3 Key Components to creating an event: Behind The Scenes.

What a whirlwind I can’t believe the fall social waS already three weeks ago! Time has just flown by. I am so grateful to everyone who attended and also a special thank you to all my speakers and supporters behind the scenes.

I thought I would be fun to pull back the curtain and share with you 3 key things I do while building an event. This is more on the conception, and less focused on the play-by-play more to come on that later.

One compliment I am proud to share is how often people recognise the thought behind each event and each element. This is something I’m super conscious of, and it pleases me to no end when attendees feel it.

If you are planning an event, give yourself a long runway and blank space. I love listening to podcasts and being around people, taking in as much information as I can, but there comes a time where stillness is necessary. This enables you to listen to your heart and your body. I’ve started doing this in the sauna, or during a red-light therapy session where I leave my phone out of the room and just be — yes it can be annoying as it’s where some of my best thinking is done, but an thought that is meant to be yours will return. Another option is going for walks or drives, with a notebook this allows your body to stay busy avoiding other distractions and lets your brain be curious and follow different paths, and then it also gives you the ability to pull over to the side, stop, reflect and write.

It’s in these moments I typically find a “word”. The word may not be obvious to the attendee but behind the scenes it’s a driving force for decisions. The first event I held was after 18 months of lockdown and I was in an unique situation where I had to use a credit within the year. I decided that the theme word would be “connection", I wanted people to leave the event feeling connected, to themselves, to others, to the vision whichever way fit them best. The second event was designed with the purpose of “imagine”, now people were returning to so-called normal I wanted to create a space where people could imagine any possibilities for themselves, but a common thread to lack of imagination is not being able to trust ourselves due to lack of confidence. At both events we had incredible speakers deliver on these topics and while I’ve just got started I can say I’ve learned a lot already (more on this later).

This theme runs through my speaker selection and products shared, even down to the space I ask does this leave an imprint aligning with “_____”(fill in the blank)

Once I have a theme I start building a list of where and who is going to be a part of this event. Space is strategically picked in collaboration with feedback and vision, I’ve always wanted these events to be immersive and to remove as many distractions as possible giving permission for everyone to lean into the experience and absorb as much out of the speakers as possible.

The same thought goes into my speakers, as much as I want to be excited about having speakers, I want them to be excited to be there. As one of my coaches reminds me if it’s not a Hell YA, it’s a no. Everyone in the room has made a decision to show up for themselves and it’s important the effort and value it returned. These events are created to be a win/win.

Speakers and Space have the power of setting the tone and the overall experience, take time to be selective.

Lastly is the gifts, it may seem small but to someone who’s love language is gifts the attendee favours are an important element as it’s a tangible reflection of the event. SWAG is shit we all get, and that’s the last impression I want to leave on my guests. Whether you are VIP or General Ticket Holders I want there to be intentional thought behind each bag, and the items inside, whether it’s supporting a small local business, female owned or something I currently love each element tells a story, and ties into the theme of the event in one way or another.

At each event I want the women who attend to feel seen, everyone deserve to have a seat at the table, and you’re not always going to get an invite, you have to put in the work and invite yourself which is why I created these events.

I wanted to attend all these glamorous events without costing me an entire paycheque so I decided to build my own.

In summary here are the 3 things I do to kickstart my event planning, Intention, Environment and Experience.

Hope this helps!