subject: Planning a Business Conference [print this page] Planning a Business Conference Planning a Business Conference
This year, the task of planning your company's business conference has fallen to you, but you've never planned a conference before, and you don't know where to start. Don't panic here are some tips for planning a successful business conference:
You can never start planning a conference too early. Large venues book up quickly, keynote speakers have other engagements, and you have a hundred things to do and not much time to do them. Write a list of everything that needs to be done and get started. Once you have the major things organized the theme, the key speaker, the date and the function venue, the rest will fall into place.
Determine a sensible budget: Conference costs can quickly spiral out of control, so it pays to maintain a strict budget and work within that framework. If you're lost when it comes to determining a budget, look at previous conferences, or ask colleagues or other contacts for advice. Allocate a certain amount of funds to each aspect of the conference: venue, food, goodie bags, speakers fees, equipment hire, and shop around till you find the best deal.
When planning your budget, incorporate a 10% contingency for additional expenses and emergencies.
Delegate: Planning a conference is not a task for one person. Find others who can take over aspects of the planning and execution, from sourcing the printing for the conference materials to contacting speakers to designing the website, you have a wealth of creative people around you put them to use!
Find the Perfect Keynote Speaker: The keynote speaker will make or break your conference, as their presence determines the level of interest from the business community. Don't just choose someone based on their credentials look for people who are engaging and entertaining speakers. You may be able to find videos on YouTube, or ask your contacts for recommendations.
Usually you'll have a theme in mind before contacting a speaker, but sometimes, a speaker can determine the theme of a conference. Discuss ideas with your speaker for an engaging and relevant subject, and figure out which topics, materials and events will compliment their talk.
