6 Event Planning Industry Trends

http://trendwatching.com/trends/top15questions/

As an event planning, I am always looking for the latest trends in my industry. It is very important to keep up with how people are celebrating special occasions these days. We are no longer in an age where we want to be traditional. We want something new, different, and creative when it comes to celebrating commencements and weddings, baby showers and bachelor parties, conventions and conferences. So after doing some research, I have found six event planning trends for 2011. You can find the six-industry trend below:

1.     Go social

- This gives you a chance to communicate easily and openly at each and every event, while the event is occurring. For example, displaying an active tweet message board during one of my events. Today it’s much easier to customize different items used for giveaway.

2.     Giveaways

- Free giveaways are things that make people excited about attending events. In 2011 there are several useful things to lookout for, such as: blankets, backpacks, sport and water bottles, high quality coffee mugs, first aid kits, hand sanitizer, digital photo frames, and more. One thing that I have often used as a giveaway, is a free gas card. With gas prices being so high, giving several of these out attracts people to my events.

3.     Forums and meet ups

- Gatherings should be more interactive and less inactive. So, more round table events, and informal meeting are being planned by professional event planners. More people are interested in attending these types of event instead of attending lectures.

4.     Greener decorations

- It is very important to take care of our environment, which I am sure everyone is aware of. To protect the environment, we are now able to use streamers made of recycled paper. Balloons are let out into sky, so they don’t end up in our water or in fields. Decorations should saved and re-used on an consistent bases.

5.     Mobilize and digitize

-Today majority of people are more interested in accessing their phones, laptops, iPods or iPads. Due to this, it is better for an event planner to promote through different social media outlets. This is the quickest and easiest way to research clients. I tend to research my client through Face book, twitter, and my personal blog. Using these outlets, seem to be the best way to promote and market.

6.     Analytics

-It is very important to keep up with the analytics of each event. This truly helps the planner predict their next event and how any people may attend. During my events, I plan to keep track of Who came, their interests, what other events they have attended, and if their going to attend the next event.

Although I ‘am not currently using the all the trends above, I plan to in the near future. I truly believe that by using these trends my business will stay afloat. I want to encourage other event planning to read this and to research other trends in this industry.

Resource http://www.eventswholesale.com/blog/event-planning/6-event-planning-trends-for-2011/

Financing and Funding your Business

http://delta-institute.org/content/funding-financing

Its very important to have financing to start up a business, this is the most critical part of the business. From taking the final business Plan course here at Full Sail University, I have learned of and researched different opportunities, to receive alternative funding. Some people get discouraged about starting a business, because they believe they wont be able to get funding. However, there are angel investor and additional funding sources available to start a business. Below, I will be providing some information on two alternative types of funding that I have found to be very interesting after doing some research.

The US Economic Development Administration programs pushes and promote business development, while trying to preserve jobs. They give aid to areas in the United States that are experiencing all types of financial distress including unemployment and low income, while also working in partnership with federal funded programs and other organizations including Indian tribes. The EDA offers federal funding to the University Center Economic Development Program, accelerators challenge competition, and development assistance programs and other programs. In order to receive funding, the EDA has several key requirements.

   

The 5 key requirements

National strategic priorities

Economically Distressed and underserved communities

Return on investment

Collaborative regional innovation

Public/private partnerships

All applications will be evaluated within fifteen days after the application de date. Information will be posted on the website in regards to all applicants that have been considered, as well all the grants that have been rewarded. You can also find more information at www.eda.gov

The second source of funding is called The First Nations Organization. Which is also known as the First Nations Development Institute.  For the pass three decades The First Nations Organization has been educating and offers grants to support tribes and native non-profit organizations. Their main goal is to support American Indian economies. However, there are a few requirements that a person has to have in order to receive funding. All of the applicants must be legal American Indians and belong to a tribe. You can also find more information on this organization at http://www.firstnations.org. First Nations also has provides policy training, email alert, and updates. EDA website also includes research tools, contact information, and different program funding opportunities. . 

Understand and Applying "Expert" Advice to shape my business plan

http://siteboat.com/what-is-a-business-plan-business-development-series-2/

For the pass four weeks I have been working on my very first business plan and although it’s a lot of work, it took me a lot of time to perfect it. There are still a few more things to add, now that I have reached my very last class here at Full Sail University. However, I have to say that I enjoyed the business plan development course and it has been very beneficial. I will be sure to hold to all the concepts I’ve learned from this course and other experts, and implement them into future business planning. By doing so, this will make the development process much easier. Below I added a list of things that other entrepreneurs, including myself should take into consideration when creating a business plan and starting a business.

1.          Make your product or service innovative and unique

2.          Know your industry/ do your research

3.          Develop, perfect, reconstruct, and modify your business plan

4.          Learn how to utilize, determine, and apply the correct numbers to you financial spreadsheets

5.          Set objectives for future sales and profits

Being unique and innovative tends to make a business more appealing to investors and this will set a business apart from other competitors in that desired industry. It also is very important to be aware of industry trends, competition, and your target market. By being aware and applying these three key components, this will draw investors and clients. The development process is something that you have to stay consistent with on a continuous basis. Investors will take an in depth look on how you convey the information in your business plan. So to avoid mistakes, always remember to review and revise you business plan before presenting it to investors.

