Corporate Event Planning|Event Management|Event Planner

If you are planning an event, be it corporate or otherwise the most important decision is the color scheme. It is often overlooked or not considered important, but the right color scheme well set the tone of your event. Whether corporate or entertainment, the color scheme you choose is a reflection of you or your company. Sight is a sense that plays a major role in daily lives. Even though you do not consciously register what you are seeing, the brain takes a note of it and factors it into your decision. For example depending on the color, a room can be made to appear larger or smaller.

Hiring a lighting rental company will help you decide and improve on the theme you have selected. If you are having your event under a marquee, consider computer controlled lighting systems. These could be used to project captions on the ceiling of the marquee or be used as disco lights to change the mood between speeches and dancing. Experienced event companies have a variety of packages and themes to choose from and they will customize a theme package to fit your requirements.

Event planning companies are mostly hiring lighting rentals that use LED technology. Improving technologies have made LED lighting closer in costs to conventional lighting, though it may be a while before you see LEDs approaching the same costs as incandescent. LEDs offer a wide range of colors to work with at a substantially lower power usage. In fact so good is the technology that stadiums constructed now-a-days all incorporate LED lighting on the exterior. These lights are often programmed to fade and contrast in the home team and visitors colors. The small size of the bulbs makes it possible to design features and images that are not possible with traditional bulbs.

Up lighting is directional lighting and as the name suggests in the vertically up direction. It is also know as accent lighting and is used to create dramatic, highlighting and various other effects. For example pointing an up light at a wall produces a subtle effect by creating a shaft of light up the wall that is reflected around the room as ambient light. Uplighting is a wonderful way to complement the room rather than be the center of attention. A few other lighting options are lights for the DJ or stage, the gift table, first dance lighting, a custom monogram and pinspotting the table center pieces.

Event lighting companies analyze and study your event and come up with an action plan. This will tell them of the equipment they are going to need. Once they know what equipment and how much labor they require they start setting up at the venue. Most event planning companies have an event lighting branch of their own and using them is a good way to avoid chaos, delays and setbacks. Make sure that the company you hire makes arrangements for a full backup.

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

· Plan in Advance:

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

· Identify the category of event:

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

· Track the size of the attendees:

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

· Accessibility, security and parking facilities:

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

· Proper Budget planning:

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

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

With the right support and a few good ideas, corporate events could be a big success with the customers, clients and staffs. The most important part of a corporate event is careful planning. Different organizations plan different types of corporate events for different reasons. Here is a list of various corporate events that the companies' typically have at various occasions.

• Seminars and Conferences- Seminars target a particular group of delegates and they are used to provide certain information to the delegates. The duration is usually few hours to half a day to full day. There may be single or multiple speakers and they keep the participants together at the same place. On the other hand conferences have multiple sessions. The most common place for a conference is hotel. They begin with keynote session and then hold breakout sessions by topic. The usual duration of a conference is 2/3 of a day, one day, two days or sometimes longer.


• Trade Shows- Trade shows are very popular amongst clients, customers and even rival companies. They are well known for creating brand identity. Organizations attend trade shows or host one to reinforce their image as an industry leader among those who attend, such as members, customers, prospects and suppliers. Event planning for trade shows involves negotiating sponsorship rates for trade show booth space, advertising and promotion of the event, and sometimes speaking opportunities at the event for the leadership.


• Executive Retreats and Incentive Programs- These programs often held at luxury hotels in exclusive destinations. The main agenda is business development and organizational planning. They typically last between three to five days. The arranger must have a sharp negotiation skill because these programs involve all aspects of event planning.


• Golf Events- An annual golf outing is a favourite event at all organizations. Sponsored golf days require a large number of event planning. They are ideal for building relationship with the customers. During the planning phase, it is important to keep internal clients on track, and not allow them to minimize the business time.


• Appreciation Events- these programs allows the event host to spend more informal times with its clients in a non- traditional environment. There are limitless possibilities and types of appreciation events that the organizers can hold throughout the year. Common programs include- dinner and theatre, holiday parties, day and evening cruises etc.

Event planning companies have gained a lot of popularity over the past few years. A lot of events are being held in San Jose, this in turn has increased the demand for event planning companies there. These companies have teams that have been trained to organize any kind of event. They can help in the entire process and they actually make the entire event a success. Just preparing a guest list and inviting people is not the only thing that is required while organizing an event. Everything has to be taken care of, for example, the venue, lights, sounds, food, theme, etc. there are some things that you can do yourself, but for some things you cannot do without these planners.

If you look for event planning companies, San Jose online, then you will see that there are several companies established there. All you have to do is choose one that will be able to tend to your needs in the appropriate manner. This is not at all time consuming and you can browse through an entire website within minutes. You also have the benefits of checking out different event planning companies, San Jose and comparing their services. This will help you make a decision that will be beneficial to you. it is essential to know the services provided by these companies, as this will help you discern if they have what you want. You should also make sure that their fees are affordable. Productions Company Bay Area are being established on a larger scale on. Production Company Bay Area has also gained a lot of popularity for the services they provide.

Once you have hired a company, the planner will help you plan out and organize the entire event. They will relieve you of all you work and you will be able to concentrate on everything else. They are experienced in this field, so they capable of getting everything done with minimum supervision form you (the client). You need to give the each and every detail and give them all the required information.

Apart from all of their other services, at times they also provide transportation services to the guests if require. Planning an event is not done often, so you need to make sure that everything is being done in the right manner. Choosing the right event planning company will help you get the desired results. All you have to do is be a good host and the event will be a huge success. If you want the event to be remembered by everyone for years, then you need to make sure that you get all the necessary details right.

