3 Common Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make When Planning an Event

I absolutely love working with entrepreneurs. Liz King Events is all about planning events, but I also love to work on a deeper level with entrepreneurs who are using live events to expand their brand. Social media strategy, creating partnerships – these are the things that add a little spice to the event logistics. But the bread and butter of what we offer our clients is event management services.

The truth is that live events are one of the most important tools in your branding toolkit and can be huge for entrepreneurs – especially those in the tech world. Sometimes we spend so much time behind our desks working away at building a product our consumers love, we forget that we have to get out in front and spend time with those consumers. After all – people love products, but they love people and personalities more. If you haven’t already started this process, I STRONGLY recommend that you host a few live events to connect with your target market. But – here are 3 things you don’t want to miss.

Underestimate the TIME
Planning a good event needs a lot of lead time – time to put all the logistics together and to do the proper outreach. Can you throw an event together in a few weeks? Sure! Is it the best way to do it? No! Events can be a great opportunity to connect with your community, but it can also be a really important time to make new connections – these new connections need one-on-one outreach and a strategy behind connecting with them. This takes time and will be a great investment!

Underestimate the RESOURCES
I know a lot of people do this simply because they do not know what it takes to throw an event. First of all, have a budget to work with. Again, you can do it through sponsorships and donations, but it’s not the best way all the time. Do some research on F&B costs and make sure you budget enough to create a really great event for your attendees. You also need staff resources – people who can plan the logistics, manage surrounding social media campaigns, do the outreach to new clients – assign people to various roles and make sure you have a system that can get it done.

Undervalue the EXPERIENCE
Sometimes, mostly because we’re lacking sufficient time and resources, we don’t have time to think about the experience. What will people do when they arrive? How will they feel? How solid is your branding message so that they can receive it? All of these things are critical to consider when hosting an event. Add in some entertainment or think of other ways you can create an experience your attendees will remember!