Event Management Service: Appoint Judiciously

Your boss has assigned you the task of selecting the best event management company for organizing the annual conference of the company, which will be followed by a grand dinner? You are a young entrepreneur, who wants to congratulate your stuff on their success and so you want to throw a lavish party? As it is not possible for you to organize the party, you have decided to take the assistance of the professional services. Nowadays many people do not want to take the responsibilities of planning and organizing the parties all by themselves and seek the assistance of the professionals. There is nothing wrong in it.

If you want to appoint an agency for organizing the conference or a dinner party or any other corporate event, you need to take care of a few important factors. One of the most important factors that you need to take care is the reputation of the service in this field. When you want to get the best assistance and want to impress your guests, you should take the assistance of a group that has positive reputation in this field. If a group does not have positive reputation in this field, they will not be able to provide you with the best assistance.

When you are considering assistance of a management group or agency, you should also collect necessary information about their staff members. All the groups do not appoint trained and experienced professionals for their work. Therefore, you should ensure that the service you have selected have appointed experienced members for serving their clients.

To serve your guests in the best manner and to make the episode successful, you should always take the assistance of the event management U.K companies that assures professionalism. As you are planning for a conference, a corporate dinner or any other corporate programs, it will be better for you to take their assistance, from one that works professionally. Your entire effort for organizing the event will be lost if the staffs of the event management companies do not maintain complete professionalism during the occasion. So, you should always give importance to the professionalism of the staffs.

It is obvious that the professional service which will take the responsibility of organizing the entire affair will charge money for their work. The rates of these services depend on their reputation as well as their expertise in this field. To avail the best services, you should never make compromises on the quality of their work for the money that they will charge. However, to save your money and to get the best value of your money, you can take quotations from some of the services. Compare the quotes of a few different services and appoint the one which offers best service at an affordable price.

How to Use Craigslist to Plan Your Wedding

Are you planning a wedding on a budget? If so, you want to have your dream wedding, but you may be limited on costs. Luckily, there is a way for you to plan your wedding while on a budget. That way involves using Craigslist.org.

How can the popular classified website help you plan your upcoming wedding? In more ways than you could have ever imagined. To get started, lets cover the basics.

Your wedding dress. Do you already have a wedding dress? If not, you may want to save money by opting for a used dress. Not all brides save their dresses and most are in pristine condition. In addition to finding wedding dresses, bridesmaid dresses are also commonly listed for sale on Craigslist. If you want, you can use the services of a local tailor to ensure the dress properly fits or to customize it more. In fact, you can also find a local tailor on Craigslist.org too!

The tents, tables, and chairs. When many brides and grooms are on a budget, they opt for an outdoor wedding, usually in the backyard of a close friend or family member. If you opt for this approach, you will need a tent, tables and chairs, as well as other rental equipment. The good news, you can usually find these items listed for rent on Craigslist!

The DJ. What wedding is complete without great music? You will need a DJ for the wedding reception. Although you can turn to your local phonebook, you can also find a DJ on Craigslist. Many of these individuals operate on a part-time basis. Since they may not be full fledged DJs, you are likely to find better rates. Just ensure you are able to work with the person to choose the music for your reception.

The wedding planner. If you are on a budget, you might assume that an event planner is out of the question. Due to the poor economy, many Americans are now looking for additional ways to make money. You can find these individuals on Craigslist. You don't need to hire a professional event planner. In fact, a bride who just finished planning her own wedding will do. She has the experience and is likely to charge a very fair rate.

Event Planning Course - Learn How to Plan the Order of Events at A Wedding Reception

Event planning and management has emerged as a major professional field since past recent years. Ranging from a casual everyday small conference up to a big formal occasion like a wedding, everything is planned. Surely a bright future is waiting for you if you take up some authorized and certified Event Planning Courses. These courses are of short duration and will enable you to manage every kind event like weddings, concerts, birthdays, conferences and much more. Though every different event has different fundamental requirements, you will successfully fulfill all criteria of every variety of occasions once you take these courses.

When you're assigned the task of arranging everything for a wedding ceremony, you are headed by a large variety of tasks from the bridal dress selection and inviting all guests up to the best video and photography arrangements of the event. Thus Event Planning Course is necessary to accurately visualize and strategically plan all phases of the ceremony.

When a family appoints you for their wedding ceremony, they expect you to manage everything and that's what Event Planning courses teach you. By availing Event Planning Course, when you're taught about wedding planning it includes the following criteria:

1. Usually you're appointed a week before the wedding. Try to know the family and their traditional values in as much short duration as you can. Then you can plan and select everything according to their taste. Take the bride and groom to the best bridal dress shop in town keeping in mind that the dresses aren't much costly and the price can be adjusted well in budget. Don't make the family feel degraded by taking them to a very high brand shop which they can't afford.

2. Appoint a reliable tailor for stitching the bridal dress on time and exactly according to the couple's wish, in case the bride has selected an unstitched material for her wedding.

3. Take a thorough look on the guest list and make sure twice or thrice that you don't miss out inviting someone. Guide the family to select an attractive invitation card. Always keep the budget in mind as told by the family.

4. Selection of the location must be among your priorities. You must make reservation of the locality at least four days before the event. If it is a high budget wedding, make the booking at some exotic five stars. Even if the budget of the family is low, try your best to find a genuine and stunning location which the family will love. If you have some sources, book a ship for the wedding at cheaper prices and you will definitely win many appreciations. When booking a location always keep in mind the convenience of all the guests for reaching that place.

Company Anniversary Marketing Events - There Is No Substitute

Creating company anniversary marketing events may be the most important thing you do to celebrate your organization's history.

Electronic media and all the forms of social media can nurture a connection, suggest a connection, facilitate a real connection but are still like talking to your loved ones through plastic screens at the county lockup. Meeting in person with no barriers is the surest way to actually make a connection.

Anniversary events can create bonds between people. There is simply no substitute for being in the same room with people who are buying your products, using your service, donating to your cause, selling materials to you, working for your organization, investing in your venture, supporting your presence in their community, and making regulations that affect your business.

Many organizations have their 'inside sales' people meet clients at events, such as conventions, trade shows, etc., because they understand the value of face to face contact to establish, build and reinvigorate a relationship. Social media is beneficial, e-mail is effective, phone conversations are indispensable but looking into someone's eyes when you are in the same room, enjoying a shared experience is worth, as my dad used to say, all the tea in China. It's worth a lot.

Despite what you see on 'reality television,' people generally are polite when they meet in person, which opens the door to build a relationship that includes shared experiences, common interests, and personal responses. Events also can lead to rebuilding a tattered or neglected relationship. So get into the room together.

Events come in all sizes, shapes and colors

Just one of the things that Harley Davidson did in celebration of its 100th anniversary was its Open Road Tour - a nine-city traveling festival billed as "The World's Largest Rolling Birthday party," giving people a chance to interact with the Harley-Davidson brand.

The culminating event of Honda's 25th anniversary of making motorcycles in Marysville, Ohio, was a three-day dinner, attended by a record 16,742 visitors, who helped kick off Honda's 25th year of building motor vehicles in Ohio.

The Kellogg Foundation sponsored a series of six program-related seminars designed to advance the impact of philanthropy.

Peet's Coffee and Tea, celebrating it's 40th company anniversary, invited customers to visit their neighborhood stores for in-store tastings, home brewing workshops, lectures, and complimentary beans and beverages.

Who to invite, what to say

Most important, when you are planning your corporate anniversary event, know what messages you want and need to deliver and to whom. And consider incorporating a major listening component into the event.

Red Hat, which bills itself as "The world's most trusted provider of Linux and open source technology," following its 10thanniversary, undertook a world-wide tour to meet people interested in Red Hat and to spread the message of open source, as well as to hear from customers all over the globe.

Invite to your company anniversary events those persons who mean the most to the future success of your endeavors. Listen to what they have to say. Tell them about your plans, and tell them how you figure in each other's lives going forward.

Don't go it alone

How do you determine the specific marketing objectives for your anniversary events? How do you develop marketing objectives embraced by all? How do you convince your employees that these events are important to their future? How do you irresistibly convince your sales force to follow up on the leads that are generated by your events? Find a marketing partner.

What strategies are you going to use to guarantee significant ROI on your events? How do you determine the best ways to promote your events? How do you shape your events from start to finish for maximum impact? Find a marketing partner.

Don't go it alone. This is just too important to fold into the assignments of an already overworked staff. Get assistance in determining the best events to use for your audiences and help in both developing and executing those events. This will pay you enormous dividends.

Top 9 Event Management Tools for Overall Success of Your Events

Organizing an event is a stressful job and as an organizer, you need to work hand-in hand with your support staff to ensure that everything is on the right place. Arranging an event or multiple events across various locations requires organizational skill and involves lot of exhaustion. However, to do away with these stressful jobs event managers, now can access various online tools that can lead to the event's success.

Here, we are talking about nine most important tools that are highly effective to ensure the overall success of your events.

