Corporate Event Planning|Event Management|Event Planner

In any given community there are a number of organizations and associations who rely heavily upon fundraising methods. Often the success that they have in fundraising allows them to stay operational, provide services, purchase needed supplies, etc. In fact, if looking at the budget of any not-for-profit in your community one would find that their reliance upon public donations is a major percentage of their revenue.

In order to be successful in this important endeavor, fundraising actions should consider a number of components. These components could include having sufficient resources, does the fund-raising match the organization's mission and drawing from a pool of specific ideas.

Sufficient Resources

Before undertaking any fundraising plan it is important to evaluate the capability of the fundraising group. One of the major considerations before embracing specific ideas for fundraising activities is to evaluate whether there are sufficient resources.

One critical resource to being successful at any fundraising event is to determine whether there are a sufficient number of volunteers. For example, many special events require a large number of personnel to plan and prepare for the event. In addition there is the selling of tickets and the actual staffing of the event on the day that the fundraiser will be held.

Another resource that may be required to be successful with implementing ideas for fund-raising activities is money. The old axiom is true that it takes money to make money. Therefore, before undertaking any ideas for fundraising activities, it is important to understand that there will be costs associated with fundraising. Those costs may include the use of office supplies, transportation, purchase of consumables, insurance, etc.

Matches The Organization's Mission

Another major consideration before undertaking any ideas for fundraising activities is does the fundraising activity match the mission statement of the organization? For example, if the organization is against alcohol consumption, then a wine tasting party would certainly be a mismatch as an idea for a fundraiser.

One other example of appropriately matching a fund-raising activity with an agency's mission would be holding a banquet rather than a golf tournament. This would be especially powerful if that agency was a health providing agency and the individuals that were being honored at the banquet had saved a life. A fundraiser honoring these individuals and promoting the agencies mission would be better served in the dining room rather than on the golf course.

Specific Ideas

There are many tried and proven ideas for fundraising activities. Some of these activities include walk-a-thons, carwashes, selling of candy and magazines, auctions, fundraising dinners, etc.

However, it is important to note that with the increase of not-for-profits it is becoming increasingly difficult for these agencies to raise the needed revenue to meet their operating costs as well as providing services to others. Therefore, it is important that new and creative ideas for fundraising activities are generated.

One of the more creative and newer ideas for fundraising activities could be a no-show ball. The concept of this no-show ball is that the donors are sent an invitation and are allowed to check off their excuse for not attending. However, the beauty of this no-show ball concept is that no one shows, but the donor still sends in their donation. This speaks loudly to the donor in that the agency appears to be very creative and understanding in regards to the time demands placed upon the donor's time.

Organising an event is not as simple as it once was. These days' people expect more from events and as organisers try to compete, you need to ensure you have thought of everything.

As such, here is a solid checklist that you can use to organise your events and ensure that you have considered all of the options and covered all of the angles, before the event begins:

1. How many guests are you going to invite?

2. Do you have enough time to organise the event and publicise it in order to make it a success? (If not, push the date back).

3. Has a similar event been held in the past, and was it successful?

4. What would you need in order to make your event successful (people and skills, and can you arrange these things in time)?

5. Is your event going to entertain (party, meal or trip) or is it going to inform people (workshop, conference, lecture, AGM)?

6. How much space do you have available to you (take into account room for guests who walk around, a dance area if necessary, decorative arrangements and other things that will infringe on the floor space).

7. What menu are you going to offer, and will this be simple or complex to arrange in your local area?

8. Have you created the invitations and given guests enough time to attend (remember that your guests are busy and may have other engagements to attend to).

9. Have you considered what you need to hire and what you already have available (in terms of equipment and goods)?

10. Is the event going to be based on a theme (if so, what theme)?

11. Are you going to invite special guests or VIPs to your event?

12. What seating arrangements have you planned for, and which guests will be sitting together?

13. Is your event going to be formal or an informal event?

14. Are you going to need a DJ or a band to play at your event?

15. What cleaning staff do you have on hand, or do you need to arrange them?

16. Who is going to set up the venue (will you hire this out or organise it yourself)?

17. Have you found the best location for the event (easy to find, good parking, safe, and scenic)?

18. Do you need to buy extras such as balloons, hats, gifts, drinks, cakes, alcohol, cake, toys, writing materials etc.)?

No one likes to talk about Christmas too early, but when it comes to organising Christmas parties, earlier is best. The earlier you start to organise it, more options are available for you to choose, such as, venue, food, music, entertainers, location, drinks and more importantly the dates for the Christmas event.

But the most important decision to decide is: what type of party does your office need?

Below is a list of the types of Christmas office events you could organise.