Finally, the financial portion is one of the most important parts of a business plan. In order to make a business work, you have to be able to project and determine your financial needs and wants. By setting objectives for sales and profits, this will show that you have made preparations to generate capital. The business plan development course has been a very helpful guide for me; through this business plan development process. This has also been as traffic experience for me and I’m very excited to learn more in my final class. Professor Burheo, I appreciate all the resource and the knowledge you have shared with me on this journey.

"Experts bio's and their views on business plans"

http://www.mysticmadness.com/small-business-plan-two-questions-it-should-answer.html

A lot of times I often hear people talking about starting their own businesses, because they no longer want to work for anyone but themselves. However, I also notice that when a business plan is mentioned people tend to think that it is just too much work. So, business ideals tend to be put on hold or they're never started. I must say that, I'm not that type of person and I going to start my own business. In order to do so, I have to create a great business plan in order to get people to invest in business.

http://businesstraining.com/resources/tag/business-plan-resources/

I am currently in my second to last class at Full Sail University, which I am very excited about. In this course we will be focusing on how to properly develop our business plans. During our first week of class, I have had the opportunity to read through my instructor Steven Burheo’s blog post. It is very obvious that Mr. Burheo is an expert, when it comes to developing business plans. World wide, he has developed more then 75 business plans for different companies.

After viewing the available list of experts on Mr. Burheo’s, I found two female expects to be very interesting and inspiring. Both Barbara Corcoran and Andrea Cockerton give advice that I am able to apply to my business plan. 

http://goodbadandhorny.blogspot.com/

http://mixergy.com/barbara-corcoran-shark-interview/

During her younger days, Barbara Corcoran did not excel in high school and college. After growing tired of bouncing from job to job in her early twenties, Barbara decided to borrow one thousand dollars from her boyfriend to establish a real estate company called “ The Corcoran Group”. Which had progressed into a five –billion-dollar real estate business. Throughout the years, Barbara has also written plenty of inspiring books. A book entitled "If you don't have big breast, put ribbons on your pigtails" and another book called, " Shark Tales".  The book "Shark Tales", explains how Barbara turned " The Corcoran Group", into a billion dollar empire. Which she had  eventual sold for about seventy million dollars. Barbara encourages others because she wants them to become a  wealthy as she is. When giving advice, she always refers to her six do's and don't when starting a business. One the step suggest that entrepreneurs should create a business plan in order get funding for a business. From this, we learn that investors usually don't read through the whole business plan, they usually make a decision based off of their intuition and the executive summary.

http://thebusinesshub.fm/guests/page/2/

After doing some research on Andrea Cockerton, I discovered that she is the founder of Mudhut and the co –founder of Brick Handbag. She was also a member of VBN, a software .com which is an ancestor to social media outlets such as LinkedIn and Face book. Throughout her businesses, she provides services such as investor and commercial pitches, workshops, self-defense, investment readiness, public speaking, and training. Andrea became the director of an innovative and leading angel network in the UK, after the demise of VBN. According to Burheo(2011), “Andrea Cockerton says that the three most important points to mention in a pitch to potential investors are”

1. The target market that needs your product or service.

2. The team’s credentials and ability to follow through with the business plan.

3. How your product or service is innovative and groundbreaking.

After exploring the views of both Andrea Cockerton and Barbara Corcoran, I must say that I’ am now convinced that an efficient business plan would go along way. I have learned a lot from both experts and plan to apply their lessons to my business plan. A proper business plan keeps your business moving in the right direction, and it also gives investors insight on your particular business.  I am glad that I have been able to share the views of experts who write and review business plans. Below I have also attached links, which provide more information on these experts. I have also posted a YouTube video, that tells what an investor my be looking for in a business plan. After viewing this video, i have learned that an investor can determine within three minutes whether they should invest. In this video several key conponients are mention, these are the things investors are looking for in a business plan. They look for these things because they it is easier for investor to determine if they should invest. 

Websites:
http://bpexpertviews.blogspot.com/
http://barbaracorcoran.com/2009/09/six-ways-to-land-venture-funding/
http://www.helium.com/items/1747172-barbara-corcoran-biography-real-estate
http://www.allamericanspeakers.com/speakers/Barbara-Corcoran/432
http://www.linkedin.com/in/mudhut
http://thebusinesshub.fm/andrea-cockerton/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFi_TaCVX8c&playnext=1&list=PLC9DF8608EA667010

Starbucks Success with Social Media

http://gourmet-coffee-zone.com/starbucks-logo.html

We all would love to have marketing success online, whether it comes from Facebook, twitter, and other hip social media outlets of today. However, some companies are doing far better then others. One company in particular would happen to be Starbucks. They currently have 705, 000 follows on twitter and 5,428,000 on Facebook. After doing some research, I see that they have taken several step to become successful online.

Please see the steps below:

1.     Starbuck joined twitter: By doing so, they are able to answer questions, retweet, and see what consumers are saying about the product.

2.     Starbucks Joined Facebook: which allow them to invite people to different events and upload other content.

3.     Starbucks joined YouTube: 48,000 people have subscribed to their channel. This allows Starbucks to upload videos, which helps people relate to the brand.

Starbucks owns different social media networks, which allows people to share ideas, give suggestions, and feel as if there are apart of the decision making process. I have joined and subscribed to every social media outlet that Starbucks has. However, I must say that I really enjoy their blog the most. I say this because different employees blog throughout the day, which keeps it interesting. They always tend to keep us updated on a daily bases, which I love. I would have to say that I wouldn’t change anything about their strategy, and I plan to apply all the tips to my business. 

Website: http://thenextweb.com/2010/01/11/starbucks-formula-social-media-success/

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