SlideDog- In recent years, SlideDog is known to be one of the most happening tools for event's success, although a few have made the effective use of it. With this feature, you can make a compilation of Powerpoints, PDFs, and Prezis, and various other file types to create a unique playlist. It is extremely handy for the conference planners, who avoid the desktop view and open different files manually. This is a wonderful tool to keep your audience engaged.

49st- 49st is an effective and highly acclaimed tool for event's promotion. It gives your event a wide exposure and offers your attendees more personalized and social experience. Organizers can create a profile here to post their events. It will help organizers to provide personalized content, thereby offering an increased social functionality.

VenueWize- VenueWize is an exciting check-in app to make event reception easier. It synchronizes iPads and iPhones and thus increases team collaboration. With this feature, you can automatically import the large database of Facebook and Twitter attendees.

Gantto- For an event planner, Gantto is an interesting event management tool. It helps you collect the information about what is happening inside the organization and thus create a buzz of your event across the world. Gantto helps organizers to build the project model and communicate to your teams.

SocialPix- Using SocialPix is a very cool idea when it comes to the promotion of event. It helps in offline integration with Facebook and helps you spread the message across the world in minutes. No matter you are logged in or out of your Facebook account, SocialPix will directly trigger your event's story to the fans' Wall and News Feed.

Timekiwi- Timekiwi is an exciting app that helps you create a timeline for your event in seconds. It helps you to display different stages of the event or create a more interactive schedule, so that audience can stay engaged to it.

Plannr- It's a perfect and wonderful tool for the event organizers. It helps organizers to make shared decisions about the event they are planning. This feature allows organizers to enjoy the benefits of mobile compatibility, threaded conversations and private gallery.

EContact.me- eContact helps you set up a micro social network for your event. With this feature, you can allow attendees to assemble according to the topics they are interested. Thus, it helps you attract more attendees within a shortest span of time.

DoubleDutch- It is a wonderful event guide app provider. This event app comes with an exciting and powerful analytics and social integration, which helps organizers to increase audience engagement, capture real-time data, and offer valuable insight into your team.

If you are on the planning process of your event, it's time to explore these tools now for your event's success.

Planning Your Own Pay Per View Event

Live video streaming services have become one of the biggest net sensations over the last couple of years. You can remember growing up as a child with your father watching George Foreman winning championships in boxing on pay per view. The days of mega millionaire companies and pay per views will likely never go away as subscriptions grow by the millions every year.

However, earning revenue from putting on a pay per view event is no longer relegated to just the largest media companies in the world. Now, a small start up sports league, fight league or extreme sports league can afford to host a pay per view online with live video streaming services.

Not only can live video streaming be a success for sporting leagues, it can be a success for musicians who wish to put on a concert for their adoring fans and it can also be a great way to broadcast special events like a wedding. We all know that there can be times when it's not feasible to have every loved one at an event so offering the ability to stream an event over the internet is a great way to ensure everyone can be included in your special event.

With live video streaming services, it's now become possible to literally film and stream recorded and live events of any nature online for anyone you want to see it or anyone you want to pay to see it. This technology truly takes the capabilities of tomorrow and puts them in your lap today!

It's important to find a service company that will partner with you by tailoring to your needs. It's important to find a service company that will allow you to host your Pay per view on their server. They should be willing to handle the monetary transactions while hosting your web space so you can focus on your event. They should offer technical services to make sure that everything goes off without a hitch. They should also be able to direct you to camera operators that have the capability to interface with the technology needed for live streaming of your event.

Few companies offer this level of service but it is important when making a decision that the company you partner with to broadcast your event is trust worthy and that they are there to ensure your event's success. If a company offers all of these things to you it will be easy to have confidence that your pay per view event will go off without a hitch and your event will be a financial success.

Planning an Event - Piece of Cake

There has been a steady increase in the demand for professional Event Planning in San Francisco. Planning any sort of event is a laborious task because there are far too many aspects that make an event a success. And a successful event is a memorable event. The food, the service, the music, the lighting, the seating everything must be organized well so that it can all work together in tandem to contribute to a spectacular event. And who better to do this than a professional.

An event management company caters to many different kinds of events - birthday parties for all ages, engagement, wedding and baby showers, reunions, anniversaries and retirement parties not to mention Halloween, Christmas, and New Year parties and well as corporate dinner parties and gala events. These companies co-ordinate every minute details of the event. They give suggestions and tips in relation to themes and d矇cor as well. They are experienced enough to avoid obvious hiccoughs and apt with dealing with major disaster situations if required.

These companies are tied up with the best caterers, bands, and party supply stores. They have working for them an army of people who are creative and artistic who can take your ideas and make them into a fantastic event. Using an event management company can help take most of the pressure off, leaving the hosts to enjoy their own events. Many a times, if you decides to organize the event on your own, you practically spread thin trying to manage everything and totally unable to make any real time for your guests. Also, there are times when you get so caught up in the food or music you tend to disregard certain subtleties like decoration and lighting which tends to be a major faux pas, becoming sometimes the only thing people remember of an otherwise spectacular event.

Choosing an event management company has become fairly simple in San Francisco as most of them can be found online. A few things to remember while choosing an event management company are - looking through their previous events, references and success rate. In an industry such as this word of mouth can be extremely helpful. Also if they have done enough of events you can be assured that you can rely on them because of their experience. Be very careful to tell the company exactly what you are looking for in the event and what your budget is so that they can keep that in mind during the planning period.

Things To Consider When Planning A Corporate Event

Selecting the perfect menu and ordering the right amount of food is crucial. Your objective for the event should determine what type of food you provide and how it is served. When you goal is fun cocktail receptions are the most popular choice. Food stations or mini meals circulated by servers work best. However, there is nothing worse than being at a party and finding yourself with a plate of food in one hand, a glass of wine in the other and no way of actually getting the food to your mouth. Add a handbag to the situation and a woman could starve. High cocktail tables scattered throughout the venue can help alleviate this situation. Finger foods are another option eliminating the need for a plate and fork.

For more formal corporate events, or when there is to be a presentation, it is advisable to have your guests seated at a table. Plated meals, where meals are delivered to the table, avoids the distraction of traffic going to and from the buffet, and ensures that your guests are all served at the same time. Buffets, however, are usually less expensive and offer your guests a wider variety of menu items.

Most corporate events will require renting at least some equipment, table wares, glasses, linen, tenting and more. It may be tempting to lower your costs by coordinating the rentals yourself and thereby saving the make-up charged by caterers and event planners. However, although it seems a simple task, getting it right is vital to the success of your event and if you don't know what you are doing you could end up in the kitchen washing glasses or driving to the gas station for more ice in the middle of your event. Coordinating rentals is not a simple task and is best left to the experts.

Similarly, cutting staff can seem like a way to reduce costs especially if the venue is smaller. Keep in mind the number of staff required is dependent on the number of guests and the menu not on the size of the space. A good rule of thumb for cocktail receptions is one server for every 20 - 30 guests and one (beer & wine only) or two (full bar) bartenders for every 80 - 100 guests. For buffet dinners one staff for every 20-25 guests, and for plated formal dinners one staff for every 10-20 guests.

Recruiting volunteers can be a great way to keep your budget in line as long as their responsibilities are made very clear well in advance. Too often well-meaning volunteers pitch in enthusiastically at the beginning of the event and then wander off to chat with other guests leaving the skeleton staff with more work than they can handle. If you want to use volunteers have a formal meeting in advance of the event and hand out a detail list of the tasks they will be expected to perform and clear start and finish times.

Clearly hosting an office party is a massive undertaking and, if not planned properly, they can be just as painful to attend. Choose an experienced corporate caterer to help you plan an appropriate menu and work through the details of service, rental and entertainment.

Champagne Ardenne Festivals - 10 Great Festivals In Champagne Ardenne France

Around the world this region is best known for its produce champagne, than its other numerous charms such as its excellent game, out of which many delicious meals have been thoroughly enjoyed. However as well as its appeal to the discerning palate, this region in France has a number of interesting and fun festivals throughout the year.

1. Elektricity Festival, Rue du Docteur Lemoine, Reims Cathedral, 20th to 24th March 2013
You could be forgiven for assuming that this festival had something to do with electricity; it is however the name of a music festival which combines urban and contemporary music. Taking place in front of the Reims Cathedral, you can expect to experience new types of electronic music however, as well as a promising line up, put together by the festival organisers.

A firm favourite in the Reim festival and cultural world, it has a good track record (excuse the pun) and visitors can expect to attend some good performances.

2. Europuces Fair in Reims, Reims Exhibition Centre, 2nd to 3rd March 2013
A massive amount of antique lovers attend the Europuces Fair in Reims. Whether you are a seasoned antique dealer, an enthusiast or a bargain hunter, this is the place to be!

European antique sellers have a range of treasures on sale, from furniture to fine art objects, to apparently ordinary every day items. Come to the treasure trove that is the Europuces Fair.