Exclusive Company Christmas Parties

Exclusive parties are perfect for companies who want to hold a private party. The food, drink and entertainment can be selected to suit your party needs. Large hotels market their exclusive parties at large groups but event management companies can offer you smaller and varied party venues.

Shared Company Christmas Office Party

For companies of any size where smaller groups can still enjoy the larger Christmas party atmosphere. These shared party packages have set packages which normally can't be changed. Most shared Christmas party packages include reception drinks, 3 or 4 course meal, live entertainment, DJ and disco.

Bespoke Christmas Parties

Bespoke Christmas events are perfect for companies who want their Christmas do designed around their exact needs. Plenty of themes and entertainment to choose from but don't forget the basics are the most important to get right on a bespoke event. Best way to organise this type of party is to speak to an event management company who have sent years in the event industry and know what is needs to add that extra wow factor.

Christmas Activity Days Out

Perfect for companies looking for some team building, adventure and fun. Plenty of activities to choose from such as paintballing, cocktail making, chocolate making, clay pigeon shooting, go karting and much more.

Tailor the party to suit your needs, whether it's for a couple of hours with a pub lunch or a full day of activities.

Depending on the type of message you want to send to your employees, you can book your corporate event at a four-star restaurant or at a neighborhood dive bar. Many factors should be taken into consideration when planning a corporate outing such as size, budget, and availability. The important thing to remember when planning a corporate is that this event should be used to show gratitude for the hard work of the employees.

There are a few things to take in to consideration, do you want to have a formal dinner party at a restaurant, do you want something more casual and relaxed? Some venues can host private dining for corporate events which can be nice for larger parties to keep them separated from the rest of the venue. Serving alcohol can be a nice way to let people let loose but it can also pose some issues. Your servers should be aware of how to serve alcohol and not to over serve guests.

If you choose to use a professional party planner, you can really put on a great event and have less of a headache than trying to plan the event yourself. Party planners typically have contacts in the area and can usually put together events in relatively little time. Planners know what it takes to put on a great event and have an existing relationship with area vendors. By using an established party planner, you can get some insider deals on venues and vendors.

Take into account the menu, do you want to serve steak, seafood, appetizers, buffet, etc. When putting together a menu, give your guests a choice in types of protein or vegetables. Let your guests know what will be served at the event ahead of time.

The biggest part of planning a corporate event is staying in contact with your planner and giving yourself enough time to plan for any unexpected bumps in the road. Throwing a great function is no easy task but when done correctly, can be a great time for everyone in attendance.

Corporate life can be challenging. Particularly business meetings or larger gatherings where clients must be involved, fed and entertained can be a challenge to pull off, especially with so many other aspects of the business to keep up with. New Jersey corporate catering services are often selected in order to assure that the bigger business meetings and board meetings go forward without a hitch.

Employers and larger businesses tend to work harder and to play harder than any other set of people. Making sure that those parties are all they should be and that the food is reasonably priced, well laid out, and pleasing to the palate can be a challenge.

This means that a corporate party can be even more of a challenge since a wide range of people with different tastes, food preferences and backgrounds will all be together in the same place, and each will require careful handling. In addition to these considerations, religious preferences and sometimes food allergies need to be taken into account when preparing foods for large gatherings.

Corporate catering services are quite often the best method of handling an event that may prove to be more challenging. Even board meetings can be catered so that every attention is given to the small details that will keep the members pleased and the meeting flowing smoothly.

New Jersey corporate catering services not only provide outstanding meals and meal planning, but also excellent presentation. From larger parties to simple finger-foods and snacks to keep your team moving, it's often far more easy to use a catering service than to take orders and deal with the nightmare of having to pick up or have food delivered to you and then sort it out for yourself. Mixed up orders, massive deliveries and then sorting out your own meals can be a nightmare when it is all taking place during a business or board meeting. Aside from the massive interruption to the meeting, the food may not be what you want and the service is of course non-existent.

Your New Jersey corporate catering service can help you to find innovative ways to feed the troops during the meeting or late work session, as well as to proffer outstanding food and great service to be sure that everyone has what they need, when they need it. For your next board meeting or office party, avoid the slow delivery and the poor service that you've had in the past and put your meeting in the hands of the professionals.

Profitable business is every entrepreneur's ticket to real success. The entrepreneur's career ladder always begins with an idea and then followed by selling that idea to the market. There is no shortcut to entrepreneurship. It is a continuous process. Every aspiring entrepreneur must learn, execute and study more the market that he wants to deal with. Selling products and services is business yet an entrepreneur has to exert more efforts in order to win and achieve the stability, profitability and dominance among competitors. The world of business is very challenging much more when business these days are beginning to welcome the modern marketing methods and systems of improving sales. Almost every company has its corporate office other than their main factory. Usually located on high rise buildings in major cities of every country, these offices aim to observe best practices on the Supply Chain Management (SCM) and as well as establish excellent Customer Relationship Management (CRM).

