Seven Simple Steps To Planning The Perfect Conference

It’s that time of year again and your organization is getting ready for its next big conference, and it feels slightly overwhelming. You may even feel in your heart everything that could go wrong. Perhaps, its time to take the guessing out of planning and begin to take care of what you can control when planning your next conference.

Streamline

First step always is to streamline your tasks; make sure to create a plan before you begin the event coordination. It is imperative to make sure you know the direction you are going before you start. Make a list prioritizing from beginning to end; from finding the right speakers to developing the right promotional plan that meets your organizations vision.

Know your Target Audience

Second, evaluate your organization and the people you are trying to reach for your conference. Prepare the right topics with the right speakers, to ensure you are connecting with the right audience. A communication’s plan is essential for everyone involved so you can put the focus of the conference back to the direction of its people.

Promote Early

Third, get the word out early, and give people something to talk an about, if you start late than don’t expect large numbers. The more hype you build through word of mouth the better direction you have to bring in large numbers.

Booking the Right Conference Center

Fourth, the right conference center is imperative in ensuring your events success, and everything from the layout of the room to the location of the bathroom should be checked before entering into a contractual agreement. It is vital that you meet the needs of the organization and the people attending, if they are uncomfortable throughout the day than it creates a negative impact on your conference’s perspective and outcome.

Location

Fourth, if you are bringing in out of Towner’s then location is key for everyone, make sure it’s in happening spot, at the right time of year. Ensuring this will meet the needs of everyone involved and draw more attraction the big day.

Plan B

Fifth, be prepared for the inevitable as you sometimes never know what will happen. A speaker may drop out last minute or perhaps there maybe a mix up with the catering. It’s not a problem if you have back up speakers in mind, and remember not everything is in your control.

Relax and Enjoy Yourself

Getting ready for the conference can be a huge stressful task but if you do it right; it can be a lot of fun. Remember, to enjoy yourself, while planning, and promoting the more excited the coordinator is the more apt people will come. Do it with a smile on your face to let everyone know this will be the best event, yet!

Get a head start, get organized, and get ready to host the best conference in your area. If you can follow these six simple steps than you are ready for instant success. Event coordination can sometimes be overwhelming but if you plan early it will be an instant success

All You Need To Know Regarding Wedding Planning

Your wedding should be a day about you and your partner. Letting others get too involved in the planning process (even if they are paying for it) will only result in a day that doesn’t reflect the two of you. This article has ideas on how you can make your wedding your own, and keep an eye on the budget at the same time.

If you are planning a big family wedding, be sure to assign roles for people in your family during the wedding. Honoring and thanking the people involved are very important. Make sure that moms, dads, grandparents, and other important people are given a role that they are comfortable with doing.

Two months before your wedding, which is the equivalent of eight weeks, you need to make sure that the application for your marriage license is underway, the wedding rings have been ordered, you have selected and ordered a wedding cake, accessories for the bride and bridesmaids are taken care of, and that your invitations have been mailed. Keep a list of your RSVP cards coming back to you to make the final count tally much simpler.

When planning a wedding, even far in advance, it’s important to keep a record of your ideas on paper. If you plan everything verbally, it’s easy to forget things, or have disagreements later on things that were never clearly stated. If you have a record of plans that have been agreed on that can be updated as you go, your wedding will go much more smoothly.

Weddings are similar to many other major life decisions in that they have a financial cost. However, because a wedding is an exceptionally emotional event, it is easy once you begin planning to go overboard and spend more than you can afford. Before beginning the planning process, it is important to set a budget with your significant other and stick to it. While a wedding is a special event, remember that you are not marrying the debt!

Depending on the size of your guest list, you will need to consider that the location you choose for both your wedding ceremony, and reception must be within a reasonable distance of each other. It will make it convenient for your guests to get to and from. Providing directions in your invitations is also very helpful for your guests once you have secured your locations.

