Your Party Planning Success - Taking Care of Your Event Suppliers

There is No Business like the Party Business!

The Party Planning Business is all about relationships in all phases of the Planning process. Your clients, your team, the potential people attending the Event and your suppliers. It is all about building solid relationships up and down the line.

Unlike many businesses that have a core that they must keep happy, primarily their customers, although you can never negate the aspect of building solid relationships in any business, Party Planning is a fluid and dynamic industry depends on those relationships extensively.

Suppliers can make or break you as an Event Planner in that they can fowl up a time line for your Event if they haven't been stroked and coddled to assist you in achieving your Event Planning. So saying that you need to have some good rules in dealing with them is academic, but tips to assist in Planning are necessary.

Tip 1. First and foremost, Quality. No one wants substandard quality. That is like when then run ads for clean water. Do you think a lot of people are for dirty water? Doubtful. The point here is that you must not get caught in the trap of going with the cheapest, unless they happen to be the best. Always strive for excellence in a supplier.

Tip 2. Dynamic relationships save you time and money. This is again all about building solid and sincere relationships with your suppliers that they not only give you some extra courtesies in the preparation of an Event, but they know that the service they give will be valuable as you will recommend them for other venues and they, in turn, will recommend you as a premier Party Planner.

Tip 3. Always include them in your "After Event" Sessions for feedback. Vendors love to be asked about how it went from their end. You can bet that usually a vendor only hears when there are problems, so including them in a session to assess the overall Event and how they fit in is invaluable.

I have frequently had like a "Happy Hour" session at a local establishment after an Event that was casual and informal and invited representatives from the vendors to attend. I can't tell you how much goodwill I have fostered as a result. But this was a never a ploy of some kind as I am always interested in how my Party Planning Business can be better. Vendors have seen it all and they will, if you listen, tell you how to be their number one customer.

In the end, it is about being in the moment and allowing your team, including your vendors, to be creative and learning in every situation how you can be better at what you do.

Remember, Life is a Party, you just have to know how to Plan it!

DA Southern has been involved in Wedding/Party Planning Industry for over 18 years having learned his craft as a Managing Director in various community theatres. From having to raise funds for theatrical and non-for-profits, DA parlayed his expertise into doing Corporate Events, Weddings and other Events that gave him an expertise that garnered him many awards as a Party Event Planner. Additionally, DA has developed a Party Planning Course that many have used to establish their own Party Planning Business set up in a monthly membership program.

How To Have A Successful Charity Fund Raising Event

If you’re thinking of starting a charity fund raising event, then you probably know all the most obvious questions that you should be asking yourself. These include why this non profit charity fund raising needs to exist or who will help run the fund raising event. You need to have a clear idea of the scope of what the fund raising will be used for and where the fund raising event will take place. If you have the answers to all these things, then you’re well on your way to making your dream a reality.

Now that you know what your goals are for your charity fund raising there are some technical issues that you might encounter. These are such things as whether your charity requires a non-profit corporation. Non profit fundraising means receipts for tax deductible contributions. Your non-profit fund raising also has to support a legitimate charity. You also need to have non-profit exempt status so that your charity does not have to pay taxes on the money raised. If you qualify for this tax exemption then you better be prepared to have a lot of paperwork because you’ll need to keep all records of everything.

For non profit fund raising to be legitimate, you really do need a board of directors. When you’re choosing board members for your non profit charity fundraising, you have to choose wisely. Charity fund raising board members can come from any background but there are some points to keep in mind. Each should bring a special ability with them and it is very important that they are committed to your purpose. Try to find people that are fairly low key in your community. These will be the ones that are interested in your non profit fund raising.

This board will set the rules of the non profit organization but they will also be responsible and accountable in a lot of things in the non-profit fundraising. They will have to make the policies, budgeting, planning, the non profit fund raising itself, and human resources. Your non profit charity fund raising also needs an executive director. This job will require a skilled person and when you decide on this position for charity fund raising, he/she should have the freedom to lead the rest and do what is best for your non- profit fund raising.

So as you can see depending on the size of your charity fund raising, it is going to be a job in itself to get set up. There will be a lot of work for everyone involved with the non profit fund raising, but it will be worth while when you accomplish your goal at the end.

Party Planning Potholes - 6 Event Planning Mistakes to Avoid

Mistakes are a part of life. I hate making them, we all do, but they happen. With over 16 years in business, I have seen my share of mistakes, some that I have made, and some my party planning colleagues have. The best of us make them, but they should be infrequent. The key is to learn from them as you go. But those that can be avoided should be! The common event planning mistakes I bring up below will hopefully allow you to not step in these proverbial potholes.