3. M矇li'm繫me Festival, Place de l'Hotel de Ville, Reims, 22nd March to 8th April 2013
Move over Mummy and Daddy, this festival is all about the children! This festival has grown in popularity since its inception back in 1989, and it offers a colourful combination of fun and expressive genres which will be sure to engage your child or children.

From story telling to dance, from song and dance to puppet shows, the entertainment offers a range of magical and delightful shows for the younger family members.

4. Festival Bernard Dimey, May awaiting dates 2013 (10th to 13th May 2012)
A festival dedicated to the memory of Bernard Dimey, the Nogent poet. There are prizes awarded each year from a spring-board event, for the younger talented people.

Born on 16th July 1931 in what was then Nogent-en-Bassigny, and now Nogent, Bernard Dimey was a French poet and songwriter. The festival focuses on poetry and songs with the younger folk in mind. He died in Paris, on 1st July 1981.

5. Sedan Medieval Festival, 3rd week May, (19th to 20th May 2012)
The Sedan Castle Fort was built almost 6 centuries ago and is the largest in Europe, with a size of 35,000m2. Making it a splendid place to enjoy a medieval festival, it is located right in the heart of Sedan city.

The festival takes place both in the castle fortress as well as in the town, and each year the event planners come with a new themed surprise. In 2011 a full size dragon who spat fire was produced and in 2010 came the giants of the north.

Cast yourself back into medieval times and watch the medieval sports and activities take place, such as jousting, flag throwing and cavalry tournaments. Enjoy street theatre, soak up the medieval atmosphere, feast, drink and be merry!

You can also find plenty of beautiful medieval arts and crafts, plus watch medieval artisans at work.

6. Joan of Arc Festival, early June (2nd to 3rd June 2012)
Joan of Arc festival is one of the most historical events which takes place in France. The city of Reims celebrates its heroine.

It is a marvellous sight, as around 2000 people dress up in historical costumes to accompany Charles VII and Joan of Arc, in a parade.

The patron saint of the city, who freed it from the English in the 15th century, is celebrated by a range of shows. If you are British and visiting this festival, you can enjoy some fun French-English rivalry, given the occasion. So take local banter in the good spirits of the occasion!

Wander around the medieval market, enjoying the historical epics that are part and parcel of this festival, as well as the atmosphere and the surroundings.

7. Les Sacres du Folklore - The Rites of Folklore Festival - Reims, 21st to 25th June 2013
This folk festival takes place in the interests of friendship and peace in Reims. You can expect to hear some of world's best folk groups, and enjoy a folk-filled programme of events. More than three hundred musicans, singers, dancers and actors take part in this large folk festival.

8. Ay Champagne Festival (every 2nd year, 1st weekend July, next year 2014)
Also known as Henry IV Festival

Considered to be the best champagne village in the whole region, Ay is the home of the likes of Bollinger, Gosset and Ayala, as well as Deutz & Gelderman.

This festival combines lots of bubbly champagne and plenty of bubbly entertainment. Consider putting a few days apart in July 2014 for this marvellous event.

9. Clin d'œil Festival, Reims, 5th to 7th July 2013
Running since the European Year of People with Disabilities, 2003, this festival is a huge European deaf cultural event. In fact it actually started off as a one off event, but like a stone gathering moss, it has developed into a superb event that now continues to run.

Here is where you can enjoy experiencing the showcasing of the numerous exceptionally talented deaf people. It is a festival that bridges the gap between the deaf and hearing communities through the medium of artistic expression. A variety of forms of art and creative expression include painting, sculpture, design.

10. Fête des Sorcières - Witch Festival, Chalindrey, October
Whilst today there are many practices witches who live happily in various countries, a few centuries ago they would have been burnt at the stake. During the 16th century the Fort of Cognelot was the area of a witch hunt, and since then it was given the name Devil's Point. This, as well as the area's Celtic roots have combined to make it a location rich in supernatural heritage.

The Witch Festival has been running for around a century. Celebrations evoke this heritage and visitors can enjoy dances which are haunting, til the wee and more eerie hours. The festival includes exhibitions, movies of a fitting genre and face painting.

Listen to the local ghost stories, marvel at the beautiful scenery, learn about true roots of witches and of course have lots of fun!

Event Management Companies for Professional Conferences

Hiring an event management company for a multinational technology conference or an evening party is the best option to make it memorable and mesmerizing. Event management companies not only give guidance and advice during the initial conception and planning of any event, but help to make it a perfectly successful event also. Event managers and staff members have exceptional skills and relevant experience in event planning and organizing.

From conference planning to any other event or party management, corporate events planners can handle everything in a professional manner. They can easily manage, plan and organize necessary stuff before time and design an impeccable itinerary/plan of action to make it as fluent and hassle-free as possible. Their planning and organizing service are designed to delivers an inspiring, passionate, creative and innovative experience. They lavish close attention to details. They tend to create a picture-perfect platform for enterprises to communicate effectively with their audience.

They organize and deliver an organized and streamlined event on time and within budget. They deliver professional services for conference arrangement. Some of the most vital services offered by event management companies for conferences are:

1. Venue finding
2. Incentives and reward programs
3. Corporate hospitality and tickets
4. Corporate team building
5. Trade shows
6. Audio and visual Services
7. Product launches
8. Conferences and award Shows
9. Event theme building and branding

Venue Finding - Most of the event management companies provide free venue finding services for the grand conference or events. In fact, it is the most necessary thing to consider before taking any further actions. They first consult with the organizers and marketing executives in order to understand the needs and overall objectives of the conference.

Conferences and award Shows - Event planners work with the company marketing experts to take time to understand what they're exactly searching for. They create your bespoke response document that will give you all the answers for your next event.

Trade shows - There is no better and striking way to showcase product or service to the market place than by getting the live feedback from the audiences. Event management companies can effectively organize a trade show, or any product launch ceremony.

Audio & Visual Services - Event planners provide with the complete AV system. They provide the inclusive technical assistance for the event and make appropriate arrangements.

In essence, event management companies help in refining the conference and event experience for the organizations, employees, corporate partners and its other associates.

Is It Realistic to Pursue Your Dream Job Today?

Are you contemplating changing careers? Mary's story warns us that we need to be thoughtful and cautious when making a dramatic change like this. Here is Mary's story in her words.

"I identified the job I wanted, my dream job. I went back to school full time, and racked up a lot of debt. By the time I graduated several years later, the economy tanked, and my dream job was no longer hiring. And the jobs that are similar pay so much less than what I was making before. I'm broken hearted and deeply discouraged. How can anyone suggest people go after their dream job when it only leads to disappointment?"

Mary's story makes me sad, and she is not alone. It happens more than we'd like to know. (It is also the reason I do what I do, to help people find their way without becoming another Mary.)

Mary's story is one most people fear will happen to them, isn't it? So how can you avoid Mary's experience? Do you have to throw away your dreams, and just take what comes your way? Or do you put everything on hold until the economy turns around, whenever that may be? No. If you do your research and careful planning, you can have a job you love and a thriving career, and you can have it now.

Rhonda worked hard to unearth the strengths and skills she loved to use, along with where and how she loved to use them. She also identified her ideal working environment, and the roles she preferred when working. It is from that list that we began to brainstorm different job titles she could go after. Rhonda's list included Project Manager, Executive Director (for a Non-Profit), and Event Planner/Party Planner. Before Rhonda chose one of these to pursue, she did her research.

First Rhonda met with at least 3 different people who held each title, so 3 Project Managers, 3 Event Planners, 3 Executive Directors. She conducted an informational interview with each one, to find out what their day to day responsibilities were, what the major challenges of the jobs were, and what the job market was like for each of them. She learned that in her area, Event Planners were losing jobs, and struggling to find work. She learned that Executive Directors needed a bit more experience than she currently had, but that she could easily get that experience volunteering.

Next Rhonda did some research online to learn about the salaries associated with each position. She learned that Event Planners didn't make as much as she needed. She began to rule out the Event Planner idea, and narrowed her research to focus on Project Manager and Executive Director jobs. Both still appealed to her, and after doing more research, she discovered there were more Project Manager jobs available, especially if she pursued certification.

Since Rhonda wanted a change sooner rather than later, she decided to pursue a Project Manager position now, and keep her eyes open for any Executive Director opportunities that might be available later.

Rhonda is now on a new path, one that works for her financially, and provides her with the security and future she desires. She ruled out the options that wouldn't work for her.

Once you know what types of jobs appeal to you, I encourage you to do your research. Find out as much as you can about the reality of those jobs and careers. Are they growing? Do they pay what you need? Are there certifications or training required? What are the real day to day responsibilities of the job? How hard is it to break into that industry or area? If you research all your options, you will find one that will work for you, now. You can end up like Rhonda, not Mary. And that story has a happy ending.

The Personality of an Event Venue

If you build it, they will come. Unfortunately, this axiom does not necessarily work in the event venue world. Not all conference spaces are created equal, nor are they branded equally - or effectively, in many cases.

