I just returned from the 2015 Special Event Conference & Tradeshow the other day. This year (I think I’ve been the last 10 now…I’ve lost track.) I taught 3 classes:
-The TRUTH about Planners and Vendors!
-How to Be REALLY Profitable
-Do You Want to Know What I Know?
I have to say I really loved Anaheim. The weather was great, the host hotels & convention center were all together and there was a Starbucks & plenty of restaurants within walking distance. I even got to meet up with some of my family while I was there!
Iwas most excited for my newest class, the advanced, Q&A style “Do You Want to Know What I Know” where I answered ANY questions attendees had. The room was full of experienced planners and vendors, many of which ended up learning a lot from each other. (I did too!) My favorite question was when someone asked me what life experience I credited with bringing me to where I am currently. I was touched that someone cared to ask something so personal. It was great being able to share how much my parents helped me as they were business owners as well.
I did take a controversial stance on budgets this year. The bottom line is that you will never be profitable unless you control the budget! For planners, this means that the end client pays you so you can control the pricing and then pay the vendors yourself. If you’re only charging a fee for hourly work, you’ll never make as much money as you can when you’re the project manager. Want to understand this better? Contact us.
I met lots of great people (as always) and was able to even have a few quick coffee meetings to discuss business practices with old friends and new friends. Looking forward to 2016! Thank you TSE for the opportunity and for a great conference!
What did you think of this years TSE? Comment below!
-Tami