Sarah Fejfar 0:00
HUD is the first part of the framework is picture it. And I think in order to get a really clear picture, it's so helpful to see it. Yes. So do the site visit, invest in it? Make it a line item on your budget? That's non negotiable.
Sarah Fejfar 0:18
How are entrepreneurs like us daring bravely to build a stage? Ditch the sweat pants? And step up to the mic? How do we create our own transformative offense? So we can get our message out into the world in a bigger way? It's not only profitable, but it's actually something we can be proud of.
Sarah Fejfar 0:39
That's the question. And the answers are inside this podcast. My name is Sarah Fejfar. Welcome to greenroom Central.
Sarah Fejfar 0:47
I want to talk about site visits, I really feel like it's a non negotiable. But as I was thinking about the episode, and where I wanted to take it, I realized that there's some other non negotiables, too, and so why not talk about a bunch of them today. So that's what we're gonna do. We're gonna talk about non negotiables. In the event planning arena, first thing is site visits, I am such a huge fan of doing a site visit, very passionate about this topic.
Sarah Fejfar 1:19
And here's why. I think that even though it's expensive, even though it takes time, I think site visits are non negotiable, because you, you uncover so much when you're doing a site visit. And let me back up for those of you who may be new to planning an event. And I'm wondering what the heck is a site visit. So if you are planning an event, at a venue that you've never gone to before, going there is called a site visit going in advance of the event.
Sarah Fejfar 2:03
And if if budget wasn't a thing I would love for two site visits to happen. I call it one to buy and one to fine tune. So you can combine them if you need to. So let's talk about it. When you're going to buy a site, you know a venue for your event, before you sign the contract. I love for you to go and visit, take a walk through the space, how does it feel? What's the energy? Does it feel right for your business and for your community and for the type of event you're hosting.
Sarah Fejfar 2:47
So what I like to do is I like to do a ton of research in advance, Google is my best friend. Gosh, you can see so much with the satellite view and Street View and then going on to their websites and looking at photos, you can see a lot from afar. And so I like to do all of that. Get proposals from multiple venues. Some of them you're gonna know you're gonna throw out right away, for whatever reason, it just sticks out like a sore thumb and that one is not going to happen.
Sarah Fejfar 3:24
I love for you to whittle it down to three, and then go do a site visit, go plan a trip if you have to get on a plane. And if you can bring another person. Ideally, if it's a big conference, you're bringing someone from your production team, from that other AV team so that they can walk the space with you. But you're going to go and you're going to meet with a sales representative from the venue. I mean, most venues will have someone who will meet you and give you a private personalized tour.
Sarah Fejfar 4:02
And that's what you want. And you'll be able to have such rich, richer conversations about what the goals are for your event. What's your why? And and they'll be able to help direct you like wait, maybe actually, I know we were had proposed this room for you. But I think this one would be better or what if we did this area for your special celebratory lunch at the end. I think that meets the needs of what you're kind of talking about. And then you can go check it out and see the view and sit in the chairs and see if they're comfy, all the things. It just you uncover so much about
Sarah Fejfar 4:48
and can start to envision really much more clearly. The journey that your guests will have through your event and when you have that vision. You can go back home Um, and you're, the entire rest of the planning process is gonna be so much easier. I just love for you to do these site visits, because then you go home, and you'll be planning the rest of the event. And it'll just be so much easier because you have, you can picture it. I mean, inside of live event Academy, that is the first part of the framework is picture it.
Sarah Fejfar 5:28
And I think in order to get a really clear picture, it's so helpful to see it. Yes. So do the site visit, invest in it, make it a line item on your budget, that's non negotiable. So that you can go and you can see it, you know, when we were in Istanbul a few weeks ago, doing that site visit for the 2023 event, it was amazing. All of the layers of detail, were able about the customer journey, during the event that we're able to uncover, because of being there, like, oh, this hill to walk up, it's, it's pretty strenuous.
Sarah Fejfar 6:09
Maybe we need to have a bus for this segment, or the city, it's really congested. And honestly quite stressful in these segments. Why don't we get on a boat to move around in this place, or that Presidential Suite has an amazing patio, let's go see that. Because I think that would be the perfect spot for that. Working dinner, and journaling exercise, we've got planned for whatever day, you know, like, we were able to uncover all this stuff. And it wouldn't have happened if we weren't there. And I want that for you. I want you to have that clarity.
Sarah Fejfar 6:59
And that confidence that comes from being in this space and talking with the people who work there. And seeing the view and tasting the food and sleeping in the bed. All the things. So that's, that's my non negotiable for number one is doing a site visit. Second, non negotiable is removing yourself as the host of the event from the setup. And I know you might be starting and I know budgets might be tight at this time. And so you may not have team, but I need you to find volunteers to support you because you cannot be showing up as your highest and best self to serve your guests.
