Your success as a New York event planner is based on your ability to create memorable experiences, coordinate services, and problem-solve like a pro. But in reality, none of those are achievable (consistently, anyway) with one key characteristic.
Organization.
If your organizational skills could use some polishing, keep reading. We’re sharing the most impactful ways to make improvements in your organizational efforts. And ultimately, the stronger your organizational skills are, the more efficient and effective you’ll be at curating all those New York events.
1. Get Organized with Better Time Management
If you’re a hot mess of flustered chaos all the time, take a breather and a closer look at time management. Event planners are inherently busy and rushing. But if you’re struggling to keep up with deadlines and dues dates, always feeling like you’re behind the eight ball, it’s a sign you’re not managing your time well. And it’s likely compounding undo stress and anxiety.
- Streamline a digital calendar with reminders and speak-to-text capabilities, allowing you to stay on task and make changes on the fly.
- Get an assistant, virtual or in-person, to help manage your schedules and reminders for you.
- Tighten control of how much time you spend with various activities and tasks, avoiding time-wasting activities.
- Give yourself time every day to address last-minute unknowns. And if nothing comes up during that hour or two-hour window, use the time to rest or prepare for tomorrow.
2. Get Organized with Communication
Your job as an event planner involves layers upon layers of in-depth communication. And most of the event complications that arise can be avoided or resolved with transparent expectation management and communication. If you feel like you’re constantly putting out fires or chasing down responses, consider organizing your communication efforts.
- Create replicable communication processes for all your clients and vendors, making it easy to be consistent.
- Adopt multiple communication channels where it makes sense to do so, including text, email, calls, and visits.
- Develop conversation follow-up communication strategies, allowing you to get into writing those critical details that happen in conversation.
- Consider creating structure with your communication efforts, allocating certain times of the day to follow up with clients, call sponsors, or draft emails.
3. Get Organized with Budgets
There’s no question that as a New York event planner, your event budgeting game is strong. But there are always great methods for improving how you budget for your events and your business. Get more organized with how you approach budgeting and finances, creating both limits and safety nets at every turn.
- Overbudget your events to provide a cushion for the unexpected.
- Get creative about generating event revenue with sponsorships.
- Don’t be afraid to trade services with great vendor partners or media outlets, preserving the cash and strengthening your business relationships.
- Tap into all the promotional freebies, like posting on social media, issuing press releases, attending networking events to promote your event, etc.
4. Get Organized with the Details
You’re great at what you do because you pay attention to the little things that matter to an event. And there are ways to improve your organizational skills when it comes to those mission-critical details.
- Create event details checklist templates for yourself.
- Delegate certain event details to assistants, staff, or vendors to manage.
- Meet with every venue and vendor possible to accurately understand expectations, including those design and event element details.
- Be precise about tasking detail-management duties to yourself or others, assigning the appropriate priority level.
5. Get Organized at The Event Planner Expo
If you really want to streamline your time, budgets, and event planning processes, learn the BEST organizational skills and insights at The Event Planner Expo! Thousands of the industry’s top influencers, event professionals, marketers, and entrepreneurs come together for this annual, three-day conference. And it’s where today’s event planners go to 2X and 3X their productivity and event success. Explore exhibitor and ticket options today for 2024!
Learn more by following The Expo, and don’t miss a single announcement!
