Over the last year, I have been fortunate enough to be involved with producing some amazing events and while I must admit, I honestly have taken the experiences for granted, you heard me I didn’t know how good I had it, until someone else close to me explained it to me from their perspective how I did. My name is Myron and I am an Experiential Producer, and here are some stories of the amazing journey and along the way, I will share some of the knowledge I have learned. This post is going to dive into the 5 Secrets Every Event Planner Knows.
One of the many lessons I learned from growing up with my parents is that there is never one way to a destination nor is there one way to arrive at a solution to your problem. Pretty sure my parents resented that teaching as I began to realize I could put that theory into action at even a younger age. As a child, I could never act out while in public, because my mother would not have that. However, as much as she said not to be a menace in public, she failed to mention that I should try and show some self-control at home. So in the Casa-de-Batsa, I was an absolute terror. I know, poor mom and dad, but they were all for punishing me very early on. One of the best punishments from my parents was when they would make me do dishes. Let’s just say that as they saw this as a harsh punishment, I saw it as an opportunity to get everyone out of the kitchen and I could organize the kitchen and deep clean. I was in heaven, and my parents’ kitchen was all the better for it.
When working events there is going to come a time, when all the planning, all the backup plans, and even the staff will not be on the same page. Now to simply tell you that everything will be okay is so easy to do. It’s like telling someone who is angry to calm down, did it calm them down when you said that? Does it ever… But, what I can tell you is that learning to allow yourself to find different paths to a solution can be quite beneficial. Here are my top 5 secrets every new event planner knows when producing an event;
Smile, No One Knows the Truth – Except Maybe A Few People
Have you ever been in a situation wherein your mind EVERYTHING is going wrong, and you are convinced that while you’re making it through the event, everyone is just outraged at how horrible the event was? Well if you haven’t you will. But then out of nowhere, someone comes up to you and says, “Fantastic Event… Can’t wait till the next one.” Are you fucking kidding me? Yeah, that has happened so many times. All too often as event planners, we want EVERYTHING to go according to our timelines, and you know what they often don’t. But everyone who attends your event, besides basics knowledge of the events timelines will never know if something is going wrong. So, smile, roll with the punches and keep it moving. Cause no one will ever know the difference as long as you know that they are having fun.
Keep Going, The Finish Line is Right in Front of You
Have you ever seen one of those motivational posters where the digger gives up only to see that just a few feet away he was so close to reaching the end where on the other side was a cavern full of diamonds? So too is the same for any event that you may be involved with, the end is ultimately right around the corner. So forge ahead, despite all of the challenges, because the end of the event is close, remembering that will make it all the better.
Cry A Little – It’s Good For You
This is one of my favorite secrets of event management. Like I have constantly said producing events are not easy, why do you think people throw one or two parties a year themselves, check out this article about the 10 harsh truths nobody tells you about being an event producer. Because the number of logistics for even 10 to 15 people in your home can send people to a serenity retreat. So knowing that we are going to have obstacles to overcome and that sometimes our back up plans may not work, there is going to come that time when you are faced with all types of, excuse my bluntness, BULLSHIT. That being said one of the best things you can do for yourself is to excuse yourself from the situation, go out back, away from everyone else, and just cry… not for a long time, but enough where you can allow your feelings to run rampant and settle back down.
Now that you have gotten that out of your system you can look at any situation with a clear mind and be able to tackle those seemingly arduous tasks. You will definitely thank me later.
Let Your Hair Down – If Even for a Minute
One of the most important lessons I’ve ever learned was from an old boss whom of which I am fortunate enough to be able to now call my friend. See there is a couple little secrets that people in the industry find out either right away or the hard way, what we do isn’t easy, but it is rewarding. We get the chance to make people’s wildest dreams come true, we get a chance to raise awareness for brands, we get a chance to be the life of the party, even though not many people will actually know that it was us.
So why tell you this, because every once in a while you have to let your hair down and enjoy your own damn party. This isn’t always going to be the case but I’m here to tell you, that after some of the hardest times of my life, and I’ve had a few, I look back and the one thing that they had in common, I didn’t allow myself to have a little fun. Now I must caveat this by saying I am not endorsing you to get drunk at a party you are producing because one of our cardinal rules is that we are not guests at events we throw, we are co-pilots. But it is safe to say that every once in a while at every event I produce or help produce, I take a step back and have a toast to a job well done. So stand up, pull that real or imaginary band off your hair and let it all down – you deserve it.
The Party Will Always Go On
So most of these secrets ultimately lead to this one, the party will always go on. Just as the show must go on so to must the party. Unless the building burns down, at the end of the day knowing that the party or event is always going to go on should make it easier at the end of the day. Forge on my fellow event producers, forge on.