The Tips!

1. Cursory site/venue check. I can't tell you how much time I spend checking a venue for a client. I don't care if it is for a birthday blowout or a small corporate meeting. Inspecting the main room where the function will be taking place is only one aspect of a venue check. I also make sure to note what outlets are available for audio/visual, the valet parking area, the kitchen, and the restrooms (why not, if they are not taken care of, guests will notice and it will cast a shadow over the event). It is also imperative to note if there is a place where smokers can congregate. Whether or not you smoke doesn't matter. What matters is the comfort of your client and their guests. I have heard too many horror stories where the site selected looked great, but failure to check for necessities in addition to the
"pretty things" added up to a nightmare for the planner involved.

2. Communication, communication, communication. Having all the event information in your head is fine if you are not working with anyone else, but seriously, how often do you put on an event by yourself? Even if you don't have employees, you will have vendors that you will be working with and you must communicate with them, frequently. In addition to vendors, you also have a client that needs to know all the pertinent details about how the event will proceed. I know that we all want to look like Super Woman and Super Man, but at some point, this will absolutely backfire. It is an absolute must to bring everyone that is part of the event up to speed on everything that they need to know in order to make their tasks seamless. Treat each person as a stock broker, each having their own portfolio that they are in charge of. If they are not given the appropriate financial information, your personal portfolio can lose all its value. Why take a chance?

3. Double checking, triple checking, and then some. Don't leave anything to chance. Why drive yourself crazy? I have checklists for 8 weeks out, 4 weeks out, 2 weeks out...you get the picture. The week of any party I produce, I check in with the venue and do another walk through. I call all my vendors and powwow with them. I go through the menus and I talk to my client almost every day to make sure there aren't any last minute changes. And of course, changes occur, so why gamble on your reputation? Double check the details. We all know the odds in Vegas are not in our favor, so do as much as you can to limit any missteps.

4. It's all in the fine print. When looking over contracts, no matter whom they are from and no matter if I worked with them twenty times in the past, I ALWAYS go over the entire contract, line by line. Yes, it is time consuming, yes, most contracts are standard, BUT, there could be a line or three that puts you at a significant disadvantage. I even break out my magnifying glass to read some of the fine print. If you don't understand something, ask questions. If you don't agree with something, try having it removed from the contract, or walk away. Don't put yourself in line for legal troubles that will cost you a lot more than the one hour it takes to thoroughly review a contract. There have been many times where I have successfully lobbied to take out clauses that were just plain awful and could have potentially hurt me in the end.

5. Vetting the entertainment. When hiring speakers, clowns, singers, and DJs, I don't care who it is, I always try to get a referral from a trusted source. But, I do not just stop there. I meet everyone (if feasible) before I put them in front of my client. I want to get an idea of who they are and what their true abilities are. If I can't grab a meeting with them because of logistical issues, I make sure to see them on video, whether it is on a YouTube video or their personal promotional video. As I wrote above, I don't want to leave anything to chance. Imagine the horror if "Rex the Tyrannosaurus Rex" showed up at your children's party when "Bozo the Happy Clown" was expected! Since the entertainment is so important as is a key note speaker, it is imperative that you have a high comfort level that promises made are promises kept.

6. Sticking to your event timeline. You are the producer of an event. You are the leader of troops. You keep morale up and things running smoothly. You are also the warden of the clock. You have no doubt set time marks that you want to hit to keep the party going. If you are producing a wedding for example, you will have a timeline for wedding photos, first dance, band breaks, dessert, etc. A timeline is needed for every party/event you do. Just hoping that the party will start at 1pm and end at 5pm as the invites say is wishful thinking. This can be especially true when alcohol is involved. Imagine if your late afternoon engagement party featuring cocktails and hors d'oeuvres dragged on and guests started getting hungry for dinner? You need to be there with one eye on the clock and the other on the client to make sure food is rolling, entertainment is happening, drinks are being poured, key note speeches are delivered when they're supposed to, and wait staff are not taking their 15 minute breaks at the wrong time.

Marley Majcher is the CEO of The Party Goddess!, a nationally acclaimed full service event planning and catering company and is a regular on air contributor to national TV shows discussing all things lifestyle and entertaining . With her continuing desire to be on the leading edge of gastronomy and design for her company and clients, Majcher has blanched, flambéed and fricasseed her way through the Smithsonian Institution's culinary series and cooking schools in both Paris and Normandy. She is constantly seeking out cool and creative individuals with style and personality to work with and attends premier design exhibitions whenever she can. Majcher currently spends any free time she might have, usually between 10:45pm and 11:15pm on Tuesdays planning her own annual blowout party every November.