things; you can learn those things and groom your talent with this course.


• You can get a job easily if you are certified by any authentic event management and planning school because the professional companies prefer to employ a person who has learnt basic things from any professional school.


• You can upgrade your profile by doing event planning course; good and well repute companies would also want to hire event planners that have good profile.


• In some courses, many institutions offer internship and that makes you more confident about your profession.

Where we discussed positive points about event planning courses there are some negative sides which should be mentioned.

• Event management and planning course can cost you much more than you think; you need to have enough money to spend on such courses and spend only if you are serious.


• Many people find it waste of time; as there are a lot of people who are running this business successfully without qualifying any course, so instead of spending time in doing such courses many people learn by assisting experts voluntarily and learn by observing them.


• If you do not have an aptitude for this profession then there is no use for doing such course because this is not an ordinary profession; you have to have an aptitude for this career.

Therefore keeping these positive and negative points in mind you should consider to take any course because event planning is a hobby and source of enjoyment for those you have an aptitude for this otherwise it is a hectic and demanding job.

Successfully Managing a Performing Arts Venue

Before The Advent of Event Management Software

Anyone who has ever been involved in community theater or performing arts venues knows the huge volume of paperwork that makes the job difficult and margin for errors incredibly high. Managing the overhead of a performing arts facility is an enormous task. Add to that booking the best entertainers who attract audience interest, arranging publicity for each event as well as hospitality services, guest rooms, rehearsal equipment, stage, prop and scenery management and if applicable, costuming and musicians. The answer is a tight rein on details with the help of event management software.

Managing Details As Well As the Event

The worst-case scenario is forgetting to check in with the printer on ticket release dates or verifying the shipment of costumes from the company that supplies 30 or 40 dancers with cabaret-style costumes. That is an "oops moment" no performing arts venue manager wants on their professional resume. Hire the best marketing and PR people available. Without top-of-the-line marketing, the best performing arts venues free fall. From one season to the next, depending on the venue, diversity of events is equally important. Predictability in entertainment has a negative impact. Even in small community theaters, the range of performances should vary from heavy drama to light musicals. This is where a good director and producer are likely the most valuable assets. Their professional status should be equal to the star quality of performers.

Point and Click Away Performing Arts Venue Management Blues

With theater management software, just about any detail is readily available and in most cases the event management software will flag certain dates and create reminders the minute the program boots up. This is the beauty of this type of software. Everything that normally ends up on paper is right there on the screen. If hard copy is needed, it is simple to print it. This is handy whenever there is a dispute over dates, times, release information or marketing schedules. Just point and click away the difficulties of performing arts venue management.

One other asset of theater management software is the ability to review archived information for future reference. The name of a particular singer, musician or director and contact information stays in the records and can be sorted like a database. The software is user friendly and saves time and money. All of which helps successfully manage a performing arts venue.

Five Simple and Free Ways to Promote Special Events

Are you responsible for planning and promoting a special event? Whether you need to publicize a business open house, a fundraiser for a nonprofit organization, a professional association meeting, or just about any other type of event that is open to the public, there are a number of no-cost promotional options available to you.

Five No-Cost Event Promotion Options

Here are a few free special event promotion resources that are easy-to-use and can deliver powerful results.

1. Event Promotion Website

There are several no-cost event promotion websites that every event marketer should consider using. Three of the most popular options are EventBrite.com, Eventful.COM and AmericanTowns.com. These sites are designed to make it easy for users can browse events by local area and event type, making it easy for people who are looking for things to do - and who are in your area or who have an interest specific to your event - to find your announcements. Listings are also search engine friendly, making it easy for web searchers to find your events organically.

2. Local Online Event Directories

No matter where you live, there's a good chance that there is at least one local event directory that accepts submissions of activities going on in and around the community. For example, the City of Mobile, Alabama publishes a Community Calendar. Those seeking opportunities to promote events held in the local area that are open to the public can submit announcements via an online calendar submission form (http://www.cityofmobile.org/calendar).