I just finished searching the web for business and marketing consultants, and even as a professional Business Consultant, I was left confused and skeptical. The profession seems to be filled with those who over-promise, have little experience, and some who only want to sell you anything but knowledge based on experience. Fortunately, under the rubble, there are those who have spent a lifetime in business and who are practicing professional consultants with a great deal to offer the right customers. Since this is my business, I decided it might be time to offer my observations on why you might need a professional consultant, and how you can benefit.

I am a Business Development, Strategic Planning, and Marketing consultant. I specialized in helping small to mid-sized companies review their current activities and providing Critical Analysis, Strategic Planning and Implementation guidance in my areas of expertise. My goal is to help small business and mid-sized companies grow by understanding where they are today, where they want to go, and exactly how to get there.

With the disclosure out of the way, let me provide my guidance on hiring a business consultant, what to look for, and what to expect for your time and money.

1) EXPERTISE: The single most important reason to hire an outside business consultant is to bring in expertise that you do not already have in house.

Most people have a background in their industry, and many have experience in two or three industries. Some people even have experience with 10 or 15 products within that industry, but knowledge, experience and hands on management of a broader range of products, from over a hundred companies, and building marketing and distribution in diverse markets such as North America, Europe and Asia is experience few people have.

When you look for a consultant you want someone who has a breadth of knowledge and experience that exceeds that which you already have. Along with bringing a new or different perspective to your analysis and strategic planning, a consultant should bring knowledge that is outside the scope of your current environment.

By bringing in someone with a wide range of knowledge and experience in their area of expertise you supplement your current knowledge base. Most companies already have excellent people on staff performing their duties in the areas of business development, marketing and sales. Limitations occur because of the 'box' in which we work. You and your staff are running full speed ahead to keep up with the demands of your business. In many cases, you are putting out fires as quickly as they ignite (if you're lucky). This environment dictates that you focus on the job at hand. When you and your staff meet, you are discussing real problems that need immediate solutions. There is little time to research what other companies are doing and what is successful or not for them.

A consultant should bring an 'out of the box' perspective to your table the moment they walk in the door. They may not understand the minutia of your business immediately, but through discussion and some research they will bring new perspective and ideas to your problem solving and business planning process. Their expanded world view will open new doors of opportunity for your organization and offer ideas that have proven successful in other environments.

2) ECONOMICS: The second most likely reason to hire an expert business development consultant is saving money.

Hiring the expertise you need for every aspect of your business development process is not only impractical, but impossible.

When we need professional expertise we either outsource or bring on new staff. Today, in this economy, hiring new staff is a luxury most small business cannot afford. Outsourcing is a good alternative, and in the case of consultants, a highly cost effective alternative.

In addition to bringing immediate knowledge, consultants bring all the benefits of outsourcing. Taxes and Benefits are the responsibility of the consultant and never carried as overhead by the company. Costs are controlled and can fit your budget. Hiring and firing are as simple as picking up the phone. No job search, no severance. Consultants are usually available when you want them and expendable when you do not. For many that description is a little uncomfortable, but a professional consultant is an independent business person (or company) who works at the pleasure of YOU.

In addition to all the benefits of outsourcing, a professional consultant brings immediate payback. Duplicating the expertise of a good consultant might require 3, 5 or even 8 different positions to be filled by experienced managers. Each position requires training and integration into the organization. One expert not only provides the knowledge-base of those positions, but also hits the ground running.

Finally, regarding a good consultant's hourly or daily fee. My experience is that they are usually priced at the level of a senior partner in a law firm or regional accounting firm. When compared to the cost of hiring that same expertise on a long-term basis, they are almost always a bargain.

When hiring a consultant, clearly define your objectives and identify the deliverables he or she will provide. Always receive a firm bid quote. Then consider; can we do this in house? If so, what is the cost in using our own manpower, including the cost of pulling that manpower off other projects? If not (which is usually the case), then ask if the deliverables and benefits are worth the cost?

3) USABLE DELIVERABLES: You want a deliverable that can be used over a long period of time throughout the organization.

In most cases, you hire a business development consultant to help you solve a specific problem or more often help you define a plan of action for taking you where you want to go. In such cases, you want someone who can deliver in writing a road map for future activities. To do this, they must be able to guide you through a careful and thorough review process in which both you and the consultant identify what is working and what is not, and where the holes are in your present plan.

A good consultant will then be able to lead a strategic planning process in which the consultant, you and your staff collaborate on developing an expanded plan in which your ideas and wishes are combined with the consultant's to create a plan that is much better than anyone alone could create.

Finally, a qualified expert consultant will be able to create a written plan that includes a full marketing plan and budget that can be used as a guide, a road map if you will, to take you where you want to go.

This document should not be an academic study, but a dynamic real-world document that reflects the hands-on expertise of your organization and the consultant, and is used, reviewed, and updated on a regular basis.

4) OBJECTIVITY: You must have objectivity that ensures the advice you receive is in YOUR best interest.

You want a consultant that is objective with no conflicts of interest or hidden agendas. In order to give you the valuable information you're paying for, your consultant must have only one allegiance - you.

This doesn't mean that the consultant you hire hasn't, or won't in the future, work for companies in your industry. In affect, that experience and diversity of knowledge is what gives them value. It does mean that they sign a confidentiality agreement; they do not discuss or disclose any proprietary information to anyone outside your organization; and they are not obligated to another company in any way that would degrade their work for you. 簫簫簫簫簫簫簫

What you want is someone who has the experience to be called an expert, and professional ethics to match their expertise.

5) HANDS ON EXPERIENCE: Finally, you want someone who has experience in the field. As a small business manager or entrepreneur you need experts who understand the challenges you face, and who have had to meet and solve those challenges.

As a small businessman in my first company (a drafting and engineering company) I hired someone who had been a high level manager with a very large engineering firm. I thought they would bring expertise in how to run my business. What I got was someone who was used to managing assistants and departments, but who had no real knowledge of how to get the job done. In other words, he understood big business and big budgets, but he didn't know how to roll his sleeves up and deal with my problems. After spending much time and money, I finally realized my mistake. After that, I made sure the advisors I hired had the hands-on experience of an entrepreneur and knew what running a small business was all about.

