Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Making Others Happy Brings Joy To Real Leaders


Although many individuals want to be leaders, far less become really effective ones. One of the primary qualities that differentiates great leaders from the rest of the pack is the individual's true motivation to want to lead. While a great leader must be dedicated to his organization and its mission, and have a clear cut and vital vision, unless his primary motivation is to help others by providing valuable leadership, he rarely achieves true greatness. Far too many individuals' desire to lead stems from their own ego or a desire for some sort of perceived glory, when greatness only arises when the primary consideration is service and providing real value. George Bernard Shaw wrote, "We have no more right to consume happiness without producing it than to consume wealth without producing it." As this applies to leadership, true happiness must stem from bringing joy, happiness, satisfaction, and joys to the organization one serves, and its members, donors, supporters and sponsors.

1. If you wish to be an effective leader, you must first examine your true motives for wanting to serve in such a position. Are you willing to put in the time, effort, and get whatever training and knowledge you need, or do you want to be in charge but have others take care of the necessary details? Do you realize that effective leadership is not a part time endeavor, or even a nine to five endeavor, but rather an often time consuming, sometimes energy sapping effort, where you must not only lead but must simultaneously motivate others to sharing your vision, and upgrading and enhancing their personal actions, as well? Are you able to clearly articulate your reason for wanting to lead (in honest straight- forward terms rather than in jargon or rhetoric)?

2. Do you understand the difference between value and perceived value? Great leaders must consistently pay attention to both of these and realize that merely providing what they consider to be value, without taking into consideration what others see as being of value, creates a huge divide between the one in charge and his constituents. Nowhere is this more obvious than when it comes to event planning, where professional event planners painstakingly negotiate to achieve value (cost savings, efficiencies, better ways to achieve the desired result), but unless they are able to effectively communicate this to attract participation by motivating potential attendees (demonstrating effectively the value creates the perception of value), the event will invariably under- perform and disappoint.

However, a true leader only feels satisfied when he is convinced that he has done all that can be done to make his organization attractive to others, and to make others proud and happy to participate in. The joy and happiness of constituents is what, in the end, creates a leader's contentment and happiness.

Benefits of Using Corporate Hospitality Providers


In this current economic climate business can be tough, with lower demand; the pressure is on to win contracts and hold onto those contracts. One way to show your best customers that you value their custom is to spent time with them at a memorable and exclusive event. Using hospitality events is also a good way to spend time with sought after potential clients.

Quality Time

Using the corporate facilities at a sporting or other big name event is vital it you want to spend quality time with a client and show them how much you value their business. If you were to sit in the regular crowd it would be impossible to have a decent conversation and wouldn't really leave a great impression.

Create Loyalty

By taking clients and potential clients to a very special event such as a high profile sporting event like the glamorous world of Formula 1 or Wimbledon tennis championships in July it will definitely demonstrate how much you value them and create a lasting memory linked between the event and your company.

Networking Opportunities

At a stylish event you will have time to network with not only your own important clients but will meet like minded companies who may provide you with new and important business contacts. A hospitality group can provide many similar events where you can create more opportunities time and time again.

Launching New Products

A corporate hospitality event is the perfect opportunity to launch a new product in style. You can have a very stylish event, creating excitement and engaging guests that will maximise the interest and create the desired effect - maximum impact.

Differentiating from the Competition

Be taking clients to prestigious events you are offering something above and over what competitors will be doing for their clients, giving you an opportunity to entice new clients as well get referrals from existing clients if you look after them properly.

Motivational and Reward Tool

Hospitality events can also be used as incentives and rewards for employees. Top performers could be given the opportunity to enjoy the next six nation's game from the privacy and relaxed corporate hospitality room as well as a method of attracting high performing individuals into the business.

Corporate hospitality events offer huge benefits, distinguishing your business from competitors, creating a lasting impression with clients and providing the opportunity to win more clients. Going with a hospitality group allows you to coordinate hospitality events in multiple countries if you are a global organisation.

6 Reasons Why Event Planners Need A Website For Each Of Their Events


Individuals or companies often find they lack the expertise and time to plan an event themselves, therefore they hire a professional to take care of all their event needs. Using a planning professional eliminates the stress of booking and organizing. There are so many event planners out there to help arrange a couples dream wedding, a bar mitzvah, a reunion or any other milestone occasion. By providing your clients with their own website dedicated solely to their event, you are offering them something new and differentiating yourself. This will get clients to choose your service over that of your competitors.

Here are 6 reasons and advantages of having a website for each of your client's events:

1. Easier to manage and stay organized

As a planner, the key to being successful while having to plan numerous events simultaneously, is to stay organized. Nowadays, building a website is so easy to do and you can use similar website layouts for multiple events. No longer will you have to run from one client to another carrying books and writing everything down as all information can be easily integrated onto the website.