A successful event venue has a defined "personality" and ably addresses a need or void within its space. A branding process is vital, especially when establishing new conference space. This article addresses five steps to creating an identity and securing an audience for an event venue.

o Create a visually appealing brand

What a conference center communicates through its outbound materials helps define the experience attendees' will have. For instance, is the space better for interactive meetings or educational symposia? Does the facility have more appeal to corporate executives or to customer service staff? Will attendees be treated to a plush experience?

Don't forget the power of the Web to communicate a venue's "vibe" as well. A custom-built website allows event planners to learn about the facility and its configuration options. A great website is a key marketing tool, with the ability to provide updated facility news, including floor plans and photographs, and interactive tours of the facility.

o Identify the audience

The best meeting space matches its attendees' needs perfectly. To get to that point, a venue must identify primary users of the space. If the key audience is IT professionals, the venue should have the latest technology: wireless hot spots, great A/V and more. If the audience leans toward scientific groups, ensure the conference center has breakout rooms, poster presentation areas and lecture-style auditorium.

o Illustrate value to prospective audiences

Technology, design, flexibility - a great conference center offers many things to many people. As with any investment, showing a positive return is important. Does the technology inside a venue meet the needs of the most demanding presenter. With so much competition for events business, building great technology and design into a conference space and delivering a positive work environment to attendees is vital for "state-of-the-art" venues.

o Communicate an identity

Having a great facility and attracting qualified meetings to it are not necessarily linked. Event planners have an array of tools to identify meeting space that fits their specific criteria. With the Web, industry publications, trade shows, advertising and direct marketing, there are many ways to find a facility and many ways to market one.

Using a multi-pronged approach of direct marketing, public relations and advertising, an event venue can saturate key audiences with news before and after a facility has opened.

Marketing initiatives to communicate a brand include:

o Conducting "hardhat" facility tours during its construction phase to build pre-opening interest.

o Building a direct marketing database.

o Creating partnerships to add to the richness of the venue's offering and to create a referral source community for the facility, by targeting collaborating with continuing education programs, hotels, travel agencies, destination management companies and exhibition companies.

o Participating in meeting industry trade shows.

o Hosting charity events and industry association events, especially those that attract potential users of the space.

Public relations initiatives target meetings publications by securing venue listings and placing news in industry association publications, such as Meeting Planner International's Meetings.

o Ensure structure exists to support the offering

It's vital to deliver on what you promise. Managing an event facility is time consuming. Having the proper support systems in place, and automating as much as possible, eases the operational side of venue management. Administrative details to firm up before attracting an audience include:

o Determining pricing for all audiences and types of functions (day vs. night, poster session vs. lecture series, corporate vs. non-profit, full facility use vs. partial, etc.)

o Creating catering packages

o Identifying additional elements, such as security, staffing and parking

o Building a comprehensive sales kit and contract

o Selecting venue management scheduling technology

o Deciding whether to keep A/V technical staffing in-house, or to outsource it

Great branding isn't the only strategy that makes an event venue work, but it certainly helps create an individual personality to drive success.

Which Type Of Entertainment Is Best For Your Event?

If you're planning an event or researching entertainment options after a bad experience in the past, there are a few important factors you need to keep in mind.

Here's a short guide to determining which entertainment options are best for your next event:

Think About the Type of Event You're Planning

A new product launch has a very different feel and environment than a yearly board of directors meeting. The entertainment that you select should fit the "feel" of your event. For formal events it's appropriate to have something more conservative and low key. Having a small singing act or magic show is going to be a lot better received than something on the "spectacle" end of the spectrum.

Alternatively, if you are launching a new product, trying to get your audience excited and "pumped up," or wanting to bring a high level of excitement, you'll want to have entertainment to match. A cirque-style acrobatic show, a Broadway song and dance review or a high energy industrial rhythm show would fit the bill.

Consider Your Events Timeframe

Your entertainment should be the centerpiece of one night or afternoon during your multiple-day event. If you're running a one-day event, you'll need to have your entertainment on that same day. When you select an event entertainment option, you need to consider how long the show will last and whether you have room for it in your schedule. It may be better to book entertainment that takes a little less time if you've got your attendees on a jam-packed schedule.

As you consider entertainment options, ask the corporate event entertainment experts what they suggest. Many can customize their shows to meet your existing timeframe so you can get the quality of show that you want in the time that you have.

Understand Your Entertainment Budget

Your entertainment options will be affected by your budget, so it's important to get that nailed down as soon as possible. When you are creating your budget for your entire event, keep in mind that the entertainment can be the "make or break" part of your event plan. It's the thing that people are going to remember the most since it normally takes place at the end of the event.

If you want to keep your audience talking - and excited to come back the following year - it's important to create a budget for your event's entertainment. Don't leave your entertainment as the last item on your list. You can either get quotes from event entertainment companies and use that to create your budget, or set a price and shop around to find an event entertainment company that will work within your budget. Keep in mind that while you shop, you may need to adjust your budget to fit the actual costs of professional event entertainment.

Find Something Unique for Your Audience

Entertainment has to be memorable so it's important to find something unique. This is even more important if your event audience attends a lot of trade shows and other industry gatherings. Giving them something fresh and exciting can really make a difference in their appreciation of your event and their attendance next year.

Thinking outside of the box and trying something beyond a typical comedian or keynote speaker can pay off in the long run.

Choosing a Party Planning Checklist

Choosing a party planning checklist will naturally be based upon the kind of function you plan on throwing. Your event planner will want to know exactly what your theme, budget and likes are in order to create a custom party planning checklist based on your individual needs. However, if you are planning on doing the organising by yourself, then you will have to do more than just buy party decorations - you will have your plate full with the intricacies of organising a fun and entertaining bash for yourself. If you do go it alone, then your party planning checklist will have to be a very good one.

It is not necessary to wrack your brain trying to think of everything that needs to get done so that your function is a success. You can always pick up a ready-made party planning checklist that will guide you through the process in a step-by-step way. Each party planning checklist is made out for specific events. Although most parties will have features in common, depending on the occasion, the actual content of each event will differ. For instance, the music, decorations and catering will be radically different for a six-year old's birthday party from that of a bridal shower. Knowing the right items to look for and to buy can easily be forgotten in our rush to get the party planned properly. However, with a party planning checklist you will not have to worry that you might forget to buy the party decorations.

Even your event planner will make use of a checklist to stay on track and under budget. However, event planners tend to make up their own party checklists that run on for pages and are broken down into several categories that most regular folks may never need when organising their own party. An event planner checklist is a professional grade list that is mostly used by people who have to track several events at once.

When it comes to your own party planning checklist, make sure that you choose the right one. Find a checklist that suits your purpose. Next make sure that the party planning checklist you choose has all of the major event categories listed on it including: venue, food/drink, music, guest list. As long as you have the basic categories on your checklist, you can then modify it to suit your particular needs. However, you can also find complete party planning checklists that are already made up for you and to which you do not need to add anything.

Throwing a party is a fun affair. It is not only fun for your guests, but it can be a wonderful time for you as well. Parties are creative endeavours where you get to show your family and friends just how much you care for them by how much thought you have put into your preparations. Naturally, planning the perfect party does take time and that is why breaking your tasks down using a list is the best way to stay on target with your vision for your party.

Reasons on How to Become a Successful Event Planner

An event management career can definitely take you sites provided you are serious of building a career of arranging events and organizing them on large scale basis. In the past decade many companies as well as educational institutions recognize event as management profession. And now the leading universities offer degree programs in the event planning to a number of individuals who are actually consider event planning as career option.

Event planners are famous by different names such as program mangers, conference coordinators, event mangers and many more. It all heat down to the event coordinator doing all the preparation for the event whether a conference, fete, marriage party, trade show. Number of big business organizations has started hiring them on full time basis since their organizations have been growing so do their needs for the communication. And when we talk about organizing different conferences and meetings in a short span of time then event planners sounds great asset to the company.

Event coordinators usually earn good by establishing their own event planning company. There are individuals who are just searching for the trustworthy people to outsource the needs of event management. Many weddings, parties or birthday parties are mentioned on a small scale then there is large scale event planning series such as arranging large trade shows and several grand functions related to corporate world.

Event coordinators have actually made a mark in the ground of management by arranging trade shows successfully on international level. One such example of event planning is auto trade show. Many things need to be learnt while making your career in event planning. It deals with lot of traveling and meeting the top brass of the business world. Management skills are comparatively important then the communication skills.

Event management professional should have the ability to handle the logistics as well as invitation after exploring the location for the event to happen. The ability to handle and achieve things brings successful event planners.

Red Carpet System - Best in Event Management

In the last few years, as it has been observed, the event management companies are growing very fast. The reason being more and more people and companies are willing to manage their functions professionally than by themselves. The event management companies, through their effort of well organised event can promote a product or identity very well to the media and the corporate worlds. Emmy, Oscar, Grammy etc. award functions are so well managed because they are managed professionally by these companies.

