I recently hosted a 3-day conference, Take Action Get Profits Live, for entrepreneurs who are ready to expand their businesses online. It was an amazing weekend filled with fun and lots of learning. Following the event, I have been asked several times how I pulled off such a successful event and I thought I would share my discoveries.
Simply put – how to host a successful event.
1. Have a Great Team! I have to tell you that one of the reasons the event was so smooth was because I had the amazing team from MCE Onsite there to take care of everything. Lisa Benavidez and Maria Casas were amazing – taking care of all of the attendees' needs, the hotel's needs, and my needs. So professional that I didn't have to worry about anything but what I was going to do on stage.
2. Choose Amazing Guest Speakers – I tried really hard to choose guest speakers that would add a different aspect to the learning in the event. It was very important to me that they be teaching 90% of the time but then also share a way for the attendees to continue to learn from them.
- Carrie Wilkerson, The Barefoot Executive, spoke about list building.
- Adam Urbanski, The Millionaire Marketing Mentor, spoke about profiting from information products
- Shahar & Nash Boyayan, the Buzzbooster.tv, spoke about using video to market your business
- Caterina Rando, Thrive Publishing, spoke about how to be a sought after speaker
- Belanie Dishong, Live At Choice, spoke about how we can build stronger relationships by being aware and acknowledging the people who bring our clients into our lives.
I heard from so many attendees thanking me for putting together this diverse group of powerful speakers.
3. Create Community – A lot of people talk about building a community at an event but I worked hard at starting this prior to the event. I created a Twitter list of attendees and a Facebook group so that they could start interacting prior to the event. During the event, I made it easy for them to ask questions and interact with each other. I brought in Cathy Jennings from No Pressure Networking and she gave them some networking tips and exercises. It was really great to see them all interacting and seeing the possibility of working with each other.
4. Be Flexible – If you are going to host your own event you had better learn to be flexible. First, my audio person canceled and at the last minute I had to run out and buy a projector, borrow my daughter's laptop and beg my friends Adam Urbanski and Meredith Eisenberg to watch the recordings of the audio. As the weekend progressed and things didn't happen exactly at the times I planned – no problem we just moved them around. I also made the decision during the event to let people ask questions and have discussions as we went along instead of making them wait until my presentations were finished – it was a little risky but it worked out great.
I have to say though that it was one of the most rewarding things I have ever done. To watch as the eyes of the attendees when they saw the possibilities of what they could do in their businesses was so gratifying. I can't wait to do it again!
Michelle – we are in the planning stages of an event for local businesses to understand the importance of online marketing. These tips will be very helpful. Thank you for sharing. sue
Well done, Michele!
You make some excellent points here — especially being flexible. We often get focused on our agenda and schedule instead of “going with the flow” to meet the needs of the attendees. You did a fabulous job of this — you are my hero!
Everyone is still buzzing about the event because you did create a wonderful sense of community. Thanks so much for giving me the opportunity to be a part of it. I think we all enjoyed connecting and seeing the possibilities for partnering, support and joint ventures.
I can’t wait for your next event — count me in!
Oh Cathy – I wanted to tell you how many people I had thank me for having you do the networking exercises with them. You really rocked it. So when are you going to do your own event? I will be there – front and center to support you all the way. Talk to you soon, Michele
#4 – Who knew? You obviously displayed grace under fire — often I use the metaphor ‘on water, gliding like a duck and under water, paddling like heck’ 🙂 You were magnificent and the event was phenomenal!
Thank you Julie – You are amazing. I loved getting to know you better and learning a little about your story. I see really big things in your future. :)) Talk to you soon, Michele
Michele,
This event was fantastic. I think your flexibility stood out most for me – it’s never easy to have all eyes on you, especially when you have a lot of material to cover. But, you let things happen naturally and we all learned so much from each other with this interaction. You did a great job of building a community – kudos to you!
Looking forward to TAGP2!
Rachel
Central PA Webster, LLC
Thanks Rachel – I am so glad you guys all liked it and I have to say it was even better than I could have dreamed it would be. Thank you so much for being there and participating. That makes a huge difference when people actually participate. :)) Michele
Lots of great information that you are sharing here Michele. Really appreciate your tips and advice when achieving a successful event. As me and my business partner finalize our training program that we are developing, these tips that you share will come in handy when we are ready to plan for our event.
I agree with you, having a great team will be key. That is what I will be working on next. Any ideas where to get audio or video people, please let me know.
Hey Lynn – Well your guess is as good as mine on the AV people. I had a heck of a time when it came to that. Who else do you know that is doing events in your area because they may be able to help you out. After my event a friend of mine told me I should have spoken to the guy at our church that does the AV he may have done it for me. If you have big churches that do a lot of special audio and video stuff that might be a good place. I can’t wait to hear about your event. Talk to you soon, Michele
Well Paul – I am really thinking about late Sept or early October. After polling the participants on our Facebook group it looks like I might be going to Orlando to start scoping out hotels. :)) That sounds like fun – doesn’t it. I love Orlando – oh hey I just realized I have a time share there. May turn into a really big party. LOL Talk to you soon, Michele
Thanks Michele for ideas on finding AV people. I will certainly try looking at some of our local churches, and I also think I will try our local junior colleges too. You sparked some ideas and I really appreciate that. I will certainly let you know when I have our event finalized.
You are so welcome Mary – Thank you for stopping by the blog. Passion, purpose and creative openness – I love that. :)) Michele