Event Budget Basics
Whether you’ve been an event producer for years or are just getting started, putting together a successful event invariably takes time, effort and expertise. The beauty of the business is that there is always room to finetune your practice. One of the most important areas that even seasoned event producers could benefit from improving is making—and sticking to—a viable budget.
We’ve seen it time and time again: incredibly talented event producers who don’t realize they are making small but costly mistakes with their event budget. To learn what the most common mistakes are, as well as how to fix or avoid them, keep reading. You may be surprised by how many of these mistakes you recognize.
Mistake #1: Not Having a Clear Budgeting Strategy in Place
One of the most common mistakes event producers make when creating an event budget is not taking the time to plan out a clear budgeting strategy. While most event producers will at least have a rough idea of their potential costs, an alarming number of them have not crunched the numbers to create a concrete budgeting strategy based on their estimates and goals.
Fortunately, you don’t have to go into this process blindly. You can use the following three sources to work out a budget that will meet your goals and be cost-effective:
Industry Trends
Grounding your budget in an understanding of industry budgeting trends is one of the easiest ways to set it up for success. Industry trends will provide guidelines about how to effectively plan your budget so you can designate your resources effectively. This is particularly important given that despite the high expectations put on event producers, research has shown that most event production budgets remain the same year-after-year.
Your Connections
If you have any industry connections you feel comfortable consulting, ask them to share how they generally break down their event production costs. While analyzing industry trends will give you a broad idea about standard practices, discovering how your fellow professionals tackle their budgets will allow you to compare and contrast different approaches. Be sure to share your own budget approach, too—collaboration will help ensure the whole industry improves its budgeting practices.
Your Own Data
Have you ever thought post-event, “I should really remember to cut down on the cost of X and Y next time,” and then never put your own observation into action? Your next event is the time to do so. Review the budgets of past events you have produced with a fine-tooth comb to identify what worked, what didn’t and what could be improved. You will likely notice clear trends in which areas you could cut back costs—and which areas you could better divert these costs to.
Mistake #2: Failing to Make an Event Budget Checklist
After you develop a general budgeting strategy, you need to refine it. Failing to specify each and every potential cost will increase the chances of a budget blowout. If you’ve skipped over this process in the past, remember that it is far better to overestimate your costs than to underestimate them. It’s also vital to be as specific as possible to ensure you know precisely where every dollar will be allocated.
We recommend using an event budget checklist to record your costs. Once you have all your potential expenses noted down, you can easily pinpoint the areas that need tweaking. For example, if your marketing expenses are coming in at 50% but you only have approval for 45%, you will need to find a way to downsize these costs. It’s far better to iron out these kinks before you start working with an event venue provider so you can enter discussions with clear goals—which brings us to our next point.
Mistake #3: Selecting an Overly Expensive Venue Provider
Contracting an overly expensive venue provider will impact your budget considerably. While you often get what you pay for, some venue providers are downright unscrupulous and inflate the price of their services. Others may avoid being upfront about how much you will ultimately pay for their services. That’s why it’s vital you select a trustworthy event provider with the experience and know-how to provide professional services along with a versatile venue.
It’s also helpful to look for a venue that offers versatile spaces for all kinds of events. This will help you save on costs because you won’t need to spend a huge portion of your budget restructuring a space to make it work for your needs. Another tip is to look for venues that have affordable on-site services that you can take advantage of.
Mistake #4: Not Communicating Your Budget and Goals
The relationship you establish with your venue provider will make a considerable difference in how well you are able to stick to your budget and goals. One of the most important tenets of a great producer–venue provider relationship is communication.
Many event producers assume that an event venue provider will know their precise budget and goals. However, at the end of the day, every event producer’s case is unique, so it is best to communicate these with your venue provider of choice.
Needless to say, choosing the right venue provider will make all the difference (see Mistake #3). We at Magic Box have the expertise to help you achieve your precise goals within your specified budget. We love nothing more than working one-on-one with event producers to ensure their budgeting needs are met. to see how we can work together to ensure your next event is a complete success (and remains on-budget!).
Author Bio
Monica Mizzi is a digital marketer hailing from Sydney who has worked with a diverse range of clients including airline magazines, national newspapers, lifestyle and tech publications, marketing agencies and blockchain companies. Her experience with leading on-page SEO fixes, link building, and content creation has helped successive clients rank on the first page of Google. Monica believes that SEO is an undervalued but powerful component of any successful marketing strategy that all industries and niches should leverage.
Sources:
https://www.eventmobi.com/blog/event-budget-basics/
https://www.eventmanagerblog.com/event-budget
https://guidebook.com/mobile-guides/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Event-Budget-Workbook_Guidebook.pdf