You'll need to conduct research in your local area to find out what options are available to you. Try running the name of your city and the words "even calendar" through your favorite search engine and see what kind of results you get. Be sure to check the terms and conditions of any site you locate, as you may come across some that are limited only to free events or that charge posting fees.

3. Social Media Marketing

A number of social media websites, including Facebook and LinkedIn, allow users to set up and share events at no cost. If you are engaged in social media marketing, be sure to utilize this powerful tool. Even social media that don't have specific event set-up features can be excellent venues for spreading the word about special events.

If you've not starting incorporating social networking into your marketing strategies, it's something you may want to go ahead and consider doing - both for event promotion purposes as well as to support your overall marketing goals and objectives.

4. Local Print Publications

Many local newspapers and magazines include various types of event and activity calendars. Closely review publications in your area to identify the options that are available and that may provide an appropriate way of sharing information about the activities that you are responsible for promoting.

Note that daily newspapers often include event calendars only on certain days of the week, with different versions in topic-specific sections. Be sure to look through the full publication every day for a week to create a comprehensive list of publicity options.

Submission instructions and guidelines are often published with the printed event calendars or are made available on the publication's website. Make note of these and follow them when making submissions. If such information is not published, call the publication and ask to speak to the person in charge of submissions for the sections that interest you to find out the best way to make submissions.

5. Local Broadcast Media

Radio and television stations often feature local online event calendars on their websites, and select certain information from the calendars to announce on the air. It's in your best interest to visit the website of each broadcast entity in your market to find out what kinds of opportunities exist and to use them appropriately any time you have an event to promote.

Depending on the nature of your event, you may also want to send a media alert to the news editor or news producer offering an interview opportunity with an organization representative, speaker or performer. This technique is appropriate for fundraisers and events where notable keynote speakers or performers are exhibiting, as well as in some other circumstances.

Are You Ready to Start Promoting Your Event?

Of course, this is not an all-inclusive list of effective event promotion activities - but it's certainly a great place to start. The next time you have an event to promote, utilize the resources described here to help maximize your reach of potential attendees. Remember: while promoting an event properly takes some time, it doesn't have to cost a lot of money - or anything at all.

Event Planning Software: A Beginners Guide to Journaling Management

As I said in the first article in this series, when you enter the world of event planning, the one thing you realize very quickly is that flexibility is a necessity. Your event planning software will need to track appointments, events, journaling or diary entries, projects, and to-do lists. In this article I will discuss the benefits of journaling.
Before we talk about the event planning software journaling feature, you need to know that journaling or diary writing is very important; however, the importance may not be readily apparent from an event planner's perspective. Let's look at just two benefits:

1. Your ideas can flow inhibited onto the page. Let your uninhibited thoughts lead you. Since you don't have to proofread your writing, your real feelings come out about your day. This is where you will be able to uncover how you are feeling about the people and things of your event planning career. This will also allow you to realistically see where you need to make changes to enrich you life.

2. When you journal you end up writing what you need to know. You will discover valuable insights about yourself that will allow you become more successful as an event planner. You will be able to lean on insights about yourself to guide you into more productive work within your niche. Remember you are unique and knowing more about yourself will undoubtedly show you that you are strongest in a niche within your event planning niche.

The most important features of your event planning software in regards to journaling should be your ability to make flexible entries and your ability to view an entire month of entries in your event planner software at once. Your software should be able to provide you with a text entry area to write your journal entries. This will serve two purposes:

1. This monthly view of your journal will allow you to find certain journal entries quickly at a glance.

2. This monthly view will allow you to see from a monthly perspective how consistent you have been at making journal entries.

Event planning software in the management of journals can be a great help in this process provided you have the minimum features above. There are other great features such as multi-category journals. The 2 features above are essential to productive journal management for your event planning software.