When you hire a consultant you want someone who has been there, built and managed companies, analyzed markets, and implemented and managed business development, marketing and sales campaigns in a wide range of markets for diverse products, for small to mid sized companies. You want a professional consultant with hands-on experience who understands your problems and can offer real world advice and solutions.

The best way to ensure you have an experienced professional that can truly help your organization is talk with them. A qualified consultant will have a history that speaks to your market, will have references, and will be able to communicate with you in a way that tells you they know what they are talking about. You will hear their competence in their answers to your questions and in the questions they ask you.

What I suggest is after you read their materials, visit their website, and complete your due diligence, call the individual(s) you think are qualified and talk with them. Ask questions specific to your business and industry, and listen carefully to the answers. If the answers are full of fluff and hyperbole know that the service you receive will likely be the same. If, on the other hand, you hear information that feels real, has substance, and reflects an understanding of the subject, you may have found someone who can truly help you shortcut the learning curve of building your business, help you reduce costs, and help you significantly move your small business or mid-sized company forward.

Some final comments about hiring a business development consultant:

Consultants may be experts, but they won't know everything about every industry. In most cases, you will know your industry and business better than they ever will. What a good business development consultant brings to your table is a diverse range of experience that can apply to your situation. They bring new ideas, and the ability to think outside of the box, which, when combined with your specific company knowledge, catapults your organization forward. Don't expect them to know upfront all your industry statistics or demographics, that they can obtain through research. What they will know is how to solve the broader questions of where you want to go and how to get there.

Professional consultants are full time and have been for a long time. They are not part time consultants and not 'between jobs.' Their expertise is born of long term work and effort, and it is displayed in the service they provide you.

The best consultants work on a fee basis, with costs quoted and known upfront. Proposals should be in writing and itemized to identify a projects objective, scope, and timeline. Transparency and no-surprises are exactly what you're looking for.

Good luck and good marketing.

Event Management skills are in big demand in today's fast paced lifestyles. The need for the management and organisation of an event are plentiful. Planning a large event is very time-consuming and complicated for the individual. Good management requires the utilising of many skills to deliver plans for projects. There are many different kinds of events being held in current society trends. The acquisition of an event management degree is very useful to any career. This management is prevalent in many industries for promotional, employee recognition awards and many other purposes. It is now also used to coordinate weddings and ceremonies. An event management degree can assist in corporate and personal circumstances.

If you wish to further your career, but are not sure which direction to take, you should seriously consider event management. The qualifications and skills you will gain from a degree course will prove invaluable. They will give your CV an impressive boost that cannot fail to advance your career options and paths. The criteria for many top hotel and tourism job vacancies now, is the necessary requirement for a degree in this management. With a degree qualification you are seen as adequately accomplished to oversee any size or type of event.

Event management is utilised in many business concepts, administrational procedures, marketing and promotional functions. Being professionally trained with a degree in management makes you a valuable asset. The cost of funding this management can create a big hole in the project budget. If an owner or employee of a business is capable of the task then time and money will be saved. It also means communication and updates about the planning can be easier and quicker.

Managing an event can be an overwhelming venture if it is not planned to precision. The capabilities gained from a degree education of event management will equip you with the necessary procedural instruction. Management necessitates a particular approach and certain personalities achieve this easier than others.

If you feel you are logical, cool headed, methodical and a people person, then this type of management could be for you. The responsibilities of an event manager involve event coordination, sales, marketing, selecting venues and publicity. There are many more and they usually include deadlines and ensuring satisfaction. Any event will want to aim to achieve success and impact. The event will be remembered by its attendees and a good impression is one the goals set by a professional event planner.

Wherever you are on your career path a degree in event management will be an advancement to your vocation. The business methods conducted today focus on sponsorship, image and branding. This has been instrumental in the growth of the event management industry. The industry continues to grow at a steady rate and so does the demand for qualified planners. An event management degree will teach you persuasion and negotiating skills. It will highlight the satisfactions of skilled planning and let you study public and customer relations. Just take a peek at the degree contents covered in an management prospectus. You will then understand how much a degree can help your career.

Managing and organising events has always been a very time consuming and complex area. Given the backdrop of the current economic climate, event managers must now also ensure that the events they are running produce a high Return on Investment (ROI). The number of events being organised has dropped since the recession, and of those that are still taking place have seen a fall in delegate numbers. So analysing events and ensuring they have a fast and solid ROI is now more important than ever.

There are many ways of analysing event success, but first event managers must know why they are holding the event, and how they would class the event as a success:

o Why are we planning this event?
o Are you organising the event to increase sales?
o Trying to reposition or create awareness of a product or service?
o Are you simply hoping to raise visibility of your company?
o What are your event success criteria?
o What would you deem a successful event?

Once event managers understand why the event is taking place, they will have a better awareness of the metrics they must measure in order to evaluate its success.

One of the best ways of gathering information is by requesting feedback from the delegates themselves. This can be done in a variety of ways such as talking to them at the event, giving them a feedback card to complete at the end of the event, or calling them after the event to ask them their opinions. However, one of the most effective and efficient ways of amassing this information is by sending out tailored event feedback questionnaires via email, directly to delegates after the event. Email is a popular tool of choice for many event managers; it is fast, effective, inexpensive and a modern tool that the majority of people have access to.

Event managers can use event software to create the questionnaires online - built within their own website. An email is then automatically generated to ask the delegate to complete the questionnaire (a link will be provided in the email). This is an excellent way of gathering the information from delegates; because the form is online on your own website, the information can be automatically populated into your event software application, removing any form of manual data entry. The event software can also be integrated with your CRM platform, automatically updating this as well.

