No matter what you may think, pulling off a successful event is a team effort. You might be a solopreneur, but you’ll need to have a solid group of professionals backing you up from start to finish to ensure that the event is a success. So how do you build that solid team? Below are my top tips and insights to help get you started:
The key members
Who leads each team? First and foremost, there is the director/head planner who oversees everyone and everything throughout the planning process, as well as on the day of—basically, it’s their show. Then you have the production team, which handles putting everything together and in place on the day of the event. From there, you have the catering manager who is in charge of all things food and drink, and the logistics manager who will run the teams of lighting technicians, transportation coordinators, security, etc. These are the people you can count on talking to the most, and you’ll want to have the utmost confidence in.
Open communication
Great events begin and end with great communication—not just between you and the client, but between you and the rest of your team. Everyone is living in their own busy world and running around all over the place, so having a good system in place that everyone is familiar with and uses regularly is key. For our team, Skype is invaluable along with phone calls and video chatting. We have found that emails tend to get left in the shuffle, as well as SMS messages, but use whatever method works best for you.
Be sure you have meetings set on the books to talk with your key members regularly. Weekly is a good starting point, while it should become more frequent as the event gets closer. That will ensure everyone is current on any changes, and make sure everyone is contributing their fair share.
The day of the event
The time it will take to set up an event is really dependent on the size and scale. Some will take up to a week, while others can begin set up at around 24 hours beforehand, just be sure that the timeframe Is well communicated to the team. Once setup is near completion, consider having a full team meeting, not just with your key members, but with everyone. This will be a chance to answer any last-minute questions you or anyone else may have, as well as a great opportunity to thank everyone for their hard work and get them excited for the event ahead. Afterwards, put your day-of plan in action as well as your communication methods, and have a great event!
Always remember to hire the best people for the job, communicate often and effectively, and have fun in the process. The tips are just what you need to assemble your dream team.
Fabrice Orlando is the CEO of Cocoon Events Management Group, a luxury event planning company based in Marrakech, Morocco that specializes in high-end weddings and special events worldwide.
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