An event is a big, well, event, and not something that just happens on its own with no input. Organizing it takes an incredible amount of effort, planning, and teamwork, with a pinch of good luck too, for the individual parts that all depend on each other to work out. Multiple elements go into a successful event, and we can break them down into three building blocks: coordination, safety, and goals. Coordination means that all the services, like catering, music, etc., work concurrently without major snags and perform as needed. Safety means that all the guests and staff arrive safely, have a fun time, and leave without any major incidents, for which security officers are responsible, but more about that later. And then we have the goals, that the event matches the goals or purpose of the client, and that everything works out with no major issues.
Organizing an event can be daunting, to say the least, but today we are going to help you out a bit by giving you an overview of the major steps you should take to make sure the perfect event goes off without a hitch.
Organize Objectives
It all starts on paper first, before you do anything else. Organize your goals and objectives for this event, which generally comprise identifying or understanding the purpose of the event, and the objectives that will help you achieve that goal effectively. For instance, your event may be a fundraiser for an organization or perhaps a brand awareness affair or product launch. The objectives of the event usually apply to guest responses and involvement with your event. This means hiring professional event staff and getting the public’s attention. These will all serve to progress the goals of increasing your or the brand’s social media following, earning more money than a previous fundraiser, or giving attention and increasing the sales of a product. Another factor in organizing an event is determining the key points about it, for example, how many guests you can expect, the event date and time, its location, the event type, and how long it may last, like one to three days. Before you can move on to the actual organization, you must have the basics locked down, so you do not have to figure them out halfway through all the chaos.
Budget
Next up, we need to establish a budget and figure out how much everything is going to cost—approximately, of course. This will help you, the organizer, determine how much funding each element of the event will require and receive. It will also help the team set realistic parameters for event expenses and limit the unwelcome surprises the planning team might get, like sudden, out-of-pocket expenses.
When you are working on the budget, leave some breathing room for adjustments and variations as time goes on, and make sure you stick to the budget as much as you can so you can stay within it; that is the whole point after all. Some things that you want to budget for include the event venue, catering (food and drink), decorations, entertainment, marketing, staff, travel, sponsors, and so on.
Security Plan
You must have a security plan in place before the event begins, helping to ensure the safety of everyone involved. There are, again, a few steps to doing this effectively. First of all, you are going to want to identify all the potential hazards and risks, like the weather conditions or some such, and do your best to account for them. This means developing a plan to properly address each of these risks before actually implementing the plan, where you will need to constantly monitor everything and adjust it as needed. One indispensable part of any event is the security team, which you absolutely should not try to save on. Get professionals who do this for a living, who have an eye for potential dangers, can tell when things might be getting too heated and can intervene, and who have been trained to respond exactly as required in an emergency. The right security team may mean the difference between literally life and death for some guests or staff, so again, do not skimp and take some time to find the right security firm that communicates effectively and has enough security staff.
Select a Venue
Without a venue, none of this matters, of course, which means you need a place where you will hold the event, especially as it is one of the elements that will determine and influence other parts of the event, like capacity and decorations. Try to look for event venues early on in the process, as many venues often get booked out early and may only be available during certain occasions or seasons. When picking a venue, keep in mind the travel time and cost for the potential guests.
Ask the venue owners or representatives plenty of questions so you have as much data as possible and are aware of its rules and limitations. Potential questions include what type of facilities the venue has, what type of on-site staff the venue can provide, what its security policy is, how many restrooms it has, what the capacity is (so how many people it can hold), what the parking options are, and what supplies the venue can offer, among others. Book well in advance so the foundation of the event is secured, and you can begin organizing all the other things that connect to the venue, like catering, decorations, entertainment, and so on. Also keep in mind the season and weather, as an open-air park may not be the best place to have an event in winter, but it will be perfect in summer, especially if rain is not likely or in the weather forecast.
An event needs a lot of time, effort, and teamwork to go off without a hitch, and some luck too, so that things outside of our control don’t throw a wrench into the works. Multiple factors and elements decide what it will look like, and you should take plenty of time in advance to make sure they are all locked down.
