Corporate Event Planning|Event Management|Event Planner

There is no such thing as time management. We all have the same amount of time available each day. Event involvement requires that we block out an allotted amount of time for its completion. Therefore, instead of time management, let us consider event management to be a more reasonable approach to scheduling.

For each of us, time is valuable. For young people it passes slowly and for the more mature it passes way too fast. Time is priceless. Think for a moment about the last 2 minutes of a football game. For the coach whose team is behind by 1 point, time is that precious commodity that if used correctly, contributes to the win. For the horse that runs second in the Kentucky Derby, .02 seconds is the difference between $500,000 and $50,000 in prize money. If you lose your money, you can earn more. But, if you lose a week, you cannot purchase another no matter how much money you have. There is no substitute for time; it is irreplaceable.

Charles Spezzano in What to Do Between Birth and Death says, "You don't really pay for things with money. You pay for them with time." In summary he explains that exchanging time for money is the basic definition of a job. People trade their time for money and then they use their money to pay for their lifestyle. Everything in life can be traced back to an investment of time.

As a leader, event (or time) management is one of our greatest responsibilities. Maximizing each minute should be an ongoing goal. Even though we may never successfully reach total event management, we can use time wisely by following these guidelines.

#1. Focus on your talents. Recognize and understand your talents. Spend time each week improving your talent skill levels. Do not be tempted to work on your less talented skill sets thinking improvement will increase your leadership effectiveness. As John Maxwell once described; if on a scale of 1 to 10, your skill level is a 2, do not waste substantial time trying to improve since you will likely never grow beyond level 4. However, if you are a 7 in a specific area, sharpen that skill, because when you become a 9, you will have reached a rare level of expertise.

Look inwardly and identify four areas of strength. If you cannot complete this task on your own, ask a close friend or family member to help. You might consider areas like creativity, communication, teaching, writing, relationships, networking, and public speaking. These then become your focus points. Do not allow yourself to get caught up in those areas that are outside your four talent areas. You will get the greatest return on your time investment by narrowing your focus and improving your strengths.

#2. Identify your overall purpose in life. Most people hate this topic because they have no clue where they want their life to go or what their purpose in living might be. Each of us can remember and celebrate our own birthday, but how many of us can actually state with clarity why we were born? Identifying purpose in life is personal and private making most people uncomfortable when called upon to discuss or reveal it. Event management requires that leaders spend time on activities that advance their life purpose.

It is impossible to reach peak performance without a clear understanding of purpose. Increasing the horsepower of a racing engine means nothing without first understanding that speed is the overall purpose of increased horsepower. By identifying purpose, a leader gives birth to passion, effort, understanding, knowledge, accomplishment, and ultimately achievement. By harnessing events, daily, weekly, and monthly, leaders can continue to lead their organization forward avoiding stagnation or failure.

Most experts suggest that in order to identify your purpose in life, find a quiet place and meditate on what you feel is important. You will, with time and effort, arrive at an answer. But this answer may be incomplete. In order to arrive at a deeper and more meaningful purpose in life, answer the following questions and then bring all of these ideas together to create a full picture.

1. What is it you do or do not do that you hope no one finds out?
   
   
   


2. What current events seem to irritate you?
   
   
   


3. What faults do you most often see in others?
   
   
   

3. Organize according to core values. The driving forces behind your overall purpose in life are your internal core values. They are the beginning points of inspiration for all you attempt. Your core values direct your thought patterns and those thoughts guide your actions. Without solid, well grounded core values life becomes monotonous and instead of striving for excellence in all you do the daily objective becomes only existence.

Without objectives, a person seems to drift through life attempting to survive with whatever cards they are dealt. With objectives, a person becomes the dealer and therefore dictates the game. Without guiding core values, ups become mountains and downs are bottomless pits. Much like a lighthouse guides ships in dangerous waters; core values guide leaders through the twists and turns of life.

Organize your month, your week, and your day not according to what's urgent or pressing but in accordance with your core values. Then, your day to day activities will have meaning and each day will end with a sense of accomplishment and personal fulfilment. The greater your sense of fulfilment, the more you will accomplish.

4. Choose to smile. It is a fact that when you smile at someone, they smile in return. Happiness is a choice, not a state of being; it is an inside job. No one else can make you happy. You must decide to be happy and only then will you experience its joy. At its most basic level, happiness can be found to always include relationships and friendships. Valuing relationships seems simple, yet most leaders downplay them and instead try to prove their own significance or validate their worth. In pursuing importance and power, most leaders allow relationships and friendships to dwindle away leaving only a hollow achievement with a feeling of emptiness.

Exercise wisdom here. Cultivate friendships and solidify relationships at every opportunity. In doing so, you will find peace and joy. Surround yourself with loyal friends and family. Prioritize your time for them and their needs. By creating healthy relationships, you will experience fulfilment and ultimately the happiness you deserve.

5. Duplication is the key. One person properly managing daily events can accomplish enough of the basics to be successful. Hundreds properly managing daily events can create a dynasty. Equipping others to do what you do compounds your efforts and your results. If you are the only one that can do what you do, then when you stop doing it, the income it creates ends. If you can teach others how to do what you do, then not only can you compound your results, you can eventually stop and the income continues.

Real leaders recognize that dynasties are created by people, not events or accomplishments. A leader will invest all of themselves in others only when and if they understand the power of duplication. By pouring themselves into the lives of others, duplication must occur just like the ripples seen when a rock is thrown into a pond. Schedule mentoring time and you will find that duplication takes over creating a team with impact and power based on relationships and commitment, not obligation.

No matter how hard you try, you cannot manufacture time. Time travel is not yet possible. You must learn to invest time rather than spend it. In order to manage life events; learn to focus on your talents, identify your life purpose, organize according to core values, smile, and practice duplication.

Special events managers are the people who help to coordinate events for a variety of purposes. They may focus on non-profit agencies, large companies, private individuals, or weddings and parties. The usually are the ones to find and reserve the space for the event, decide on catering and activities, determine the type of decorations will be used, and gather any equipment. These roles will vary depending on the type of event management the individual is performing and the occasion for the event. If you are interested in becoming an event manager, here are some steps you can take.

First, you will want to have a degree in a field related to management. You many opt for a business management or focus on a specific type of management depending on what your school has to offer.