2. Convenience

By having a website specific for each clients event, everything pertaining to the particular client is in one place - on the website. You just simply have to type in the domain name created for that event, and all the information is right in front of you. This is convenient for both you and the client, as information can be easily collected, updated and disseminated. From the website, you can see the how things are progressing, what still needs to be done, and whether or not you are keeping to the predetermined budget.

3. Save time and money

You no longer have to worry about mailing and printing costs as invitations, RSVPs and thank you notes can all be sent online. You can reduce your marketing costs by promoting your event by connecting your social networking sites with your event website for everyone to see.

4. Differentiate yourself

Clients will choose a service provider that offers them something new and unique to simplify their lives. Developing a website for each of your clients events is a means to differentiate yourself from competitors and increase the scope of your business. Utilizing a website is an advantageous and attractive addition for you and your clients.

5. Increase breadth of services offered

If you are planning a corporate or fundraising event, you can offer the client an event website with integrated e-commerce and fundraising elements, such as online registration and online donation acceptance. This will allow you to tap into a brand new market as it will greatly appeal to those arranging corporate events and fundraisers. This can essentially change your whole business as you can now provide additional services and solutions to existing and new clients.

6. Make more money

By offering the ability to take care of absolutely everything related to your clients event - from planning, booking, decorating, invitations, and online fundraising - is an added value. Not only will this bring in more clients, but also higher profit as you can charge more for the additional services being provided.

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Are Project Management Skills Required at Event Management?


It does not matter what size an event you will be conducting it needs to be managed. Of course, a bigger event will have a larger need for event management to make sure nothing is forgotten.

Events are conducted at schools, businesses and other locations that might need to have a little more preparation. A bigger event could mean it is a good idea to contact an event management company to make sure it is organized and professional. Still there are some elements that could be done to help save money and prevent the need of a professional event management company.

Do you want to plan a big dinner, awards program, conference, fancy party or fundraising event? You could decide to have the professionals take care of it. You want to find a reputable group with a proven track record. If you are working with a company they might have a group they have done business with in the past. Otherwise, do some research by talking to colleagues and even friends, for example. Sometimes when working with a group you might tell them what you want and they do it. Other times you will be involved throughout the process. Remember to not just consider the company, but the employee record as well that will be assisting you. Do they serve their clients properly and really help with the event management?

Even though working with professionals has the best chance of event success there are ways to save money. If the event management group is taking charge of the entire event it will get expense. You might decide to take on the event management yourself. This might work out if you are experienced and if it is a small affair. You might decide to hire event management groups for a few of the elements for the event. This could save money and also ensure that the event is well organized and professional. Suggestions are for a DJ, flowers and catering with a wait service. Get quotes before deciding on your plan for this.

Using an event management company or doing the organization yourself all depends on what you want. Remember to set a budget and get a count of how many will be attending. It is also a fantastic idea to have a plan to implement if the original falls through. Either approach will produce a wonderful event if all the elements are remembered and organized. It can even be fun to plan an event.

Finding Event Management Jobs


Various event management jobs employ approximately 57,000 professionals throughout the US. Employment for event planning is available in different industries such as religious organizations, non-profits, or government agencies. 14% of all event management careers are in the hotel industry. Roughly 6% of professional event planners work as independent contractors, and the remaining ones work for educational institutions or independent event planning agencies. Event planning is also a popular career option throughout the UK.

Event planning affords the opportunity to work in a wide variety of areas. Professional event planners on both sides of the pond typically stage large scale events such as:

* Industry trade shows

* Music festivals

* Conferences

* Product launch events

* Charity fundraising events

Event Management Salaries

The average event planner's salary is around $45,000 per year on average. Some planners with several years of industry experience can earn up to $75,000 with some hard work and dedication. These specific salary figures are comparable for both the US and the UK. Some supervisory event planning jobs can have slightly higher salaries in some cases. Common college or university degrees that can be helpful for event planning include:

* Public relations

* Business communications

* Hotel management

Some event managers enter this career field from other unrelated areas or even without a formal college education. They can usually gain the needed experience on the job and while learning from more experienced planners. Good speaking and writing skills are especially helpful for event planning as well. Event management professionals also need to be able to work in busy, fast-paced environments and interact with many different people. Prior supervisory or management experience can also be a plus. Common entry level positions for these types of event planners include assistants and sale representatives. These jobs often come with basic responsibilities, although they can be valuable experiences for learning about this industry from the ground up. As with many types of career areas, building a good network of contacts can be helpful for future employment.

