If you’re an event planner, you’ll soon realize that with each event you manage, you seem to find new problems that keep coming up out of nowhere – which helps you be better prepared for your next event.
There’s a lot of trial and error in the process of managing an event, especially if you’re just starting out in your career as an event planner.
As the old proverb goes, experience truly is the best teacher – but there’s no harm in learning from other’s experience as well, and making sure you don’t make the same mistakes that other planners have made in the past.
Luckily, there are some proven methods which have helped event planners navigate through difficult situations in the past. We’ve put together a list of the most common challenges you should be ready to handle, and how you can seamlessly manage these problems without breaking a sweat.
By knowing what issues you can expect and how you can troubleshoot your way out of it, or even avoid it as a whole will truly set you apart from the rest and make you stand out for your perfectionism.
Without further ado, let’s get started and deal with 3 of the most common challenges event planners face, and how you can fix them.
1. Keep track of EVERYTHING
If you think that you can delegate tasks and trust that they’ll be complete, or that the vendor who promised to have the delivery sent on a specific date is going to come through – you’re in for a disappointing wakeup call.
Event planning is one profession where you have to micromanage the big tasks and stay on top of things until the event is done and dusted.
These are the things event planners need to know right off the bat. Whether it’s the venue manager, caterer, or decorator – having clear communication channels will help ensure that no task is forgotten, and everything stays on track for a successful event.
The reason for this is because if things go wrong – there’s a very high price to pay. To avoid any kind of mishaps, it’s best to keep track of every tiny detail (even if you’re sure you won’t forget it).
Some of the usual pain points for event planners is booking the right venue. This doesn’t simply include finding a pretty place – but also finding one that’s got the right floor plan and capacity (you don’t want your guests or clients to end up with no seating)
Making sure you’re not overlooking any safety issues (especially by housing too many people in too small a room), ensuring that the ambience, setting, staff, and decor go well with the event – these are not even half of the tasks that you’ll have to keep track of.
While juggling between pen and paper, emails, text messages, and post-its is one way to go, an easier and more efficient option would be to opt for an event management software system that will help you manage and keep track of everything that’s going on around you.
This way, you wouldn’t ever miss out on the small details or lose track of the status of each task.
2. Create a whiteboard
Creating an online whiteboard of the entire event – including the programme schedule, guests, seating arrangement, flower decor, food course, restroom arrangements, speakers, mic placement, lighting, and everything else will help you visualize what you’re working towards and plan ahead accordingly.
Having an infinite canvas where you can jot down your best ideas, make a list of issues that need fixing, and also highlight some of the problems you’re worried about will give you a sense of autonomy that you won’t get by just visualizing the event in your mind.
3. Test everything and have a backup plan
Don’t take anything for granted – make sure you personally test the quality of everything beforehand, right from the food to the sanitation at the venue. And don’t forget to have a backup plan for everything – right from a backup caterer and florist to a backup guest speaker.