Earlier only corporate houses and companies could afford to use these companies but the companies now are offering services for personal occasions like birthday parties or wedding anniversary celebrations. Also, unlike before, not only under-the roof services are being offered but also open terrace and under-the-sky parties and gatherings are managed by these companies as well. The budget isn't a constraint as companies are now offering service at a very reasonable and competitive rate.

These parties are generally organised to make a lasting mark. Anyone attending these parties should be amazed at the things you have arranged. It may be the exotic food for the guests or the fine interior decoration. This party, if launched for the inauguration of a business can cause immense word-of-mouth popularity for the product or business launched. The media cover these parties almost invariably and thus you can hog your part of limelight easily. Often the arrangers offer photography services. Be sure to opt for it as these photographers, although come at a premium price, are world class and can really take photos which will create lasting memories in the mind of the viewer.

Until recently these options were available in the big cities only. However, as every other business, this business also has flourished in the smaller cities and semi urban places. So, even if you are not from a big metro city, you still can afford yourself this luxury for any grand occasion. Many resorts in remote areas have arrangement with these companies so if you are planning a party in a remote yet scenic place, you can have all the services, offered in any urban area.

There are many companies in every part of the world, especially in the big cities, offering services for these red carpet events. You can afford any of those services for the next occasion you want to celebrate. However, one should consider the budget, the speciality of the organisation, past track records and feedback of past customers before giving the charge of arrangement to any company.

Benefits of Hiring Professional Caterers for Corporate Events

If you ever find yourself heading a committee in charge of food for a company event, you may want to explore the hiring of professional caters for a hassle-free and reliable way to ensure that everyone stays happy and well-fed. There are many advantages to getting corporate catering done, and will surely give you the best value for the money you will be spending.

For one thing, when you avail of professional chefs to do the work for you, you can rely on years of experience in meal planning and can be assured of the quality of the food. Usually, you can opt to have a taste test before hand to be able to choose from the varying menus they can offer, depending on your preferences. If what you want is not on the menu, they can also be flexible enough to adjust their dishes and even concoct new ones to suit your needs. Be sure to discuss your budget beforehand so that they can also suggest some options that will still be filling, but will fit well within your spending range.

Availing of corporate catering services is definitely a one-stop-shop when it comes to everything that you will need. Aside from the actual food preparation, they will also provide the tables, chairs, utensils, servers and d矇cor to go with your event theme. One can select from the variety of table settings and styles to achieve the look you want.

There are also quite a lot, if not all, caterers who provide event management as well, and at no extra cost. This would truly be a godsend for those big events with a lot of logistical details that need to be handled such as, hiring of equipment, renting a venue, and over-all decoration. These are things that will either make or break an event, and so it is vital to put them in hands you trust. Make sure to get a supplier that will always maintain transparency when it comes to the actual costs and figures.

And so, when faced with the prospect of handling a large company event, there is no need to be stressed when you have corporate catering services. If you are not familiar with any companies offering this, make sure to get good recommendations from other groups or friends who may have knowledge on reliable and reasonably priced caterers who can give you what you need. Do not hesitate to ask around for different quotes and menu suggestions from various companies, and then narrow down your selection based on their proposals to make the process easier.

Key Factors To Look For When Sourcing Quality Event Medical Services And Medical Staffing

When it comes to planning group occasions and functions, the priority checklist can prove fairly lengthy. Whether coordinating the details of a family party or managing an elaborate corporate affair, there are many factors to take into consideration to ensure a seamless and fun gathering for all. From venue and theme to invitation and entertainment, a truly enjoyable event includes a wide range of logistical "must haves."

Unfortunately, function safety and security is often completely overlooked as a critical component to guaranteeing optimal function success. Regardless of the size of the gathering, the safety and well-being of every attendee should always take precedence over other planning details. From small personal gatherings to grand scale business parties, hiring an outside event medical services vendor to provide various medical staffing for an upcoming event can keep all guests safe, minimize liability and deliver extra piece of mind to the host.

Seek Comprehensive Specialties With Event Medical Services Vendors

Unlike other party details like centerpieces and color schemes, finding an appropriate provider for event healthcare services isn't simply a mere question of taste. There are several vital elements to look for when doing research on quality and professional companies that specialize in event medical services. Understanding some of the most important factors to look for can help streamline the selection process.

Only work with an event medical services provider that offers a comprehensive range of specialists with up to date training, accreditations and certifications. A function of any size may require various healthcare staffing options for optimal guest safety. Finding an individual company for each staffing obligation will waste precious time and resources. Instead, to ensure your vendor offers a diverse array of qualified healthcare staffing options, source a company with resources for emergency care, licensed paramedics and physicians, EMT's and registered nurses. If an occasion is being planned near water, finding a company that delivers rescue divers may also be an important criterion to consider. Sourcing a provider with an all-encompassing assortment of healthcare staffing options means that, from basic first aid to vital life saving techniques, every guest's personal needs can be met and managed.

Look For Diversity Of Services And Other Accommodations

Determining the list of service offerings and other less tangible amenities should also weigh heavily during the selection process. In addition to a highly-trained staff that delivers expert healthcare, always look for competitively priced services, cultural sensitivity and on-call crew options for complete and seamless coverage. Also, always partner with a medical staffing business that offers flexible attire so team members fit in with the look and feel of the party and don't prove distracting to guests.

Finally, a company's established history and experience with managing various sized venues should also play critical roles when selecting a medical staffing company. Only team with a firm that has an established reputation for professional and reputable services and has managed functions of various sizes for maximum results. Whether it's an anniversary party for 15 or a concert for 15,000, working with a qualified business that specializes in event healthcare services means that a host can actually enjoy the party themselves knowing that their guests' safety is being effectively managed.

Using Promotional Items at Corporate Events

If you run a business organization, chances are that you are looking for new avenues to reach your existing clients and to target potential ones. One of the best ways to give your organization the visibility and brand recognition it deserves in the market is to participate in or host a corporate event. The only downside is that there are many competing organizations which have the same idea, and are also participating in the same event, cutting into your prospective client base. This can make it a little tough to get the attention of the clients, and draw them to your brand.

And that's exactly where promotional items and products come in! Promotional products are a great way to help your organization get the visibility and recall you are aiming for. Handing out these promotional products among visitors, who are at the corporate event, enables your organization to really make your brand presence visible, felt, and appreciated. The right promotional items can pull customers and visitors to your stalls much faster than anything else. Another advantage of giving out promotional items to customers at a corporate event is the positive image and association it gets for your brand. Everyone loves getting stuff and the giver is always remembered warmly; not a bad thing at all for your brand!

There are numerous items that can be used as promotional gifts to be handed out to visitors in a corporate event. Filled your giveaway basket with customized pens, portfolios, scratch pads, sticky notes, rulers, calculators, and much more, to make sure the visitors notice and remember you. Don't neglect this superb opportunity for brand publicity, check out desk amp office products for ideas! Promotional products can vary from carrier bags to Promotional pens, from Promotional Mugs, to computer accessories, and anything else you can think of.

Items like folders, bags and satchels, note pads, promotional USB products and so on make great corporate event promotional gifts to be handed out at events such as trade shows and fairs, exhibitions, and more. Use these superior items as opportunities to showcase and popularize your logo, your brand, and your message by handing out some of these items as corporate event handouts and giveaways. Using custom printed corporate gifts gives the people attending the event something real and tangible they can take away from the event to remember you and your company by. Doubtless, corporate giveaways and promotional items are a great way to get their attention, and to make sure that they remember your brand long afterwards.

For a range of products that you can customize and hand out, at the variety of events that occur in a year, check out some of the stuff from action printing inc. And select the popular or exclusive item you find perfect for your branding and promotional needs! It's a fact that promotional products work miracles for the brand of any organization. Choose wisely, and take advantage of the superior brand recall that can be given to you by a useful, stylish, promotional item handed out at a corporate event!

Pretty Princess Party Favors That Will Give a Perfect End to Your Royal Party

The royal treatment that you gave the little princesses at your pretty princess party will always be remembered by them. However, to let your party hangover be there for some more time and make your party memorable, you must choose favors that are in accordance with your pretty princess party theme. Although tiaras and wands are evergreen, parents these days prefer to give something that has a better utility but not something that the kids are tired of receiving. Here are some princess party favor ideas that will make the kids jump out of excitement.

Purses

Girls are fond of accessories such as purses or change bags. Even if they have many, they would still be delighted to get one more. Buy the Disney themed purses or, if you find them expensive, you can go with the small fancy purses or change purses. You can replace these bags for the favor bags and fill them with candies, inexpensive jewelry, feather, stickers, bubble mix, etc.

Educational favors

Parents always love things that their kids can use for learning. The bubble mix, the wand, the cookies are always being the favorites of kids but they need a push to learn something new. Apart from giving them a lot of fun time to relax and enjoy, send them home with a coloring book and a set of crayons. A story book will also be a good option to include in the party bags. These favors will not cost you much but will surely get you a lot of appreciation from the parents.