(c) Copyright 2005 Olan Butler All Rights Reserved

Why Wedding Planners Need to Do Bridal Fairs

Whenever I participate in the Bridal Fair I always have other planners asking me- "was it worth it?" The simple answer is yes but I can tell you that it's not just what you do at the fair but it's what you do afterwards that makes the fair worth it.

Here are 4 tips for maximizing your Bridal Fair investment:

1. Create A Great, Showstopping Booth- Even if they're not giving out an award make sure your booth stands out. You want your booth to resonate with your target bride so that she stops by. It also shows other wedding vendors that you're playing a bigger game and that can mean more referrals.

2. In person and Online Attention- We always take a ton of pictures of our booth because it's not just the people who notice you in person that you want to impress but you want to leverage EVERYTHING that you do so that means tweeting and face-booking like crazy about your participation in a Bridal Fair. That way even if brides aren't there they are taking notice of the splash you're making.

3. Build Your List- Bridal Fairs are the best way to build your list. I always give out my free report and have brides sign up to receive it via email and then later they get my ezine. This follow up is crucial and makes the difference between getting business post fair and not.

4. Make Genuine Connections- Yes we live in an online world and it's important to market online (you know I believe in that) but it's also important to have some face time with engaged couples and to make a connection with them. Brides and grooms come to these shows seeking answers and as a wedding planner, you have lots of them. Really listen to what their needs are and suggest how you can help them. We take appointment bookings right there at our booth and are busy in the weeks post fair with interviews.

Bridal Fairs are fantastic for wedding planners to participate in. It's a great way to build your list and get noticed. I personally love the networking we get to do with other vendors as it's great to see them outside of a wedding and reconnect. Bridal Fairs can be extremely profitable but you need to make sure you have all your marketing materials and your strategy aligned before you take the plunge.

5 Careers After Event Planning Courses

You are very excited to be starting your event organisation courses. But as time goes on, you will need to get more specific about your plans for the future. Here are some examples of careers to which your training may lead.

1. After event planning courses, you can become a...wedding planner

In your event planner program, you will learn how to plan all kinds of events. But after graduation, you may choose to specialize in blushing brides- and grooms-to-be.

Graduates of event planner courses who are considering a career as a wedding planner should:

• enjoy working irregular hours


• be prepared to work very long days


• have good people skills (assertive, but polite)


• be adaptable (a lot of last minute issues can arise with weddings)


• be good at managing your own time (and that of others)


• have a calm, reassuring demeanour


• have a good sense of fashion and style


• be a skilled negotiator, able to get the best prices, for example, from service providers


• love weddings

2. After event planning courses, you can become a... professional conference organizer (PCO).

Your event planner program will also prepare you for a career as a PCO, which is a kind of consultant who helps clients - often from university or other professional-level organizations - plan conferences.

As taught in event planner courses, PCOs help clients with:

• logistics


• audiovisuals


• entertainment


• venue choice


• organizing speakers


• finding funding


• setting up information booths


• managing the budget

3. After event planning courses, you can become a... government event planner.

Your event planning courses may prepare you for a job in the public service, planning events for government departments and agencies.

You may even be asked to apply the knowledge gleaned from your event organisation program to the creation of an official government event organisation guide.

4. After event planning courses, you can become a... hotel event planner.

Perhaps a career in the travel and tourism industry is what you have in mind for after graduation from your event planner courses.

Hotels often make a lot of their business by attracting groups. They need graduates of event planning programs to help guests organize conferences, with all that that entails, including:

• determining a budget


• choosing venues


• establishing a schedule


• communicating with attendees and presenters

All skills that you will have learned in your event planning program!

5. After event planning courses, you can become an... event delivery manager.

An event delivery manager is the first person on the scene the day of an event, overseeing the staff that is setting up the food tables and coffee machines. This is a management position, where event planner courses are sometimes a requirement.

Happy choosing!

