A great way to get started in this exciting field
Getting started in the event management industry can be a daunting task for any newcomer. When I was first starting out, I was lucky enough to get involved with the Event Leadership Institute and took their course, “Event and Meeting Management Fundamentals,” which gave me a comprehensive overview of the most important components. In our 10-week course, we broke down the basics of event management and covered topics like contracts, marketing, and menu design.
As they say, we often don’t know what we don’t know, and there were many areas of event planning that I was not aware of when I began the course. Event management is filled with so many detailed moving parts and challenging logistics that most people don’t even think of—all in an effort to provide a seamless experience for participants.
Given my limited work in events, one area I didn’t have much knowledge of was planning a fully outdoor event on a large scale. Throughout my work in the field, I have dealt with mostly the same type of events—conferences that take place over one to three days usually in one indoor location like a hotel or conference center. When we delved into more complex outdoor events, I discovered a whole new set of challenges that I had never come across in my experience.
Outdoor events have their own set of advantages and disadvantages. The most obvious disadvantage — having to plan around the weather. With an indoor space, events can be held almost any time of year, regardless of outdoor weather conditions. Something that isn’t even thought of with an indoor event can cause chaos if the same event were held outside. If rain is expected in the forecast, there could be flooding, problems with electrical equipment, and not to mention the overall experience of your participants could be adversely affected.
Another aspect that could affect your event outdoors can be the sheer number of security concerns. One example that kept coming up throughout our course was a large-scale project like a concert. Participants are rarely aware of the complexity of the planning required for safety and security and the logistics behind those decisions. As an event planner, safety and security are always top of mind. Because of the venue size and high number of entry points at a large-scale outdoor event, such as Burning Man, security becomes much more difficult. The ELI course helped me think outside the box on the various factors that event planners must consider for outdoor events.
Going into my “Event and Meeting Management Fundamentals” course, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Was it more example focused? Did it get into the nitty-gritty details of event planning? What did it offer that I wasn’t getting from my day-to-day job experience? While completing the course, I greatly appreciated the fact that it exposed me to things outside of my bubble.
Sure, I might not be planning the next great Burning Man, but knowing the challenges that event planners face can help if I ever get the opportunity. Taking part in this class helped expose me to the complexities of meeting planning and widened my expectations when it comes to the event industry, and I’m excited to see where the future takes me.