If you will be having a wedding where many of the guests are out of town, you might want to consider sending out a save the date post card that just serves as an announcement of your upcoming marriage. It will help these guests start planning and making it more likely that they will attend.

There is no way to completely get rid of that stressful feeling from planning a wedding. You can, however, take control making sure that you are getting what you want and your partner wants without offending everyone who is trying to help. Use the advice here to make all of these things a reality.

Planning a Team Building Weekend

One of the underlying concepts of a team building activity is that it is designed to foster at team spirit among the participants, and help them focus on what they need to do in day to day work in order to function effectively as a team. So you’ve just taken your team out on a wild weekend of river rafting and wall climbing, and everyone’s returned to work energized and ready to tackle the latest project. How do you know if your team building event actually served its purpose?

One important part of a team building weekend that is often overlooked is the evaluation process. It’s not enough to plan a fun weekend and hope that throwing your project team into the mix will bond them into a working team. A successful corporate team building event must take into account the goals and needs of the individual company and department in order to bring the group together. Before choosing a team building idea, your event planning team (and of course you’re using a team to plan the event, aren’t you?) should carefully evaluate each idea to see how it fits in with the company’s goals.

How do you ensure that your team building event will actually do its job? Here are some tips to help you plan a corporate team building activity that will help your team pull together.

– Have a clear purpose for the team building activity.
Sit down with the project team leaders and brainstorm. Ask them to define areas that need work and skills that need polishing. Once you have a clear idea of what needs to be accomplished, you can choose events that fit the bill.
– Balance work time with fun team building events.
Skip the overworked touchy-feely trust building events and choose events that are fun for all. Choose activities where working as a team pays off – perhaps a scavenger hunt or a spy mission. There are dozens of team building activities that will challenge your group to become a team without boring them to tears.
– Make time to network.
Building teams starts with building relationships. Make sure that you don’t pack so much activity into your team building time that your group has no time to kick back and relax. Schedule in some unstructured time when they can get to know each other outside work time.
– Put together a follow-up action plan.
Don’t let the team spirit die when the team building weekend is over. Make an action plan that will be followed to put all the great ideas and plans into effect once you return to work.

10 Tips On How To Be An Excellent Event Planner

There are many tips that you can use to become an event planner and become one of the best, however, you need to know that to become an excellent event planner you need to pay attention to the fine details and offer the best to your clients. This can take a lot of time from your day-to-day activities. To become an event planner you need to put forth a lot of energy and time.

1. The first tip and the most important one is that you need to get in contact with some of the best supplies. You need to have a business contract and connection with many suppliers so that you can offer the best to your clients. Remember when you have the best suppliers; your reputation will be excellent.
2. Also, always give your clients options. Have a least a dozen venders that you work with on a regular basis so that your clients can choose from a few options. When you give your clients options they will feel more evolved in the planning process.
3. You need to think about what kind of events that you will plan. They can be small dinners to huge weddings so you need to come up with creative ways to bring life to a party. There are going to be a lot of signatures styles, but if you continuously research then you can keep up on trends and event activities.
4. When you are doing a wedding that is multicultural, you need to learn about both of the cultures that they want present in the wedding. This will give you a better understanding of the traditions that they want to honor.
5. You also need to think about your location of business. Is your office somewhere respectable or in the ghetto? You need to make sure that your clients are going to feel comfortable in your office. This way you can have more cliental.
6. As an event planner you need to learn how to communicate effectively. You need to know what is acceptable and what is not by reviewing all your details with the clients. The party isn’t about you, but the clients. You need to keep that in mind. Even if you think sometime is wrongfully place, listen to your clients needs and wants.
7. Another way for you to enhance your reputation is to keep ties with the clients who were very pleased with your performance. Use them as references, but always ask before giving out any information. This way you can give future clients and idea of your quality.
8. You may also want to ask your clients if you can take general pictures of the event so that future clients will be able to see what exactly you are capable of doing. This is will make a lot of people hire you on the spot.
9. Talk to the client and set a budget before contacting any of your suppliers. This way you can communicate effectively with your suppliers and clients. You can offer the best possible solutions and ideas within a budget. If you can pull off an extraordinary event within a budget, then you will be recommended to everyone. There are only two things that matter and that is the design and cost of an event.
10. Finally, you need to have a personality that allows you to interact with others and really hear what others want. You need to have the strength to handle everything with a collective attitude, as well as, make the planning process fun for your clients. Your personality and the way you handle things makes a huge difference in being a successful event coordinator or an okay planner.

