Yes, why wouldn’t you hire someone to help with event management? There is so much to think about!
Seriously, when it comes to projects in the office, event management is a biggie. There is so much involved and it can be a timely exercise, especially if you have so many other things going on and don’t have the time to commit to the planning and organising.
Using a Virtual Assistant to help with event management is a fool proof tool in ensuring your events will be organised and planned to the finest detail and will run smoothly on the day without you having to worry about a thing.
Here are ten steps to help you with event management planning:
1. Event Goal and Objectives
Why are you organising this event and what are you hoping to achieve by the end of it? Sitting down and braining storming will help with the planning. If the event is all about raising money then you’ll need to make sure you have sponsors, prizes and raffle tickets. However if the event is speaker based, you’ll need to discuss content, topics and find suitable speakers.
2. Budget
Is there a budget for the event? It helps the event team when planning the logistics if they have a budget to stick to.
3. Organising a Team
Depending on the size of the event you’ll need a small team. Usually there would be a project manager or event organiser, together with the venue management team, catering team and other staff who might be in attendance.
4. Researching Venues
Location and size of the venue are the biggest factors here. Most local hotels or larger office spaces have meeting and conference facilities. If your event is on the larger side then you might need to look at hiring an actual event space, marquee or a hall.
5. Setting a Date
This might seem an obvious one but choosing a date is important as you need to check for bank holidays, half terms, school holidays and other important dates.
If you have speakers and a venue lined up it’s advisable to check your proposed date with them too before confirming everything and sending the invitation out. Once the date is confirmed get the venue and speakers booked.
6. Advertising the event
Eventbrite makes hosting a ticketed event really easy as all you need to do is list the event so that people can buy a ticket to attend. You can also design an invitation and send this out to your mailing list or to anyone you think might be interested.
7. Promoting and monitoring the event
Once your event is listed you’ll need to promote it to your audience. Ensure that you have a suitable invitation design to share on all your social media platforms. You’ll also need to monitor the event to check on numbers. If numbers are low then up the promotion and marketing.
8. Equipment
Depending on the type of event, you’ll need to check the venue has all the relevant equipment you need. Is there a projector and screen, a microphone and sound system?
9. Catering and Refreshments
Liaising with the venue is vital to ensure that all catering and refreshments are taken care of. If they do not offer such service then you’ll need to source a catering company, however this is only usually required if you are hosting a lunch event or an all day event.
10. Marketing materials
Do delegates need name badges? Do you intend on handing out flyers or information leaflets? You’ll need to ensure all these are prepared before hand and in line with your branding.
“Hiring a Virtual Assistant to help with event planning is a great idea.”
Hiring a Virtual Assistant to carry out the above tasks, means you can focus on other tasks knowing that all the logistics have been taken care of. You can simply turn up to the event, do your talk and interact and network with your clients, customers and sponsors.
Kellie Simpson Virtual Assistant can help.
Over my career I’ve been involved in helping to organise a whole variety of different events from Summer and Christmas parties, cocktail parties, global conferences, cinema nights, cooking events, sporting events, a night at the theatre as well as many networking events and seminars.
I am meticulous, methodical and love to plan and organise. If you have an event coming up and would like me on board then please do check out my event management services. Alternatively you can email me at info@kelliesimpsonva.co.uk.
📸 Thank you to Kaboompics for the photo.