Aside from education, the next most important step to take is to get experience before you try to join the working force as an event manager. Find out if there are sporting events or other special events going on at your school that you can volunteer to help organize. You may even be able to find a paying gig of this sort if the school allows work-study programs. This is the entry-level experience you will need to build your resume for after graduation.

If you are not in school or if your school does not allow students to assist with events, find other venues to peddle your services. For example, local bands are always very willing to allow new event managers to assist them in booking shows, distributing information, and gathering more fans. This route may not be the most financially rewarding, but the experience is invaluable.

After you have some experience on your resume, try to intern with an event planning company in your area. If possible, intern with a company that specializes in your desired field, such as wedding planning or corporate events, but do not get discouraged if that does not pan out. The most important aspect of any internship is the contacts you will be making in the industry.

From there, begin looking for actual jobs in the field. The volunteer work, education, and internship will provide an impressive resume for any special event management position. However, if you are having difficulty finding work, it may be helpful to meet with a staffing agency. The work they provide will be temporary, but it will develop contacts and help you to make a name for yourself. It may even turn into a full-time career.

The most important thing to remember is to not get discouraged. Every job entails starting from the bottom and working your way up. As you build a clientele and word of mouth spreads, your success will increase exponentially.

Many companies, agencies and organizations have some version of a holiday office Christmas party each year. For some, it is a simple affair perhaps with a potluck lunch but for major corporations, the event may be much more elaborate. There are basically two different types of office Christmas parties; one held on site during the work day or one held after hours at an offsite location.

The Simple Party

For the office party held during work time, the event is much simpler to plan. Planning an office Christmas party during the day entails very little, as the party is usually a lunch time affair perhaps with a buffet, gift exchange along with a how have we done year in review component that highlights the outgoing year's accomplishments along with a projection of what is to come in the New Year. Planning a smaller affair usually means deciding upon whether you will have everyone bring in a covered dish or having the party catered. What you chose will depend upon your available funds.

Certainly it is much cheaper to have co-workers bring in a covered dish, but someone really does need to keep tabs on what people have chosen to bring. Sometimes the company will provide the main course, such as chicken, and have the employees bring the rest. However, if there is not a designated individual in charge of keeping everything straight, you can end up with 30 deserts and only 5 side dishes or vice versa. Planning an office Christmas party means that you need several people to volunteer to take charge, setting all of the details in place along with managing the budget.

The Elaborate Party

Many companies offer their employees the opportunity to dress up and get away from the office for their holiday event. Planning an office Christmas party where everyone attends a black tie event can take a great deal of time, money and attention to detail. Many larger corporations may consider hiring an outside event planning company to take care of all of the details, from entertainment, food, d矇cor and company gifts. These events take time to put together and are usually thought about well in advance, at least six months or more before the Christmas holiday season.

Many companies do not want their employees making merry on company premises, preferring not to draw attention if an employee or two gets out of hand. Taking the party off company grounds is much smarter. Sometimes the executive secretary or the assistant to the CEO will have the party planning duties assigned to them long in advance. For these individuals it can be a very time consuming part of their job. Corporations want to offer their employees a great experience while keeping costs in line. However, there can be a lot of pressure to outdo oneself each and every year.

Whatever time of company party is chosen, the event takes dedicated people to pull it off. Planning an office Christmas party is fun but can be challenging as well.

Whether you're planning a small dinner with friends or an enormous banquet for a fundraiser, the importance of good catering cannot be overstated. Not only does depending on an outside company to prepare the meal free you to concentrate on the other aspects of event planning, but if you choose wisely you can serve your guests a meal that would have been nearly impossible to pull together on your own. When it comes to choosing a company, there are many similarities to the factors you would weigh when choosing a restaurant. But there are other considerations as well. Here are three of the most important factors to think about when hiring one.

The Cooking

Obviously, it begins-if it doesn't necessarily end-with the food itself. Your first goal should be to find catering that will "cater" to your guests. In other words, you might not choose a four star gourmet company for a kids birthday party. Likewise, you might not choose a place that specializes in greasy BBQ if you're planning a white tie affair. But beyond making sure the food is appropriate, you also need to make sure it's actually good. Many places will allow you to taste test their wares before committing. It is a good idea to take them up on that offer.

Safety

Many local markets have news stations that provide behind-the-scenes looks at area restaurants, expose them for dirty practices, and warn consumers when an eatery is slipping underneath regulations. These stations rarely go after catering companies, however, which leaves the research to you. And, if anything, it's even more important to make sure the caterer you're thinking of hiring adheres to proper food safety techniques. This isn't coming straight from the kitchen to your table, after all. Make sure the company you hire has the means and capabilities to keep your food safe and warm (or cold) before it arrives in front of your guests.

Customer Service

It is as important in the catering business as it is in the restaurant field and it is something you should look into carefully before hiring a company. This is something you can usually form an opinion about well before the event itself. Most companies will work with you to create the perfect menu for the dinner. Before even that begins, you should be watching how their personnel interacts with you and what level of service you're getting. If you feel as though you aren't being treated like an important client, you may want to take your business to someone else.

The grand opening of you new office, retail store, or any other business venture should be an exciting, busy day that brings you new customers and helps you reconnect with current clients. Whether the grand opening is for a new office building, a third retail store, or your first bakery, planning a great grand opening event can immediately boost your sales figures. There are several key elements to a kickoff event that will ensure its success.

Promotion

A public event doesn't take place in a vacuum. You need to create anticipation for the opening and reach as many people as possible so that they'll know when and where your grand opening will take place and what they can expect from the opening. There will need to be activities and special offers that are valuable enough for people to be willing to take the time to visit your business on the day of the event.

A multi-pronged approach is the best way to advertise your event. Television, radio, and newspaper ads are all excellent ways to reach people. At the same time, don't neglect the newer venues of social media. Post an announcement on your website (if you don't yet have one, get one!), tweet to your customers, friends, and associates so that they'll help get the word out, and lure them in with the promise of good food and prizes.

Food And Drink

Once people arrive at your business, you want to keep them there long enough to really get to know the advantages of your new location and do some browsing or talk to you about their needs. Always serve some food and drinks. Finger foods, including appetizers and cookies, are easy for visitors to eat while mingling. Depending on your company policy, you can offer alcoholic drinks or a simple fruit punch.

