Dream: How to budget and create a timeline for your event

In this next session, we will go over how to put all of the creative ideas together in a manner that makes sense and helps you wrap up the "Dream" stage of your event. Some of the sub-topics we will discuss will be budgeting for the King's Event using a Squire's budget, and transitioning from dream to reality without having things slip through the cracks.

Of all the vital steps needed to plan and execute the perfect event, the topics in this session are at the top of the list. This is the step of planning an event where your brainstorming begins to grow legs and become reality. Narrow down the elements your event can afford to do well and put them down on paper. Create a file folder or 3-ring binder to hold the creative elements and all future documents in.

When sitting down to create a budget with our clients the first question that usually gets asked of us is, "How much should something like this cost?" Our response to this question is always, "It varies." Granted we wouldn't expect it to be possible to have an all church event with food and entertainment for 1500 people on a $3,000 budget; likewise I wouldn't ever recommend trying to find a way to spend $30,000 on an private event for 50 people. There are some basic rules and guidelines to figuring out a budget.

If your event is not planning on recovering any money (i.e.-retirement party, birthday party, etc) you need to only plan on spending what you can afford to not regain. When it comes to public events like car shows, an entertainment-based Church group or public events, or even some retirement parties where tickets are sold, you must try and budget for what you can make up through ticket sales, vendor booths, etc. Most event promoters/producers fail when they expect that tomorrow's income will cover today's loss...every day! This thought process is fatal to any event and should not be acceptable. It's like the old adage, "Failing to plan, is planning to fail."

Here are some techniques that can be used when planning a King's Event on a Squire's budget.

• When talking to vendors see what promotions or "unadvertised discounts" exist. For example, when speaking with table and chair vendors, you may be able to get 15% discount if you order 300 chairs. Even if your event only needs 290 chairs (29 rounds of 10), order the extra to get the cost savings. Most table and chair vendors usually charge around $0.70 per chair for the basic white folding chair. If  you order the extra 10 chairs that will cost you and extra $7.00, but when you consider that your total order will now save nearly $30.00 which is $23.00 cheaper than just getting the exact number of chairs…order the extra chairs.

• Borrow decorations, tables, chairs, etc from those you know. The biggest mistake a private party can make is to buy all the decorations before asking if someone else has a chocolate fountain, or patio heater, tiki-torches, etc.

• Try to find sponsorships for your event. This one bullet-point could be an entire session in itself, but just remember one thing when planning any scale event; event sponsors help fund events, and there is NO SHAME in seeking sponsorships and funding from a company; just make sure it is a company with a similar interest as your event or related to it in some manner. Trying to have Lowe's sponsor an event for a computer and technology convention makes no sense.

• We've been to an annual event for 200 people where the organization received a sponsorship that covered all of the cost of the food and venue rental, so the organization's event could be a profitable event.
• Media sponsorships are great because they can help spread the word about your public event, but without money to cover the costs of the entertainment, venue rental, etc it is of little to no help…money pays the bills, free commercials and newspaper ads don't.

• When looking for an event site, keep in mind that community centers and local buildings with some historical impact are great and can add character to your event. When looking for outdoor venues for a public event, don't rule out well exposed parking lots and shopping centers. If it is visible from a freeway, it is even better. Many business owners or property management companies love to have events in their parking lots because it drives up business and exposure for them.
  • Many times the public parking lot's property manager will discount venue rental space because they know their business will make more money as a result of the event being on the property.

The next area to cover is building a timeline. The second question we get asked on a regular basis right after how much an event should cost is, "Do I have enough time to put this on?" Here is the general rule of thumb when planning events. Small (300 people or less) private events and parties need 90 days or more to allow for vendors, food, and guests to have enough time to plan on attending and give their R.S.V.P. as well. When planning any publicly-attended event your timeline cannot be any shorter than 6-9 months. This allows for marketing, invitations, finding sponsorships etc. to all have the time needed to become successful.

Next we need to go over how to build your timeline. There are many schools of thought with this, but we will only cover one.

When creating a timeline of what to accomplish you need to be sure to have the following main areas included with REALISTIC deadlines:

• Getting the word out:
  • Social media
  • Printed media
  • Email blasts
• Legwork:
  • Finding vendors
  • Negotiating contracts
  • Finding a venue
  • Selling tickets (if necessary) needs to start 30-45 days prior to a small and large events to accurately gauge attendance numbers
  • Getting sponsors
  • Sending out invitations 6-8 weeks prior
• Behind the scenes:
  • Putting together a diagram and layout of the event
  • Collecting R.S.V.P.'s 4-5 weeks prior to event date
  • Informing all vendors of setup location 7 days prior to event
  • Final number of attendees to caterers needs to be in at least 21-30 days to allow for food orders with their suppliers
  • Table/chair vendors need a 7-14 day lead-time
• Setup:
  • Small events are same-day setup
  • Large scale events like a publicly attended event setup 1-5 days before event opens
• Tear-down and assessment:
  • Clean-up
  • Go home
  • 1-2 weeks after event's conclusion debrief to go over what went well and what didn't.

One of the areas covered in the first session was brainstorming. When putting together a timeline, it is a great idea to get 2-3 of the key people in the brainstorming meeting to collaborate with and help nail down a solid and realistic timeline. ALWAYS plan for it to take a little longer than you think it will for each step of the timeline process to avoid falling behind schedule.

As we wrap up this session, remember that everything from this point on is all action. The next stage of putting together your event is the "Create" stage. This is where all your ideas and planning come together in creating the atmosphere and different elements that will make your event memorable and stick in everyone's mind for months and hopefully years to come. Create excitement, create involvement, create memories.