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2little2late

posts: 5

Jun 18, 2008 9:51 PM ET Quote Report Abuse

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Hello all! I am new to SUN & found some realy valuable advice on here already so I`m hoing you can help me. I just recently started a social networking group which will host business networking parties, make new friends events, singles events etc. Basically my plan is to build my database of people by building a profile on all the netowrking sites such as myspace, facebook, meetup, linkedin etc & send my invites out through email distributions or through their profiles etc.

My question is, what is the best strategy for where I should request the funds from to pay for the event...& make some money :-). Should I negotiate with the place where I hold the event & if I bring in X # of people then they pay me a certain pre-determined amount of money in addition to getting a certain percentage of the total alcohol consumption based on the business I brought the location? And then not charge my clients to attend? If I do it this way, I`m afraid I can`t guarantee they will attend. Or should I charge my clients & have them pay in advance using a registration service via the email/invite I send out? If I do it this way, it`s hard to pre-determine before people register/pay what size location I will need. And if the event falls through because nobody registers, then I`m sure I`m out a deposit. I`m not sure which strategy would work better for me to guarantee the most attendance. And I`m wondering to what extent bar/restaurant owners will negotiate to bring additional business into their location. Any feedback is greatly appreciated & if you have a better suggestion, I`m open to that as well! thanks

CraigL

posts: 9051

Jun 19, 2008 3:29 PM ET Quote Report Abuse

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Hi there... :-)
First of all, let`s clarify the difference between strategy and tactics. Your business strategy is to make money by organizing events with a focus on singles. Within that overall strategic goal, you want to know some useful tactics for handling day-to-day operations (such as getting a good price on a location).

A bigger problem, falling within the overall strategic plan and business plan is that it seems as if you have little experience in event planning. Is that true?

If so, then your strategic pathway should first be to get more experience in that area. You might consider working for an event-planning company, or perhaps doing some reading in the field. Nowadays, there likely are a number of books on how to create an event-planning business.

Most of your specific questions are common to the field of event planning, and you should find a lot of help and advice as you get more involved. However, it doesn`t sound as if you want to be an event planner. You sound more like someone whose interest is in the social-networking side of the idea, right?

To that end, you might consider structuring your company---the strategy---in such a way that you offer a sort of business opportunity for existing event planners. They might use your site as a resource, but you would leave the actual events to them.

The problem includes the whole issue of making money from the idea. One option is to charge a subscription fee. To make money there, you`d have to really distinguish yourself, offer something valuable to the people joining the site, and have some sort of e-commerce solution for the site.

How did you plan to accomplish this when you first designed your business plan?

2little2late

posts: 5

Jun 19, 2008 4:05 PM ET Quote Report Abuse

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Hi CraigL. Thank you for the response. I guess I should clarify a bit further. I am a certified event & wedding planner so am very familiar with the event planning industry. However, aside from knowing the concept of putting together a successful event from conception through execution, I don`t see how it relates to my current business idea. Yes, they are both "events" that will be organized but as an event planner, someone pays me a deposit in advance for my ideas to create their vision for their event. Ultimately, they are paying the locations, vendors etc upfront & contracts are through my client & their vendors. I am more a consultant to help bring all the elements together to create a great event & remove any stress from the planning aspects from an event for my client.

I don`t know if I am necessarily looking for overall tactics to run my overall business as I am very familiar with this as well. I guess what I am looking for is sales/marketing tactics & ways to gain customers to attend my events, ways to negotiate with venue owners so that I am not financially risking much for each event I organize.

I hope this makes this a bit clearer.

Thanks

CraigL

posts: 9051

Jun 19, 2008 4:19 PM ET Quote Report Abuse

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Ah...okay, that`s better. If I understand it, what you`re essentially trying to do is along the lines of "no interest until January," where the payment side of the equation is actually part of the selling process?

2little2late

posts: 5

Jun 19, 2008 5:01 PM ET Quote Report Abuse

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No not really. I must not be explaining myself correctly. I have knowledge on lots of things but in terms of the financial aspects of business, I`m lacking a bit :-) I`ll try to explain it is simple terms, more for myself than you so don`t take this that I think you`re not comprehending.. I know it`s my lack of explanation...

Scenario 1: I go to X bar & tell the owner I want to use their location for my next event & intend to invite a certain # of people mostly in their 20`s & 30`s. But I want X bar to myself during this event for a few set amount of hours. X bar might want to do this because maybe they are either slow during those hours or even closed normally. How do I make money on putting that event together? Do I negotiate with X bar that I am bringing new business they would not have had at this specific time or more business than this usual time & therefore ask for some sort of kick back from X bar depending on the # of attendees that show? In addition can I ask for a profit from the total drink consumption from the group I bring in? Would X bar want to do this & how do I come up with the estimated cost based on the # of people I bring.