A pack of make-up accessories

Girls are fond of anything that will help them to look beautiful. While parents do not encourage the little girls to do a lot of makeup on a daily basis, they will not mind if you give them the accessories. Give them a good quality hairbrush to manage their tresses and a fancy looking gem-studded hand mirror to see how beautiful they look when they smile. Include a pack of face wipes in your favor bags so that the girls can clean their faces whenever they want. This bag would be something that will pamper the little ones and make them feel like the real princess.

Princess diary

Buy the Disney themed personal diaries for the treat bag and encourage the little girls to start practicing the habit of writing dairies. This will not only help them to spend some time with themselves but also boost their writing skills.

These are just a few options. The princess theme is so famous that you can easily get any pretty princess party supplies that you want.

Why Maintaining Excellent Relations With Past Attendees Is Imperative to Grow Your Event Business

Many event planners focus their entire attention on adopting strategies to find new attendees for their events while overlooking the importance of building strong relations with their past attendees and registrants. As a result, their marketing strategies remain focused on promoting their events to the new registrants. What most organizers fail to understand is that the success of an event depends not just on their ability to draw more attendees but also on retaining excellent relationships with existing members.

Maintaining good relations with past and existing attendees helps organizers to benefit in several ways. Some of these include the following:

Positive Word of Mouth

In marketing and promotion, nothing works better than a positive word of mouth. This is a highly reliable and effective means to market events. Your happy members spread the good word about your events and influence prospective attendees to sign up. Therefore, it is essential for you to maintain an excellent rapport with existing as well as past attendees at all times.

Ensure a High Turnout for Events

Promoting an event calls for a lot of planning and coordination. Despite undertaking robust marketing measures, you may not achieve the desired turnout. However, maintaining a strong relation with your past attendees makes it easier for you to market them to people who would be interested to attend an event that interests them.

Create Credibility for Your Organization

As an event planner, one of your key responsibilities is to create credibility for your organization. The best way to ensure that your prospective attendees view your organization as a reputed firm is to provide value to your attendees. A credible organization draws more attendees and aids in marketing and promotion.

To enable event organizers to manage better relations with their attendees at all times, comprehensive event management solutions offer several key features to boost attendee relationship management. Some of the top benefits provided by these solutions include the following:

• Seamless data integration enabling the event organizers to understand their attendees in a better way


• Communication tools to interact with prospective as well as existing event attendees


• Powerful and secure online payment management solutions to make it easier for the attendees to sign up for the upcoming events


• Integration with the social media platforms to popularize and promote events


• Strategic support to organizers to create appropriate marketing campaigns for different attendees


• Custom reports to evaluate the success of events and attendee responses

Buoyed by the growing demand among event organizers with different budgets and requirements, a number of feature rich event management solutions have arrived in the market that are transforming the way events are organized and marketed. Event planners have also realized that building and fostering relationships with attendees enhances their brand value and enables them to market their events in a more effective manner. The key therefore lies in choosing the most comprehensive event management solution that strengthens attendee relationship management.

What Are Event Planning Courses?

Planning an event could be a hectic job for many and people may find difficult to coordinate everything to manage a single event. Some people are perfectionist that they demand everything up to the mark and require experts to manage their big events. The event planning industry has become the perfect solution for such people. As many people are busy with their jobs and can not take out time for arrangements of their personal events or may be because of the race and competition people prefer to seek help from professional event planners to make their event successful.

This is the reason the industry of event planning is flourishing a lot and many people have chosen this field as their profession. Because of this booming industry, many schools are offering event planning courses for upcoming people in this field.

If you ask what are these courses? Actually event planning courses are the training programs that cover all about arrangement of any event. These courses are available through different programs in event management, event planning and meeting planning. There are different levels of the courses available. You can take them from the certificate to degree level.

The basic object for these courses is to make the student learn to organize and plan all the aspects of different types of events including food, d矇cor and location. There are different types of courses available in event planning; some courses cover all the basics, some focus on specific events.

There are different types of course for example meeting planning basics, event promotion and marketing and event design and production. Another course is about catering and some courses are about wedding and social events.

Where there are many schools available for event planning or training there are many online courses available for those students who can not attend the classes because of some reason. The online courses provide you with informative lectures and classes; students just need to go for once or twice to the school for the tests which can not be taken online.

These courses are a good way to learn more about managing different events. Students are trained to handle the event in a perfect manner and get success in their professional life.

It is a fact that many people who are related to this field have not done any course for event management and planning before setting their profession. But I think it is better to learn some basic skills from an institution to work in a perfect manner and many people who are already working in this field prefer to take some short courses to learn more.

Corporate Event Organizers For Planning Events Abroad

Nowadays entertainers who are high in demand have very busy schedules, are difficult to contact and may not always be willing to deal with people they don't know. Moreover, companies that book performers for corporate events know when and how to bargain for the best prices. In such a scenario, an individual can hardly get the services of the best talent in the entertainment industry without the help of corporate event organizers.

Huge amount of time and money can be saved by these corporate event organizers on entertainment. People with little or no connections in the entertainment industry naturally find it extremely difficult and time consuming to get in touch with busy musicians and comedians. To add to this, the best acts do not list themselves in the Yellow Pages.

People hardly know whom to call in order to get hold of those elite entertainers. More importantly, the artists and performers have to know who is calling them, or they would never take their calls seriously. Even worse, they might try to charge exorbitant fees for their services. This is where corporate event organizers play an active role.

A corporate event planning mechanism has to cater to a lot of important details, viz.

1. Negotiating with agents, managers, and bands themselves to get the suitable entertainers whether it be music or comedy or some other field.


2. Ensuring that the event guarantees a lot of fun and at the same time is always geared towards the attendees and the desired theme of the event.


3. Suggesting celebrity entertainment that is appropriate for your guests and your corporate personality.

A great benefit of using seasoned corporate event organizers is that they are well versed in the ability to read audiences. Using experience gathered over a steady period of time, they can easily figure out crowds in order to give them what they want. Doing this allows them to provide just the right entertainment, the perfect theme, and activities that everyone will enjoy.

Interestingly hiring corporate event organizers, some of whom might also have experience in organizing events abroad, for your corporate party planning needs, outdoor festivals, or fairs, can also bring in higher profits. Since they have connections to top-notch artists and can negotiate well, it helps in promoting an event in advance to build momentum and encourage early ticket sales, increasing demand which, in turn, increases publicity. Profits are a natural outcome of this build-up.

Corporate entertainers offer far more to an audience than you would think at first glance. A celebrity band or sports figure may be onstage just a few feet away thrilling your attendees. Motivational speakers might be able to offer inspiration or impart wisdom to your company's best asset - people from a stone's throw distance. Comedians can help your attendees to unwind after a long day of meetings or break the ice among strangers. Whatever be the objective, using the services of a corporate event organizer provides more structure and authenticity to organizing an event. It's a necessity you cannot do without if you want to make your event successful.

Coach Hire - Best For Corporate Events

Generally, corporate firms offer outing opportunity to their staff as a reward for the achievements made by them from time to time. As these outings are fun filled, they not only act as a reward for their past performances, but they can also act as a motivation to the staff to maintain utmost perfection in the coming days as well. For making the outing of their staff further enjoyable and convenient, they can make use of coach hire services.

Generally, corporate firms have their own buses, but when it comes to outings, they will be in need of larger vehicles in such a way that a large group of their staff can travel in the same vehicle. Since coaches have a number of seats, this requirement of firms can be rightly met many times. Above all, they will have better facility as compared to the buses of the corporate firms. Even, some of the hiring service providers is having double decker buses so large group of people can travel easily by that. Above all, as the drivers working for these organizations are experienced, safe travel of the staff can be ensured for corporate firms.

When hiring a company, it is better to ensure whether the driver has the required license and insurance and all other particulars with him for ensuring the safe travel of the staff particularly during a fun-filled outing during which they will be focusing more on enjoyment, rather than on their safety. Here, the employer will have to remember that in the event of any accidents due to rash driving or improper driving, he will be losing not only his talented staff pool, but will also have to meet the expense of paying a large amount of rupees to their family members. Also, when a professional hiring service is obtained, the staff will also feel happy about the effort made by their employer in offering them a comfortable, safe and fullfleged outing services, which in turn will have a positive impact on the performance of the driver and the staff.

Since this sort of service is being offered by a number of service providers, it is better to get coach hire quote from different service providers, before deciding on the company to be selected. Most of these service providers are offering coach hire quotes through online form available in their websites and therefore obtaining quotes is also easier.