Planning For A Corporate Event

While planning a corporate event, the first thing you should keep in mind is to be clear about the purpose of the event. A good idea is to include a written statement of the purpose of the event as a signature or a footer on the emails regarding the event. They are mostly organized to discuss the vital objectives of the organization. You should take utmost care the organize the event, otherwise it may give bad impressions to the attendees. Below mentioned are some of the steps which will help you a lot to organize a successful corporate which for sure will leave a very good impression on the guest attending the party:

• Location: The location of the event plays a crucial role in its success. So you have to decide in advance about the location. Nowadays there are many restaurants available which gives the facility or organizing them. A large number of people prefer nowadays these restaurants instead of hosting them in their own place. It saves them from lots of complications and also saves a good amount of time, effort and money. Get as much as information you can about the various restaurants which offer this facility and then opt for a company which you think is best suited according to your needs and the budget.

• List of the guests: The next important thing is to create a list of the guests whom you want to invite to the event. So you should give it some thought and then start writing the names of who are important for the event and start contacting them. Call them and give them information about the party and ask whether they are available on that particular day. Fix the date of the event on a day when most of the invitees will be able to present.

• Don't feel bothered to ask for help: You should not hesitate to ask your co-workers for suggestions during the preparations and your corporate event planning. It is mainly because some of them may actually have experience in these matters, and can perhaps give you very useful tips and advice about how to organize such a party/event. They may even roll up their sleeves and get involved. With their help you will be able to successfully organize your event, and may even get some praise from your seniors.

• Menu: Food and the drinks are very important thing during a party, no matter for what the party is being hosted. If the food and the drinks are not good, then other things does not actually matter. So you should get information about the taste and the preference of the people who all going to grace the occasional and prepare the menu according to it.

Taking care of the above mentioned procedures will help you a lot to organize a successful corporate event for which you will get pecked on your back for sure.

Make a Statement in Your Corporate Events

If you have a career in a corporate setting, then you must be aware how important it is to have your company's events to be organised and well received by your guests and patrons. More often event organisers fail to accomplish simple things. Although the event in general is successful, how the guests remember the last few moments of the events still matters. Simply put, leaving an impression before the guests leave is as important as how you opened the event. This is where corporate event giveaways come in, like giving personalised sweets.

Events that carry the name of your company must conform to the company's values and principles. It is way different that just throwing a party hoping everybody will enjoy. The company's stature depends on these kinds of events. Making an impact in these events will likely mean making a prospective client or associates in the future, thus, an increase in projected revenues. The event must be remembered by the guests, and a good way to do so is to give them souvenirs during the conclusion. The giveaways must also carry the identity of the company. Personalised sweets can play this role well.

Choosing the venue of the event must also be considered wisely. If the company is cutting short on budget, make it up with other aspects like the food, and providing entertainment will is also a way to establish your company's connection with the guests. In the duration of the event, there must be a constant but subtle way of engraving your company's identity to the interest of the guests; for example, you can have your service crew serve personalised sweets.

Getting an interesting host for the event must also be taken into major consideration. Boredom is the last thing you want to join the event. You can also organise mini games that will run throughout the event in a constant interval. You can give prizes for these games, like some personalised sweets with your company's logo or colours in them.

There are many things that could server as a perfect souvenir for your company's event. Personalised sweets and other foods or some wines though are among the top suggestions. They are easily accessible and everybody will like them.

Event Planning Guidelines For Your Conference

Event planning involves a whole lot of planning and administrative work. It's a very demanding job which needs proper forecast, scheduling and arrangement to have a successful conference. Even before laying the first written draft of your planning, you need to ask certain questions to yourself:

• What are you or your client trying to achieve out of this conference?


• Who are your target audience as in delegates and sponsors?

Once you have your answers, it's time for you to start planning your conference.