Asking delegates to go online to complete the questionnaire also means that they are directed back to your website. If your event was trying to sell a product or create brand awareness, you can use this opportunity to direct them to the relevant page on your site, boosting sales and conversions - helping to further increase the ROI.

Once you have gathered the feedback data, it is important that event managers are able to analyse it effectively. One of the common complaints from event organisers is that creating the post-event reports can often be more time consuming than organising the event in the first place!

This is where event software is able to help again. By automatically pulling in all the information gathered by the delegate feedback surveys, the event software not only removes the time involved in inputting the data, but it also means that reports can be generated with a click of a button. Managers can choose between standard reports or create fully customisable ones based on a particular event.

Event software reporting tools can also measure other event metrics such as

· Expense to Revenue Ratio (E:R)
· Conversion rate of invites sent vs. delegate registrations
· Delegate registrations vs. Attendance
· Delegate Lead Quality and Quantity
· Delegate Quality and Quantity
· Sales Cycle and Opportunities

Because event software uses the latest technology, all these reports can be created online, and can be split up or drilled down into, for a closer or more general view.

Using delegate feedback tools and reporting software can help make the analysis process faster and easier for event managers. However, using these applications independently from one another may cause conflictions and IT issues. The best way to apply event software to your event planning process is to invest in a full end-to-end event management software application. Event management solutions traditionally encompass online feedback and integrated reporting, but also offer a host of other event software tools:

· Website integration: Integrate your event software with your existing website without the need to re-design or re-brand
· Registration management: Create fully customisable online booking forms allowing you to capture the most relevant information from your delegates
· Email Marketing: Sophisticated, integrated & fully functional email marketing tool enabling organiser to send highly targeted email campaigns marketing to the relevant delegate audience
· Invitation Management: All-inclusive, easy to use, integrated invitation management tool
· Payment Processing: Providing a variety of options to allow your delegates to pay online securely
· Resource Management: Manage and allocate all resources through a comprehensive calendar feature, providing event managers with total control of all aspects of the event management process
· Badge Production: Produce individual delegate badges pre or during the event
· Survey & Feedback Tools: Integrated and automated feedback management tool, allowing event planners to action the opportunities from your events immediately
· Event Reporting: Determine the true ROI through powerful reporting and analysis suites, enabling event organisers to simply and quickly drill down to the data in just a matter of seconds

Using an all in one event management software provides the highest level of organisation and efficiency to event organisers. No longer do you need to manage all your event planning on a dozen different spreadsheets; using an all in one event software solution means you can automate many of your manual tasks and gain not only improvements in efficiency and control, but will benefit from a reduced cost of event planning; further increasing the ROI from your events.

Events are significant in a company's success. There are different kinds of proceedings taking place. These events take place; so consumers can sell their products, appreciate their workers and get new projects.? Due to increase in the number of professional events taking place; the importance of event planning course has even increased. In old days people did not accept the fact that literacy is important for event planning. Now; people with event planning course in their portfolios are called good event planners. In event planning course you learn about the basic management principles. These principles are:

1. Planning of the event:

The first step of managing an event is planning. In this step the event manager makes decisions regarding the event, the place the event is going to take place, the budget needed for the event, the number of people visiting and various aspects of an event. Planning is very important; this allows you to manage the event in a better manner. For example; during the planning step you plan a budget for the event; you then follow that budget and to remain under the budget. This way you do not end up spending more. Planning is given great importance in every business aspect.

2. Organize the proceedings:

Once you have figured out the parameters of the event; you have to organize the event. The organizing part is completely dependant on the plan. If you have no plan; you will not be able to organize. In this step you distribute tasks to your workers. In this step you even allocate the resources needed for each task and you share the budgeted plan with your team mates and workers so they are even aware of the limits and the targets.

3. Controlling and monitoring the proceedings:

Your work does not end after allocating tasks and resources; now you have to control and monitor your workers and team mates and check whether the processes are done in the correct manner. You have to keep a tight watch on all your employers and make sure that the plan and the budget is being followed. Remember that your goals should be realistic other wise your workers will fail to achieve them.

4. Evaluate:

Once the entire planning process is over; you have to evaluate the effectiveness of the plan. You have to check whether your employers have achieved the desired goals and whether they have remained in the budget. These are the basic four principles of event management which can be learned through event planning course.

Staying within the allotted budget is important when planning any event. There are so many things that need to be taken care of. So here are points to help you stay within the allotted budget and maybe even below it!

Controlling the Budget

Event planning budgeting is the most crucial component of event planning. Think about all the aspect and components of the event before deciding the budget. Here is couple of tips to help you set up a budget and watch the expenditures.
• If you are following an older budget that was used for a previous then increase by 10-15% to account for higher prices. Also add 10% to the final budget to deal with contingencies.
• Keep a daily tab on the expenses so that errors and over expenditure can be corrected.
• Stick to your budget when it comes to the venue. Discuss your budget restrictions with the venue and the contractors. Since they will want to keep your business most of them will try to work something out.
• Ask for discounts if you pay in cash. Since the vendor won't have to pay the credit card charges you are saving them money. Ask them to reciprocate and give you a discount.
• Limit the money decision to a limited number of people. Too many cooks spoil the broth. This old adage applies to this situation. If you have too many people making monetary decisions, you will have financial chaos.
• Be flexible with your event date. For example, holding the event on a weekday will ensure you get better service
• Give a history of the previous events when talking to possible venues and vendors. This will get you better service as the contractors will try to secure your future business.

Location

Choosing the right location is a major part of making the event a success. So here are some tips to help you get the right venue at the best possible price.

• Do the venue research online. This will save you the time you would have spent visiting venues. Get in touch with your local Chamber of Commerce about possible venue options. The administration tries to keep as much business as possible within the city and they will help you find a suitable venue in the city. In fact, they have a database of venues in the city and they will do most of the calling and legwork for you.
• Keeping the event local will lower your costs considerably compared to organizing the event in some distant city.
• Take a camcorder or camera along when you go location scouting. Take pictures of all the venues you visit. This will help when you sit down to decide on a venue.