Giveaways

Prizes are always big hits at kickoff celebrations. You can offer door prizes, have a raffle, or host a Chinese auction for gift baskets that contain anything from jewelry or accessories to a nice bottle of wine. When putting together these baskets, be sure the prizes complement whatever products or services your business offers. For instance, a car dealership might give away gift certificates for the local car wash or car accessories such as a portable navigation system, new car mats, or products for cleaning a car's interior. A hair salon might give away gift certificates for a line of hair care products, hair dryers, flat irons, or make-up and hair accessories.

Buy gift cards online for several different stores or several gift cards from the same store and present them to the first 50 or 100 people to arrive at the grand opening. Be sure to prominently mention this incentive in all your advertising literature. You might say something like, 'Today Only! Grand Opening Specials and Gift Cards for Our First Hundred Guests! Doors Open at 10:00 AM.' This also encourages people to arrive earlier on the day in hopes of winning one of the cards.

Various contests can also be incorporated into your celebration. Trivia tests, spinning a raffle wheel, or simply drawing tickets handed out to guests lets you give away more prizes. If you buy gift cards online, be sure to select an assortment. Local restaurant cards are always nice, but sporting goods stores, shoe stores, and bookstores also offer great gift cards. They are nicer to give than cash prizes, because the winners are more likely to treat themselves than if they simply pocket some cash. The cards can be tucked into attractive note cards that mention the grand opening and thank the guests for coming. It's a subtle reminder that your grand opening was where they won the prize, giving you an added bit of advertising.

Discounts

Be sure to let potential guests know that your grand opening event is about more than simply introducing your new location or building. Your advertising should also highlight discounts available only on the event day. This will encourage guests to purchase your products or sign up for your services while they are at the celebration, getting your business off to a strong start. Once they've tried your product or service at a discount, they will likely become repeat customers.

Discounts can also be handed out in the way of gift cards. If you don't have your own company gift cards, consider a free 'gift card with purchase' promotion. For every $50 customers spend, they will receive a $5 or $10 gift card to one of several stores. Simply order a stack of gift cards online in advance of the grand opening and have them ready to slip into shoppers' bags as they are leaving.

Are there any reasons to negotiate a multi-year contract for your group? Why do it or why not?

Historically - you typically sign a new contract for your annual meeting one or two years out due to the size and scope of your meeting, but have never signed a multi-year contract, so why do it now?

Assumptions - first let's assume some items you like about the convention hotel you are negotiating with currently. The number of rooms available plus the size and arrangement of meeting rooms are very conducive to your agenda. Also, your venue choice is located where you know your attendees will register. They like the hotel and it is easy to get there by auto or airline.

Known Facts - your hotel choice is one that you would like to use. They have obviously been superb in the past or you've had great recommendations from other meeting planners. Other reasons could be due to size restrictions. Your group may be so large that this hotel is one of only a few that will accommodate your convention or it is strategically located near something vital to your program, like a specific plant tour, downtown activities or maybe a golf course that your attendees prefer. Also, your hotel choice has offered room rates that have been in the range that works for you and your attendees.

Likes and Preferences - so, if all the assumptions and known facts are correct, we can now discuss why you might want to negotiate a multi-year contract. Let's specifically talk about three great reasons.

Preferred Set of Dates - your hotel has what you need in the way of size and sleeping rooms, plus meeting space ideally set up for your group, so it is extremely important to sign a contract when those elements are available to you. If you hesitate or procrastinate, the possibility exists that another convention might sign a contract for dates before, during or slightly after your preferential dates. In this case, some of your preferred space or rooms might not be available and you are out of luck.

Better Room Rates - package deals offer stability to the hotel with guarantees of filled rooms versus lower occupancies and missing budgeted projections. So, to attain those guarantees, hotel sales managers usually offer multi-year contracts with package room rates. The package rates are lower than they would offer by negotiating two separate contracts, one year after another. Hence, your attendees reap the benefits of lower room rates and are pleased with your negotiation skills. If you are booking a corporate piece of business, the lower room rates give your budget a break. Either way you come out on the plus side with better room rates.

Special Contracted Items - however, don't forget to request that a few little perks be included in your contract. Check out the possibility of additional amenities, complementary rooms or suites. The sales manager anticipating a signature for a multi-year contract might be willing to add something to your contract to entice you to sign. You are booking out further and you should get additional benefits in the contract because of your multi-year contract.

Summary - there are definite reasons to negotiate and sign a multi-year contract. After your assumptions and known facts have been agreed on, the rest of the multi-year contract is a "Win - Win" for you and your hotel of choice. The hotel gets guaranteed occupancy and revenue to meet next year's budget plus a better idea of how to plan for future years. You get better room rates, plus the preferred meeting space and dates that you want and need. So, consider a multi-year contract when all the factors point in the right direction.

SAP Advanced Planning and Optimization (SAP APO) is the planning component that, together with SAP Event Management (SAP EM) and SAP Inventory Collaboration Hub (SAP ICH), makes up the SAP SCM solution.

The mySAP SCM Solution suite is complete and heuristic, spanning from supply chain planning and execution to collaboration, visibility and performance management.

Structure of the mySAP SCM solution

Supply Chain Planning contains demand planning, (cross-plant) distribution and procurement planning, and detailed production planning down to operation level. These functions can be executed in SAP ERP Central Component (SAP ECC) (previously version: SAP R/3) and/or in SAP SCM in the components SCM DP, SCM SNP and SCM PP/DS in SAP APO.

Supply Chain Execution contains planning execution as part of manufacturing. Materials Management also falls into this area. mySAP ERP Central Component (ECC) or SAP ECC play a central role in these functions.

Supply Chain Visibility is a key area of the mySAP SCM solution and is composed of Supply Chain Event Management (SCEM) and Supply Chain Performance Management (SCPM).

Supply Chain Collaboration is a key area in the mySAP SCM solution that supports collaborative planning and the exchange of documents with suppliers and customers. Collaborative planning can be done in the SAP Inventory Collaboration Hub (SAP ICH) or in SAP APO.

