To Contract or DIY - That Is The Question

Sometimes, the answer is easy. It is easy to decide you need an outside contractor for larger and prominent specialties such as furniture rentals, electricians, and catering. That is how is has always been. These have always been separate fields and trades, and are considered highly detailed specialities. Times are changing, though, and planners are now also finding themselves having to decide whether or not to hire a contractor to do something they used to do themselves just a few years ago. Over the past few years, though, specialty fields like event technology and sustainability have blossomed and grown into unique trades and even career paths. They have become very detailed and time consuming, and each can easily be considered a full time job, just like a caterer and electrician.

Making the decision to contract out something that you used to do yourself is sometimes difficult. The struggle is real. We understand the amount of pride and confidence that comes with being in the event industry. We also understand that as the industry changes and evolves. Planners are faced with balancing all of the new demands placed upon them. We know that, given the time, planners would be able to learn everything and understand these specialty fields. Time is the deciding factor in this situation. How valuable is your time to you? 

Here are a few ways that contractors like Power Event Group can help you:

• Give you more time in your day to do other things! Best gift ever! How many times have you said that you don't have enough time to get everything done?
• Contractors are already experts in their field and can do something in a fraction of the time it would take you to learn it or train someone else to do it.
• Contractors often have relationships they have already built within the industry, and can provide you with more options and possible discounts.
• They can work with you and smoothly integrate into your team, increasing your own possibilities and productivity.

Do you have other reasons you hire (or don't hire) contractors? Join the conversation by commenting below!

2017 - The Year of Specialized Event Planners

A new trend is beginning to emerge in the event planning industry - event planners are beginning to become more specialized. They are specializing in fields such as Food & Beverage, Sustainability, Technology, and more.  As each field becomes more specialized and detailed, more expertise is also needed to keep up the expected level of performance in each individual field, and there is often simply not enough time in the day to keep up! In order to solve this problem, companies and independent event planners are beginning to hire outside contractors to fulfill these specialty niches and maintain the highest level of expertise possible. 

MPI seems to agree with this as well. According to surveys done by MPI International, 45% of event planners are increasing the amount of contractors they hire. We recently had the opportunity to attend an MPI Virginia educational session with by Jessie States, CMM, Manager of Professional Development, Meeting Professionals International. She went into further detail about the event planning industry, stating that as industries in general mature, they typically follow a five-level classification pattern: 1) not defined, 2) ad hoc, 3) repeatable, 4) defined, 5) managed and optimized. She continued by saying that "as our industry moves into its fully optimized stage, we find organizations and individuals shifting their foci from merely managing their meetings and events to strategically and thoughtfully integrating these programs into their overall businesses, and consistently improving and innovating them over time. This requires a shift from the mere management of events (Level 4), and it requires new skill sets that meet the demands of this ever-shifting marketplace. Specialists are called in to provide expertise in myriad areas, from technology and corporate social responsibility to experience and even learning design. Large organizations may fill these roles with full-time employees, while smaller organizations may look to consultants to answer their needs."

As the event planning industry evolves and grows, a new sub-culture within the industry has started to grow with it, as some of the specialized event planners have broken away from tradition and started new companies to help meet these new needs! In the past, the relationship has always just been between the buyer and the seller. The planner and the product. Two different worlds, regardless of how much you talk. This relationship is often strained to the point that planners no longer want to deal with vendors. Never fear - you now have other options! There are companies out there like Power Event Group that have your best interest in mind and fully understand their specific field as well. They are run by specialized event planners that serve as middlemen, or brokers, for you.

Times are changing. As we all strive to move our industry forward, MPI and Jessie agree that "[s]pecialists will drive our industry forward. They will help guide the events marketplace as key identifiers of trends and next practices." Regardless of what field you may need assistance with, if you are feeling more and more overwhelmed with the amount of details and expertise you need, remember that you are not alone. There are new companies out there that are not just selling a product. They truly have your best interest in mind and want to help make the event planning industry even better!