Article by: Alyssa Strickland

Learn how have your best event!

Hosting events as a business is not always straightforward, especially if you don’t have a designated event manager. To make sure things run smoothly and within the budget, it’s important to carry out plenty of research, set financial expectations, and hire the right people.

Expectations

Most businesses, when organizing a formal event, have clear expectations or OKRs (Objectives and Key Results). Determining what the purpose of the event is and then quantifying the outcome will allow you to truly succeed.

Answer these key questions

• Are you looking to increase your investment?
• Build new partnerships?
• Introduce a new product?
• Or are you simply looking to improve on your team?

Budget

It’s crucial to spend time building one for your event during the early planning stage. Take the time to determine your available resources and estimate any financial trade-offs in expenses (venue hire, catering, etc.) vs. revenue (sponsors, ticket prices, etc.)

The earlier you can set clear financial parameters, the easier it will be to stay inside them. If you’re unsure of how to go about this, try using an online budgeting template – these can help to break costs into percentiles and even offer advice on how to lower them. You may also find that some accounting software is useful in this instance as it allows you to more accurately add up potential expenses and track these over time.

Location

There is no clear-cut formula for finding the right location when it comes to business events. Clichés would suggest that hotels or function halls are most appropriate but, depending on the nature of your attendees, sometimes you’ll find there are better, cheaper options.

You should take into consideration the event duration, its time, date, seasonality, expected activities, and, of course, the ages, attitudes, and expectations of your guests. Oftentimes, larger spaces serve well for presentations whereas smaller, intimate areas can better accommodate conversations – think carefully about your OKRs and pick your venue accordingly.

Promotion

Hosting an event is one thing, generating interest and getting people to attend is another. If doors are open, it may be worth investing in a marketing campaign. For example, you could find an influencer marketing agency online that will take a deep dive into your social media efforts, leveraging popular individuals to help spread the word and managing follow-up posts and announcements in the days after.

Alternatively, you may find running a PPC campaign of your own is the more cost-efficient strategy and allows you to pinpoint exactly the types of individuals you’d like to appeal to.

Extras

Once you’ve got the basics, you can start the logistical extras to shape a memorable event. These include catering, decoration, photography, mementos and more. 

Oftentimes, it makes sense to defer to professionals when it comes to these elements, just make sure to carefully vet whoever you hire by checking online reviews, and testimonials and ensuring they have adequate experience working within professional contexts.

Hosting events for a business can be deceptively complicated and if you’re not prepared, it’s possible to compromise your business and even your personal reputation. Make sure to allocate plenty of time and resources way ahead of time to minimize risks and ensure that things go smoothly on the day.

^{VQS ADVICE BLOG | MINDSET TOOLS FOR CREATORS}