Structure of SAP APO

Synchronize supply with demand in the global chain by balancing push and pull network-planning processes and by handling replenishment and production based on actual demand.

SAP Advanced Planning & Optimization (APO) is consisted of the following components:

• APO DP: Improves the forecast quality and planning accuracy


• APO SNP: Improves visibility across your global chain and lowers inventory


• APO PP/DS: Supports you in creating optimized production plans


• APO gATP: Allows state-of-the-art sales order confirmation planning processes


• APO TP/VS: Optimizes transportation loads and minimizes transportation costs


• APO Alert Monitor: Powerful exception message system integrated in all APO planning modules

APO DP (Demand Planning):

Calculate and determine future demand to improve demand quality and accuracy. Improved forecast quality by using one tool for power and business user and consolidated demand plan (different regions, countries, departments, for example)

APO SNP (Supply Network Planning):

Calculates quantities to be produced and delivered to the locations to match customer demand and maintain desired service levels. To increased visibility over the overall supply chain and optimized sourcing and capacity utilization. SNP also reduced inventory levels and improved customer service.

APO PP/DS (Production Planning & Detailed Scheduling):

PP (Production Planning) delivers a short term plan that matches overall supply to demand, given available resources and production methodology.

And DS (Detailed Production Scheduling) determines optimal production sequence for execution to meet delivery commitments based on actual constraints on the shop floor.

APO PP/DS determines how, when, and where resources and materials should be deployed to accomplish the production goals and Master planning for materials

APO gATP (global Available-to-Promise):

Online information about the most recent state of plan allows order promising that will execute after the customers' expectation. Meet the demand communicated throughout the supply chain with the best sourcing for the available inventories in the supply chain and to sell only what you can actually sell.

APO TP/VS (Transportation Planning / Vehicle Scheduling):

Plan and optimize shipments for orders (sales orders, purchase orders, returns, and stock transport orders) and deliveries. Reduction of transportation costs via advanced planning algorithm. Utilization of vehicles can be optimized. Clear visibility of vehicles / resources / demands and optimized Shipments in terms of lowest transportation costs

APO VMI (Vendor Managed Inventory):

Allows efficient management of the supply chain by managing customer inventory replenishment with automated collaboration. Reduction of stock-outs, rush orders and supply bottlenecks and improved cooperation to the customers and delivery service level.

APO Alert Monitor:

Powerful exception message system integrated in all SAP APO planning modules. First task of the day for a planner: Check the existing alerts. Drill-down from the alert monitor to the application to solve the issue, for example.

Have you ever considered using a business speakers bureau to ease the work required for finding the best speakers for your business conference or other event? If the answer is no, then here is some information that can help you with future event planning. The sole purpose of a business speaker's bureau is to assist in finding speakers that will add benefit to your event. Through experience, they know where to find speakers and how to select the best suited ones. Finding reliable people to speak on behalf of your company is a big job. You must find qualified people, then view them in action, interview them, negotiate pricing, and book them for the event. This cuts into the rest of planning. Not to mention you could be very disappointed if the appropriate time is not taken for selection and booking. Bureaus take over most of this work for you and allow you to use your time more wisely and sparingly for other planning tasks.

Steps Taken By Bureaus to Find Great Business Speakers

A bureau can be your research partner for a big event. They have the ability to find speakers that match in personality, entertainment requirements, and content knowledge. Their main goal is to present the most fitting business speakers for your budget. Bureaus have a very large speaker roster that included local, professional, and celebrity speakers. They only add business speakers to this roster if they have shown they speak well and are truly experts on their topic. Bureaus do many things to ensure they find the right people for your business event. First, you will sit down and go over the specific objectives of the occasion. This information is used to determine the type of speaker needed for the event. Next, speakers are selected from their roster based upon topic and budget needs. Videos and other information will be sent over for evaluation. You will tell them which ones catch your eye and seem fitting. Finally, they will check their availability and set up interviewing if needed. Once you have made the final speaker selections, the bureau books them, takes care of finances, and makes the travel arrangements. Very little work is required on your end as opposed to doing it yourself. The fees are included in the speaker fee and no other charges apply.

Do Not Rule Out a Motivational Speaker for Business Events

Bureaus deal with all types of speakers. While business experts may seem like the only option for a business event, a motivational speaker can be very beneficial as well. These speakers can still be experts on specific business topics and motivate consumers, investors, or employees to strive for a certain goal. Many companies choose to use a motivational speaker because they can make even the most uninviting topic be more appealing to the audience. If you are discussing sales figures, product specifications, or other topics that may not be eye catching but important, a motivating speaker can liven up the presentation and keep people interested. This can be very beneficial when you are trying to get the audience to invest, purchase, or perform some other action.

Collecting and managing your event participant data is only half the battle. The key to hosting a great event is to keep your participants' excitement level rising steadily from date of registration to the day they show up to your event. If event registration opens 3, 4, or 5 months prior to the event date, expect that some registrants may get preoccupied at the office or with daily life and lose that feeling of exhilaration they experienced when signing up for the event. Keeping in contact with your participants on a regular basis will build anticipation and ensure they show up to the event ready to have a great time.

You should shop around for a fully automated event management system that enables you to schedule your follow-up emails to be sent out automatically on the date you choose with the custom content you want to deliver. Some ideas for follow-up email content could be:

* Inviting the registrant to visit your event website for more event information.
* Announcements of new event merchandise for sale with a link to your online registration form for purchase.
* Training tips
* Testimonials from last year's event participants
* Results or video from last year's event
* Reminders of where and when to pick up your race packet
* A final email including last minute updates to the event schedule and weather forecast.

These are only a few examples of email content that has worked well for event organisers I have worked with at The Active Network. Our best advice would be to get creative!

The corporate world is a chaotic place to be in. There are many things occurring left and right. Business meetings along with other corporate events take place one after the other, leaving hardly any room to breathe in. Because everything happens fast in the corporate setting, organizing successful business events may require plenty of energy in as little time as possible.

Unlike social events, business functions may require the best catering services. Business occasions are attended by important people such as shareholders, clients, suppliers and other executives. Planning and managing a company event can make or break your company's future. You want to astonish all these important people. You want them to feel at home and to develop a relationship with all these professionals in your company and in your business. Having a rewarding event may improve your company's image. Successful events gain your clients and suppliers' confidence in your company making them want to invest in a relationship with you. Important business functions are attended by important people in the business industry. Because of this, it is crucial that you give your customers and your suppliers your utmost attention and care. That's why corporate catering services may be of great help in arranging corporate events.

