Planning and executing a great corporate event can be incredibly stressful. From finalizing the guest list to booking the venue, there are just tons of things you have to oversee and be responsible for. Here’s how you can simplify the process and alleviate the stress that comes along with planning your corporate event:
Hire some help
If you think this is something that you can do on your own — think again. It takes a village to plan a successful corporate event. To help you with your event planning, you can hire multiple sponsors and vendors that offer multiple services so you can streamline the process. For marketing materials like flyers and event posters, you can work with a printing company. When it comes to food, you can hire a reputable corporate event catering service in San Francisco. These are just some ways you can outsource certain aspects of your event and save yourself time and effort. If you’re working with a strict budget, you might want to look into signing up volunteers to help out instead.
Create a checklist
The best way to keep track of the many things you need to accomplish when it comes to event planning is to keep a checklist. Focus on prioritizing your tasks by ranking the items from most important to least important. Not only is this an incredibly practical solution, but it’s also satisfying to check things off once you’ve completed them.
Set a realistic timeline
You need to have a realistic timeline in mind when planning your event. Figure out how long each part is going to take, such as the turnaround time for marketing materials and how long it’ll take to recruit volunteers or when you can expect your vendors to start setting up. Make sure to ask the ones you’ve hired to help you out with the event as many questions as you can so you can accurately gauge how much time you need.
Prepare a feasible budget for your event
Create a budget that you can stick to and one that’s appropriate for how small or big your event will be. You can canvas for prices before you start spending by gathering information about the costs of certain aspects of your event such as shipping fees, advertising and marketing expenses, vendors, and reservation fees. Don’t forget to include credit card fees, taxes, or unexpected charges like late fees. There’s no need to be conservative when it comes to budgeting since it’s better to have a little more leeway rather than coming up short. You can always negotiate contracts and try to get the best deal for the goods and services you’ll be needing for your event.
Focus on the essentials
Keep your stress at bay by keeping things simple. There’s no need to go overboard with the decor, menu, or layout. Focus only on the absolute essentials you’ll need for the event such as the venue, catering, speakers, marketing promotions, and vendors. Not only will you save yourself the effort, but you’ll also save a ton of money.
Don’t overcomplicate things that don’t need to be complicated and most importantly, don’t panic. Planning a corporate event can be an exhausting experience, but these tips can help you take some of the stress out of it.
