Red carpet parties, fun-themed extravaganzas, forum-styled informational sessions – no matter what the event, you have to plan well.

Event planning can make or break the perception that people associate with your company or yourself. Throw a perfect party or work-related activity, and you are a hero – one to be looked up to. Throw a poorly planned party, and they’ll still be talking about it, but you won’t want to hear what they have to say.

Aggressive planning is the key to a successful event. Taking time out – at least 6 months to a year – to make sure everything is in order for your event will not only ease your pre-event fears, but prove to be worth your time.

Plan First

Professional event planners are well organized, creative individuals that can turn ideas into reality. All they need is time. And, that is all you need to. Your first step to planning an event is scheduling time to focus on the plan.

Obviously, the more time you have to plan the event, the better. But, if you are planning a first time event scheduled to take place in a month, don’t worry. If you work hard in the beginning and the team or you decide to deem the event an annual affair, you will have more time next year to make it even better.

But now you are faced with the event at hand. If possible, give yourself at least 6 months for planning the event. If the time just isn’t there, quit dilly dallying and get started now.

There’s No “I” in “Team”

You are only one person, and you can’t plan an event all by yourself. If you are planning a company event, pick a few people from different departments to help you plan and implement the event. A good team size is directly related to the event itself. If you are planning an expo or open house and expect 300-500 people, you need about 15 people to help plan. If you have a small event that is only open to employees, 8-10 people will be needed.

If your event is a community or personal effort, pick some members of the community or some friends to help pull it all together. Again, look at the size of the event you are planning to hold, and decide on the number of people you will need to pull it off.

Once you round up your team, it is time to get to work. The first thing on the agenda is holding the first meeting. This meeting is extremely important, so you should emphasize that attendance is required. Allow for 1-2 hours of meeting time. Pick one person to record notes of the meeting and one person to watch the clock. During this time, the team should brainstorm ideas about what would make the event perfect – such as location, activities, event duration and event theme. For example, if you are throwing an employee picnic for employees and their families on July 4, then the group should decide on what July 4-themed activities would appeal to the crowd. A July 4 cook-off with a stars and stripes theme, A kids’ playground decorated in red, white and blue, July 4-themed sporting events throughout the day like, door prizes – maybe an American Flag, food stations, a fireworks show and booths for any company’s that give discounts to your company’s employees (cell phone services, healthcare services, etc.) may be just a few things that would make the event great. Think of all those things that you have seen at events that you just loved, and see if you can add any of those things to your event.

After brainstorming, you will find that the team has a lot of great ideas. Take a vote on which ideas the team wants to incorporate in the event. These ideas will be just some of the tasks the team will carry out during the planning process.

Now it’s time to develop the task list. On a sheet of paper, be sure the note taker has a header that contains the following: Task, Person Responsible, and Deadline. As a group, go through each of the tasks you have listed. Decide exactly what needs to be done, who will be responsible for doing it, and in what time frame. It may be easy to divide the team into sub-groups, like:

• Food Group: The food team is responsible for all aspects of food and beverages at the party. This includes organizing cooks or catering, organizing additional help needed, deciding how many tables, chairs, tablecloths, etc. are needed, and how many garbage cans are needed. They are also responsible for making the food area flow well.

• Activities Group: The activities team is responsible for any and all activities at the event. This includes organizing the speaker list (including any electronics needed for the speakers such as a PA system or electronic presentations), break-out sessions, sports or related activities, kids’ activities, etc. They are responsible for creating the timeframe for all activities and during the day of the event, making sure all activities adhere to the schedule. They are also responsible for securing any help needed for the activities. They may even want to find people to spearhead each event to help them manage it better.

• Door Prize Group: Everyone loves door prizes, so why not have a few people focus on either purchasing or asking for donated goods to make the event great. It is a good idea to find prizes that fit the theme of the event. For instance, if you are throwing a graduation party, a free resume service, gift certificates to home décor stores and calling cards may be a good choice. This group should brainstorm what to get and how to get it.

• Logistics Group: The logistics group is responsible for any details concerning the location and arrangement. They will fill out any paperwork concerning the booking of the location, check about insurance, security and zoning restrictions, as well as oversee the securing of any materials – trash cans, tables, chairs and other related equipment. All subgroups should submit materials needed to this group in order to have one group dealing with the big picture. The other groups may be asked to help bring the equipment to the event, but one group should be wholly responsible for the management of needs.

• Communications Group: The communications team is essential to get the word out about the fabulous event you are planning. The communications group is responsible for creating any promotional materials – flyers, newspaper advertisements, invitations, etc. They will design promotional materials, manage the guest list, send out invitations, place advertisements with newspapers, and if the event is a public affair, arrange for media coverage. They are also responsible for any signage needed the day of the event, as well as a program. If your company has a public relations or communications office, you definitely want to use them. If you are planning a personal or community event, ask those people you know who are creative or already work in the communications business.