Whether a small-group or a big-group is expected to attend your company's event, choosing business catering services will make planning, organizing, and implementing your company event a piece of cake. With corporate catering, you are sure to receive high-quality meals and services for your clients and suppliers. Catering companies who provide corporate catering services help you coordinate your corporate event in the best interest of your clients. They know what you want. They also know what your clients and suppliers need. Caterers with corporate accounts make it their business to take care of your company by taking care of your clients.

Corporate catering is a good way to provide your clients with a myriad of food selection during company events. They guarantee that you and your clients will love their meal options. The caterers set up their menu in a way that will make getting food and drinks easy for you and your clients. Catering for businesses is both functional and conventional, making your business event as smooth sailing as possible. Your clients' opinion about your company will be affected by the kind of corporate catering services they were provided with. So you only want nothing but the best in this regard.

Corporate catering works well for in-house meetings, staff acknowledgement events, training seminars, holiday celebrations, and company anniversary celebrations. Catering also works well for evening events such as company annual party, fundraising events, or shareholders' meeting. In organizing such events, it is very important that you hire a corporate caterer who knows very well how to manage such events. Hiring a corporate caterer who has made a name in the corporate catering business is the best choice to help you manage your business event. A caterer that has relevant experience in catering for the corporate world will be most suitable for the job.

According to industry experts, games are reshaping the core formulae of business ethics. Games are no longer just a kid's domain of play but are increasingly being used in corporate organizations to train their employees. Indeed in USA alone, a good number of people like playing video games more than watching movies. Games have the tremendous potential to create a highly skilled and problem solving workforce more than ever before.

John and Mitchell Wade in their book "Got Game: How the Gamer Generation is Reshaping Business Forever" has given an in-depth analysis on the growing significance of gaming in the working field. After conducting hundreds of surveys and interviews, Beck and Wade have concluded that gamers appear to be more committed and team-oriented than most of their predecessors.

Appreciating the importance of gaming, many companies are now developing a series of e-learning games to better train their employees. The main aim is to make the trainees learn by going through the usage of various kinds of fun-filled, highly interactive games. For example, you have created a game to train the sales team of your company. Let's see how through applying such games you can best educate and motivate the sales professionals to achieve outstanding results.

Gaining Attention

Games act as a strong medium of drawing the attention of the workers towards a specific project. However, you have to really work hard in making the games highly compelling and enjoyable for the workers to really find it interesting to even considering trying it out at all.

Using an Example

Create a hypothetical situation such as selling a product to a client. For example, divide the trainees into two groups - one will represent the sales team while the others can play the role of the clients. You will tell the sales professionals to convince the group acting as clients to buy their products. It will be fun to watch how the sales team persuades the clients to finally purchase the products.

Encouraging Employees to Create New Games

Always make it a point to engage your employees to come up with their own versions of gaming. Of course, the games developed must have a connection with the business goal that is, to increase sales and ROI.

Games are much more learner-centric. They provide a greater opportunity of interactivity and team work through the exchange of thoughts and ideas while solving a puzzle or doing role play. Interactive games also lead to development of one's personality and self-confidence. A game helps you to exploit the next achievable state of expertise. It often lets you reach certain states or goals that may improve your far sightedness in dealing with different business situations in the real world.

Planning a successful fundraiser takes time, and careful consideration. Whether you are raising money for a local charity, soliciting donations for a community recreation center or rallying support for a political candidate, too much rests on the success of your event to let any aspect of the planning go unscrutinized. That includes the venue you choose to host your event.

Timing

For most fundraisers, time can be an enemy, and it is important to begin planning well in advance of the event itself. Giving yourself a minimum of six months planning time will allow you to check and double-check all aspects of your agenda. If there are conflicts, budgetary issues or flaws in your program, the extra time will give you the opportunity to make any necessary adjustments. Early planning will also give you ample opportunity to secure the venue you want, on the date you desire. Remember, fund raising events tend to come in clusters, and you may have other organizations looking to book the venue you want on, or around, the date you have set for your fundraiser. Giving yourself extra time is giving yourself extra flexibility.

Budget

The first consideration in planning any fundraiser is the budget. Regardless of the purpose of the event, your budget will lay the groundwork for many of the decisions to come. Knowing your budgetary restrictions will help you determine how many guests to invite, the location for your event and what refreshments and entertainment you will be providing. Setting your spending limits early will also help to ensure that you don't go over budget, and find yourself facing a financial shortfall before the fund raising can even begin.

Choosing an Event Space

Once you have set your budget, and have finalized your guest list, it will be time to look for an appropriate venue in which to hold your event. Choosing the right event space is vital to a successful fundraiser. The first consideration is location. The venue you choose should be centrally located to all of your guests. It should be easy to locate, and should provide ample parking for everyone who will be attending your fundraiser.

The next consideration is the hall itself. Most event centers can offer a choice of rooms to suit both the size and purpose of your gathering. You will want to choose an event space that can comfortably accommodate all of your guests, and that can be modified to create an attractive and inviting atmosphere. Making your guests feel welcome and comfortable is a priority, so choose the event space carefully. Visit the venues you are considering in person, and take a short tour of the premises. Check to see that they offer easy access for your guests, adequate parking, suitable handicap facilities and well maintained restrooms. A short tour of the event space will also give you a chance to talk to the management, ask about their experience and solicit any suggestions they have for making your fundraiser the success you desire. An event coordinator's professional expertise can help you to avoid any pitfalls in the planning of your fundraiser.

As you tour the event facilities, you may want to inquire about available staff for your event. While most of the fundraiser's staff will come from volunteers, and from members of your own organization, you will need some on-site staff to handle various venue specific functions. You will want to ask the events coordinator, or the venue's management, about the availability of security personnel. You will also want to find out if the venue offers valet parking, and if they supply the necessary employees as part of the total rental agreement. While you will be handling much of the staffing at your event through volunteers, some things are best left to the venue's on-site professionals.