Have you ever been given a reputation that you wanted to change but did not know how to? It is very hard to change reputations

I thought my efforts were unappreciated and unnoticed until my employee evaluation one year. My supervisor commended me for the efforts and made the comment that his brother could use someone like me. His brother owned won of the major event management companies in the metropolitan area. We talked about this in passing, yet the seed was planted. A few days later I asked my supervisor if he could let me know if his brother or any of the other events management companies were looking for help. He gave me his brother’s name and number and told me to call him. I made the call and this was the first step towards finding a job that I have come to love.

I am involved in planning. Event management companies are responsible for making all the arrangements for major happenings in a city. Our company specializes in family events. This means we make arrangements for circuses, concerts, races, rodeos and non-professional sporting events. Other event management companies specialize in entertainment that is more adult in nature and also large community events. Most of my work involves telephone, computer and faxing. After I had been with the company for nine months I was set up in my home. The company supplies me with three phone lines, a fax machine a computer and a multi-line telephone system. This is great. I am now using my organizational skills to earn my living instead of being the office party planner and gift buyer. Once I switched jobs I made sure not to be the first person to volunteer to do the party and gift planning for co-workers. Now that I am able to work out of my home this is not an issue.

WeddingTrix: The Affiliate Honeymoon

One of the most robust sales markets today is weddings. When you are showing your love for your future spouse, you’re more willing to go all-out, to make it the memorable party of a lifetime. Entire industries are built around weddings. And brides need guidance from someone who won’t try to control the wedding.

Do you have a site catering to brides and their families? For instance, do you run a great:

• Wedding site?
• Romance site?
• Dating site?
• Event planning site?

If you do, then you know how much women and their families are ready to spend on that event of a lifetime, and how hard it is to get truly good advice for having a beautiful and stress-free wedding.

The Ultimate Wedding Planning Toolkit: Advice Not From Your Mother

We’d like you to consider advertising The Ultimate Wedding Planning Toolkit on your site. Our wedding planner is designed to be easy for busy brides to use. It’s filled with checklists, money-saving tips, information about how to hire wedding vendors like photographers, timelines, and many other tools. The Ultimate Wedding Planning Toolkit includes:

• An ebook written in a simple, matter-of-fact way with easy-to-digest information about planning a wedding
• A complementary workbook with checklists, forms, printable detail sheets to give photographers, and lots of room for notes about venues, catering, and other important details
• An electronic spreadsheet in Excel format with all the forms from the workbook, including several with formulas built in to make calculations easier: budgeting, RSVP count, etc.
•

Besides this, WeddingTrix.com offers those who buy the Ultimate Wedding Planning Toolkit:

• Full access to their website, with places to ask experts questions, to interact with other nervous brides, and to find more ideas.
• A tip a day for a year, emailed directly to the customer.
• Free updates whenever we make them to the Ultimate Wedding Planning Toolkit.

We cover topics like:

• How to choose a photographer and then get the best possible pictures without micromanaging
• How to get friends and family to help you out – without taking over the ceremony
• How to work with the best possible wedding planner
• How to pay for your wedding
• How to have a stress-free honeymoon
• How to be prepared for those little emergencies

We focused on finding the information that the bride really needed, and then put it together in the most easy-to-use and streamlined format we could devise. It’s perfect for first-time brides because it leads them through some of the toughest pitfalls in their wedding planning, and it’s great for second-time brides as well because it helps them see where they can improve on their first ceremony. It can even be used as a guide for a vows renewal and second honeymoon!

