New Adventures

This Sunday, July 31 I will be the Wedding Day Coordinator for an East Indian Wedding for 350 guests. As this will be my first encounter assisting in a wedding ceremony and reception for this particular scenario I am extremely delighted that I have been given the opportunity to be part of this special occasion and I certainly hope this will open up another chapter in my career as an Event Planner.

I always indicate to new clients who are asking me to coordinate an event which has not fallen within my realm previously that I have not dealt with this type of function but I will do my upmost to ensure their event will be a success.  Explaining to them as an experienced Event Planner I have the ability to see the whole picture and my template of skills can be overlaid onto any type of function. 

For me personally this is true, 10 years in the corporate world organizing numerous types of events across Canada and 23 States gave me a new perspective and the ability to face problems and issues head on.   Now my expertise includes; convocations, grand business openings, parties and weddings and I plan to acquire even more diversity.

As a member of a number LinkedIn Groups, including those that are event planner derivative, I recently saw a discussion wherein the word "fake" was utilized. I stress most emphatically that honesty is the best policy.  Illustrating to a client that you know something which is not the case will definitely lead you into quick sand and you will no doubt sink whether it be quickly or slowly.  A client appreciates a candid response if you don’t know the answer, then tell them, research their query and come back guns blazing with the information they require. 

Integrity to me is #1 and I can look myself in the mirror and know that who I see is who the client will see too.

The World of Skype

I recently signed up for Skype and was curious to know where it sat within the marketplace and requested comments from two diverse groups.  One is business derivative within the London, Ontario area and the other a group of event planners based around the world.

It was actually an interesting exercise as the discussion evolved it appeared to be more apparent to me that the event planners gave more positive feedback than the business entrepreneurs and the group utilized this method of communication in a more decisive way.

With my inquisitive nature I now want to pursue where this particular visual tool could take me.  I would like to utilize it by talking directly to potential clients as I feel that it would be a more positive approach than words and also they can see who I am.

I will update the blog as I move forward and advice whether I think this will change how I market myself.  We need to be more innovative and this could be the route to go.

Connecting with Peers

As a member of LinkedIn http://ca.linkedin.com/in/suehowe there are many opportunities to converse within a variety of groups.  I recently decided to research and explore another avenue being groups that are closely relate to my industry; event planning, coordination, etc.

It is my hope that this move will enable me to actively participate and create discussion to cultivate feedback. I am extremely interested in connecting with Event Planners that are from different countries and see how their place within the market is surviving and what techniques they are utilizing to maintain momentum.

With so many avenues to explore within the networking world, it would be great to converse directly with peers.  I have now added Skype to my artillery of tools and want to utilize this innovative tool and communicate with some of my colleagues around the world and locally. 

They do say a picture is worth a 1,000 words.