What's Happening Inside the Corporate World?
We all know the rules of business. From the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) going down to the lowest rank employee in terms of job role, the primary goal of every company or corporation is to deliver products and services that will give satisfaction to the customers to the highest level. Work, jobs, projects, issues, problems, delays and brain storming sessions are in between these two business operation end points. Oftentimes, we observe from the top news on TV, the internet, the newspapers and the media press conferences that business critics, economists and market analysts are discussing the latest moves of the company CEO and top executives. One company acquires this company. Two companies merge together. Sometimes, it's the bad news; a company files for bankruptcy. This is becoming a routine in the world of business or technically, the corporate world. Not all companies succeed. The competition is always there and it is always a challenge for every company to deliver their best moves in order to win the customers.

The Truth About Supply Chain Management
When it comes to the supply chain in business, there are three key performance indicators that dictate the game of winning and losing. They are the cost of products and services, the cycle time in delivering these products and services to the customers, and the quality that if delivered with excellence will make every customer happy. Supply Chain Management (SCM) is defined by Wikipedia as "the management of a network of interconnected businesses involved in the provision of product and service packages required by the end customer in a supply chain". The meaning is clear; it has something to do with managing the customer's needs. That is actually the purpose of entrepreneurship. The entire corporate world is battling for clients. And if we establish that link of one business operation to the other inside a company, there is no reason to say that they are not interconnected. Therefore, the failure of one process could mean the breakage of the chain and absolutely the failure to supply to the customers what they need at the right cost, at the fastest lead time and the highest quality.

SCM is About Winning the Market
We can relate SCM to the Law of Supply and Demand. The price of any commodity is dependent on the quantity produced and the quantity demanded. When a certain price becomes fixed on a given time, the competition among suppliers becomes stiffer because customers have the option to choose on where to buy the products or services that they want. The SCM is very much dependent on this law; reason why corporate executives always want their SCM team to be more sensitive to the movement in the market. Whenever there is a need for adjustment, it will be dealt with accordingly and timely until a final winning decision is made. This is why many companies and corporations invest a lot on acquiring best talents on SCM. Business analyst, financial consultant, and SCM specialist; their role is to help the company survive the competition and in whatever business way, win the market.

Excellent Supplier Relationship will Improve Profitability
One effective way of winning the market is to strengthen the company's supplier relationship. In fact, this is always the starting point of every company's SCM operation. From acquisition of raw materials, consumable items, new machines, or even services that will help deliver products and services to the customers, supplier will do it all for the company being their customer. If your suppliers are showing poor scores on these three key performance indicators, then it will surely affect your entire operation. Therefore, it should be your SCM's goal of ensuring that suppliers are in line with your main business objective - profitability for success.

Event management as the name suggests, is an activity that is used to manage various events. It includes the creation and development of festivals or conferences. It is not an individual task as it involves identifying the target audiences, studying the intricacies of the brand, devising the concept, logistics planning as well as coordinating various technical aspects before organizing them. Now, you can easily understand that these works can't be finished without involving a team which consists of different members. These members are experts in their fields of organizing various tasks or activities. Thus, team building is required for organizing an event successfully without any hurdles.

Organizing an event is one of the most responsible tasks for any team specially mega events which could be a family function or office anniversary. In this modern era, companies also use to show their status to the competitors as well as people by organizing it. Thus, it's also treated as a status symbol. There are various ideas for team building which can be used to it. Some of the categories may be as follows:

• Charitable Work
• Community Service
• Individual Training Development
• Indoor / Outdoor Pursuits
• Changes To Work Practices

Thus, team building ideas should be impressive and effective whether you are required to organize a conference or manage various activities. You should differentiate overall activities of teamwork from the start of an event to post activities. These things will help individuals or group of individuals in achieving a specific goal and thus, they combined as a team will achieve the ultimate objective. There should be proper understandings and coordination of team members in terms of their works and activities. Any kinds of misunderstandings between team members lead to failure of the project in terms of failure of event management.

There will be also need of evaluation of result and profitability of a business task. Hence, in case of organizing a conference or meeting, organizers should estimate their time as well as working conditions. After their completion, they should analyze their activities in terms of time and costing. This will help them in estimating their success and organize the next in a better way. Impressive and effective team building ideas can be helpful for building a professional team which can organize any kinds of event whether it's a family event or an official event in terms of anniversary or products launching or anything else. Thus, you can understand the importance of team building ideas for organizing any conferences or meetings.

In today's world where everyone is in a rush with not enough time on their hands for most of the things they want to do, event planning has become a popular recourse for people who do not want the headache of having to organize a special occasion or a business event. Event planning has recently enjoyed a boom as more people have come to rely on event planners to organize anything from a wedding to a music festival.