Following these points will help you stay within your San Jose Event Planning budget.

Review of Event Leadership Institute Class:
"Invitations 101"

When planning a wedding or party, it is easy to get preoccupied with the visible aspects of an event: food, music, venue, decorations. Yet none of these elements will be enjoyed by guests or clients if invitations aren't designed well or delivered on time.

That is the message of a just-released online class from the Event Leadership Institute titled "Invitations 101: Folds, Papers, Printing Techniques & More" which offers some outstanding advice for professional and first-time event planners on how to get the most out of your invitations and make a great impression for your event.

Knowing all the options for successful invitation design, production and fulfillment is often the first step in successful event planning, according to class instructor and graphic design expert Steve Paster, president of Alpine Creative Group. The 30-minute video course covers the multitude of invitation options the event planner has at his or her disposal, as well as the financial and aesthetic factors the professional must consider.

Paster, who has worked on birthday invitations for LeBron James and Sean Diddy Combs, wedding announcements for Billy Joel and other entertainers, and event invitations for Hollywood events including Queen Latifah's VIBE Gala, says that the most expensive invitation is the one that's never opened. Also, if scheduling, budgeting or even legal problems get in the way, you might as well say goodbye to future assignments.

Paster has some advice for event planners that can make the difference between a smooth job and a nightmare:

• If your client changes his or her mind on an invitation design after the project has begun, make sure those changes are documented in writing.

• Custom stamps add approximately 40% to the price but definitely add flair to the project.

• Always have an invitation mailed to yourself to check timing and quality.

• "Evites" are a lot faster and cheaper than mailed invitations, but sometimes they end up in spam files or are assumed to contain viruses.

• Always ask your printer about lead time, potential cost overruns and additional services offered. It may be cost-efficient to have the same shop do the fulfillment.

• The first thing you should discuss with the printer is the due date, and get a written guarantee it will be met. Even gorgeous, persuasive invitations are useless if they're late.

• Shorter lead times usually increase price. Start the process early.

• If you use artwork, make sure it is not copyrighted. No matter how successful the invitation, if your client is sued when it's all over, it will hardly matter.

• Always ask for advance proofs before final printing. You don't want your client's company name misspelled.

• Carefully review all the options for paper, ink and printing. There are many variables to weigh. For instance, thermography (raised printing) is less expensive than engraving or embossing, but often looks cheaper, as well. Stamping with metal plates can use thick paper that has an impressive impact and leave behind a substantial image on the paper, but it also one of the more expensive options. Foil stamping is the least expensive, but cannot be used for small text.

• When deciding between a 2-color press or 4-color press, remember that 4-color can run either Pantone colors (specific spot colors) or process colors (combinations of CMYK), but it's a slower and more expensive option than using a 2-color press, which can only run Pantone.

On one hand, it's really a numbers game because of all the options. On the other, it's a lot more critical than a game because the first impression recipients have of an event comes from the invitation.

When event planners have to decide on the kind of paper to use for an invitation, they can select text or cover stock, coated or uncoated stock, vellum, skin, brushed, plastic or acrylic stock. They also have to decide on whether to use offset, digital, engraved, letterpress or various other kinds of printing, as well as die cutting, flush mounting, bordering, edging or other creative techniques. As Paster says, it really pays to know the difference.

Event management is actually a very old concept within the corporate world and this has been used for many years as a way to promote businesses. The success for management events has been for about fifteen years.

For many years time these events have been a big part of the activities for a vast number of different companies although for many years the significance of these events has been ignored. As businesses all across the world are changing they have accepted how useful these events can actually be. It has become increasingly viable when it comes to organising them and this is especially the case for the big company events.

In the early days of management events the companies and organisations conducted these events that are organised and managed by the companies own team of staff and these may be qualified or not within this line of work. These events are very time consuming and they can also be very stressful.

The amount of stress and time that is spent on these events actually reduces the amount of effective working time that he employees can be involved in. Nowadays it is actually a lot easier for companies to organise these events and it doe not require as much stress or time.

There are a lot of companies that actually specialise in organising this type of event. These companies are operated using a team of people that are qualified and experienced in this type of work. These companies are actually known as being genuine, reliable and also they put in a remarkable amount of effort in order to make sure that the event is a success. These companies will all actually have their own team of contacts that will include caterers, decorators and other professional individuals and companies.

Regardless of the reason why you want top organise one of these events you will find an events company that is able to deliver an event that you can be proud of. The companies that organise these events are high trained and they can be classed as masters in transforming the special occasion into an event that will be remembered for all the correct reasons.

Regardless of whether you want an event for five hundred people or five thousand people it is very important to leave no stone unturned, as there is a vast number of things that need to be done in order to make an event a memorable time. The event companies that are available organise a vast array of different things and they will cater to the strategies and needs of the client.

During the course of the event the companies will also take care of the various different things in order to make sure that the whole event from start to finish goes smoothly and as the client would it to do so. There is a vast number of reasons why companies have these events and this includes product launches, introduction to services, award ceremonies and new business ventures to name a few things.

There are a lot of reasons why working at a music festival is a good idea, and only one of them involves getting into the concert for free. Check out why working at a festival this summer is a great way to get ahead in your events jobs career and why it's more than worth working for free.

Summer music festivals are put on all over the globe especially between May and September. Some of the larger events include Bonnaroo, Coachella, and the Glastonbury Music Festival. The calendar is extensive.