• Decorations: The decorations team is responsible for securing all decorations needed for the event. This could include flowers, candles, tablecloths, lights or other theme-related pieces. The decorations team should secure enough people to help decorate the night before or the morning of the event (but remember the whole team is responsible for set up and clean up of the event).

Depending on your event, you may have one or two more specialized groups on your overall team; but, the groups outlined should work perfectly for planning any event.

After assigning sub-teams it is almost time to adjourn your first meeting. Before you do, set a time to meet each month for updates. Once the event is a month out, you will want to meet weekly to make sure everything is in order.

One other important aspect you cannot overlook is “Plan B”. Make sure you have another plan for the location (especially if it is outside and rain is expected the day of the event), speakers and activities. Don’t waste so much time that you have two mirror events planned, but do make sure you have some back ups just in case the unthinkable happens the day of the event.

Keep the Ball Rolling

You have your team and the ideas, but what do you do now? You are the overall event planner, and your job is to keep the others motivated. As soon as you finish your first meeting, type the meeting notes and create an electronic task list so you can e-mail it to all involved. The task list helps those involved remember what they are supposed to do, and when they need to have it done. Remind them that if they run into a sticky situation, you are there to help.

Ask each sub-team lead to report to you weekly, either via e-mail or phone. Then, record any changes to the task list as needed. That way you can send out a new task list the day before the next scheduled meeting for everyone to review. During the meeting, ask for any updates and record them. Also ask for any opportunities or problems the team has run into. Discuss how to handle during the meeting, and make sure everyone is clear on what needs to be done next.

You may need to plan for 1-2 hours for your last meeting before the event. This meeting is just as important as the first meeting because you will be giving instructions on set up, volunteer organization and clean up. Make sure you have enough people to decorate the area, serve the food, greet the guests, etc. Pay great attention to detail – don’t leave anything out. This meeting sets the tone for the event, and you want it to scream success.

E-Day is Here

Time to put all that planning to the test; event day sneaks up on you before you know it. Since you had such a successful event planning meeting a few days ago, everyone knows what to do, and they are doing it. Smooth sailing for the most part, but snags always arise the day of the event. When they do come up, you want to be prepared. Before you even drive to the event location, be sure to have your cell phone, the clothes you plan on wearing at the event and contact lists for each sub-team and all the people involved in the event. Optional, but a good idea if you have one, is carrying along a laptop for any last minute research, typing or anything else that can come up. You never know what will happen.

Once you arrive at the event location, your job is to oversee the set up. You are responsible for helping solve problems, peer checking each team and making sure everything is in its place. Don’t be so hands on that you can’t focus on the big picture – remember, this is the event you are responsible for. It is unrealistic that your event will go flat if one flower arrangement isn’t sitting just so, but you can kiss success goodbye if the flow of the event goes south.

Two hours before the event everyone should be wrapping up their tasks. At this point, thank everyone for their hard work and let them get ready for the party. It may be a nice gesture to have champagne in the dressing rooms with light snacks, or at least ice chests of sodas and juice. Ask everyone to meet you about 45 minutes – no later than 30 minutes – before the event starts so everyone can take their place.

During the event you will more than likely be crazy. Your team may have some last minute problems you need to solve; guests want to talk and so on. Since you are the event planner, all eyes will be on you. Don’t forget to smile and be friendly. Yes, it may be stressful, but you all have done such a great job, why not act like you are enjoying yourself? More times than not, you will be having a great time, and chances are, if you are having a great time, so is everyone else.

Post Event Wrap Up. You can breathe easy – the event is over. But your job isn’t. Post-event evaluation is necessary not only if you plan to hold the event again, but as an overall gage of how the event went.

No later than two weeks after the event, have your team meet. Be sure to bring some happies – whether it be lunch or something special – to thank them for all of their hard work. Start out the meeting by covering the basics – how many people were in attendance, schedule adherence, major problems and great opportunities. Use a portion of the meeting to discuss what would be done differently and what was extremely successful. If the event will be an annual occurrence, decide who will be the event chair, and who will be on the other teams now. That way you can get an early start on planning to make sure the next event is bigger and better.

Also be sure to discuss any thank you notes or compliments the team received because of the event. These messages are a great way to make those involved feel good about what they accomplished, as well as keeps them motivated enough to help if another event arises.

To plan a successful event, you only need a few things – a great group of motivated people, time, and seeing the big picture while paying attention to details. Whether it’s a child’s birthday party or an executive program, event planning is the key to success.