Special Event Planning - How to Make Your Next Event Spectacular

Planning the perfect corporate event, holiday party, team building event, employee appreciation day, company picnic, family reunion, fun fair or other special event is an easy task when working with a professional event planner. Many people planning special events are overwhelmed with fitting event planning tasks into their schedules, especially if it is their first time producing an event. The first place to start is to find a reputable professional planner you feel comfortable working with. Planners are easily found by asking others who have planned events in the past, reading company bios on websites and asking companies you are interested in working with if the planners and staff they employ have had a background check. It is a good idea to speak with more than one planner if this is your first time planning an event. When selecting a professional planner, it is important to evaluate whether you are in need of an outdoor event coordinator, indoor event specialist, games assistant, meeting planner, caterer, etc. The individual you choose to work with will depend greatly on the type of event you are interested in producing. Once you have selected an individual or event planning company, the party details will begin to fall in place. Event planners will focus on executing four main areas of fun. They include: catering, music, games/rides and tents/tables/chairs.

When selecting catering for your event, a planner will evaluate the type of event participants are attending. For company BBQ's, on-site cookouts, or catered luncheons, a casual atmosphere is necessary which may entail typical picnic foods such as hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken breasts and side salads. For upscale events such as client appreciations, open house, grand openings and the like a more sophisticated menu would be needed. In some cases, special dietary concerns will need to be factored into the types of foods you choose to include. (i.e. vegetarian, kosher, allergen foods, etc.) It is important to discuss any food limitations your event may have with your planning professional. A decision must also be made whether or not to provide a full meal, several course meal, fun foods, dessert/coffee or appetizers. A professional caterer will work with you and your event planner to help you to select the foods appropriate for your audience and ensure success for your event. If you select a full service event planner, they will help guide you in finding a catering partner. Often times, full service event planners work with several catering companies and will know by the description of your event which company will best suite your needs.

Selecting the right music for your audience is essential in ensuring your guests have a memorable and enjoyable experience at the event. When hiring a DJ, MC, band, specialty act or musical group it is important to assess the underlying goals of the event. Do you want to select an interactive DJ to provide activities for children? Would your guests respond well to hula dancers, a Mariachi band, Dixieland band or cover band? Do you want your music to accompany your event theme? Are you looking for background or forefront party music? Do you want people to dance? Do you need a dance floor or not? Do you want your DJ to offer guests bingo or other interactive activities such as the chicken dance, hokey poky or hot potato throughout the day? How you would like your musicians or DJ's to dress for the occasion? Many questions must be answered before making your musical selection. Once these questions are answered you will be able to work with event staff in producing the perfect event! Selecting the right music is crucial as you want to make sure not to annoy or offend any of your guests, therefore, you will want to have direct input on the choices of music for your event thus eliminating any unwanted surprises or negative outcomes.

Event Management Business: Skills Required to Startup

Daydreaming about starting an event management business? Maybe you have already worked in the events industry and think about working for yourself. Or perhaps your organized meetings in the past and feel it your life's passion. Both are good reasons for acquiring the profession.

Starting an event management business is similar to starting a relationship - it's required to possess appropriate skills and follow some important steps to achieve success.

Gain Event Management Skills and Experience

Scoring a success is based on event manager solid grasp, steady skills and experience:

• Verbal and written communications


• Organization and time management


• Negotiation and budget management


• Marketing, public relations and more

Determine Your Event Management Market

Let's say you've been working in the event industry for many years, know all ins and outs and eager to coordinate all kinds of events, from weddings to festivals.

Stop. This is a common mistake many event managers do. First of all, people have different energy levels and different capabilities. And, one can't be a master of all trades. Recognize that there are distinctive differences between corporate, association, nonprofit and social events. Determine your market accordingly. It's much easier to concentrate on a certain domain and become a professional.

Develop a Business Plan

Someone once said, "If you fail to plan, you should plan to fail". Like everything else, starting an event management business requires a business plan. There are a couple of resources that can help you. For example, U.S. Small Business Administration publishes materials about writing business plans. You can find more with Google!

Obtain Business Insurance

Business insurance is mandatory. Event management business should secure general liability and other forms of insurance to protect the business owner's interests.

Several forms of insurance exist. Speak to an insurance adviser to learn the requirements.

Develop Network of Suppliers and Staffing Resources

Event managers usually work with a wide range of suppliers - communications consultant, stationery designer, promotional products distributor, party rental supplier, caterer, florist, photographer and more. You will also need the staffing resources for sales, marketing, accounting and administrative functions. It'll be necessary to establish an infrastructure that will support your events from all sides.

Establish Your Fee Structure

You should be conscious of the various ways to cover expenses and make a reasonable profit. Most event planners' charge is based on the following:

• Flat fee


• Hourly rate


• Percentage of expenses


• Percentage of expenses plus hourly rate


• Commissionable rate

Business Development and Marketing

With a prepared business plan, established fee structure and determined event manager market it's time to begin working with marketing materials. Choose the right name for your business; create business cards, stationary, proposals, client agreements and a web-site.

Launching a web-site is an easy step with a turnkey solution like PG Events. Get more details at eventsoft.pro/overview.php

Event Planners Put the Spotlight on Safety, Security, and Cleanliness

If you've ever attended a conference, a trade show, or a festival of any kind, you know how exciting it could be to gather with so many other people sharing in common interests. Some fairgrounds are up to 5 million square feet in size, like the one in Hannover, Germany. Some festivals have roughly 1 million people in attendance, like the Summerfest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Some conferences stretch over several venues and dozens of exhibition halls, like the annual Consumer Electronics Association in Las Vegas. In all of these events, it is important for average attendees to be able to enjoy themselves without having to worry about their safety, security or health.

It is therefore up to the careful planning of an event coordinator to look after all of these details before and during the events so that we can focus on making connections, exploring new products, or enjoying festivities. The work of the event planner consists of a huge variety of tasks, ranging from contracts, budgets, scheduling and transportation. But perhaps none are as important as the ensuring that everyone in attendance can feel safe, know that they are secure, and have access to a clean and healthy environment.

This is the reason that for anyone enrolled in event planning classes, they should expect a good deal of their education to cover these topics. Here are some of the details surrounding these subjects:

Safety

There are lots of safety concerns where large amounts of people are gathered in confined spaces. The most important thing is proper procedure in case of a fire hazard situation. Emergency exits should be plenty and well positioned throughout the space. The signs for the emergency exits should be very clear and very numerous. The exist themselves should be wide and have very quick access to the outside or other safe zones. In case of a fire emergency, event employees should be trained to help people exit without causing any panic or stampeding. Electrical systems and sprinkler systems should also be checked and maintained.

Security

Properly trained security guards should be hired for the events and given plenty of advanced training as to event schedules, floor plans, and possible situations specific to that kind of event. They should be alerted to any potential targets, like celebrities, for extra attention.

Health and Sanitation

All food and drink sold or distributed at an event should be inspected and approved. Regular cleaning crews should operate at all times, especially in food or restroom areas. Smoking should be prohibited, or limited to designated areas. Good ventilation for indoor events should be approved. First aid and hydration stations for indoor and outdoor events should be implemented.

An event planner might not be directly responsible for every detail of the above concerns, but should have the knowledge and capability to oversee all those who do. With so many people gathering for business or for entertainment, their well-being might not be the first thing on their minds, but it should be the first part of the plan.

Without Plans, Businesses Fail

Many business owners will agree that profitability is a key indicator of business success and most measure their growth by tracking sales or market share improvements. Business owners are often on the look for new and improved ways to increase their business growth, yet many fail to see the link between long-term business sustainability and business planning. For some, business planning is a tedious process that they do not have time for, others are unsure of what to do. This article we will help you to understand the key steps when undertaking the business planning process.

According to recent figures from Dunn and Bradstreet (August 2011), business failures have increased by 25% in the past twelve months. Tony Featherstone from the Sydney Morning Herald analysed the figures provided by an ASIC study (2005-2010) in relation to business failures and found that poor strategic management is the highest cause of business failure. It accounts for around 43 per cent of all external administrator reports and has remained constant over the past six years.

Strategic business planning is essential for businesses to grow and improve. It enables businesses to see upcoming trends and create pro-active strategies to gain the best results. The clear focus and direction that comes with a plan will help you understand who your key target market is and the message that you should use when selling your business/product/service to them.

To create an effective business plan you first need to identify or confirm the overall business strategy that you are pursuing. In general you will be following one of three generic strategies developed by Michael Porter in 1980 in his book "Competitive Strategy: Techniques for analysing Industries and Competitors":

a. Cost Leadership - Here you sell at a low price with the aim to sell in high quantities to take advantage of manufacturing discounts.

b. Product Differentiation - This is where your product has higher perceived value to that of a competitor product. E.g. BWM & Mercedes both have a higher perceived value than a Holden or a Ford.

c. Market segmentation. - This is where you target your product specifically to a specialised market niche. E.g. Maternity Clothing - you target market is very specific - ladies who are pregnant or trying to become pregnant.