Decide a Perfect Date

It is suggested to have number of dates in your mind, so that if you have to cancel one date on account of unavailability of your chosen venue or anything else, you can switch to another. Avoid selecting a bank holiday because your potential attendees may not like to visit the conference on special dates. Make sure that you do not hold your conference on same date as other conferences held by your competitor or related industry. It is advisable to plan your conference just before or after another conference in your city, the topic of which is related to yours. Conference attendees most of the times attend conferences on related topics to increase knowledge or connections.

Decide on Budget

May be the most crucial part of planning is the budget, depending on which you will count your return on investment. The ideal way is to offer a financial limit in definite areas of earnings, including sponsorship, ticket sales, as well as expenses like printing, location, food, supplies and security.

Decide on a Venue

The location and the venue sometimes play a key role in increasing attendance. A location where attendees can easily reach is the most preferable option. For example, you can select a location near the airport, central station or the city center.

Book the venue for your conference depending on the number of attendees you are expecting. Good hotels come with very professional conference rooms which are ideal, as they provide workforce as well as a good infrastructure. Do not forget to scrutinize your venue well in advance in order to avoid unpleasant surprises later.

Speaker and Program

Good topics and speakers are the main attraction of any type of conference. Thus, schedule good speakers at an early stage to ensure the success of your event. Make sure to include as many big names as you can. Speakers are crowd-pullers and acceptance from one good speaker helps you get approval from other famous speakers.

Next, you need to set a jam-packed agenda even before you start promoting your conference. This is because speakers and the program schedule will be your main way of drawing attention.

Promote your Conference

The aim of promoting your conference is mainly to gain more volume of new attendees and invite the existing ones. You can use online event management solutions to make things easy for you. Besides offline promotion using relevant newspapers and magazines, you can get more attention by using online ways. Publish your event page with your corporate look, send automated invitations to last year attendees, post conference calendar on your website, involve social network websites like Facebook and post your conference in local event listings, conference calendars and relevant blogs and directories. Use powerful communications and calendaring features to intensify marketing and promotional activities. Use email communications, discount rules and gift cards to promote and sell your event online.

Online Registration for Your Conference

Easy to use solution with professional approach is what attendees wish when they go for registering for your conference. Use online event registration and payment solution to streamline your ticketing and payment processing. Completely customizable registration forms with auto fill facility protect and save attendee data. The built-in questionnaire adds value to the registration process. You get to know all the required information and their preference which you can use to ensure attendee satisfaction. This online registration form can be hosted in your event website where you can allow one person to register and pay for a group of people by event or by booking option. Your event website is not only an online registration form but also an online advertisement of the agenda, speaker, directions and some hotel recommendations where your attendees can stay during the conference.

Use online payment management solution so that you can offer your registrant the ease of secure payment transaction that support real-time authorization and processing for all major credit cards, PayPal, Purchase Orders and checks.

Finally, when 'The Day' comes, you get ready with a check-in list and bar coded name badges that you have created using the registrant data. If you use online event management software for your conference, along with numerous benefits, you can use the dashboard for generating reports on post-event results. You can also send targeted emails to conduct post-event surveys to know honest opinion of your attendees so that you can plan more successful conference next time. Use these tips for planning your conference, and you will see how you increase ROI and lessen your workload.

Company Picnic Ideas and Planning Tips

The company picnic is a beloved tradition at many firms.

It's an opportunity for employees to mingle and "let down their hair."

A well organized company picnic with planned activities can help integrate employees with each other. This is particularly important if the company has undergone recent reorganization. As such it functions as a "team bonding" mechanism.

A company picnic can be held for an entire firm of thousands or for a single department of 30.

In my role of party entertainer (and prior to that corporate employee), I have attended countless such events. Here are some observations, tips, and ideas I picked up along the way.

General Considerations

Like any other type of event, you need to decide what you want your picnic to be like and how much you want to spend.

As with any event, it is important to keep the needs and tastes of your attendees paramount.

Allow yourself sufficient time to book your venue if the picnic is offsite. Demand for some venues is at a premium during peak periods. It is not uncommon to make reservations several months or more in advance of a given date.

