Planning an event for your company can be tough work, and if you’re in charge of the entire event, you’re likely to be feeling some pressure to make the event perfect. Pulling off the perfect event is no easy task no matter how big or small your company is. As the event planner you have to consider every detail including where to hold the event, seating arrangements for the guests, what kind of food to serve, whether or not to serve alcohol, and many more odds and ends that need to be taken care of. No matter the occasion, with careful planning you can pull off an amazing event – creating a good name for your company, as well as for yourself.
Start Planning Early
The moment you know you are having an event, you should begin the planning process. The earlier you start, the more organized you can be and the more you can accomplish. Depending on the size of the party will greatly determine the length of which you should begin preparing. For smaller events with anywhere from 50-150 guests, consider beginning at least two months in advance. And for larger parties with the number of guests ranging from 150-300, or even more, six months in advance is the norm.
Deciding On A Venue
There’s no denying that when it comes to a party it’s all about location, location, location. The venue should be well respected and a place that people want to go to for a corporate event. However, it should also be appropriate for the occasion and the size of the group. Having a venue that is too large without a lot of people will make the event look too spaced out and that not enough people showed up. On the other hand, a venue that is too small can be crowded and overwhelming. Try to be creative in your choice of venue while still accommodating the size of the group. By offering a familiar venue for the event, perhaps a community arena or venue, your guests will feel more comfortable attending an event in a unique and familiar venue. For example, if your small business is located in Florida you may opt to host an event at the Sarasota Municipal Auditorium, where the Sarasota flea market is typically held in order to incorporate local familiarity with a unique location.
Have A Backup Plan
You can never be too prepared when it comes to planning an event for a group of people, but sometimes mistakes do happen. Things come up that are unforeseen and can threaten the livelihood of a party. If your event is held outside and a thunderstorm strikes on the day of the party, you will need to have a backup space available. If you’re showing a slideshow or video and the laptop loses power, you want to be ready with an extra charger or extension chord so that the presentation will still go on. By creating a backup plan, you can deal with any changes that come your way. Creating a plan B will take extra time to do and you not even wind up using it, but even if you don’t you will rest easy knowing you have that plan in your back pocket if necessary.
Commemorate The Event
Be sure that you take plenty of pictures during the event itself and afterward, upload those pictures online or send them out in personal emails. If your group is small, distributing photos through email will be easy, but with bigger groups, consider uploading the pictures to the company Facebook page and creating an album there for everyone to look through. If your company has an Instagram account, it would be great to capture a few pictures as posts throughout the night. Posting pictures on social media will definitely help commemorate the night, and showcase how fun it was for those unable to attend. If the guest list is fairly large, consider renting a photo booth to place near the entrance at the actual event so that guests can get their pictures instantly.
After the evening is over, thank everyone for coming and for being a part of the night. For future events, keep in mind the tips on this list to plan and execute a successful party for your company. Early prep is your best friend. Although you cannot anticipate absolutely everything that might happen, planning for the best and for the worst will help you to pull off a successful event.
This article was written by Dixie, a freelance writer who loves writing for business, finance, women’s interests, and technology. Dixie lives in Arizona with her husband and three beautiful daughters who are the inspiration for her writing.