Once you have chosen the event space for your fundraiser, it is time to think about d矇cor. In your consultation with the venue's management, be sure to ask what they can provide in the way of furnishings and decorations that can be used to suitably dress the event space for a gala evening. The venue should be able to provide all of the necessary furnishings, including chairs, tables and podiums, as well as wall decorations and potted plants to liven up the room. They should also be able to provide any audio/visual equipment needed for speeches and presentations throughout the evening.

With the venue secured, and the decorations and staff in place, your fundraiser is well on the way to success. Attention to detail is the secret to any successful event, and by choosing the perfect entertainment space for your fundraiser, you have laid the foundation for a memorable, and profitable, evening.

Marketing an event well is as important as to create and manage it properly. If you cannot create awareness and spread the word out about your event, then be prepared to face lesser turnout at your event, despite the hard endeavors you have put in.

Event marketers are trying hard to come out with new ways to uphold their events. There are numerous ways to promote and create the buzz for your event, but do you know that record keeping can also help in intensifying your marketing endeavors. Proper record keeping is integral part of a successful event, and the captured information is vital to analyze the event's success and also as an effective marketing tool. Some tips are discussed below to help in effective record-keeping:

Tracking the Ticket Sales

There are numerous software available in the market that can track who the ticket was sold to, how they came to know about the event, payment method, and their feedback. Recording and reporting all these vital information would enrich the attendee data.

Using Every Sales Point to Market Your Event

Every Sales point, like the event ticketing website, can be used as an effective platform for marketing and feedback purpose. Engage your audience by asking interesting questions which would also ensure flow of valuable data. This would help to widen the reach and tailor the current and future events.

Marketing Right Through and After the Event

During the event, organizers or volunteers can walk through the crowd and engage in conversation about the event, their preferences and more. This research would be vital to know the overall outcome and also help in future planning. You should also follow-up with the ticket holder after the event and engage him for feedback, or even offer him a surprise gift. This would help in positive feedback about the event.

Valuable Financial Records

Records such as attendee numbers, sales report, payment, vendor payments, and media mentions act as a vital tool for developing an event, and are also used to shape future events, as well as getting future funds. Every person who is planning to attend, or attends an event is important. Any opportunity to engage in conversation should not be missed.

Record keeping is important in capturing valuable data for analysis of event health and future planning. Modern productivity tools and calendaring features takes off the load of manual data entry and record keeping.

The success of your corporate dinner depends on a number of things, but good planning is an important first step. A corporate dinner is so much more than an evening out as the success of the night can affect your business. New relationships can be forged between you and potential clients, large accounts can be won and even important business decisions can be solidified in this more relaxed environment. When planning your corporate dinner you need to think about the personalities of those attending and what type of evening they may enjoy. You also need to plan around the type of occasion you have in mind, for example, is it going to be a formal black tie gathering or is it a casual fun evening with a main goal of getting everyone to unwind. Once you have identified these main aspects of the evening you can then begin to plan the details, such as catering, entertainment, expected attire and whether there will be any presentations, such as speeches, audio visual production or even games.

Venue

Choosing and booking your venue will be the first thing you will need to do, if you don't have a space at your office. You will need to consider how many guests will be in attendance, so choose a venue that will accommodate everyone, and make sure once you have found the right place book early. Check that the venue has catering available and the right facilities for your particular event. You may need to choose a venue with a stage for presentations or for your entertainment to set up. Make sure the bathroom facilities are adequate and that the hire of the venue is within your companies budget.

Attire

Once you have decided on whether your evening will be a formal occasion or a more casual get together you can decide on the dress standard for the evening. Black tie always makes for a good evening, particularly if you need to create a sense of occasion, and people like to dress up for a night out. You may decide to have a themed night, where people come in costume, or more casual attire may be appropriate.

Entertainment

As well as keeping within the tone of the evening, choose entertainment that you know will appeal to most people. If your guest list is more on the conservative side then hiring a rock band may not go down so well. Perhaps a jazz band may be more appropriate. There are lots of different musical groups available for hire or you could stick with a DJ. It also might not be the type of event where a band is needed and you only are required to organise background music.

Equipment

You will have to make sure there are enough tables, chairs and tableware, although hopefully catering will have this under control, but you may also need to organise a microphone, sound system, audio visual equipment and a projection screen. You can hire this type of equipment from an audio visual production company.

Event management has changed a lot in the past 100 years. It has only fairly recently come to be recognized as a distinct profession requiring specialized training, i.e., event planning courses.

There were no event planner courses per se in the past. This is an emerging profession, one whose market share is said to be steadily growing.

In spite of the obvious challenges posed by the ongoing financial downturn, the outlook is still positive for graduates of event management courses.

Many of the events for which we now habitually turn to graduates of event planning courses - especially weddings - were once organized on a less formal basis, often for free, by family members.

If your event planner courses include a historical component, they may teach that Prince Charles and Lady Di are said to have transformed the wedding planning industry, and as a result, the event management industry as a whole, by increasing our expectations.

Perhaps all graduates of event planning courses owe a debt to this short-lived but unforgettable union...

Ever since the international TV broadcast of this fairy tale wedding, demand for the kind of services now regularly provided by graduates of event planning courses is said to have grown exponentially.

Quite simply, today's consumers expect more from their events. They expect weddings to look like the ones featured in magazines. They expect brides to look like celebs. To respond to the demand, community colleges around the world have introduced event planner courses.

Now, the graduates of these event planning courses find themselves co-ordinating a wide variety of events, not just weddings.

Event planning courses prepare students to organize:

• corporate events


• academic events


• fundraising events


• virtual events


• children's birthday parties


• baby showers


• bridal showers


• stag and doe parties


• etc.

Today's event planners have a variety of considerations that wouldn't have been an issue in the past. Sustainability, for instance, is a fairly recent addition to event planner courses.

Graduates of event planner courses may find themselves purchasing carbon offset credits for a children's birthday party, arranging for a compost bucket to be provided at a green technology expo, or arranging virtual events so that attendees don't need to engage in emissions-heavy air or car travel. As you can see, modern event management demands flexibility and creativity - a responsiveness to the issues of the day.