Compared to other wedding planning packages available online, we think the Ultimate Wedding Planning Toolkit is a good deal at $24.95. And we’re offering our affiliate referrers 75% at ClickBank.com because of this. This means that for every referral from you who buys the Toolkit, you’ll receive $18.71!

And all it costs you is a little real estate on your website…..

Camcorder Techniques

Pre-Production:
It’s all got to start somewhere, so before you even charge your batteries, rewind those tapes or pack the car, take a seat and have a good think about what you are planning to shoot with your camcorder. ‘Planning is the key’ to a good production even if you’re just shooting a small home movie.
It may sound like overkill if you head out the door to film your children at a sporting event or a family birthday party, but if you are planning to display the video to family and friends or even review it yourself for extended lengths of time, you will want AND need it to be as compelling as possible.
Now if you’re filming a longer feature or being paid for a project, pre-production planning is essential. Both in streamlining the production phase of the project and displaying a professional image for your business. This is done by using basic filming techniques.
This may consist of sketching up a storyboard (to download a sample go to www.kmsvideo.com/Resources.htm), detailed notes or an interview/information session with the client.
“But I just want to shoot a home movie, not a production of Ben Hur!” I hear you say. OK then, let’s bring it back to basics shall we?
First of all any video you take needs to have a beginning, a middle and an end. Simple as that!
Now, say you were to tell people at work on Monday morning an interesting event that happened on the weekend. How would you go about it? A bit of background information, then the main ‘body’ of the event and close it off with a punchline or resolution. You’re telling a STORY.
Now go out with your video camera and- “Tell a Story on Film”. Still unclear?
Here’s a practical example… Timmy’s first soccer final is on Saturday. It’s a big occasion so you are going to capture it on video. Using our basic formula lets make it into a compelling story-
Beginning:
Open with a shot of the alarm clock, Timmy packing his bag, having breakfast then climbing into the car. All less than 5 seconds duration and if your camera has the function, set it to fade in and out to black.
Middle:
The team runs onto the field. Shots of Timmy chasing, dribbling and passing the ball at warm-up. Get the opening whistle and kick off, then move around the field for various angles and shots of Timmy. Film the coaches address to his players at half time followed by more game footage.
End:
Ref blows the full-time whistle and you video the teams shaking hands and walking off the field. Finally, close the video with a shot of our star and maybe a few words.
That’s it! A very simplified version so here’s a few tips to remember-
-Don’t just keep the camera rolling in the hope that something interesting will happen
-move around so you’re not always filming from the one spot
-use close-ups and wide shots alternatively
-don’t talk over the footage, let the pictures tell the story
Now with a bit of pre-planning and good camcorder and filming techniques, you’ll Have friends and family lining up to watch your home movies!

