Planning Mistakes to Avoid for Your Next Company Event

There's a reason event planning has become its own market segment, and it isn't because the economy couldn't provide its 200,000 working professionals with enough to do. They sit at the center of a five billion dollar industry with nothing but growth ahead. So if you find yourself wondering if you're doing everything right when you plan your next event, take comfort in the fact you are far from alone.

Company parties and occasions should be well-organized and prepared. Here are a few pitfalls to avoid. 

Not Enough People
Planning any formal event larger than a dinner party is a huge project, requiring more than a few major decisions and often requiring a budget with several dozen line items. If you are in charge of the planning for the event, make absolutely sure you have the manpower to pull it off. This goes double for the planning committee. Putting too much work in too few hands rarely leads to a good outcome. 

Too Many People 
Be careful also to avoid the "Splitty Committee" problem, where you have so many people involved in the planning of an event, that people start appointing themselves chairpersons and breaking off into factions to do their bidding. Ships sail best when there is one captain and a handful of trusted officers, and sail even better when the crew doesn't weigh down the ship. The maximum manageable size of a temporary event committee (unless you're doing media relations for the NFL) is about twelve people with one chair and two or three officers.

Budget
If your event has a budget exceeding $1000 or if there is a cash bar, ticket sales, merchandise sales, or anything else involving money that isn't just doing a fundraiser for a cake, hire an accountant or get your company's financial head to take a look at the books. The potential tax problems alone will be enough to drive the party planners up a tree, and this goes double and triple if you are a non-profit or are doing any kind of charitable fundraising under a 501(c)(3) entity. 

Insurance 
Inquire day one about insurance. If you get any static from the venue, say a sports arena like the Honda Center or a similar location, get an attorney to oversee the purchase of a limited-term umbrella liability policy and make sure everyone involved in planning the event is personally named alongside the company (if there is one) and any client entities or persons. If it turns out you need it you'll be glad you planned ahead. Many other corporpate party venues like Noahs Event Venues can also help make sure your location will fit the right amount of people and have the supplies you need. Whether you need a wide screen and projector or a dance floor, the location itself can sometimes help get everything together for the things you have planned.

There is something to be said for hiring a professional. If you feel like the event is over your head, it's often worth it to at least consult with an event planner and see what they have to say. Your next business event is sure to be a hit though when you can look at these issues first.