And event organizers in the past obviously did not have to contend with social media. Now, a strong social media strategy is a core requirement for almost any project embarked upon by a graduate of event planning courses. Some industry experts credit social media with revolutionizing the industry. First there was Prince Charles and Lady Di, then there was the new Twitter platform...

One wonders what the next thirty or forty years hold for this industry. What will be the talk of event planning courses in 2052?

Specialist corporate dinner entertainment event organisers should be able to appreciate how important it is to you that your evening entertainment event runs smoothly and with maximum attention to detail. They should included some suggestions for event-types that you may want to consider. Remember, consider your guests. What suits one type of guest may not suit another type of guest.

To make your awards dinner or evening event a success, you need good quality and effective solutions. Your guests will probably be giving up their evenings to attend your event, so be sure to make sure it's a success and get the feedback you deserve. You may be a corporate client who is looking for a slick, professionally well managed evening event. If you are not sure which corporate entertainment ideas are right for your evening then do the research or contact a professional event team organiser and explore your options. And if your guests are of mixed ages and different interests you should find an organisation that is very experienced and has some great entertainment that appeals to all types of people.

If you are rewarding your team, showing appreciation to your most valued clients or planning the perfect Christmas party it should always be a professionally put-together evening that wows your guests to the last.

After dinner entertainment ideas for events - here are some novel ideas for you to explore if you are considering a celebration event:

Interactive Entertainment:

Wii Olympics And Wii Wimbledon

More and more people are exploring this option - you could even do it at home for free, or in your own workplace. This event can be used in many different scenarios from indoor team building to after dinner fun at corporate dinners and evening event ideas.

Xbox Kinect Olympic Games Night

This brings a new dimension to evening entertainment ideas, this brand new team event will amaze your guests as you become the controller in what is always a very energetic activity!

Quiz Nights

Always a great choice to fill in the gaps between meals. A corporate quiz is always fully interactive with the use of wireless answering gadgets and giant projector screens.

Game Shows

Audience participation is what this should be all about, if you want some light hearted entertainment to keep your guests amused throughout and after dinner then this is a cracking idea!

F1 Simulator

Simulators can be hired from professional events organisers and will always get your guests' hearts racing!

Fun Casino Hire

The perfect addition to any corporate dinner, product launch or client entertainment when looking for something a little more sophisticated.

Giant Pub Games

Bring the fun and laughter to your after dinner spare time by using a giant indoor pub style games. Perfect for any team based activity after or before dinner.

Scalextric Grand Prix Evenings

The children's toy that you never grow out of. Great for breaking the ice and adding some competition to your evening.

Virtual Horse Race Evenings

This is very popular these days - you don't need to go to the races - and you don't even need to gamble if you're using funny-money!

Arcade Games

If you need something to keep people entertained throughout the evening whilst the disco is playing on till the early hours then why not consider full size arcade games. Many companies now offer the chance to hire an entire suite of these machines for you to play with.

Legal rulings involving event planners and/or their companies should instill in those working in the industry that there is nothing they cannot be held accountable for when it comes to event planning. It is angering that people do not seem to want to take responsibility for their actions, personally or in business. Therefore, the onus in some instances has been moved to the event planner and his/her company. The law has not discriminated. It has targeted event planners who are sole-proprietors and entrepreneurs hoping to make it big to the large corporations that have been successful in the business for years.

It is imperative that event planners stay up to date on the laws of their business as well as the proceedings and outcome of any legal actions and rulings that may affect the industry. Clients may not be aware of rules and regulations that could influence the outcome of their event. Consequently, it is the responsibility of the event planner to advise their customers accordingly. These legalities need not deter a planner from doing a job. In fact, if knowledgeable about the rules and regulations, an event planner and their company can be more valuable through being prepared for any possible issues that may arise at the events they preside over.

The responsibility at an event usually rests on the shoulders of the person or company that has been hired to orchestrate the planning and bringing all of the areas together. Everyone from the stakeholder or host, the venue, the caterer and anyone else involved will go to the event planner for answers when something goes awry.

How do event planners protect themselves from the risks of the business? Due diligence on all aspects of an event will pay off in the long run. Every event is different and it is important to determine all of the risks possible. This should include everything from the thought that someone might jump into a pool from a second floor balcony right down to suppliers and even the weather. Utilize the 30/70 rule that is commonly used in the industry to determine the level of risk for possible problem areas.

Learn as much as you can about the stakeholders, the event itself and anyone else who may be involved. Hire other companies to look after specific areas. When hiring sub-contractors request and get a copy of their liability insurance. Reputable companies are more than willing to produce their insurance documents.

Consider having a sound and trustworthy law firm on retainer. Your reputation and business depends on it. There may never be a need to use a law firm for anything other than doing your corporate documents, but they are there to advise you in other matters as needed.

Make an appointment with your insurance broker to review your own business insurance policy. Take the time to make adjustments to cover any and all possibilities that might happen while planning and coordinating an event.

This all sounds scary and will make those thinking of going into the business of event planning think twice as to whether this is the career path to take. If this is the case, that is a good thing. The laws and legal rulings from court cases are in place to protect everyone and can be used to the advantage of a new company just by being aware of them. Starting any new business with the knowledge of all of the possible risk factors combined with the support of a supportive professional team as advisors will provide some of the stepping-stones to succeeding as an event planner and manager.

Have you already started planning for your next event? If yes, then you can take the help of Cloud computing; it can come in handy for you to manage the whole procedure right from your office, without even visiting the venue. With this procedure already popular among users, event management is no more a labor-intensive job. Top-notch data security, with on-demand accessibility of resources from any location, has made it a hot ticket among the event organizers.

With Cloud-based solutions, you need no additional hardware device or software program anymore. You can access it directly from developer's service using an Internet login. Leading examples of Cloud computing includes Gmail, Salesforce, Facebook, and so on. Lately, Cloud-software providers have come up with a myriad of tailor-made solutions befitting the diverse requirements of business owners?.

The advantages of the Cloud-computing in the event industry are far-reaching. No matter where you are, organizing your events and managing your members is no more a hassle if you have a computer with internet connection. Thus, Cloud-computing has made association as well as communication with your mobile team easier. It also builds up the organizational structure of the event.

Reduce Costs

The cost-efficiency of software is another major contributor of its popularity. It helps organizers to cut down investments on infrastructure, ongoing maintenance, and electricity bills. Thus, Cloud computing lets you invest on business, instead of burning your pockets on infrastructure.

