10 Mar 10 Safety First: A Meeting Planner Reminder
When it is your responsibility to host an important business meeting or conference, it never hurts to double-check your accommodations for working safety exits, up-to-date fire extinguishers, and for current supplies inside of the first aid kits. With all eyes on the planet currently turned towards the news of earthquakes, solar storms, and flooding, your meeting attendees will look at you with renewed admiration if you have taken their personal safety concerns into your own hands before anything bad can happen.
Safety Tips:
- Always know where the emergency exits are for every room that you enter while traveling. In America, the emergency exits are normally well-marked. However, even well-marked exits can be hard to find after a disaster has happened. Take steps to ensure that your guests know where their emergency equipment and exits are located.
- Fire doors at some locations are accidentally locked to prevent intruders from bothering hotel guests or causing damages to the property. If you are at a meeting with locked fire doors, explain your safety concerns to the management and request that the applicable fire doors remain unlocked for the duration of your meeting.
- Before a meeting begins, make sure that you know about possible outside hazards that might disrupt your plans unexpectedly, and make sure that the conference room comes complete with a set of local safety instructions that are available for everybody to read in their native language.
Tags: Admiration, Attendees, Business Meeting, Damages, Earthquakes, Emergency Equipment, Emergency Exits, Fire Doors, Fire Extinguishers, First Aid Kits, Hotel Guests, Intruders, Meeting Planner, Native Language, Personal Safety Concerns, Reminder, Safety First, Safety Instructions, Safety Tips, Solar Storms
22 Feb 10 Preparing Your Attendees for a Successful Meeting
Corporate meeting planners wear many hats, which sometimes includes making sure the attendees are well-prepared. Pre-meeting preparation is an important part of ensuring the meeting is effective and productive, and also allows the attendees to know what to expect and which materials, presentations or notes they may need to bring. Productive meetings that stay on task and on schedule reflect well on the meeting planner, even if the planner is not the one actually conducting business during the meeting.
Here are ways you can help your attendees prepare for a great meeting:
1. Distribute the agenda beforehand – Make sure that all attendees have an accurate agenda prior to attending the meeting. Since you will be including the date, time and location of the meeting on the agenda, this also works as an effective meeting reminder.
2. Make sure attendees have background information – Either distribute materials related to the meeting topic, or let the attendees know where they can find the information they need.
3. Give the attendees pre-meeting homework – Whether it is simply asking them to read the background material or asking them to prepare ideas or a presentation, assign pre-meeting tasks that will help the meeting run smoother and get participants involved in the process.
With a little preparation, your meeting participants will have a more fulfilling meeting experience and will have you to thank for it.
Tags: Attendees, Background Information, Background Material, Business Meeting, Corporate Meeting Planners, Date Time, Effective Meeting, Hats, Homework, Meeting Agenda, Meeting Planner, Participants, Presentation, Productive Meetings, Reminder
12 Feb 10 Expanding Your Meeting Planning Business
If you are a self-employed meeting planner, you may be dreaming of the day when you will have so many clients that you will have to expand, or you might be dreading it. Either way, there will likely come a time when you no longer want to work seven days a week, 16 hours a day, or when you simply cannot finish all of your work, regardless of the hours that you put in. Of course, you may also start thinking about expanding before this, but it can be difficult to determine the right time for adding an employee to your meeting planning business.
Part of the problem is that you first need to have enough clients and enough money coming in to justify – and to cover – the additional expenses associated with having an employee. However, in true catch-22 fashion, in order to take on more clients or plan more events for your existing clients, you need more help.
Here are three steps you can take towards comfortably taking on a full-time employee:
1. Start by outsourcing – Yes, outsourcing is going to cost you a bit more than if you simply did everything yourself, but it will also allow you to free up some of your time, which can then be dedicated to increasing your client base.
2. Hire a part-time employee – Once your outsourcing has allowed you to begin to bring in more money and take on a few new clients, it may be time to hire a part-time employee.
3. Move her up to full-time, or hire a second part-timer – Once step 2 begins to pay off, it is time to re-evaluate and consider making your current part-time employee a full-time staff member, or taking on more part-time help.