Scenario 2-I need to book a separate room at X bar because X bar is already popular & can`t afford to close down to the public. But having an event at X bar could be worth while since it already has a reputation for being a great place therefore, holding my own event inside a room at X bar geared towards a particular interest group i.e. singles, would probably draw more people.

Either of these scenarios would involve me seeking a location for an event, prior to sending out invites. So essentially, what I envision, is building my database of people/emails & organize the people based on interests/age etc. Then booking X bar for a certain date & time, creating an invitation & sending out blast emails & using word of mouth & my website to get the word out about my event. So, I now have an event location on hold & invites out & essentially I am waiting to see who registers to attend.

I`m wondering to what level of negotiating a restaurant/bar owner is usually open to & are their estimated standards for something like this? Additionally, I`m wondering if it makes more sense tomake my profit by charging the location I do the event at or the people who attend or both.

I hope this helps explain things better. I know I am at fault for not being more clear. I appreciate any help you can provide! thanks again!

RabbitMountain

posts: 423

Jun 19, 2008 5:13 PM ET Quote Report Abuse

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You could sell tickets and end sales of these 2 weeks before the event, then negotiate with the venue to give them a percentage of ticket sales as an advance deposit.

—paula

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robertj

posts: 1402

Jun 19, 2008 5:15 PM ET Quote Report Abuse

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From my experience at putting on "public" type events (seminars, presentations, etc) - you want to charge the attendees something. Since most locations will want to know how many will be attending - you will need to encourage people to make a reservation. My data says that the number of "no shows" (reserve but don`t attend) is double when there is no charge than when there is a nominal ($20 or less) charge to attend.

-------------------------

Business Growth Masters, LLC -
Capital Catalysts for Entrepreneurs
Home of the Scalable Business Plan and QuikStart Capital Programs
http://www.bizgrowthmasters.com
info@bizgrowthmasters.com

CraigL

posts: 9051

Jun 19, 2008 5:21 PM ET Quote Report Abuse

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Well, let`s see.... It sounds to me as if you`re basically saying that on the one hand you`re negotiating the best price for a location, but on the other hand, you want to make money from the event.

Then you`re maybe complicating it by thinking that you only can make a commission from booking the location.

Wouldn`t you be charging a fee to come to this event? If so, the fee would include the cost of the location and also your own fee.

The main problem is always going to be commitment before the event. You likely would feel out the owner of two or three locations, ask if they`d be willing to contract *after* you have a certain amount of interest, right? Then you`d build up the event, get your "probable" commitments, and go back to the owner. Work out a price, then charge the attendees whatever is that price plus your own fee.

Unless I`m not seeing it still?

From my experience in playing bars and nightclubs, the owner is mostly interested in filling the place as often and for as long as possible. They don`t care if it`s walk-in customers, regulars, or pre-booked events as long as they can fill the place. If they know they`re going to have a full house for sure, versus hoping they`ll have a busy night on that night, they`d likely be willing to negotiate.

2little2late

posts: 5

Jun 19, 2008 6:09 PM ET Quote Report Abuse

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Thank you Robert, Craig & Paula. I appreciate the feedback.

Craig-Yes, now you`re "seeing it" or better yet..I explained it better :-) All of this info has help me greatly.

I guess I should be charging the attendees for the event I organize. Initially I was assuming I would, until I heard of another very successful person doing a similar business in another state & not chanrging the attendees to attend. So that got me thinking.

I still don`t think I know exactly what my set guidelines should be though for negotiating these types of deals with the owners. I agree that a bar owner is mostly just interested in having a packed house..they can care less where I get the people from. ie. the bar owner tells me he will give me 1% of the total bill from the alcohol consumption of my party as my profit is that considered a lot or a little? Additionally, if a location charges me $5 per person for example, what % do I tack on as my profit? Is there general standards or guidelines I can follow to help in determining this type of stuff? I can`t base it on my comeptition because nobody else in my state is doing this right now.

robertj

posts: 1402

Jun 19, 2008 6:58 PM ET Quote Report Abuse

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2little2late,

Getting the restaurant to "share" a portion of their revenue may be a challenge in more way than one. It might be difficult for them to track and it`s impossible for you to monitor. Some places are more open to providing teh place at no charge in return for a minimum number of folks.

Also, as you work out your business model - you might think about sponsors for each event.

-------------------------

Business Growth Masters, LLC -
Capital Catalysts for Entrepreneurs
Home of the Scalable Business Plan and QuikStart Capital Programs
http://www.bizgrowthmasters.com
info@bizgrowthmasters.com

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