If you are planning your first-ever private event, the process can be overwhelming. There are tons of details to go through, and if you don’t establish a solid plan, many things could go wrong. Even after you set your vision and objectives for the event, you’ll need to learn how to get started to make sure your guests leave with a smile on their faces. Here are the top three things to keep into consideration before planning a private event.
1. Event’s Objectives and Budget
The first step, in any event, is to think about your main goals and objectives. Are you a business owner who wants to expand their network of clients or do you want to increase brand awareness? Establishing a goal and managing your expectations of what you want to achieve from this event will give you a clear direction of how to get started. You may find out that you don’t need to have a private event after all. If you are determined to host this event, you need to think about the people you want to invite. These are the top two choices to make in the planning stages.
The next step is to decide on the date of the event. This will help you know how fast you want to move with other decisions. You want to pick a date that is not within the season of business events. This will help you to achieve a good price for the venue and a good turnout. Make sure to do plenty of research to find out about the conferences or private events happening in your field of business. Try to pick a date that gives you enough time to plan the event. Don’t overwhelm yourself with a date that’s too near so that you can be better prepared.
After establishing these points, it’s time to decide on your budget. You need to figure out how much you can pay to cover catering costs, decorations, and entertainment, to name a few. If you can’t establish a budget right away, you can take a look at the average prices of catering companies in your city, venue prices, and equipment rentals.
2. Venue and Vendors
The number of guests you are inviting will dictate the size of your venue. You might want to host an event in another city, which will require further preparations. If most of your guests live in your city, it makes more sense to host the event locally through stlsevents, which makes it easier to visit different venues and get recommendations from your friends or business associates. Check the venue to see if they offer a catering service or other amenities as many places offer these services as part of the packed price. This could save you the hassle of going with a different caterer, but you have to make sure that the venue is reputable by checking customer reviews online or asking others who booked this venue.
If the venue does not offer these services, try to look for discounts or package deals offered by catering agencies that could take care of the food, drinks, and furniture for the event. You can consider using Abbey Road Entertainment to take care of the entertainment aspect of your event. You can compare such services by looking at their previous work and judging if what they bring to the table would fit the vibe you want; you can also opt for leaving one aspect of the planning to a specialized agency, say a specific buffet for example, for a little extra cash. When booking a venue, make sure to ask about transportation for your guests, security, entertainment options, and working staff to manage the event.
3. Marketing and Networking
You need people to be interested in attending your event. The first step is to establish a theme for your private event for your marketing campaign then promote it with potential business collaborators. Make sure to send your invitations early to give your guests enough time to respond so you can get an accurate headcount. You can implement social media marketing strategies, email marketing, or content marketing to spread the word about your event. Networking is an important aspect of private events. You should create a plan on how to approach new clients and talk about your business. Make sure to prepare a giveaway package with your company’s logo printed on each item, which helps in spreading awareness about your business.
There are many more details that go into holding an event beyond these three points, but these serve as the basics of what you need to keep in mind when preparing for such a major event. Make sure to get an event manager that can hold the fort while you socialize with people, which is the whole point of hosting a private event.
