I’m so excited to share that I hosted my first ever Event Planning for Entrepreneurs Boot Camp on Friday, November 15th at the Handlery Hotel San Diego.
The Vision + Purpose
If you’ve been following me for two days you’ll know I’m in love with events. In fact, I share some of the top reasons why I love events here. I truly feel that everyone has a story and a message to tell. Events are a great opportunity to help share that message and impact the right people on a more personal level.
My vision for these workshops is to help entrepreneurs gain the confidence to host events and provide them with the tools, resources and road map to make sure it happens successfully and profitably for everyone involved.
The People
We had a great group of 7 women entrepreneurs (not all pictured) who are absolutely ready to start hosting events to grow their business and their community while adding value to others and making a profit-sharing that they love.
We covered everything from getting into the right mindset as well as how to actually plan a successful event. We brainstormed ideas, answered hard questions, created a plan of action, and even discussed potential collaborations within the group itself.
The group setting offered a sounding board from a variety of experiences including administration, communication, project management, health and wellness, design and more.
The Experience
In addition to all the planning and connecting, attendees got a special treat from my friend Lauren Kimmons, founder of Pop Up Picnic Co. and a tour of the Handlery Hotel from the Director of Catering herself, Jaime Paluso.
Lauren set up a beautiful selfie-station and focal point for our workshop that later made a cool backdrop for our video testimonials. She also shared her best tips for designing an event on a budget.
I love that she brought her little guy along for the ride. As a mom of two, I have a heart for mompreneurs and love seeing them thrive and supporting them through the process.
Right before lunch, we had our tour scheduled with Jaime, Director of Catering. She allowed everyone to ask burning questions about how venues work and charge. We discussed everything from room blocks to food and beverage minimums, space ratios and how/when to negotiate. I’m grateful she took the time to share her space with us and answer our questions.
The Vibe
I found that the intimate conversation and Q&A time was so valuable. I heard first hand what entrepreneurs struggle when it comes to planning and hosting an event, and with that, I was able to provide solutions and resources for how to tackle those challenges head-on. It felt really good to support my fellow entrepreneurs. I’ll definitely be doing more of this.
Opportunities for Growth
Being this was my first workshop I learned a ton. Regardless of how many years I’ve been planning events (ahem, 15) I always learn something new. No two events are ever the same.
Even as a planner so many technical things went wrong for me, and I’m not talking behind the scenes. Insert face plant here. That being said, it was a perfect opportunity to share first hand that things can go wrong, and how we handle mistakes, unexpected challenges and even failures is what makes us. I was able to push through, and I’m grateful for the grace received from my attendees.
This was almost the perfect storm for me, as it made me truly vulnerable to my attendees, which allowed me to be fully transparent and that helped lead me through the exercises from letting go of fear and doing it anyway to logistically going through the event.
Looking ahead, I know that each workshop will only get better and better from here, and more people will start hosting their own events because of them.
Save the date
Friday, March 27th from 10-2 pm for our next workshop. Sign up for our email list to find out where we’ll be meeting next!
Your Turn
Would you be interested in attending a workshop in the near future? If so, what topics around events would you be most interested in learning about? Let me know if the comments below.
