Successful Events Start with Purpose

Photo by Andrew Knechel

Hosting an in-person event can have serious advantages for yourself, your career, or your business, and you’ll be most successful if the first thing you do is answer a simple—but often overlooked—question: What is your purpose in creating the event? 

Do you want to:

-       design a space where people can network?
- provide an opportunity for peers to discuss best business practices?
-       allow people to create collaborations?
-       provide exposure for someone, her product, or her service?
-       or be seen as an expert who can host great events?

That goal or purpose defines every other aspect of your event. Every decision you make about the event has to pass the litmus test: how does this help me accomplish my goal?

Once you define your purpose, create an environment where it can happen. For example, if it’s a collaboration or networking event, people will likely be seated in circles. If you’re speaking or having a speaker, you’ll want rows of chairs. If you’re highlighting a person or a brand, you may need a different seating arrangement altogether. Your end goal will also dictate the design of your invitations and how they’re sent, what the table settings will look like, if you’ll have food and how it will be served. Everything is determined by what you hope to accomplish.

When you have a clear goal in mind, you also have a clear measure of success. Did it work? Was it worth the investment of time and money? As you evaluate your event, remember that it can take time to become established. It may take two or three events or more to reap the full benefits you hoped for. If you see progress toward your goal, but didn’t fully realize it the first time around, there may be reason to build on your current momentum and keep trying.