You'll need to plan food and beverages, and activities and entertainment and, in some cases, transportation to the picnic site.

Allow enough time so you can give your employees sufficient advance notice to include the picnic into their plans. This is especially important if you'll be inviting family members or if it is held on a weekend.

Company picnics and company picnic ideas can range from the very simple to a pull-out-all-stops extravaganza. My observation is that people have a good time at both.

Do you want to have a theme? A theme is fun! Plus it makes it easier to organize food and activities.

WHEN do you want to hold you company's picnic?

Here, in the Philadelphia area, companies hold their picnics beginning in June through early October.

Considerations such as your company's workflow, availability of a desired venue, etc., will help you determine the date. Employees are less apt to be away on vacation in June or September, but they will really enjoy the chance to kick back in July or August.

There are pros and cons to weekday picnics versus weekend picnics.

Company picnics held during a workday will ensure a greater attendance for employees when they would normally be in the office. And, they don't cut into precious personal time.

But spouses and children are generally more available for a weekend date.

WHOM do you want to invite?

Staff only? Members of the employee's immediate family? What about significant others, friends? Decide where to draw the line.

Family picnics are a great way for employees to meet co-workers' families. It humanizes co-workers by allowing them to relax their at-work personas.

On the other hand, single or divorced employees can feel like the odd wheel at a very family oriented event. That can be overcome by planning activities suitable for people of all ages.

Activities that require participants to form groups can help integrate the attendees. And it keeps your guests occupied.

WHERE do you want to have your company picnic?

While many picnics take place under a tent in the company's parking lot, offsite venues can make people feel more relaxed. If you're on a strict budget, one option is a nearby state park. Many have large pavilions ideally suited for such events.

I've also been to company picnics given at the home of the firm's CEO or owner. This kind of setting adds a homey touch to the festivities. In some instances, facilities were set up so that the guests attend to their needs without entering the host's private home.

An excellent option to consider is a venue that is set up especially for hosting the company picnic. Generally these picnic parks come complete with in-house catering and lots of games and activities for kids both big and small. Some day camps rent out their facilities on weekends when they are otherwise not in use.

Amusement parks and river cruises are other options.

Tip: Have a Plan B in the case of rain.

Some Plan B options include:
o A tent with walls or access to an on-site building
o Event insurance
o A rain date

Keep in mind that if you opt for a rain date, your vendors and entertainers may require additional payment to reserve the second date. That is because they have to turn down other clients during the busy summer season to keep that time open for you.

Food and Beverages

If you choose to have the food catered, you don't have to worry about preparation or cleanup. Many venues such as picnic parks have in-house catering. And many caterers specialize in handling company picnics.

The best part of picnic fare is that it is simple and satisfying. Hot dogs and hamburgers are extremely popular at picnics. But they are not compulsory and caterers will cater to your every whim.

Keep the menu flexible enough to accommodate those with special needs and preferences. These days you'll find many meat eaters and vegans, not to mention devotees of Atkins, South Beach, and other diets. Muslims and Jews may not wish to eat pork.

So having at least one non-pork and non-meat option is an excellent idea. If your picnic has a theme, your menu can reflect that.

Decide whether you want to permit alcoholic beverages. If so, make sure there is a way to ensure that anyone who drinks a bit too much makes it home safely.

Have age appropriate activities and games

Some venues such as picnic parks make it a point to supply many activities. Nonetheless, you may want to supplement them. Entertainers such as DJs, caricature artists, Tarot card readers, magicians, face painters, clowns are some popular additions.

Door prizes are a cherished company picnic idea at many firms. Door prizes work both as employee appreciation and an incentive for the employees to linger.

Examples of some prizes I've seen include certificate good for a dinner for two at a local restaurant, gift certificate at a local department store, a day off with pay, even a free vacation complete with round trip airline tickets.