1. Concert Event Access

Some of the best ways to find work at a music festival is through volunteering. Sure, getting paid for the hours you're at the festival is more appealing than working for free, but finding paid positions with minimal work experience can be difficult. Music festivals however, almost always need volunteers. Even though event volunteers might not get the coolest jobs like putting up the stage or helping the band, the jobs volunteers do perform are important for the success of the festival. Of course, the biggest perk of all is that by working a shift as a volunteer, you gain free access to the concert. What could be better then seeing your favorite bands for free? Although most event planning companies require volunteers to work a shift in order to see the show, for some of the bigger festivals, there is more than enough time to complete your shift and still enjoy the concert. Become a volunteer and gain free access to your favorite summer concerts!

2. Volunteer Hours

The second best reason to volunteer at a music festival is the volunteer hours. Volunteer hours look excellent on any resume and can often be the selling point behind college and graduate school applications. Volunteer hours show potential schools and employers that you're serious about working in events jobs and that you've already had valuable experience. Working as a volunteer can easily take the place of work experience on a resume and is a great place to start any events job career path.

3. Experience and Knowledge

Although we've hinted at it before, working as a volunteer provides you with valuable experience in the events job industry. When you're applying for an entry-level job consider how you will look against someone who has never volunteered for an event. As an applicant you already understand how live events work, where problems arise and have direct experience and knowledge in dealing with those problems. As someone applying for a job, having volunteer hours on your resume shows dedication, experience and knowledge in the career path you're working towards.

4. An Insider Look

If you're not sure about working in the music festival or concert industry, try volunteering first. By acting as a volunteer you will get a first hand look at what working at a music festival is like and it acts as a valuable way to test whether or not you will like working an events job. The time and experience behind volunteering at a music festival not only makes you more appealing when you apply, but gives you an insider's look at what working in the music festival industry is really like.

5. Networking

It doesn't happen all the time, but on occasion volunteers will be asked to take on a roll that involves more responsibility. This often involves working directly with events coordinators, event managers, bands, talent buyers and agents. Regardless of what happens during your time as a volunteer you will be in and around the people who are already getting paid to work in the industry. It will be your time to shine and and excellent way to build up relationships and references as a volunteer. Sometimes those references can be used to find current or future job openings. Other times, working as a volunteer is also a good way to show people in the industry how dedicated you are to doing a good job while working on an event. Networking is a valuable part of any job and meeting people who are working on a similar event, even as a volunteer, is a good place to start forging relationships.

Successful conference management requires careful planning, and good organisational skills. There are a number of factors connected to organising a conference, and these are some of the most important.

Firstly, consider what type of conference you are organising. Is it for corporate clients, where you will be promoting your products and services? Or are you planning a commercial conference, where people will pay an entry fee, and the conference itself will be advertised to a certain sector of the market? In conjunction with this, it is essential to think about your target audience. Who is the conference being marketed towards? Knowing these aims will make it far easier to organise and plan effectively.

Consider your budget carefully. Effective budget planning is key to good conference management. Work out your budget, and then stick to it. Ensure that you take into consideration factors such as venue and speaker fees, and don't forget to consider unexpected extra delegates, who will possibly need feeding and accommodating overnight! It's a good idea to put aside around 10% of your budget in order to cover unexpected costs.

Compile a programme for each day's events, and make contingency plans in case any speakers or delegates are late. Run through the programme carefully, and consider questions to identify any potential problems. Thinks to consider include - is there space to register the delegates, seat them comfortably during sessions, and room for them all to eat, will there be a technician on standby to deal with any audio-visual problems?, and is there ample parking and security for all the delegates and guests?

Don't forget to set up a team to deal with the bookings for this conference, as that is a time consuming job and will need dedicated personnel working on it. Consider how you will promote your conference. Various ideas include sending out e-bulletins and press releases, direct mailings, and advertising in appropriate magazines and journals. If you have a website for the event, keep it up-to-date and relevant, and put conference timetables and speaker information on it as soon as they are available.

Plan and prepare all the print media and stationary for the day. A nice touch is to put together a conference kit, which contains the event schedule and presentation notes, and can include things such as pens and notepads, product samples, and vouchers. Check that you have the audio-visual and catering services that you need for the event, and do make a detailed seating plan according to the venue you are using.

Your conference is now organised professionally.

Planning for an event can be a really stressful affair. Most people who are assigned the task of planning usually tend to forget small but important things due to the stress. This is why it is important to systematically plan everything in order to make the event a success.

Never Plan Last Minute: Event planning requires a lot of work in order to make an event a true success. Assuring a venue can be very hard at times, so choose and book the one you like before it's taken. Only if you plan every aspect of the event will you be able to choose a venue that will suit all your requirements. This is why you need to plan way in advance, even before choosing the venue. If you are hiring an event company then you will need to find a venue that allows preparations one or two days in advance. This will lower the work and stress of the event company, and the charges will be considerably lower if you give them enough time to set up.

Setting a Date: If you are planning six months in advance, then you will need to check to see that the date you set is not on the same day as a national event. Check to see if the area the event is going to be held in has no program on the same date. Choosing the proper date is a very crucial for the success of the event.

Venue: Selection of a proper venue is another vital part of having a successful event. Venues can have different rules and timings, so you have to be careful while selecting your venue. Here are a few things that you must check before choosing your venue:

1. The first thing you got to check is if the venue has any curfews. If the venue is in a residential area then the curfew timings would be around 9.30pm. This will probably be too early for your guests, so it is always recommended that you find out what time you're allowed to have the event till.

2. In case you are hiring an event company, ask if the venue allows people to drop of the rentals a day earlier. Rental companies charge an extra fee if they are asked to deliver within two hours. Also check to see whether the venue allows adequate setup time. A big event will take around 8 hours to setup.

These are just a few pointers to help make your event planning easier and less stressful. Finding an experienced Bay Area Event Planner that offers rentals as well as venues will also help cat down a lot of effort.

Choosing your planning company.

