Most people assume that event planning is all about being creative, having an eye for beautiful décor, coming up with great and interesting ideas, and just creating an event that would blow the client’s minds away. Well, while that might be true, that is not the entire story. Like an iceberg floating in the ocean, the beautiful event — the final product — is just the proverbial tip of the iceberg. Below the ocean, there are a million moving pieces that the eye cannot see. And newbies in this industry, who only see the shiny event, get the greatest shock of their lives when they venture into the event management scene and are met with all the unseen hassles and difficulties that are part and parcel of the industry. I would like to illustrate my point by giving an example of a story that happened to me recently that made me reflect on this idea, and to show you the not-so-rosy details that you need to factor in when planning an event.

In our industry, we tend to work with strict deadlines. For instance, a few months ago, we were planning a very big corporate event. As usual, our assumption was that the event needed to be ready at a specific time, because the guests would be arriving at the exact and specific time that we had agreed upon with our client. However, things changed, and we had to move a few things around. The VIP guests said that they would be arriving earlier than planned. While from the outside this might seem like a simple change, for us planners, we know that that is just the equivalent of handing the client a loaded gun and telling them to aim it at our foreheads. Why? Well, because our industry is all about referrals. Think of it this way, in the event planning space, the guests of the events that you organize, are your future clients. Now imagine them coming to your event, and everything is a mess. That not only makes the client look bad, but it also costs you a literal arm and leg, tarnishes your reputation,n and hurts your brand. In short, no money in the future. So every event is both a way to market your skills and an opportunity to create repeat business for your client. In short, it has to be nothing short of perfect.

So where, was I, ah yes, “…the VIP guests said that they would be arriving early.” Mind you, at this time, we had not even finished the preparations. The venue was not ready, the food was still not ready, and the final touches had not been done yet. For most people, this would be the source of a lot of panic, and since emotions tend to be infectious, if the leader panics, the employees panic as well, causing even more chaos, and affecting the overall quality of the event. However, since I have been in this industry for a minute, and have the necessary skills required to deal with such contingencies, I did not even flinch. I just handled the situation as I do with every other crisis. I calmly assigned more tasks to my staff, told the caterer to speed up, and made sure that everyone had the needed support to get the event up and running just in time.

By the time the guests were arriving, which was earlier than planned (very uncommon for Africans, because we always operate on African time), everything was perfect. Neither the client nor the guests knew the rush that was happening behind the scenes to make sure that everything was moving perfectly. The event went smoothly and walah! The client could not have been any more happier than they were with our services. Without my training and experience, I would not have known how to handle such a situation. I have said it time and time again, if you want to make it in the event planning space, learning is paramount. Knowing how to handle such crises and unplanned events is the secret to becoming successful in this space. You have to learn from experienced planners who went before you. In short, you have to stand on the shoulders of giant to become successful in this industry.

As a way to help the new event planners coming into this space, I have decided to create an online event planning course that you can take from the comfort of your home. This online course, will teach you everything that you need to learn to become a proficient event manager, and help you succeed in this highly competitive market. You have to understand all essential skills to start planning your own events. To enroll to this event management online course, just visit this website, and get started for as little as $99. Alternatively, you can keep reading these blogs that I will be sharing as often as possible, to help as many beginners avoid all the mistakes I made. See you next time.

Events

Event Planning

Event Management

Crisis Management