These are some company picnic ideas and planning tips to get you started.

But the most important tip is the one I save for last. After you've worked so hard to organize and plan your event, be sure to go and enjoy the festivities yourself!

Automate Your Event Management Process

Have you ever thought of some better way other than manually handling the complex process of events registration? Well, so long the method of event management included lots of pen and paper work in terms of completing the event registration process, maintaining everyday reports on ticket sales, attendee registration status, and conducting surveys on post event performance.

But now another form of very powerful event management process has come in - online, automated event management solution. This web-based solution offers you a lucrative way of hosting events and activities. This flexible solution offers great help in terms of easy registration, credit card payment, creation of online private communities, and member management.

Using an automated online event management service will benefit both you and your customers. The freely accessible online sign up process will enable easy entry to your concerts or seminars. Your visitors can view the registration page and add details to it from any location worldwide. You will simply wonder as to how things are so easily getting created and done in minutes! The web-based registration system comes with the online event managing portal. It lets you create one or more registration pages in a few seconds' time. Event organizers can customize the registration pages to add updates on a timely basis. You can add the company logo on your events registration page for ready promotion and recognition by the industry.

We all know how painful it is to wait for hours to get a movie or a play ticket. In such a situation, the online event management system comes as a big savior by allowing easy booking procedure over the internet. The Cloud-based event management solution features a PCI-compliant payment system. You can use major credit cards and checks to pay before the registration closes. In case you are unable to attend an event for some personal reason, the online system promises to pay back your ticket price. However, you will be refunded as per the event organizer's refund policy.

Any organization can use the Cloud-based event management solution's private community portal to create an online community of members. This community is highly secured and gives the opportunity to share any kind of information with your fellow members, at anytime, 24x7. This single integrated platform allows you to create and schedule your meetings and trade shows, publish and streamline them, and let your members engage in live discussions.

The web-based event management portal lets you manage meetings, parties, and road shows wonderfully and in a truly professional manner. It also offers you a great platform to foster stronger relationships with your members.

Use Pre-Event Marketing Strategies for a Successful Event

Marketing and promotion of an event is extremely fundamental to its success. Hence, event organizers, worldwide work on various pre-event and post-event marketing strategies to promote events to a large-scale audience. However, pre-event marketing tactics are extremely crucial in order to increase event attendance and simultaneously converting the majority of your potential leads into confirmed attendees.

However, for successful affairs, organizers must focus on activities that can help them to get the word out. There are numerous pre-event marketing strategies and all of them can be used in different ways. As an program organizer, you need to figure out, which one is going to work out best for your event. We have come up with some exciting ideas to help you to create innovative marketing campaigns for your events.

Announce your event in the local newspaper - Although newspaper ads are losing popularity in this digital era, experts believe that there is still a margin of effectiveness in this strategy. Newspapers have a volume reach out to the local audience.. There are a variety of sections where you can advertise your event, like community news, city events, etc. What you can do is send out a news release a week before highlighting the special aspects of the event and get the local newspaper to publish it.

Create an Event Blog - An event blog is a great way to approach your potential attendees in the shortest possible time. Readers will be more interested in getting access to important information about your affairss from the blog. It is likely to keep them engaged. A great way is to write interesting articles about the event and some original aspects that will take place on the day. You can research about the event and your target audience. It will help you to highlight the best bits that may be of interest to your target audience. By doing this, you can build a connection with your event attendees and thus inspire them to be present at the occasion.

Email Marketing- Email marketing is a proven method that assists in a significant rise in attendee numbers. By doing this, you can not only stay in touch with your prospective parties but at the same time deliver updates about your event on a regular basis. It is likely to help you develop a cordial relationship with your program attendees. You can increase the frequency of email marketing when you deem necessary.

Experts believe that the pre event marketing activities is directly responsible towards a great turn out. An effective marketing strategy enables you to get the word out, but you need to know how to work on these tactics to make your event a great success.