Sarah Fejfar 7:56
If you're also schlepping all of the boxes, making sure the chairs are pushed in just right and putting out fires before the event starts. That's not the headspace that you should be in. Right? You know that. So, let's then figure out how to solve for volunteers or team. Okay. Third thing is prioritizing your health and doing number two, removing yourself from the setup is going to help you with number three hugely.
Sarah Fejfar 8:35
And we've talked about health before. And I just want to underline here, that that also includes not drinking. In order for your guests to get the best of you, you need to be 100% one in 10% on and that's not going to happen. If you're drinking during cocktail hours or dinner with that it's gonna affect your sleep. It's going to affect your clarity, mental clarity. And so save that for after the event. Okay?
Sarah Fejfar 9:11
Because I want you focusing on your sleep I want you focusing on like nourishing your body with the best food and beverages. Maybe it's green juice or smoothies or tons of water. I want you to be clear and have time for meditating. I want you to have
Sarah Fejfar 9:36
time the day before the event when you're not setting up but someone else's to go do something that fills your cup and brings you joy and brings you peace and calm and serenity and just like puts a smile on your face. And you don't have maybe it's a maybe it's your favorite workout. But you don't have time for that if you're setting up and answering questions, right? So that's number three is prioritizing your health.
Sarah Fejfar 10:10
Number four is where we start. A non negotiable is knowing your why times to write, begin beginning of the world class event planning formula is no your y times two, why are you hosting this event for your business? And why are you hosting this event for your community? answer those two questions. And you are so well on your way to knocking it out of the park for this event, because remember, those two Y's act as your lighthouse for all of the decision making thereafter.
Sarah Fejfar 10:49
And so that's my non negotiable. Number four is starting with why and knowing those two, before you get started. And number five, you're gonna like this one. You're the only one who knows. Number five, the non negotiable, number five, it's doing something during the event that is for you. It's to put a smile on your face. It's for fun. It's because that thing has always been on your heart. When you envision doing an event, and you are going to put that into your event for you. Is non negotiable?
Sarah Fejfar 11:38
Because if we're not having fun, and why are we even doing it? Right. So what is it for you? And then put it into the plan as a non negotiable? You may laugh, but for me, it might be flowers in the bathrooms. Yeah, I know. Silly. And flowers at the registration table. And flowers at dinner. And flowers on the tables in the meeting space. I love flowers are gorgeous. They put a huge smile on my face. And so that might be mine. Or, gosh, if I was pressed, mine might be always adding an adventure day. Always adding a day for an experience as a group.
Sarah Fejfar 12:34
Because I just hugely value experiences over things. And I think they're magical and intimate setting. But what is it for you? It may not be adventure days and flowers. More I guess if you're gonna push me to give you another one. It might be amazing food and beverages because I'm a foodie. But see, see how easy it was how quickly it was for me to come up with three? What would it be for you write it down. I I would love to know too.
Sarah Fejfar 13:14
So go drop them in my DMs on Instagram or instill into linchpin nation in our free community for all of us greenroom central podcast listeners. Let us know. I want to hear. So those are my five negotiables non negotiables for you today. A site visit removing yourself from the setup. prioritizing your health starting with why and knowing what your non negotiable.
Sarah Fejfar 13:52
This brings me joy. So we're doing it even if it seems crazy. Okay. I'll tell you that for our wedding. When I got married, it was a big band. Like just seems totally ridiculous, right? Like why would you need like a 15 piece big band. But we did it. We sacrificed on so many other things. Because we wanted that.
Sarah Fejfar 14:25
We wanted to create that experience during the the dance portion of the wedding reception. And it was magical when I would do it all over again. So no yours. Okay. I wish you an outstanding week. Go make it so and I'll see you back here next time. Thanks for hanging out with me today. Thank you for listening to the greenroom central podcast. If you liked this episode, then Then please take a screenshot on your phone and post it to Instagram and be sure to tag at Sarah Fejfar.
Sarah Fejfar 15:05
And let me know why you liked it and what you'd like to hear or who you'd like to hear from in the future that will help me know what to create for you. Also, if scaling events in your business sounds like something you'd like to tackle in 2022, and you need a coach, let's connect to see if one on one coaching is for you. Just go to greenroom central.com. You and I can work together one on one throughout the course of the year and dive deep into the inner workings of your business and events. You'll receive mentorship, personalized feedback and customers guidance, define your goals and achieve your next level of success.
Sarah Fejfar 15:40
Go to green room central.com right now to apply. This podcast is built on Kajabi. I loved how easy it was to get things set up. But more so I'm thrilled that my entire business is run within one platform. From my emails to pages to courses in my podcast too. It's all under one roof. If you love simplicity and scalability as much as I do, then go to groom central.com to get a free 14 day trial from Kajabi.
Sarah Fejfar 16:07
I appreciate your commitment to leveling up and learning the mindset and strategy of keep going keep learning if you want more, head over to green room central.com For show notes and all the links from today's episode.