The planner of the event takes care of all the details involved in organizing an event. His job description will include selecting possible sites for the event for the client's approval and then reserving the venue for the required date, getting the necessary permits for the event if needed, establishing a budget with the client, booking musicians, speakers, lecturers, entertainers and photographers necessary for the event, arranging for furnishings for the event such as tables or chairs, tents, lighting, sound systems, catering, and the decor. The planner will also take care of hiring security and health care professionals if required and also arrange for parking, signage and even cleaning up after the event is over. They will also take care of invitations, menus, souvenirs, programs or any printed material needed for the occasion. For business events open to the public they will also take care of advertising the event.

With this scope of work that an event planner covers, it is definitely an advantage to a client to secure their services for all kinds of events. The planner takes out the tediousness, aggravation and stress usually connected with planning and organizing an event. All the client has to do is to give his approval to the choices presented by the planner, shell out the money and then show up to the event and enjoy himself without having to worry about anything. At the end of the occasion, he goes home without having to think who is going to clean up afterwards.

Many people have gotten the services of event planning for weddings, baby showers or bridal showers, birthdays, anniversaries, office parties, book signings, product launches, corporate events, bazaars, fundraisers and even election campaigns. By hiring these highly trained and efficient organizers, you are ensured of a successful event with the minimum of stress and a maximum of satisfaction.

Catering forms an important part of any event whether it is a corporate event, gallery opening, wedding party, book signing, seminar, rehearsal dinner or any other event. Organizing a successful event requires plenty of time, dedication and hard work. Whether a person plans to host an outdoor event or an indoor event, he or she needs to choose the best possible catering services.

There are a large number of catering companies which have been helping individuals in organizing professional events as per their necessity and budget. Important role played by the catering companies for arranging successful events include:

Food and beverage services

No event would be complete without the availability of excellent food and drinks. This is one of the major services offered by the catering companies. They provide variety of food and drink options as per the demand and nature of event taking place. Apart from providing different food options, they also take care of preparation, presentation and delivery of food. Food is presented in an attractive manner so as to create a better impression on guests.

Event planning services

This is another major service offered by the catering companies these days. Appropriate event planning is necessary for smooth running of events. The process involves a number of essential steps starting from event site selection and reservation, budgeting, date selection to transportation and parking arrangements. The services are offered as per the individual preferences and requirements.

Decoration services

Catering today not only covers food and drinks but also involves decoration of events in a way to make guests feel happy and satisfied. Decorations, great music, and a striking venue setting add more value and charm to any event.

Thus, it becomes clear that the catering companies play an increasingly important role from beginning to the ending of the event.

There is No Business like the Party Business! The right venue will always lend it self to the right design as you begin your Party Planning process. Knowing that this is such a touchy subject as the very nature of Party Planning is the creativity that each individual Party Planner and their team brings to the Event, you must be aware of the pitfalls that lie in you path. Throw in the client who thinks the Party Planner is nothing more than someone that carries out THEIR orders and you have all of the makings of a crisis management situation that may even need the SWAT team called in. Too dramatic? Probably, but those Party Planners who have done their fair share of events, you know exactly what I mean.

There are many elements in doing a boffo Event and at the core of it all is the Party Planners ability to create a vision for the Event that takes the clients needs and wants and puts them into the total vision. Notice I said needs and wants. Two different criteria here but both need to be included in the Vision Quest for the Event. Needs are those elements that must be included for the Event to have even a modicum of success. Wants are those things that are nice to have but will usually hinge on a budgetary element in the Party Planning Process. The challenge is to use teachable moments to assist your client in knowing the difference. From any practical standpoint of an Event, the basic elements that you will be required to manage are the Goal of the Event, the Venue you will use and the Audience you are targeting. These three elements are at the center of all Events you will manage and will make all of your decisions mold themselves into these three factors. It is not to say that your creativity will ever be hindered, as it should not be as no matter what the venue and the budget you should always be able to create a great event because that is what Party Planners do.

In many ways, they are like great set designers, they can transform spaces you never thought possible into magnificent and magical realms. The key here is to manage each of these three factors superbly and if, at all possible, you can create a team for each to oversee, this will get you very far into the process of creating a great Event. How do to this is another entire article for each point, but know that these are the elements that never change. Lose control over one, or allow your client to have control over one or more of these three parts of your Party Planning and you may be relegated to nothing more than a freelance order-taker. The point is to have a battle plan for each part and be ready to show in detail to the client how you are going to manage these factors. The impressive nature in which you handle each part of the Event Planning process; The Goal of the Event, the Venue and the Audience, will garner you far more respect with your clients than any lavish marketing campaign you can market. In the end, the way you set your course at the beginning will play to your professionalism and garner your image as a Party Planner extraordinaire long into the future. Remember, Life is a Party, you just have to know how to Plan it!