Applying for an Event Management Job

Event management jobs are often fairly easy to obtain with prior experience and references. A college degree in a related field is usually helpful in many cases. Many event planners gain their first practical experience with school internships. A good event planning resume includes information such as the names of past events and data measuring the numbers of attendees from one year to the next. Increases in attendance are particularly good indicators of a seasoned professional. Aspiring event planners without formal career experience can often create effective resumes by listing their past job positions and describing how this experience is relevant for event planning. Recommendations from past supervisors are also indications of a strong candidate for an event planning job position.

9 Benefits To Outsourcing Your Small Business


Have you ever asked yourself "If I could start over again, I would... ?" It's like the saying "If I knew then what I know now" kind of thinking.

I can tell you, through my own experience, If I could start over again, I would outsource, plain and simple. It was not fun doing it alone and it certainly took up a lot of my time. While I did learn a lot and can use my new skills to help others, I realized you can't be an expert at everything. That's when I realized the need for outsourcing.

When I first got started, I spent the first year learning everything and spending hours upon hours learning how to do all the techy stuff like, how to set up my blog, my Facebook, my Twitter, email marketing, and everything else that goes with setting the foundation for your solo biz. I spent so much time on the technical aspects of the business that the overwhelm took over and the confidence and enthusiasm started to fade.

Lesson learned.. I don't have to do it alone, I can get help through outsourcing.

I started to realize there are so many benefits to outsourcing so I put together these 9 Benefits to outsourcing for the solopreneur and small biz owners. Many newbies or established business owners don't recognize these benefits can really help them move forward in their businesses.

9 Benefits to Outsourcing Your Small Business

O = Opportunity to collaborate. This is where you can find experts for the techy part of your business that you don't have time to learn or you don't have time to do it.

U = Understanding You Can't Do It All. Solopreneurs can't do it all so outsourcing helps you find the experts so you can concentrate on doing what you love to do.

T = Team - Yes, now you can work as a team. Just like working any job, there are always people who concentrate on what they do best while others do what they do best.

S = Solutions - This is a perfect opportunity to find solutions. We all want to find solutions to our daily struggles.

O = Opportunity to Organize your thoughts and your biz plan. When you hire someone to help you, the two of you can brainstorm to move you forward.

U = Unload some of the busy work to an expert. It takes so much time to do it all. Let others help you.

R = Release the stress of doing it all by hiring a virtual assistant.

C = Concentrate on other areas of your business while your assistant is doing the things you don't have time to do.

E = Event Planning and Speaking arrangements can build your biz and hiring an event planner can help you find locations, fees and get you the information you need for your event.

Even though you are a solopreneur, you don't have to do it alone. Why not hire the experts to help you get more time, more clients and more money in your pocket while outsourcing those tasks that take up to much of your time?

Service Advice to Hire Best Event Planner For Event Planning Services


Do you want to throw a birthday party or an anniversary celebration? Perhaps you'd like to organize a fund raiser but don't know how to go about it? You may have ideas brimming over you and now spilling through your ears. Grab a piece of paper and pencil and get your thoughts organized. There are quite a number of questions you will need to answer and once you've jotted those questions down, you'll start to realize that perhaps you might need a little extra boost in throwing your party or getting your event together.

Some of these questions will range from how many guests are coming, to the type of paper to use for the invitations you need to send out, to what kind of canapés you ought to serve. Then there are also more detailed items to turn your attention to like whether your event needs a host or master of ceremony, the sound system provider, chairs and tables, etc. Now you're beginning to realize that maybe there's more to events than just the main costume theme or event title. There are countless other things that go unseen by the guests but are essential for the event to be successful.

There is a question of getting in contact with suppliers and owners or managers of the chosen venue. If your event requires catering, your planner will also be the one getting in touch with the catering service and staff and making sure that they can get a team together for your little shindig. If you're trying to convince yourself that you can take on all these responsibilities just to save some money on hiring a professional planner, then you're in for quite a rollercoaster ride. It's difficult being both the host and organizer of any event?especially if it is on a corporate scale. Events like galas, charity balls, exhibits, etc are best left to the pros because if you are the host, you will need to keep yourself as stress-free as possible so as to enable you to entertain your guests and still look and be at your best. Taking on the responsibility of an event planner will leave you frazzled and haggard, stealing time away from you that could be spent talking to your more important guests and making essential network connections among your guests. You want to avoid a scenario where the head honcho of a certain corporation you have been trying to get acquainted with comes over to talk but you end up excusing yourself in order to find out why on earth the salmon and lemon dill cucumber tea sandwiches weren't served on time to your slightly famished guests.

Unless you're throwing a Super-Bowl-Sunday event at your home, or a Grey's Anatomy 5- season DVD marathon in your apartment where the only gastronomic menu desired is nothing short of a bag of chips or a bowl of popcorn and some canned drinks, it is good to hire best event planner in putting your event planning services together because you will want your occasion to come out smooth, organized and polished.