5 doubts about event management you should clarify

If you are just getting into event management business, then a big congratulation to you. Good choice. But it also means you are going to encounter lots of myths and mysteries surrounding the business that will make you rethink your decision. Some will say it’s the best decision you made, and some will just want you to get out ASAP. But the decision must be yours, and for that it is highly necessary you know the basics of it and understand the ground reality of event industry.

So let us start with some of the fundamental doubts about event management and how you can get past it successfully.

Most work happens on the day of the event

There is no preparation for the event and most of the things happens on the day of the event – one can see the origin of this myth coming from the sightings of a busy man (goes by the title event managers) running around the event venue like a kid in the park on the day of the event. But unlike the kid, he/she does not wander around aimlessly. The event manager is only carrying out tasks in a specific way that has been prepared weeks or even months before the day of the event. This includes research, designing, marketing, etc. If an event manager leaves everything to the day of the event, then rest assured, the event will be quite uneventful.

Anyone can be an event organizer

Nope. Not true. And to support my point, I’m going to borrow (and modify) a quote from the Pixar movie Ratatouille, “not everyone can become an event organizer, but an event organizer can come from anywhere”. The origin for this myth can be traced to the public’s general assumption that event management is not a ‘real job’. Therefore, anyone with no experience, enthusiasm, or passion for the work can do it easily.

For all the naysayers, event management requires a particular and polished skill set that spans from inborn creativity and vision, all the way to accounting and high levels of communication ability. In fact, a large part of event management professionals possesses certified event management degrees, besides a wide-ranging field experience before they even enter the industry. Event management is a real job. If anybody says otherwise, then please tell them unicorn exists and that you have rode one.

Event Management is glamorous 

Thanks to the red carpet events, award functions, movie premieres, and the endless photos of your favorite celebrities, event management has become synonymous with glitz and glamour. But that is only in the outset – the event itself and not managing the event. Managing an event is an unforgiving job that is anything but glamourous. Yes, it is true event managers are surrounded by the most happening and most beautiful people on planet earth at most of the times, but that is not running in their minds while running around to check if the food has been served to the guests. In fact, they would be happier with knowing that the hundreds of people who has attended the event are satisfied than taking a photo with the biggest celebrity of the night.

Event planning is always super fun!

No. It is not. I’m not trying to scare you away from here. Events industry is one of the best you can hope to be in, but if you want to enter it looking for super fun at all times, you might be terribly disappointed. Super tight deadlines and scrutiny from the ever alert public make organizing meetings almost as pressurized as being an orchestra composer – a small mistake made even in a single note by one person can ruin your reputation forever. The stress that comes with event planning is also similarly comparable to fire fighting and flying a commercial aeroplane (I have not done either of these things, I’m just quoting the industry leaders; it is that difficult).

Event managers end up making the event costly

The opposite of this is truth. Event managers are magicians in how they do their job. With expert event managers, if you give them money only for a 2-star event, then they will arrange for 5-star event. Are you wondering how they do it? Through networking and years of experience, which ties into my first point that not everyone can become event managers.

Good event managers always begin with understanding your budget and they will begin from there; while ensuring, everything fits right in the budget. That is their job. To manage and organize an event that fits your budget without compromising on the quality.

I believe I have come to the end of this blog post. I have laid before you the fundamental myths about event management. I also claim that this is not the be-all and end-all of the aforementioned list. If you feel I have missed anything or you want to pick up an argument over something I wrote, use the comments section for constructive criticism.