Whatever the type of event - briefing, corporate meeting, team building or a private party - it needs expert event management to ensure the message is successfully conveyed. Events can vary in size from small business breakfasts to large award ceremonies attended by thousands. If you need an event planning, you'll need the help of a successful event management company.

Firstly, you'll need to ask yourself what the event is for, is it to make money, to introduce new clients to a new business or to promote a brand? There are certain protocols to follow for certain events. If it's a business briefing, a breakfast meeting would work well, but if it's a surprise party it wouldn't work well at breakfast time. The day you choose for your event is vital in attracting the right kind of people you want there. Mondays are usually out of the question as people are usually recovering from their weekend and want to relax. Friday evenings are the start of the weekend and people would prefer not to attend a work-related event in their personal time. Mid-week work-related events usually fare well - people will be more likely to attend during these days. You should also check for other events that are happening around the same time as yours. If you are planning an event for a product launch and inviting celebrities to promote the product, you can't clash with other celebrity events that will get more attention. An evening at the BRITs does not contend with a product launch when celebrities and business-people are concerned.

The location of your event is vital in attracting people, you need a venue that is close to the city/town and easily accessible. The beautiful Victorian mansion in the countryside may be the perfect venue but if attendees are going to struggle getting there, your turnout won't be impressive. People are busy and don't have time to rush around finding transport after work. If the perfect venue is a little out the way, organising transport links to and from the location is a way to attract more people. But it is advised to keep the location close to the main hub of the city.

The theme of your event must be relevant to the type of event it is. A product launch theme should reflect the product. For example, if you are launching a new alcoholic drink then why not find somewhere with a bar and a nightclub feel? Offering a free drink or even a free bar, if you can get sponsorship, will keep the attendees at your event. Who can turn down a free drink? If you are hosting a corporate meeting, or a venue for interviews, then keep the theme formal and professional - offer a boardroom setting with tea, coffee and water. The theme must be relevant for the event to be a success.

Finally, and most importantly, you have to make sure your message is perceived correctly and understood by your attendees. The whole reason for the event is the message you want to convey, it's all well and good hosting a glamorous event but if the message hasn't been received, the event will not have been worth your time and money.

There is more to pulling together a great event then simply booking a venue and sending out an invitation, especially today. Event planning is one of the many industries that has been revolutionized in the past 15 years. It has been particularly affected by the rise of the Internet and growing interest from corporate quarters in social and environmental responsibility. Now, there are awards for the most sustainable events. The best way for a newbie to learn about these industry trends? Enroll in event planning courses. That way, when your future clients or employers asks you about your preferred social media tactics or favourite sustainability strategies, you'll know what you're talking about.

How to Find Event Planning Courses Near You

If you are a people person, and you think that you have the entrepreneurial spirit necessary to plan an event from beginning to end, then check your local business schools for classes in event planning. Many schools offer both full-time and part-time programs.

Skills and Diplomas You'll Need to Get Into the Program of Your Choice

Event planning programs are usually open to high school graduates. You may be required to take an interview to assess your qualifications. Some business colleges require applicants to have basic keyboarding skills.

What You'll Learn

Most event planning schools teach aspiring event planners how to:

• Write a CV


• Find customers or employment


• Give a PowerPoint presentation


• Manage worksheets on Excel


• Prepare brochures, etc., using programs such as Publisher


• Communicate with clients and employers: organize and write a business letter, Negotiate a contract


• Use the Web for pre-event marketing


• Do basic bookkeeping


• Manage a team

Your Career Options After Graduation

After finishing event planning college you will have to decide whether to start your own event planner service or find a job. Possible clients and employers include:

• Trade associations


• Tourism boards for your state, province or city


• Professional association


• Conference facilities


• Government agencies


• Event planning companies


• Business schools (teaching what you've learned)

Most event planning courses have free placement services for recent graduates, including professional mentoring and online job boards. This is a great way to break into the business, but remember that only you can make yourself stand out. Whether you become the local expert in experiential marketing, staging unique events for big-name companies, or the go-to person for socially and environmentally responsible events in your city, this is one field that could see a lot of growth in the years to come.

Many event planners are shy about self-promotion. They may be competent event professionals, but when it comes time to sell their services, they choke. However, success as wedding planner, caterer or special events producer has less to do with technical expertise and is much more dependent on your ability to sell yourself.

If you want to be successful in event planning, you need to sell your services. Word-of-mouth is great, but it's difficult to control or scale. Depending upon a handful of catering hall managers or country club general managers to refer business to you is a dangerous strategy. Often times, 80% of a planner's newly referred clients come from an unacceptably small handful of core clients. What happens if they retire? What happens if they close their doors, or move away?