Creating a Buzz

Were the coordination of event and conference management not enough, today’s organizers are generally expected to boost or promote attendance as well. Why? Because increased attendance means increased revenue.
Most savvy planners are aware of the tried and true marketing methods and event promotion methods such as blast e-mails, Web sites and direct mail. However, not all are aware of the marketing opportunities that can generate the very “buzz” you need to maximize attendance.
Before you start spending your marketing budget on the same old fare, consider that many other events are directly competing with your potential attendee’s time and money and for this reason, you must first determine what makes your event spectacular and the one to attend. If you can’t find a reason, it’s time to create one!
Location, Location, Location
In my twenty year planning career the buzz generated by Hawaii meetings far surpassed the sum total of every other location combined from the U.S., Canada and Europe. Instead of a general apathy about the next quarterly meeting, Hawaii meetings had the attendees asking for information several meetings ahead so they could make plans for a family holiday to piggy-back on the meeting dates, and other arrangements and activities. I also know from the admissions of some attendees who might not otherwise have attended that meeting, that they attended, in large part, because it was a Hawaii meeting.
Of course it’s not always geographically feasible or affordable to take our groups on to Maui but it’s very important to remember that when oft-jaded attendees are excited about a potential meeting site, they generate their own enthusiasm within themselves and among each other. Talk among themselves often results in others from their office attending the event who might not have otherwise. Attendees who have to push for permission to attend are often unusually creative in finding ways to convince management of the “vital importance” of this meeting.
Most every location has its redeeming virtues. Seek out what makes a location special and unique and then show your attendees the best your site has to offer. You can start by using color pictures, typically available from your CVB, depicting natural splendor, sports and activities to inspire your attendees imagination. In this case, a picture is indeed worth a thousand words.
Star Tripping
Never under-estimate the power of, well, power. Famous people not only act as a draw for increased attendance but their presence can add vitality and excitement to an event, leading to long term benefits for attendees and their organizations.
Obviously, bringing in a celebrity is generally not an inexpensive proposition, yet a “star” may bring you just the results you wish for your event. First, do your cost benefit analysis. Then determine whether you wish to hire a speaker who fires up and inspires the sales force, or someone who is a draw and will put people in chairs, such as a Donald Trump.
Once you determine which kind of star you want in your galaxy, work with one of the many specialized speaker’s bureaus who specialize in such bookings. They have the inside scoop on who’s hot and who’s not, prices and availability. Literal stars draw our eyes to the heavens; celebrity “stars” can draw both magic and more people to your event.
An Affair to Remember
If like many organizers, your budget and goals for your event include a grand soiree, make it one you pre-publicize. Why sink all that money into the exotic dinner cruise without giving your potential attendees an opportunity to get excited? Include a decent sized color photo of the potential boat (or other location provided by your supplier) on your web site and write some splashy copy to knock those perched on the fence over to your side. One example of a trick that I’ve seen generate much enthusiasm is to offer a free ticket or other such prize to every hundredth registrant, as one example. No, this likely won’t generate attendance from the ambivalent but it might entice a few still considering. What this will do is induce a certain enthusiasm and excitement among those planning to, or considering attending your event.
The Planner’s Best Friend
Many event and meeting organizers are unaware of how much the CVB can assist in your promotional efforts for event promotions and often at a minimal cost, or for no charge. The CVB has as much to gain from your group’s peak attendance as you do, so find out early in your promotional efforts just what is offered and at what cost. Don’t forget: Like any supplier, you can and should negotiate with the CVB for such event promotional assistance. Following are a few examples of what many CVB’s offer gratis, depending on the size of the group and its potential revenue to their city.
Full color visitor’s guides, local maps, pins, city fact sheets and area attractions brochures
Telemarketing to help build attendance
Pre-Promotion well in advance of your event. Pre-printed literature can be personalized with your own copy for your mailings
The CVB’s logo, event promotional video, color slides and digital images
Exhibit displays
Airport electronic message board
“Meet and Greet”
In truth, CVB’s are thrilled to help promote your event and since they all offer different services and products, just ask. I have never found a CVB that didn’t bend over backwards to help make our events a success.
Don’t Overlook the Small Stuff
Event organizers are typically within a dizzying whirl of conflicting demands and it’s all too easy to overlook some simple yet effective event promotion opportunities to promote your event. Here are a few:
Broadcast fax cover sheets
Letterhead
E-mail signatures
Announcements to trade press
Newsletters and magazines articles
Inserts in all outbound correspondence
Piggy-Back on Nearby Events
If an exciting, splashy event is scheduled in close proximity during your own event, let people know! Does your group have a group of golfers? If a major golf tournament is scheduled nearby, even immediately before or after your event, let members know. You might also consider offering transportation or something to assist those interested in attending the event.
Is Pavarotti performing nearby? To make your own performance sing, provide a means for attendees to get tickets and then promote the event in your promotional material about the conference location.
Press It
The press can not only give your event a subtle “plug” but this will be more likely if you have developed and maintain relationships with them. To cultivate such relationships, be accessible and if you find something that might be of interest to them that has nothing to do with you and your event, forward it to them. The press doesn’t forget favors and can be your best friend in getting the word out about your event.
Alas, desired conference attendance numbers are not as simple as, “If you plan it, they will come.” The most spectacular location and meticulous planning can be over-shadowed by reduced attendance but fortunately, there are many solutions, from the simple to the complex that will reap real benefits and bring real bodies to your event.