Your DJ Service Can Drum Up More Gigs With Promotional Products

The love of music and your knack for picking out songs that keep large groups of people happy has evolved in to a DJ business. You may be happy working at this a few times a month, but something deep inside tells you it would be more fun to do it several times a week.

Scratching your head about it won't get you many results. Simple business cards can get lost in the shuffle along with everyone else's card, but when you hand out promotional products your service will stand out among the others much more.

Promotional gifts, when chosen wisely, can help take your DJ business to the places you have been wanting to go.

If you are on a budget there are many promotional items that can be purchased for a relatively low cost and still help you to gain more exposure- promotional pens are cheap enough to hand out by the dozens at each gig and can do wonders for brand awareness.

Keyrings emblazoned with your name and contact information can remind it's recipient of your buttery beats each time they use their keys. Fridge magnets can be made in any shape and color you desire to best represent your style. Even simple sports bottles have a low per-unit cost and will be a welcome promotional gift during the warm summer months.

You may fancy yourself as a very tech-savvy individual, why not use that talent in your promotional product? Promotional USB flash sticks are useful and can contain a wealth of information about you and your services.

You may rely on event-planning services as leads to your gigs. Don't just hand them a business card like everyone else does- a promotional USB flash drive can be printed with your contact information on the outside and be manufactured pre-loaded with the media files of your choice, such as music, video presentations and PowerPoint presentations that include references and song lists.

Event planners are handed business cards all the time, a promotional USB flash stick is not very likely to be stuck in a rolodex and forgotten about.

These are just a small example of what kinds of promotional items are available to you for the purpose of raising the awareness and exposure of your service. There are hundreds of choices available. Promotional items and the selection can be overwhelming.

The best first step to make in choosing a promotional gift is to contact a reliable online gift supplier of promotional products. A quality purveyor of promotional gifts can help you to narrow down the selection and pick out a promotional giveaway item that is tailored to you and your service, both physically and aesthetically.

Better to make that call before your competition does.

Why Is Mobile App Marketing Becoming So Popular Among the Event and Class Organizers?

Mobile app marketing has practically changed the way organizations connect and share their event or class-related information with the target audience. The conventional marketing strategies of advertising on newspapers and business magazines or distributing pamphlets have been taken over by more advanced set of promotional tools, such as the internet and various mobile devices. At present, a good number of organizations are using the Smartphone to promote and publicize their activities on a wider scale.

How Does This System Work?

This mobile phone application allows event or class planners easily send text messages (SMSs) as well as their website links on their potential customer's Smartphone. It lets you inform your target audience about the features of your conference and training programs and the advantages of attending them. Besides, the app also lets any interested individual sign up for the seminar or fundraiser by easily accessing the event registration portal and online ticketing site on his or her handset.

Allow me to share with you the advantages of using a mobile phone application to market your events and classes.

Go Viral

Mobile marketing increases the chances of sharing the news and information about your occasion with maximum number of people. There are over 95.8 million Smartphone users in the US at present, which means the chances for your organizational activities to be recognized are also as much.

Easy Accessibility of Your Event News

You can allow your target audience to easily access all your seminar or fundraiser news and information via their Smartphone.

Immediate Sharing of Information

Unlike advertising on print media, sharing information on handsets of millions of people hardly takes any time. Hence, the chance of receiving immediate response via Smartphone is also extremely high.

Adds Versatility

Marketing your products and solutions over mobile phones can help you take your business to the next level. It opens up a new channel to reach out to those of your target audience who use mobile phones more and is less computer-savvy.

Add a Wow Factor to Your Classes and Events!

Mobile apps are trendy and hence, popular among the new generation. Resorting to this type of marketing strategy will help you quickly share your new product or events information with millions of Smartphone users, not only in US, but also across the whole world. It takes only a few seconds for an advertisement or any of your website links to get successfully delivered on your potential customers or event attendees' handset.