When the economy slows down, your inbound referrals will slow down too. That's because you let your business become overly dependent on other people's success. You must have your own systematic method for generating your own leads at all times.

Creating a marketing system that generates event-planning clients does not have to be complicated or expensive. There are many free online tools that you can use to promote your brand, generate leads and book more sales faster than ever before.

Online services like Facebook, LinkedIn, Google, and Yahoo! make it easy for you to reach potential customers without having to spend a fortune. Never before has it been so simple for a small business owner to produce high quality promotional content and push it out across the globe without spending a penny. Social media sites make it possible.

But be careful. Simply publishing an online journal of your thoughts will get you nowhere fast. That's because you need to build your blog posts around "carefully chosen keywords."

Before you spend a lot of time on social media sites, be sure you are following an intelligent marketing plan.

Learn all you can about powerful social media sites and how they can produce profits for your business.

It was not long ago when online ticketing was made possible. Today, it has become a necessity. From event management firms regularly organizing public events to individuals and businesses holding exclusive events with special appearances that are better off ticketed, online event ticketing software products have proved to be very useful for all. Online ticket selling has gone popular due to its advantages, which get conspicuous when we recall those days when tickets had to be sold through sales points located at different locations such as shopping centers, restaurants, etc. Let's have a look at what exactly online ticketing software offers:

Selling tickets on the internet using a software made for this purpose specially saves you the hassle of closing deals with public location managements/owners as well as the cost of stalls and the stall staff. Not to forget that if your event is going to have performances by someone with even a modest fan following in a country of 311,834,246 people (that's well over 311 million souls, according to the population clock of U.S. Census Bureau), there is likely to be quite a big queue at the stall, making it a bit inconvenient for your target audience to buy the tickets - something you wouldn't want to do.

At the same time, online ticketing allows you to reach every home and make it extremely convenient for your target audience to purchase the tickets.

Online event ticketing software are also a centralized system for seeing all statistics regarding your ticket sales such as the number of tickets sold, how many left, ticket sale earnings, etc, in one place - your computer screen.

Then there are some online ticketing software products that go extra mile to be of more advantage. They are the ones that come with Smarty Template Engine integrated in it. What the template engine does for the users of the software is it enables them to easily customize the layout and design of the event's online page in the software so that the event's ticket buying information and options be dynamically presented to the target audience. Then there are those online event ticketing software that contain the feature of inviting the event organizers to sell the tickets of their events online. This way the software's license holders not only earn by selling tickets to their own events but also earn money by getting a percentage from the sales of the event organizers that sell tickets of their own events via the user's copy of the software. Moreover, using ticketing software with this feature, venue owners can display the availability of their place online dynamically, increasing chances for getting their venue rented for a good fee and hopefully by the inviters of celebrity performers.

Ticketing software can also help greatly for selling tickets to multicultural events as some good ones have gone bilingual while few others support all those languages that have an installable language pack.

Online ticketing for events has reshaped the world of ticket buying and selling entirely. Its advantages are so weighty and compatible with today's fast-paced world that it will be a very apt decision of first-time event organizers to go the route of online ticketing.

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

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


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

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

Decide a Perfect Date

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

Decide on Budget

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

Decide on a Venue

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

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

Speaker and Program

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

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

Promote your Conference

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

Online Registration for Your Conference

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

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

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

Good strategic planning should lead a company to growth, increasing profitability and growing market share over time. But what happens when a company refuses or neglects to listen to and understand what is happening in the markets they serve?

There are many instances one may cite about companies that were successful for many years that relatively suddenly ran into serious problems. IBM was very successful in supplying and maintaining mainframe computers, to the point they ignored for too long the changes in the market place. Until Lou Gerstner restructured the company, they were declining rapidly in their performance because they didn't listen to what was really happening in the market place.

Polaroid went through a similar set of problems. RIM is suffering from not adopting the technologies of Apple. And, most recently, Kodak found itself floundering to the point where it had to file for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection.

Why do great companies like those above fall into such difficult circumstances? IBM did because it chose to listen primarily to those who had the most to lose if mainframes went away. Because IBM didn't look at the big picture, they nearly missed significant trends toward distributed processing.

Kodak is an even more troubling case. Kodak was a significant leader in the development and implementation of digital cameras, yet they almost blindly hung on to their film manufacturing business to the detriment of the digital camera until the competition outstripped them and they became a lower tier competitor.

When a company, particularly an industry leader like Kodak, weds itself too tightly to its current technology, and ignores industry trends because it has been so successful with its approach for so many years, the rest of the market, which is apparently so open to innovation and developments outside the current technology, can and often will pass the old technology by, leaving constantly diminishing returns and market share for that company. Unchallenged recipes for success can be the worst enemy of any company's future.