Tags: Catch 22, Current, Dreaming Of The Day, Employee Outsourcing, Enough Money, Fashion, Full Time, Meeting Planner, Meeting Planning, Part Time, Part Timer, Right Time, Self Employed, Seven Days, Staff Member, Step 2, Three Steps, Time Employee, Time Staff
29 Jan 10 Selling Yourself as an Expert in Your Field
At least a little bit of self-promotional and selling yourself as an expert in your field is necessary, regardless of whether you are employed by a corporation, work under a self-employed meeting planner or provide meeting planning services on your own. In any of these situations, it is important that others in the industry begin to know who you are, that your current and potential clients perceive you as topnotch and that you view yourself as a well-versed, professional expert in your field. All of this is part of building your brand, which is important even if you do not own your own company – or at least not yet.
There are plenty of reasons to sell yourself as an expert and build you brand, with the most obvious being that someday you will be going out on your own, seeking a promotion or exploring your options for furthering your career at another firm. If you are already well known in the industry and have already participated in expert-like activities, such as making yourself available for speaking engagements or writing articles for trade publications, each of these transitions will be much smoother, and you will likely find that potential employers or clients will be seeking you out, rather than the other way around.
Tags: Career, Current, Little Bit, Meeting Planner, Meeting Planning Services, Options, Professional Expert, Speaking Engagements, Trade Publications, Transitions
25 Jan 10 Adding Unique Additions to Your Meeting Planning Services
Every meeting planner needs a niche. While you are sure to continue getting clients when offering generic meeting planning services, finding a niche or offering something a little different to your clients is the best way to really make a name for yourself and stand out from the masses of meeting planners in the industry.
You may choose to cater to a specific type of corporate clients, to become well-known as a green meeting planner, become famous for your ability to plan exceptional international meetings or become the go-to planner for companies looking for exceptional quality on a budget. Whichever type of niche you choose, specializing is a great way to make your job easier, focus on work that you truly enjoy and increase awareness of your meeting planning services.
When it comes to adding special services to your meeting planning, it could be as simple as offering something inexpensive and easy to organize, such as an opening meditation with a meditation instructor. Meditation instructors are easy to find in just about any meeting destination and can help meeting attendees center themselves before getting down to business.
This is a great way to assist attendees in setting aside outside stresses and refraining from thinking about everything else going on in their lives so that they can focus on the task at hand. This will also improve productivity during the meeting, which will please your client, make the event memorable and make you look even more effective as a planner.
Tags: Additions, Attendees, Budget, Corporate Clients, Focus, Getting Down To Business, International Meetings, Job, Meditation Instructor, Meeting Planner, Meeting Planners, Meeting Planning Services, Niche, Opening Meditation, Organize, Productivity, Stresses
15 Jan 10 Expanding Your Knowledge of Cultural Differences and Similarities
Understanding and respecting cultural differences is an important part of planning successful meetings for diverse clients and companies, and ensuring that you do not commit unnecessary faux pas that could have been avoided. Having a basic understanding of the etiquette used in different cultures, dietary restrictions and preferences, and some of the interesting aspects that make each culture unique will assist you in planning effective, appropriate meetings and will certainly help you make a name for your business as a respectful, culturally-sensitive meeting planning service that goes the extra mile to ensure your events meet your clients’ needs.
Expanding your cultural horizons to broaden your understanding of various cultures will also make your job as a meeting planner easier. While you may not know everything there is to know about a specific diet, a particular rule of etiquette or which days are considered most auspicious for doing business, when you gain at least a basic understanding of different cultures, it will assist you in recognizing the kinds of questions to ask and the information and resources that can help you plan a great event. It also assists you in being respectful of possible cultural differences when communicating with clients and will make finding the resources you need quicker and easier.
Tags: Cultural Differences, Cultural Horizons, Diet, Dietary Restrictions, Different Cultures, Doing Business, Effective Meetings, Etiquette, Extra Mile, Information Resources, Job, Knowledge, Meeting Planner, Meeting Planning, Planning Service
13 Jan 10 Understanding the Importance of Food
Food is an important aspect of culture and tradition. Food is one way that families across cultures come together, particular foods are an important part of traditional and community celebrations, and dietary preferences or restrictions are often based on religious or cultural customs.
Therefore, as a meeting planner, understanding food and how it pertains to your potential clients is integral to establishing a culturally-sensitive meeting planning business and preparing yourself to be able to successfully and efficiently plan meals for your events without worrying about messing something up.
Learning about different diets and the foods that are important to different cultures is as simple as expanding your own palate and broadening your dietary horizons by exploring dishes you perhaps have never heard of. Of course, enjoying a delicious Indian meal will not tell you everything you need to know about Indian culture, but it is an important step towards understanding Indian cuisine and better understanding possible dietary requirements for your Indian clients.
Exploring unfamiliar foods and dishes will also be fun for you, and you might even find some new favorites that you have been missing out on.
