The entrepreneur summit hosted at Lions Club on 3rd April this year was an educative and networking event bringing together several dedicated, talented both aspiring and established entrepreneurs in the region. It is a fairly large event with approximately 500 people expected to attend. The event is expected to take place for a whole day starting at 9 am and ending at 5pm.
The aim of the entrepreneurship event was to promote growth and development as the participant exchange knowledge and experiences regarding the core elements required in starting and running business effectively. Identifying difficulties affecting the field of entrepreneurship and sharing ideas on how to respond to those challenges and move forward is also at the core of the event. Coming up with ways to mobilize the youths to identify and take up entrepreneurship opportunities is also vital; inspiring others to take up the carriage to join the world of entrepreneurship for economic development for both personal and national development. Learning ways of boosting and growing businesses for both small and large entrepreneurs by improving sales through quality delivery and appropriate customer as suggested by Grigori, Casati, Dayal & Shan (2001) is also on the agenda.
People also read
The Anticipated Needs of Customers
Accessing the needs of attendees during event planning is also vital in the success of the function as it enables one to meet attendees’ expectations. Conducting a comprehensive survey helps to identify whether there is the desire for such an event and an audience to champion it thus providing event organizers’ with the motivation to forge ahead as explained by Moran (2010). The major desire of attendees is to gain from the event thus in the case, for instance, the attendees may need to interact with one another as they share ideas, experiences as well as challenges. The participants may also require a keynote speaker with a vast knowledge on entrepreneurship. In most cases the participants prefer a speaker of their liking thus the necessity to inquire about their choice of speaker during the survey and selecting from their choices based on achievements and qualification as suggested by Silvers (2004).
Silvers (2004) further says that the participants need to be provided with a conducive relaxed environment where they can feel at ease thus improving their concentration and level of confidence in expressing themselves as well as their suggestions in an attempt contribute and learn from the event. Therefore, they require good speakers and master of ceremony to engage them in the activities going on during the event by making sure they feel that their opinion is valid. Thus there is need to set up a good sound system so that all participants can hear the lectures clearly. The attendees should not feel left out in the event thus there has to be an integrated format including lectures and small discussion panels with time to freely mingle with others as they gate to know and learn from one another as suggested by Clarysse, Roure & Schamp (2007).
Location and Venue Selection
Project Management Institute (2004) claims that in choosing the event location, it is important to also consider the customers’ choice of venue. Therefore in the case of this event, the Lion Club was an effective venue. The venue was big enough thus was able to comfortably accommodate all the individuals expected to be in attendance. The club is also centrally placed and famous in the region thus is an ideal location as the event is a regional function. Being centrally placed also makes it easily accessible by attendees either through public or private means which is a requirement for selection of the venue. The club also has a large packing space for those with vehicles thus is generally convenient as affirmed by Wendroff (2004).
Evaluates the resource requirements
There are many resources required in order to successfully organize an event. Identifying the resources needed early helps in drawing a reasonable budget for the event. These resources include space and facility, human resources, materials and supplies, and equipment as indicated by Craven, Johnson & Waldoch (2006). For instance, it is important to hire the venue after deciding on the place. Hiring of the venue is done early to allow for necessary arrangements to make the venue available on the supposed date. Factors required to effectively to design and transform the club for the event’s purposes is also needed. Decorative such as different balloon colors and ribbons are also very helpful. Thus, human resources such as qualified personnel in different field related to event organization like interior designers are also outsourced and notified in advance as advised by Smith (2013).
Kerzner (2001) claims that the master of ceremony plays a vital role during the event of ensuring the program runs effectively and that the attendees are fully engaged in the function. Thus the necessity of hiring a talented master of ceremony, one with the ability to put the audience at ease by making the event simple and natural to minimize fear and exaggerated expectations by attendance that can jeopardize their capacity to learn. Sourcing a suitable sound system is also necessary due to the large number of attendees expected to facilitate communication during the event; sound system helps to minimize hearing constraints by the audience. Finding a reliable catering organization to serve drinks and food to the attendants is also crucial since the event takes places for the whole day and letting everyone get their own lunch is time consuming thus may jeopardize the ability of the function to achieve its goals.
Developed work breakdown schedule
A work breakdown schedule contains a list tasks to be performed during the project. It ensures that important details are not forgotten. It also assists in the delegation of obligations to other team members and budgeting. The schedule is drafted during the initial description of the event phase and updated regularly throughout the project planning period. Projects are at risk of failing in case of failure to adjust changes in timelines and tasks as indicated by Raymond & Bergeron (2008).
