Event planning is perceived by many to be "difficult. Impossible as it may sound, event planning is not that hard. In fact, event planning can run quite smoothly given that you make a proper plan and stick to it. One of they key qualities a good event manager has is to be prompt. The other mandatory quality is to look far ahead to see what you will need.
Event planning can done by organizing three categories and attending to them properly. They are,
People, Money and Resources. If you're planning an event that has already been decided on, these are the key things to focus on.
People, you'll have to find early on. For one thing, this will allow them to pin point any things you will definitely overlook along the course. Then, they come in handy in managing money and resources. Money not found is bad. Money found, left in your hand is worse. With people around, they'll bring up questions. If you've got money, give them wisely. If you haven't got any,
Money, is the next important thing. Figuring out how and where the money will come from is the next important thing. Usually, people can suggest ways to do this, but rarely others take initiative in finding money. Therefore, it is really important that you take initiative on any ideas and start collecting money. Marketing is important here.
Resources, are the stuff you gather from money. The first resource you need is the "place". The next is the "attendees". Once you add these two up, you'll need more resources to "make them mix". If it is a conference kind of event, you'll need all formal stuff for them to mix. If it is a party, you'll need stuff for games. Marketing is important to get people.
Event marketing will need to come in early. Remember those world cup count downs saying "100 days to the World Cup" or alike? That's 3 months before the grand event right? That is how far you can actually plan ahead.
To summarize, when planning an event, think in terms of people who you can get help from, how and where the money comes from and what resources you need. Once you've got these three basics enlisted on paper, start working towards getting them. Having people ready initially helps a lot because they will help you in ways you even would not guess. Money sometimes needs marketing and so does getting people. Make sure you book the place of your event early to avoid losing the slot. Event planning isn't easy, but it isn't hard either if you plan it out properly.
There are many online event planning tools available. Minimally, create an email thread on your event among the planners. If not, have all the contacts on your phone SMS or chat IM group during the entire event. But keeps things very simple or you'll get disoriented.
Always respond with confirmations to people. Replying "Ok thanks" is not required for the message you just got, but if the sender knows you 'always respond to messages with something', they also know if you didn't respond to something, you missed it, and will ping you again. That is where your "Ok thanks" comes in handy.
Happy Event Planning!
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