Once you have re-affirmed your strategy you need to do some external and internal analysis of the markets. With external analysis, a P.E.S.T.L.E. (Political. Economic. Social. Technological. Legal. Environmental) analysis is ideal to give you a good grasp on the market around you, the upcoming trends, opportunities and threats. A S.W.O.T. (Strengths. Weaknesses. Opportunities. Threats) analysis should then be carried out for the internal section. The S.W.O.T. analysis is a powerful tool due to its simplicity and effectiveness in helping to determine the critical issues to address and pursue. Strengths and Weaknesses are internal factors, while Opportunities and Threats are external and can be taken from your P.E.S.T.L.E. analysis. V.M.F also recommend that you include financial, competitive and channel/distribution factors within your analysis to gain the best picture of your market.

With the analysis completed you need to create your business goals. S.M.A.R.T. (Specific. Measurable. Attainable. Relevant. Timely) goals are recommended as vague goals will not drive success and can lead to employee dissatisfaction and incorrect business results which may lead your business astray. With your S.M.A.R.T. goals and your understanding of the market factors you now should determine the required factors for success. What resources (people, equipment, etc) do you need to fulfil your goals?

Following this you can start creating marketing strategies and tactics, including action plans for goal achievement along with how and when you are going to measure your progress for each factor (monthly, quarterly, etc).

The final and most important two steps are to implement the plan you have created and to monitor and continually evaluate the effectiveness of your strategies continuing to make minor adjustments along the way to improve their effectiveness in driving your business towards growth and your goal achievement.

The Contents of an Event Planners Tool Kit

There have been many articles written on what a wedding planner has in her Emergency Kit or what a bride should have in her wedding day kit, but there hasn't been as many written on what an event planner has in their kit. Do they even have a kit? Of course they do. No self-respecting event planner or organiser would attend an event without their trusty tool kit.

Every planner is different and will have their own style, choice and brands that they use, but fundamentally most of us will have a very similar list. When I am organising an event I usually have my practical kit and my event bible. Today we are looking at the practical kit. Now it doesn't have to be anything fancy, infact I would advise popping down to your local Bunnings and picking up one of the small workmans tool boxes and using that as they have plenty of compartments. Another good idea is to use one of the scrap booking tool boxes, they also have many handy compartments for storing the types of things I am about to suggest.

Now you need to try and think ahead of time and anticipate all the little things you might need when you are onsite at an event. To help I usually split my list up into categories; essentials, tools, admin & extras. Now remember the list below is not exhaustive one but it will certainly cover all your basic requirements:

Essentials

• Notepad
• Pens
• Nurofen or Panadol
• Highlighters
• Blue Tac
• Drawing Pins
• Glue/Adhesive
• Rubber Bands
• Tissues
• Business Cards
• Small Umbrella
• Hand Fan
• Matches or Lighter

Tools

• Torch/Flashlight
• Screw Driver - flat head and Phillips
• Small Hammer
• Tape Measure
• Batteries
• Waiters Friend
• Pocket Knife
• Extension Lead
• Double Adaptor Plug
• Power Cord
• Electrical Tape

Admin

• Envelopes
• Stapler & Staples
• Ruler
• Calculator
• USB Stick
• Blank CD's
• Post It Notes
• Paper Clips
• Sticky Tape

Extras

• Mints/Gum
• Bottle of Water
• Deodorant
• Band Aids
• Sewing Kit

The Seven Best Skills Necessary for a Corporate Event Planner

Corporate event planning services are getting popular in every passing day, as big corporate have understood the impact of a successful event or seminar in terms of branding and reputation. The job of a corporate planner is that of a specialist and requires multi-dimensional skill, interpersonal, time management, technical, and organizational skills among others. Planning and executing all details meticulously and catering to client's wishes is a demanding task.

Critical tasks offered by event planners such as location hunt, on site monitoring, logistics, seminars, and trade shows should be performed very carefully so as to give the best experience to their guests. Certain skill sets are essential in corporate event planning which would help you to sail through the grueling execution phase.

Multi-Tasking Ability

A corporate event planner needs to be working on multiple projects. For example, a planner may have to handle two different seminar or conference on consecutive days. So, multi tasking ability and ability to handle pressure is must in this profession.

Technical Skills

Computer proficiency is must in this profession as corporate event planner may need to run automated corporate event planning to streamline the entire process. He or she should know how to update and delete event related information using a software platform.

Time Management Skill

Time is money and more so in event planning profession. Prior scheduling and advance planning is the key to a hassle free event or conference. Keeping a good track of time and using an event's calendar could make life easier for professionals handling big events.

Interpersonal Skills

The bigger the event, the more the number of people you need to deal with as a planner. An excellent interpersonal skill is required to handle people from different backgrounds and working as a team. They need to work with a photographer, as well the person delivering flowers for the same occasion.

Organizational Skills

Good organizing capability would ensure successful execution of a corporate event without any last minute glitch. Preparing a checklist helps, especially to prevent over scheduling and deadline violation.

Communication skills

An effective communication skill is required to effectively manage a diverse team for an event. Poor communication can lead confusion and delay in deadlines.

Financial skills

Proper budgeting and financial skills would help a planner to plan and execute a hassle free event. Going over budget is a symbol of poor planning.

Corporate event planning these days have become a lot easier with robust and intuitive event management software. A successful planner is one who would fulfill a client's wish regardless of an event's size or location.

Understand Why Event Organizers Play an Important Role in the Success of a Business

Why do companies hold a special occasion just for the release of a new product? How difficult it is to work as an organizer for the company's affairs? Here are some answers for people looking to be in this field of work.

An event is a way for the company to attract customers. People are always on the lookout for something new. If they happen to pass by and find a lot of people flocking onto something, it's sort of a bandwagon that everyone will follow. We all know that this is perfect for the company. Because of this, the brand or the name of the company becomes more relevant and prominent. In other words, events draw attention.

This is a good way to promote or introduce a new product. Since you're just starting, virtually no one cares about that product so you have to make noise for it. An events planners' job is to make people realize that they need the product. When something out of the blue happens, what comes next? People talk about it. People who were firsthand witness to the scene spread information to those who have not seen. This increases awareness for people.

Events encourage word-of-mouth. Now that everything is on the Internet, it's only a matter of time before a regular blogger would be posting about the event, generating online presence for your company. Bloggers have regular readers that will learn something about the product through that blog post. At best, what events can do is to reach either the broadcast or social media. If events planners want to reach out to the majority, both types of media are the best to use.

When something is more famous or relevant, this becomes good bait for investors. More investors would like to ride in the popularity of your product. More investors mean more profit and room for expansion.

Events do not always generate positive feedback; there are going to be setbacks as well if it failed to kick off or generate an audience. It is also possible that it may bring bad publicity to the name of the company so that is a big risk to take. This is where the work of event organizers becomes very critical.

Before anything else, event organizers carefully arrange the occasion on a layout with a set of expectations that the project will try to meet. Planning is one of the most crucial parts of the whole events business since it is the framework and basis on how successful the event could be.

On the other hand, company-wise, events are a way to get the employees to work together as a team for something big. This encourages team effort. This is also a way for people to determine their strengths and weaknesses, so they can find out the fields in which they need to improve on. Events planners don't have an easy task ahead of them so there should be someone who can handle pressure and stress.

Proper Planning and Preparation for the Future Chemical Logistics

Chemicals are useful and necessary in order to produce the products that the public wants and needs. How do they get from point A to point B? The answer is logistics. Chemical logistics is distinctive than any other type. To mitigate the hazards of moving a chemical, it requires good planning and proper documentation. All freight transportation and storage has its difficulties. Chemicals, especially hazardous chemicals need to be handled with care and present greater risks.

There are a myriad of companies whose expertise is the movement of freight; however, there are few corporations that have the ability to properly and safely handle the shipment of chemicals, due to the stringent regulations that are enforced by federal, state and local governments. In the years ahead the requirements and regulations will in no doubt increase, and the properly prepared logistics company will rise to meet the challenge.

Warehousing is another issue facing the chemical logistics industry. How to properly store and dispose of chemicals before, during and after usage. Environmentally sound procedures and earth friendly solutions are challenges that the chemical sourcing corporations are facing in the years ahead. The main emphasis is safety. Whereas; some chemicals are considered hazardous, others are deemed to be harmless to the environment. A company with the most up-to-date policies and procedures will offer its customers the assurances that all chemicals will be handled properly and safely.

International shipments of products in a global economy will be preeminent. Vendors from countries outside of our own are competing for market share. Logistics will play a key role in keeping cost down and profits up. The logistics companies who know how to transport, store and distribute chemicals will remain solid.

The classifications by government regulators has added additional burdens for the companies who procure and transport chemicals for the manufacturing and distribution sectors. Even though it has been some time since a company could dump chemicals in any public landfill, all chemicals have a classification as to its environmental impact. There are stiff penalties that can be levied against a chemical sourcing company for mishandling dangerous and toxic materials. Improper labeling is not least among the violations that enforcement agencies pay close attention to.

Chemicals are here to stay. The transportation and storage issues facing the manufacturing community are not insurmountable. Proper planning and good communication are the cornerstone of a symbiotic relationship between a manufacturer and a supplier.