The Entrepreneurship Project’s Work Breakdown Schedule
- Theme Definition
- Specification of purpose
- Objectives specification
- Conducting a survey
- Identification of attendees’ needs and expectations
- Attendees’ preferable date and venue
- Description of the resources required
- Human resources and their responsibilities
- Material and supplies
- Equipment resources
- Space and facility resources
- Other resources
- Setting venue and date
- Drafting a program for the day’s event
- Complying the guest list and sending invitations
- The function marketing
- Acquisition of resources
- Conducting the actual event
Critical path diagram
Critical path diagram is a project model that focuses on the overall time required to complete the project and necessary adjustments made in case of any inconveniences attributed to time since a delay in any activity causes a delay in project deliverables as stated by Carmichael & Murray (2006). The overall time taken in organizing the entrepreneurship event was approximately one and half months.
| Task | Start | Finish | Days | Responsibility | Procedure |
| Describing the event’s theme and objectives | Feb 15th | Feb 15th | 0.5 | ||
| Conducting a survey on the intended customers’ requirements | Feb 16th | Feb 21st | 5 | ||
| Complying the guest list | Feb 26th | Feb 26th | 1 | ||
| Determining the venue and setting the date | March
1st |
March 2nd | 1 | ||
| Marketing the event and sending invitations | March 2th | March 16th | 14 | ||
| Acquiring resources | March2 25th | March 30th | 5 | ||
Justification
Describing the event’s theme and objectives is time sensitive since it is the beginning of planning that defines the scope of the event and acts as guidelines for the event’s requirements.
Conducting a survey on the intended customers’ requirements takes time thus should use appropriate data collecting method and analysis to minimize wastage of time.
Complying the guest list is also important and time sensitive as knowing the number of expected guests helps in budgeting thus delay does inconvenience budgeting.
Determining the date and hiring the venue in earlier allows for enough time to find alternative venue and adjust dates in case those set initially are unavailable.
Marketing the event creates awareness regarding the upcoming event should be done earlier to give participants more time to prepare for the event.
Acquiring resources needed should be done on time probably earlier to minimize any inconveniences arising from late delivery or unavailability of those materials or human resources.
Recommendations
It is important for event organizers to understand the nature of each event, establish its theme and aims and use survey to access the needs as well as expectations of customers and strive towards achieving them as a team as recommended by Hooijberg (2007). In the field, measuring performance to identify areas of weaknesses is vital thus the importance of customer feedback. Therefore, organizers are advised to focus on customer satisfaction by taking into account their taste and preferences as well as views regarding the date, venue and other factors thus the important of conducting extensive research before planning the event. Proper budgeting taking into account all the resources required for the event with reference to the number of individuals expected to attend and its nature is also vital.
Conclusion
The field of event organization is very challenging as much as it offers a convenient avenue for networking and social recognition. Success in the field requires outstanding managerial and planning skills aimed at satisfying the customers’ needs. Events are organized based on its nature which tend to vary depending on their themes and goals. Therefore, defining the event’s theme and objectives is vital as they act as the guiding principles during planning. The needs of the attendees and expectations are derived from the objectives. For instance in the entrepreneurship summit, the theme was together for development with the aim of identifying and finding solutions to problems that faces entrepreneurs by learning through one another’s experiences in their respective businesses. Success is also contingent to locating a suitable venue that is large enough for all the intended attendees and easily accessible which in this case was the Lion Club. Appropriate budget for the event is also required and is based on identifying the resources required and varies from one event to another which in this case included, venue, decorative materials for interior designing, human resources and catering services. Generally, event planning is requires a lot of time, efforts and coordination
References
Carmichael, S., & Murray, M. (2006). Record keeping for contemporaneous delay analysis: a model for effective management. Construction Management and Economics.doi:10.1080/0144190500521207
Clarysse, B., Roure, J. B., & Schamp, T. (2007). Entrepreneurship and the financial community: Starting up and growing new businesses. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.
Craven, R. E., Johnson, G.L., & Waldoch, D.E. (2006). The complete idiot’s guide to meeting and event planning. New York, NY: Alpha Books.
Grigori, D., Casati, F., Dayal, U., & Shan, M. (2001). Improving Business Process Quality through Exception Understanding, Prediction, and Prevention.
Hooijberg, R. (2007). Being there even when you are not: Leading through strategy, structures, and systems. Amsterdam: Elsevier JAI.
Kerzner, H. (2001). Project Management: A systems approach to planning, scheduling and controlling. New York: John Wiley.
Moran, J. S. (2010). How to start a home-based event planning business. Guilford, CT: Globe Pequot Press.
Project Management Institute. (2004). A guide to the project management body of Knowledge (PMBOK guide). Newtown Square, PA: Author.
Raymond, L., & Bergeron, F. (2008). Project management information systems: An empirical study of their impact on project managers and project success. International Journal of Project Management. doi:10.1016/j.ijproman.2007.06.002
Silvers, J.R. (2004). Professional event coordination. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Smith, R.D. (2013). Strategic Planning for Public Relations, Fourth Edition. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis.
Wendroff, A.L. (2004). Special events: Proven strategies for nonprofit fundraising. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
With a student-centered approach, I create engaging and informative blog posts that tackle relevant topics for students. My content aims to equip students with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed academically and beyond.