Are you absolutely certain of your company's success? Keeping in consideration the basic volatility and uncertainties of the financial markets, it is unlikely for any entrepreneur to be able to totally insure his/her company against sudden, and potentially damaging, financial losses. This is where corporate planning comes into the picture. A stable company is one which can ride over all possible upturns, and, more importantly, the downswings in the business environment. It is ideal, hence, to hire the services of professional planners, who would be well-placed to ensure the survival of your company under all circumstances.

There are certain basic strategies that are recommended by most advisors, while forming the steps for a company's survival. These strategies are, typically, dynamic and flexible, adaptable to changes according to the prevalent business and economic scenario. A company might face a sudden crisis due to an unforeseen economic meltdown, or adverse factors hitting a particular industry. A finance plan for companies should take into account all such factors, and help the business to safely tide over such situations.

The basic suggestions that company financial advisors make for the survival of your business can be described as follows:

1. Diversification of Assets - As the old saying goes; it is never wise to put 'all your eggs in one basket.' As the company entrepreneur, you should ensure that the overall portfolio of your company is adequately diversified into different sectors. This would make sure that sudden adversities in one business sector would never force your company to go out of business,

2. Revving Up The Total Cash Reserves - If your company is actually facing liquidity problems, it is likely that your planners would advise you to sell off excess inventory equipments. Additional inventories should also be procured, only up to the minimum necessary levels. This would help your company to cut back on excess expenses. The money saved in this way can be used to clear off unpaid bills and other debt items,

3. Quality Of Products - When the economic conditions are not favorable, company financial planners deem it necessary that your business produces a superior-quality product, compared to rival businesses. The higher quality of your product and/or service would help to maintain the viability of your company in the eyes of the customers, and help the former to survive business crises,

4. Employment Of Part-Time Workers - Corporate financial planning strategies state that, it is not advisable to hire a large number of full-time, permanent employees, if your company is facing a potential survival problem. Instead, more part-time workers (who work as freelancers) should be hired. These workers, unlike the permanent workers, need not be paid health care benefits and several other business amenities. Hence, a significant amount from the company funds can be saved, and

5. Using Employee Opinions And Cheaper Materials - The suggestions of the planners should be suitably complemented with all useful ideas that the existing employees of the company can come up with. Saving money on the normally used expensive raw materials, and switching over to cheaper, good-quality ingredients also remains an option.

Hence, it is certainly not impossible for a company to tide over problematic business situations. Company financial planners, if hired, can help you adopt the correct strategies to ensure the survival of your company. Indeed, efficient planning schemes should always be in place, to support a company in all types of economic environments.

Whether you are an expert in managing events for several years or have just started your career of an event manager, it is always necessary to learn the tricks of the trade to efficiently handle any kind of events and attend to the guests to make the program highly successful and winning the trusts of the attendees.

While looking for an event manager, you need to see whether the person possesses the following qualities or not.

Should have Excellent Communication Skills

An event manager should have very good communication skills. He should be smart and confident enough to talk to officials bearing high ranking designations as well as with staff members responsible for helping him out with administrative works. The manager should prepare a checklist to see everything is done in accordance with time. The event organizing company should of course supervise the overall work of the event manager since he is new to the organization.

Should Execute Events under a Tight Budget

Often companies have to arrange meetings, conferences or seminars with a tight budget. It therefore becomes necessary for event management professional(s) to buy or order equipments within the allocated funds as provided by the hosting organization. It is up to the concerned person to divide the expenses and spend judiciously on various core areas essential in making it a stand out event.

Possess Time Management Skills

It is important to manage time to finish every task within the deadline. A good event manager always pays attention to effective time management. He expects his staff members to complete the assigned responsibilities within the given timelines and prioritize accordingly. In case a person faces problems while trying to do an activity, he or she should immediately report the matter to the event manager so that it can be fixed as soon as possible.

Should be Multi-tasking

Starting from the selection of the date and time of the event to preparing the guest list, all aspects need to be taken care of well in advance so as to leave no room for any last minute issues. An event management professional should be multi-tasking in the sense that he should provide valuable updates about a suitable date and time to schedule the event, how to invite guests, and also communicate with the administrative staffs to implement and monitor the workflow processes.

Have Knowledge about Event Locations & Suppliers

Professionals associated with managing diverse events should have an up-to-date knowledge of the best event locations (can be hotels or eco-friendly sites such as gardens, farmyards, etc.). They should also be aware of the suppliers providing excellent logistics, caterers providing good food, and local bartenders. Besides, many event organizers wish to hire local musicians or entertainers to amuse the guests. An event manager should have these established contacts to be a successful at hosting great events.

With all the DIY (Do It Yourself) advice out there, why hire someone else to do what you can do yourself? The two most important reasons some choose to hire a planner is because, (1) They don't have the time to plan and (2) They don't know where to begin. Planning an event is very time-consuming and it can also be stressful. Knowing how to pull a perfect event requires some knowledge of the best way to go about creating that "perfect event". Because it's the job of an event planner to make the time to plan and create an event to be remembered, hiring a planner is usually the best stress-free choice. Still not convince? Here are some additional reasons why you should hire an event /wedding planner.

(1) When you hire an event planner you actually save time and money. A planner will help you budget your expenses.

(2) You can now enjoy your event worry and stress free, because someone is there taking care of even the littlest details.

(3) A planner will assist in creating and choosing themes, layout, arrangements for music, venues, flowers, etc. While you just sit there and okay everything. Now who doesn't want that kind of position?

(4) A planner is concern only with what YOU want for your event. You are paying an event planner to assist you in all aspect of your event and you are the planner's concern. Who couldn't use special attention?

(5) A planner will keep you organize and will provide guidance regarding your venues and vendor choices.

Overall, an event planner will guide and assist you in a step by step process for your event to be successful and entertaining. So don't fear the cost of hiring an event planner.