Try these five fun activities to begin your journey into the diverse world of food:
1. Eat at ethnic restaurants.
2. Buy and use ethnic cookbooks.
3. Shop at ethnic grocery stores.
4. Attend cultural festivities and events.
5. Take a cooking class that focuses on foods from different cultures.
Tags: Community Celebrations, Cooking Class, Cultural Festivities, Dietary Preferences, Dietary Requirements, Different Cultures, Ethnic Cookbooks, Ethnic Grocery Stores, Ethnic Restaurants, Food Food, Fun Activities, Indian Clients, Indian Cuisine, Indian Culture, Meeting Planner, Meeting Planning, Palate, Plan Meals, Tradition Food, Unfamiliar Foods
08 Jan 10 The Importance of Knowing a Little About a Lot
Knowing at least a little about a lot of different topics is important to your success as a meeting planner. You never know when your next client might need food planned around a Hindu diet, may insist on a LEED-certified meeting location, will ask if you can arrange to feng shui the meeting space before their arrival, or will need a space that will accommodate attendees with various disabilities.
If you have taken the time to familiarize yourself with these particulars before you ever have a client in need of them, it will make the planning process much simpler and will allow you come across as knowledgeable and sensitive to their needs.
If you also acquire a basic understanding of the ins and outs of various industries, cultures, diets and more, it will help you communicate better with your diverse clientele and will certainly increase your referrals as folks who have a difficult time finding meeting planners sensitive to their needs will be happy to tell their friends and colleagues how wonderful you are.
While it may seem like it will take a lot of time and effort to increase your knowledge base on multiple fronts, it is well worth the effort. It will make your job easier in the long run and will open the door to an ever-expanding potential client base.
Tags: Attendees, Clientele, Colleagues, Cultures, Diets, Disabilities, Feng Shui, Food Diet, Hindu, Ins And Outs, Job, Knowledge Base, Lot, Meeting Planner, Meeting Planners, Meeting Space, Particulars, Planning Process, Referrals, Success
02 Dec 09 Northern Kentucky Conference Location
If you’re a meeting planner looking for an attractive Midwest conference location with hotels near convention center facilities, rethink your next meeting plans and consider Northern Kentucky otherwise known as "the Southern side of Cincinnati".
Meeting facilities include a high-tech Convention Center and Midwest conference location to arenas and award-winning hotels near convention center facilities.
This attractive mid-western location offers easy access to Delta’s second largest hub, the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, combined with world-class dining and attractions.
The Northern Kentucky region is one of those rare places that leaves you longing to come back. It embraces the vitality and energy of a major metropolitan area, yet offers ample opportunity to discover the beauty and relaxed nature of Northern Kentucky. For the meeting planner who wants modern meeting facilities in a Midwest conference location, hotels near convention center facilities and diverse entertainment choices, Northern Kentucky is the place to be.
Tags: Amp Nbsp, Ample Opportunity, Arenas, Cincinnati Airport, Conference Location, Easy Access, Entertainment Choices, Kentucky Conference, Kentucky International, Meeting Facilities, Meeting Planner, Metropolitan Area, Midwest, Midwest Conference, Northern Kentucky Region, Quot, Rare Places, Rsquo, Vitality, Western Location
23 Nov 09 Planning Government Meetings
Even though the trend has been to back down on meetings due to recession guidelines set down by the government, there is still a critical niche for meeting planners in the government itself. Although you will have to understand more rules and regulations, planning events for public organizations can be very rewarding and lucrative.
A specialty in government meetings is perfect for those interested in politics. If you’re not, this will be tedious and boring work for you. However, some of us love the daily bustle of the government. Also, truly creative people know that the best outcomes often happen with more restrictions–more constraints means less time thinking about how to go about something. That way time can be spent on real creativity.
Government meetings are a challenge, but this is a good thing for creative types like us. There are often very limited funds available for a government meeting, but rather than cut corners on quality a good event planner will understand how to use the funds wisely. Cutting corners is simply creating waste.
Your career as a government meeting planner can start locally, but expand into international meetings and events. People interested in other cultures will find planning international ceremonies of particular interest. There is a niche in government planning for almost anyone interested in politics and culture.
Tags: Boring Work, Bustle, Career, Constraints, Creative Types, Creativity, Cultures, Cutting Corners, Event Planner, Government Meetings, International Meetings, Limited Funds, Meeting Planner, Meeting Planners, Meetings And Events, Niche, People, Public Organizations, Recession
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