What should be the lesson learned from the companies' plights as shown above?

One should analyze how much risk one should take as seen from two different points of view. First: If the company stays with its current technology, what risks does it run to future sales growth, technological leadership, return on investment, etc.? Second: If the company invests in new technology, what should it expect in terms of future sales, competitive position, ROI, etc.? Included in the analysis should be looking at the upside and downside of each alternative and comparing the alternatives to reach the optimal decision.

Will the changes to be made be incremental, or will they become radical in nature and effect? What amount of risk can the company endure? What are the risks of staying put versus those of investing in change? What is the likelihood that the new technology will actually lead to the changes in sales, profitability and return on investment that the company is seeking? What will be the impact on the market place and how will competitors react?

While the approach above certainly is not complete, using it as a starting point should help your company select an approach which will help maintain your competitive position. Effective strategic planning can help your company select those opportunities which should lead to increased leadership in the market place.

If strategic planning is not helping your company as you want it to, please contact me at: baldwin@cssp.com for planning leadership and guidance. For more information on how to position your company in the face of changing technical trends please read: Xerox Positions Itself to Succeed in the 21st Century: What You Need to do to Ensure Your Company Does Not Become Obsolete.

A successful corporate event is very important for your company. When it leaves a memorable experience for your guests, it can help to increase your company goodwill and branding. Therefore, it is very common to see corporations investing their money to hold annual events to help boost up their branding awareness.

So, suppose you have been chosen to organize your company's corporate event. What are some of the things that you need to do in order to plan out a successful corporate event?

The first thing that you will want to consider in the planning process is the food. Food is an integral part of any event. Often, the potential success of any event is determined by the quality of the food. You should hire a professional catering service company to help you handle this process. With the help of a catering service company, you can channel your energy and focus on other important details when planning a corporate event.

Before you set out to hire a catering service, there are a few important things that you need to take note of. You need to know exactly what the mood of your corporate event is. Is there a theme? Is your event elegant or casual? These are important information that you need to let your caterer know so that the theme of your event can be reflected in your cuisine.

You should also find out whether your caterer provides you with amenities such as tables, chairs, decorations, and linens. A quality catering service should provide all of these amenities so as to make your event as successful as possible. Another thing to note is the number of people who are attending your event. It is very common for people to not turn up on the actual day itself even though they have already registered for your event. Therefore, ask your co-worker to do an attendance check so that you will not over-order the amount of food needed.

Some points to consider when planning out your corporate event are:

1. What is your event's intention? Is it a thank you party for clients and vendors? Or are you planning to reveal a new service or product to your potential clients?

2. Set the time of your event. Often, 3 hours is appropriate for a corporate event. Then, prepare your guest list and send out invitation to them.

3. If you intend to serve alcoholic drink, you should hire a bartender.

4. Think about your menu options and discuss with your caterer. Are you preparing a buffet style or a sit down dinner for your guests? Also, consider your guests that may have special dietary needs.

With early planning, you will be able to organize a successful event for your guests to enjoy.

If you are in need of charity event planning tips, you must need to put on a charity event and raise some funds. We have some exciting, fun tips to help ensure a successful evening. We figure if you have an exciting event, your guests will have a great time and be more apt to open the wallets and loosen up those purse strings!

Charity Event Planning Tips #1 - You Ought to Be in Pictures, Baby!

Host a candid, thrilling evening for your guests by setting the scene with photo opportunities everywhere. Make it formal attire and have flashbulbs going off all over the place. Knowing they are going to get these pictures later, who wouldn't pay (donate) well for that?

Create different themes, such as a "Hollywood" theme. Ask the local drama theatre to donate a backdrop in exchange for some free publicity. Have a red carpet at the entrance with flashy photographers saying, "You ought to be in pictures, baby!"

Charity Event Planning Tips #2 - Mardi Gras in May

You can host this charity event in May or any month. Traditionally Mardi Gras is in February, but who cares? It will be a welcomed thrill ride.

• Who's Behind That Mask? Line up a few of your guest and let the others guess who they are. If your guests don't know each other, then supply the real names and let them try to match.


• Call Out That Dish! Serve some traditional, authentic New Orleans Cajun dishes and have a contest for who can name (call out) the most dishes. Then reward that culturally-knowledgeable Einstein with a prize.

Charity Event Planning Tips #3 - Post your event online. Make it festive and make it easy on yourself

How unique will it be for your guests to receive an email invitation with a link that takes them right to your page about the charity and its theme? Imagine a web page with flashy pictures and announcements on film. Or a Mardi Gras themed page with a feathered eye mask hanging down from one corner? You can allow for the guest list to be visible as well as displaying who's coming and who's not. You'll also be able to send out email reminders to your guests as the event gets closer to ensure you have a great turnout.