Organizing events require a number of tasks to be handled simultaneously like dealing with administrative workload; also engaging in extensive promotional activities and driving maximum number of participants. This job when undertaken manually becomes a mammoth for most organizers. Here comes the essence of the Cloud-based online event registration software that helps in logical synchronization of all events related administrative tasks thereby streamlining it in the most effective manner.

This article briefly discusses about how event registration software is providing a better platform for event management.

Reduces Back Office Workload and Data Loss

Undertaking manual collection of registration forms and ensuring subsequent data transfers not only meant enormous back office workload but also higher probabilities of data loss and human errors, especially in terms of data entry on spreadsheets. For organizers it also meant a lot of additional expenses as this required hiring administrative staffs to execute such activities. This extensive process often led to delay in completing the event registration process. The introduction of online event registration software has however brought about a complete transformation. It is a 'Software as a Service' operating on a Cloud computing interface and automates the entire work flow; from event registration to creation, submission and procession, hence resulting in reduced chances of data loss.

Proper Fund Management

In a manual system, misplacement of funds and accounting discrepancies was a common phenomenon. This led to chaos; thus hampering the entire process of event planning. Moreover, as the payments were mostly made by paper checks so its clearance was a time consuming process often extending to days or weeks at a time. This drawback is taken care of once you resort to the web based event registration solution. Additionally, the rate of bouncing checks is mineralized greatly. The platform comes with an embedded payment management system that mechanizes the entire process of accepting funds. The process is not only instant but also convenient for organizers as well as the registrants as it encourages fund transfers either via credit/debit cards or standard payment gateways like PayPal. Additionally the service also allows organizers to have a merchant account of their own to accept payments directly.

Error Free Real Time Reporting

To quantify the success rate of your events, you must resort to error-free reporting. Initially all event reports related to attendee presence, ticket sales, etc. had to be handled manually, which did not allow event organizers to maintain data with sufficient transparency. The Cloud-based registration software however permits organizers to efficiently maintain data on a real time basis via various web based formats. It also authorizes automatic database up-gradation. As an event organizer, one can retrieve or download any of these data as and when necessary.

Unparalleled Promotional Activities

Promotional activities via this smart, web based solution help your event to get better exposure. This is because the software facilitates organizers with a social media connector tool which helps in easy integration with various social media platforms. Such promotion is beneficial to the organizers in two ways; first, it offsets the cost incurred on various printed form of advertisements; second, it helps organizers to connect and convey their message to a larger group of audience.

This is how the online event registration software makes your event management experience so much more fun filled and exciting.

Your company will have a big event coming up and you need to find for the right event manager to handle all the planning and making the event a success. A good event manager will need to possess some key qualities that you may want to look for before hiring one. Event managers will ask for a fee for their service and you want to make sure that you get your money's worth in hiring them; otherwise, you might be better planning on your own.

However, when you hire, you will also need to work close to him. You can't just simply tell him what to do and what is needed, but constant communication between you two is very important. Everything the event planner will do should be approved or disapproved by you to make sure the planning is running smoothly. So, upon hiring the event planner, he should make a checklist of everything you told him and his own inputs as well. Include everything that needs to be rented, purchases and contact persons to talk to.

Next is to talk to him about the budget. A good event manager will always stick to the budget and find suppliers that will offer the best deals possible. This is his job and he should be good at negotiating. You can leave him to choose how he divides the budget as he already knows what to do with the budget allocation. But of course, everything is still subject to your approval.

Another quality of your even manager is to be able to scout for the best suppliers out there. From renting sound systems to hiring catering services, he should always get the best deals and best prices without sacrificing the quality. Food is very important in the event and if you are about to choose caterers, it is best that you go with the event planner to do several food tastings.

Venue is another thing to consider in any event. It should be an accessible and comfortable place for everyone attending it. Your event manager more or less knows the best places in town to hold a specific event and if your budget doesn't suit the place, he will be glad to find another place to best suit your event needs. An event manager should always be resourceful and up to date. He should also have good negotiation and interpersonal skills.

Lastly, after the big parts of the event planning is out of the way, your event manager can start focusing on other things like invitations, souvenirs, decorations and the host for the night. And he should be able to find the best supplier for all events needs. Hiring an event manager should make things more convenient for you. He should run everything by you and you should also give him room for his own creative output. You should also see his patience and effort in sourcing for the best suppliers out there and always sticking to the budget you stated. This may prove to be a challenge but this is their job. At the end of the day, the success of the event will rely on the qualities of the event manager you hired.

Event management is comprised of the study of the complexities of brands, identifying target audience, creating event concepts, and planning the logistics. It also includes coordination of technical aspects before getting down to truly implementing the modalities of the planned event. Event management implies the application of management science to the creation and development of festivals and events.

Event management is one of the strategic advertising and communication tools used by businesses of all sizes. Right from product launches to press conferences, businesses develop promotional events so that they can communicate with clients as well as potential clients. They may target their audience by using the news media, wishing to generate media coverage, which will reach thousands or millions of people. They can also invite their audience to their events and reach them at the actual event.

Event management company services areas include corporate events such as product launches, corporate seminars, and forums. Services also comprise of retail advertising programs such as road shows, training programs, event promotions, television-based events, special events such as concerts, fashion shows and more.

Event managers are the people who plan and execute events. They are involved in the planning, execution, brand building, marketing, and communication strategy of events. Event managers are experts in the creative, technical, and logistical fronts that help an event succeed.

Event management is an industry that is growing quickly, with mega shows and events hosted regularly. Considering the professional side, event management is a glamorous and exciting profession that requires a lot of hard work and enthusiasm.

Only a few universities offer diplomas in event management. The study includes organizational skills, technical understanding, public relations, marketing, advertising, and catering. The course also includes study of logistics, glamour identity, human relations, law and licenses, risk management, and budgeting. Knowledge of related industries such as television, cinema, and other media also form a part of the curriculum.