If you decide to be a successful event planner you must be ready to deal with last-minute chaos. Last-minute changes can be a struggle to manage. It’s very important to learn how to minimize the impact of changes. Also, every successful event planner must know that everything can’t be predictable but must be ready how to deal with the new moments. In this article, we offer you some tips on how to minimize the chaos and how to handle changes.
Extra time in your schedule
Leave some extra time in your schedule for some unpredictable things and last-minute changes. Keep in mind that there are some moments you can’t control, for example, the weather. You must leave some free time that you can manage on the day of the event. This will make you feel flexible and give you some freedom for reorganizing some moments.
Last-minute cash in your budget
When you are creating your budget set aside some “last-minute cash”. You need to have this category in your budget for emergency expenditures. This will leave you some money for the last-minute expenses. For example, if you spend all of your money before your event, you wouldn’t have any money for unplanned situations. The ideal situations are never to use the last-minute cash, but you will be surprised how often you will need this category.
Enlist as much help as you need
Having extra people on site even if they only stick around for setup will ensure that you have enough hands to manage last-minute problems. Also, having a reserve team is a very good idea. Sometimes maybe you will need to change some stuff with another. Maybe this will inflate your budget, but charging more for the event and having a well-organized event is better than having a poor one.
Stay Professional and Calm
When something goes wrong or different from the plan it’s very important to stay professional and calm in front of your client. Honesty is a crucial element before you as an event planner and your client. You need to explain the issue to the host without making excuses. Keep in mind that sometimes you can’t fix all the problems. So, stay professional and think of finding solutions for some last-minute problems.
Have a Plan B
Be ready and have a plan B! This means having another plan if you have some changes in the venue or speakers. You need to have some extra contacts if something changes. Also, find some options that can be easy to incorporate into your plan. Event planning is not an easy job, so always be ready and have a plan B!
Every time it gets harder as you get closer to the event. A little bit of last-minute madness is expected and you must be ready for everything. But, don’t worry if you follow these tips, you can quickly and efficiently distribute information to all involved parties and minimize negative reactions to changes.