Party Bus Rentals for Los Angeles

One of the new and innovative ideas in party transportation is the renting of a charter bus to take a group of people from one bar to another. It’s a great method of having a wonderful time without having the worry about choosing a designated driver.

In the Los Angeles, California area, VanGo is recognizing the need for this type of service and has party buses available. Don’t be mistaken though, party buses aren’t just for those interested in consuming alcohol, any age group can rent a party bus from VanGo.

If you are planning a special event, be it a wedding, a baby shower, or a bachelor party, consider the benefit of party buses and how they add to your experience. If you are planning a party at a destination in the Los Angeles area and you have some out-of-town visitors attending, imagine all of the fun they’ll have aboard one of our party buses.

It’s not only an economical and easy way to get all your guests to the event it also serves as a comfortable atmosphere for mingling. Aboard VanGo party buses your guests can get to know one another before arriving at their final destination. They’ll feel more comfortable at the party having already gotten acquainted with other attendees.

Renting one of the party buses from VanGo is also a nice gesture in that your guests don’t have to worry about things like directions and parking at the event. All they have to do is jump on the bus and enjoy the ride. They’ll appreciate your thoughtfulness and will welcome the chance to leave their car behind while they use the transportation you’ve provided for them.

In addition to getting your guests to the party on time, VanGo will work hard to make them feel comfortable during the trip. VanGo can provide a host or hostess to accompany your guests on their trip. The host is very familiar with the Los Angeles area and can provide answers to any questions your guests may have about this popular area of California.

Leave your party transportation needs to the professionals at VanGo. You’ll appreciate the chance to leave those worries to them and your guests will be impressed by your gesture. Traveling to any party in comfort and style sets the tone for a great event. Let VanGo party buses take on your guest list and get everyone to the event on time.

Creative Birthday Party Ideas

I love throwing parties. Anyone who knows me well knows that there is nothing that energizes me more than planning and throwing a wonderful birthday party. It took me several years of planning parties for myself, my family and my friends before a wise soul suggested that I look into becoming a professional party planner. Why the thought had never crossed my mind, I have no idea, but I took her advice and quickly checked into a possible profession. My biggest reason for becoming a party planner was that I loved coming up with great birthday party ideas. Why not get paid to do what I love?

Birthday party ideas can be as simple or as ornate as you want them to be. I have been to amazing parties where the food, the decorations, and the activities were all very simple and it turned out well. I have also been to many lavish parties where each element of the event was given a great amount of detail and care. The important thing in coming up with birthday party ideas is to think carefully about the person you are celebrating.

Remembering the birthday person is the most important thing you can do in gathering birthday party ideas. After all, you are celebrating the birth and life of a person you care about, so why not make their celebration something they will love. Think about their interests, passions and likes when you are coming up with birthday party ideas for them.

Some of the best birthday party ideas are planned around a theme that reflects the birthday person. Try to come up with a great theme that will be fun to celebrate and that will allow you to easily incorporate food, decorations and events into the party.

What I love about party planning is sitting down with my clients over lunch or coffee. I always begin by having them tell me the kind of celebration they are hoping for. If people have no goals in party planning, then it will be really hard to come up with the perfect birthday party ideas. I’ve been surprised to find that people have many more ideas than they even think they do. All they need is a little help organizing their ideas for the party.

Grab a notebook and make a list of initial birthday party ideas for the next event you are planning. And enjoy the planning process. It can be fun, rewarding and even relaxing when you start with great birthday party ideas.