With Cloud-computing, organizers can also make less investment on admin staff. It's known that event management is a labor-intensive job. However, Cloud computing helps you manage everything online accessing the software remotely. As a result, you hardly need staffs to do these jobs manually. With so many conveniences available at affordable prices, Software as a service (SaaS) has become a thriving event solution these days.

Online Registration

However, Cloud solutions are not only meant for the conveniences of the organizers only. It also benefits the attendees in the same way. They no longer need to walk into the event's venue to collect the registration forms. They can download them 24x7 online and submit them over the internet. They can also do group registration without filling up separate forms.

Online Payment

Cloud Computing has also made online payments easier for the attendees. Instead of visiting banks to check if the transaction is successful, attendees can now make online payments. Online payment through secured PCI-compliant platform is safe and convenient. All the more, attendees can make payments using PayPal, checks, purchase orders, wire transfer, and so on. Organizers can also accept payments through their merchant account, which they can set up remotely.

Top-notch Security

However, the security factors of Cloud computing often come in question, especially when the hacking scams are on the rise. However, Cloud solution providers have implemented a number of security measures to ensure highest quality of data security.

Wait no more! Invest on Cloud solutions today and reap maximum profits from your events.

If it is your job to book entertainment for your corporate event, a popular entertainment choice is a corporate entertainer. Corporate comedians are experienced in providing comedic entertainment at business events. They can provide your attendees with lots of laughs that can, if requested, be focused on business. Humor can liven up a corporate event, bring employees together, and bring new energy to the team which can carry over to the office. An experienced corporate comedian will inspire joy and laughter which is shared among employees attending the event and can last long after the event is over and everyone is back at work.

It is important to carefully select a comedian for your corporate event. You need to make sure the comedian's presentation will fit the theme of the event and the comedian will connect and engage the audience. To help in your search for the right corporate entertainer, here are a number of tips on booking comedians for your next corporate event.

Not Just Any Comedian: It is beneficial to hire a corporate comedian rather than just any comedian.

A corporate comedian is familiar with the variety and team building that can be achieved from a comedian at a corporate event. You will likely not have to explain to a corporate comedian about appropriate humor and what you hope to achieve from the performance.

Tasteful Comedian: The comedian chosen should be really funny, but corporate events will have an audience that is business orientated and the audience will be very diverse so it is important to hire a comedian that provides clean and non-offensive entertainment. Most corporate entertainers know that they must keep it clean. If you want to check their background, view some of their website videos or go see a performance.

Connecting to the Audience: A professional comedian knows how to connect to, and engage the audience. A corporate comedian will not use objectionable (offensive) language in their performance. They understand that their job is to get the audience to laugh and have a good time. As well, they know how important it is to respect the professionals in the audience. They will tailor a presentation that helps an audience to relax and have fun. Their job is to make the attendees feel comfortable, not embarrassed and uncomfortable.

The purpose of a corporate comedian is to entertain and make people laugh. When the audience is relaxed and feeling good, they will become reinvigorated and will return to the corporate part of the event more refreshed and ready to get back to work. There are many corporate entertainers available today that have specific industry knowledge. For this reason, it is a good idea to hire a talent booking agency to assist you with finding and booking the right corporate entertainer for your particular corporate event. When you do find the perfect corporate comedian, he or she will inspire, build up motivation, and promote better communication in an audience. New ideas can emerge from laughing and feeling good.

The last few years have been very challenging for the non-profit sector. There have been a lot of charity events hosted on the virtual platform, but the actual fundraising has not been worth mentioning. Almost midway through 2012, this trend seems to come to its trailing end. The non-profits however have learnt their lesson and are geared up to experiment with smarter strategies. The worldwide economy is beginning to offer newer opportunities to them by leveraging which they can create some lasting changes in our society. This has upped the pace of fundraising events registration processes as well.

Technology-friendly non-profits to see better days

Doing smart work is the best survival tactic for the withering non-profits in this challenging economy. Approaching donors online when they need to raise funds, and utilizing the power of social media interfaces on and off is certainly not the best way to do business. It is imperative to develop long-term relations with your contributors. Non-profits need to be more tech-friendly in their mode of daily activities and adopt online solutions such as the fundraising event registration software on a steady basis. These Cloud-based "SaaS" products help non-profits to achieve their goals of successful fundraiser management irrespective of all sizes or complexities.

The solution features a host of productivity tools that facilitate all start-to-end management endeavors of a fundraising event. The product lets the non-profit create its own registration page and publish the same online. The page can be accessed any time by donors from all around the world, promote its cause to a larger global audience, and make the process of collecting donations and tithes easier by serving it as a single integrated platform. The payment gateways supported by such fundraising event management packages are secure and authentic, which also go a long way in increasing credibility of a non-profit organization in front of its donors. Plus, there are no fraudulent activities or donation transit loss on the whole.

Some of the cutting-edge features of the fundraising events registration software are, PCI-compliant payment management solutions, comprehensive email marketing tools, social media connectors, online calendars, waitlist manager, fundraising tools, and online donor survey report generator facilitated by Smartphone apps. In addition to that, the transactions are convenient and swift for both the contributor and the non-profit in question.

Stats says it all

Following are the few observations made in the 2012 Online Marketing Non-profit Benchmark Index and the 2012 eNon-profit Benchmarks Study published by M+R and NTEN:

· Online giving and fundraising is set to grow fastest for smaller organizations. Last year, organizations with less than 10,000 email addresses grew by 26.7% in median revenue, similar to 2010's growth rate.

· On an average, non-profits increased their revenues generated online through fundraising by 19% from 2010 to 2011.

· The international sector experienced a huge 163% rise in total funds raised online between 2009 and 2010.

· For organizations having monthly fundraising events, revenue from month-over-month online giving has grown at a much higher rate over the past few years accounting for 8% of total revenue generated online in 2011.

· On average, 35% of total online revenue was sourced to direct email donor appeals.

So, if non-profits want to come out of their proclivity to beat around the bush, which they do most of the time, they should resort to the new age fundraising events registration solutions. It is the only way to solidify a potential donor base and make a visible change in the world of fundraising.