You are only as good as your last event.

Your last event, done well, will keep people talking about you for about a week or two. After that, they forget. It is vital to keep yourself in the public eye. There are various ways to accomplish this.

• Establish a relationship with your local media: television, local papers, and magazines. Get publication credits anywhere you can.
• Create a Web site. If you do not have one already, build one or hire someone to create it for you. Do not skimp here. A well-designed and professional looking Web site is often a future client's first introduction to you.
• Write a blog and attach it to your main Web site.
• Connect your Web site to as many other sites as you can.
• Attend trade shows.
• Attend conferences and conventions.
• Volunteer, even when you already are established.

A blog entry gives you a reason to contact your clients. You are giving them good and interesting information. Once you have contact information, it is a good idea to include everyone on your mailing list, unless someone specifically requests to be removed. Sending timely and helpful information keeps you front and center in the minds of your former and current clients. Even better, give them a choice to subscribe to your feed; that way, they will get your blogs two to three times a week. By keeping in touch this often, you will seem more immediate to them. When they need your services again, your name will be comfortable and familiar to them.

The following is a blog entry by Liene at Blue Orchid Designs:

http://www.blueorchidblog.com/

Another event disaster occurred when the cake fell on the floor while being transported to the banquet hall. Quick-thinking helpers picked up the cake, removed the top layer, replaced the fondant icing, and redecorated. The cake was slightly late in delivery, but none of the guests ever noticed the delay.

Do not give up. Always believe that you will succeed. Plan for every eventuality. Remember, however, that there is no such thing as a perfect event. Some things will be entirely outside of your control. Be flexible. Be able to think on your feet.

If the event still goes wrong despite all your precautions, own up to any responsibility you may have and apologize. You may even have to negotiate a generous discount if the event is severely disrupted because of your negligence. It is better to give a discount than to get a really hateful recommendation for your next client.

Always provide the service that you promise. Do not promise what you cannot do. Use a written contract and make sure you stick to it. Keep good records and keep your word. Find your niche, the area of this field in which you shine. This is what you do best; stick with it. The worst special event planners are the generalists, the ones who believe that they can do everything equally well. They do manage to develop a level of competency, but the ones who really excel find their specialty and stick with it.

Develop a well-trained and reliable staff or team. This alone will save you thousands of dollars and great amounts of anxiety and heartache. When you design an event, you do it on paper. When the event is put into action, you rely on people to create the vision. If your team is good, you will achieve great results.

Walk through your events before they start. Pretend you do not know where the registration desk is, or where the breakout session rooms are. If you cannot easily find them and you are in charge, imagine what your client's guests will feel when they arrive. Stay ahead of the game and always be ready with Plan B in case you have a problem.

Above all, make your clients happy. Listen to them, and see their vision. When you design the event, create it for them. This is never ever about you. It is all about your client and what he or she wants. You are getting paid to make dreams come true. Be sure that you remember this always.

Your business will grow as much as you want it to as long as you remember to focus on the following questions:

• Is the demand for my services what I expect? Greater? Less?
• Have I found the specialty that best showcases my abilities and talents?
• Do I have a large enough rainy-day fund?
• Is my business plan something I review annually?
• Am I priced to meet the needs of this market?
• Is my team well-trained and loyal?
• Is customer service of paramount importance for us?
• If not, how can I make it so?
• Am I marketing my business effectively?
• If not, what else can I do?

Customer Service:

Me: You say your girls have to have good customer service, what does that mean to you?

C: We only take so many events a month because we are a service-rendered company. I feel that in order for me to invest in my client and give them the proper time, I can only do two events a month. My girls can also only do two events a month, tops. I am not able to spread myself too thin, being the owner of the company and still give my clients the constant availability. I could be doing 30 events a month if I wanted to do something every single night. Most events are on the weekends, but there is Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and then multiply that by four. I restrict myself to doing only two events per month for my own sanity, for my personal benefit, and for the client's personal benefit, so time management, number one. We have to be able to be at the client's beck and call. That is probably our biggest point in customer service. My motto that all my staff knows and I say this over and over and over again: "Come to me with solutions, not more problems."

Me: I like that!

C: They have to try to figure things out for the client. "This is the problem, and this is how I'm solving it, and here are our options, and here is how we can move forward." Rather than them coming to me saying, "This is our problem, what do you want me to do about it?"

Me: When you're doing that many events a month, what do you do when someone comes to you and says, "I need something in a week." Would you likely refer them to someone else?

C: If I weren't booked for the month, and if it is doable…my summers are slow here in Arizona. If I had the time to do it, then of course I would do it. It would be a rush fee, it would be a little chaotic, but I also thrive on chaos, on that excitement and anxiety, enthusiasm, and energy. I love that. I would certainly take the job if it is a good match for me and do without too much difficulty.

Me: What if you were to get sick during a huge event, what happens?

C: One thing that we really try to do is to make sure that we document everything, so that if I were to drop off the face of the Earth, that someone could come in and take over and it would be completely seamless. I'm really good about documentation and tracking everything. We put a lot of time into putting together a master timeline for our clients to look at and a lot of training with the other girls, so we certainly have coverage in case of an emergency.

Me: Do you rely on the girls who are in your company, or would you have to call someone from outside?

C: It would be within my company. The subcontractors and employees who have been with me for several years know how we work. It has never happened where I've been sick, or have had to miss something, but I have one person who has been with me from the get-go and she is my event lead in all my events and we work together as a team, so she would specifically know how to take the stick and go for it.

In order to be successful, you have to be good with your time management because you can get inundated with craziness on a constant basis. Most people think, "Oh, you're an event planner, you have such a fun job!" The real truth is that about 10 percent of the job is pure fun. The rest of it is a lot of work, tears, babysitting, hand-holding, people not trusting you, then trusting you. It is a lot harder than most people think. It is a labor of love.

If you have a lot of enthusiasm and a love for it, you are going to be successful. Now get out there and plan your next spectacular event!