Another great thing about posting online? Being able to accept and manage donations online. Why not add an element to your page that announces up-to-the minute donation totals that all can see? Those contributing would love to see that as it directly gives feedback on something they've done. You will have access to up to 60 multi-media tools, you can even add video or audio to your page. How about video of the event itself and post it afterward to encourage your guest to network with each other online? The possibility with your web pages are endless. All online. All very simple. Now, have a blast and get some cash!

Event management companies are as the name suggests companies which are paid to do all of the work and organizing required in hosting an event. It is one of the fastest growing industries in the world and there seems to be no end in sight, as far as business is concerned. This is because an event management company will take care of all the little details in hosting an event or parties, while you concentrate on more important matters.

They provide skillful and professional staff to take care of an event you are planning.

There is no limit as to what type of event they are capable of handling. These include wedding and birthday parties, corporate parties and meetings, conventions, conferences, expositions, seminars and concerts. Some management companies will specialize on specific services. For example some will specialize in expositions and concerts, while others will offer wedding and private party management. Generally when the time comes to pick a management company the theme of the event will be the first thing to be considered. The theme of the party or event can be based on anything, but will reflect the mood and atmosphere according to what the event is being staged for.

A well staffed company will be able to advise you on every aspect of event managing, down to the last detail. This can include but not limited to venue finding, food, music and whatever product being promoted during the event. They will also go into careful discussion regarding budget. In fact, deciding on a budget is the most critical part of event management. This is the part where event holders and the companies need to be very clear. Ultimately it is the budget that will decide where and how it will be held. Shoddy budgetary management can make or break an event or convention.

Many event management companies will offer free service in certain areas. One such popular free service many companies provide is finding a venue for your convention or seminar. This is a great service as it will free you up to concentrate on other matters. Others may offer free service for other things such as advertising the event and so on. This is why it is important to do research well before going with a particular company. Find out what exactly they offer and read through the fine print carefully. In doing so, you could be saving a lot of money and time.

This does not mean that you should blindly accept whatever the company offers. It doesn't hurt to double-check on the venue yourself and make sure that it fits your needs exactly. After all, the location of the venue is one of the most important aspects of event managing. When it comes to food and other details it is good idea to set the parameters beforehand. It should not be necessary to go into every detail, but they should have an idea as to what can be served. This way all of the possible options available in the area can be looked into.

Throwing a grand party or arranging a corporate launch can be stressful. With all the factors you need to consider like the caterers, entertainment, and costs, how will you even manage to have a good time yourself? It's a good thing there are professional event organizers who can help you achieve your goals for your event.

Benefits of Hiring Good Events Planners

If you need help in making sure your event runs smoothly, look for reputable event organizers. Here are some reasons why you should hire them:

-They are highly organized

Events planners are efficient when it comes to booking venues for your event. They do their research and reserve the venue months in advance to give way for other important preparations. They also make sure appointments don't clash with the schedule of the client so they can both actively participate in brainstorming sessions.

-They always have a back-up plan

Good event organizers always know what to do in case something goes wrong. They also know whom to contact and who can be available on short notice. Event planners have a plan A, plan B, and plan C at bay.

-Events planners are both creative and business-minded

They know the latest trends and styles in throwing parties. Plus, they should be willing to explore new ideas and see if they are good options for your event. For example, your planner may suggest throwing a foam party or a reggae themed party for your teenager's sweet sixteen. If you can afford it, they may suggest hiring a mobile bar with a great sound system. Of course, you have a lot of say on the amount of alcoholic beverages served.

-Organizers are professional, warm, and accommodating

Most event organizers have personalities that can give you a pleasant experience working with them. They are professional and responsive - suggesting ways to make your event livelier and fun. They can also accommodate your special requests. For example, you may have guests with special dietary needs; your organizer may coordinate with the caterer to make the necessary adjustments. It's important to hire planners who can connect easily with clients. They usually have a clear picture of what the client wants and needs for their event.

-They have a broad network

Events planners have connections with the best suppliers to make sure their clients get the best value for their money. There is usually a budget to maintain and endless details tailored to the event. They can save you a lot of time and effort in finding the best service provider offering reasonable prices and quality work. They are also in a better position to negotiate and get discounts from vendors they have worked with before.

-They help avoid disasters.

Organizers help their clients avoid disasters as they oversee all preparations down to the last detail. In case there is an emergency at the event, organizers are usually the ones who will deal with the crisis instead of their client.

These are some of the reasons you should consider hiring professional organizers. You may search online for those offering affordable rates. Make sure you do a thorough background check and contact past clients. Ask about the turnout of their events. If it was successful, you have found a good catch.