Sarah Fejfar 0:00
Talk about what to do differently and what to do get capture that information, even if you don't do anything with it right now get it all the document together in one place, what would we do differently? What would we do? Again, I promise you as impactful as the moment was during your event, when that thing happened, it will not be as memorable to you a month from now or six months from now, when you do this event again?
Sarah Fejfar 0:25
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 events? 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 0:46
That's the question. And the answers are inside this podcast. My name is Sarah Fejfar. Welcome to greenroom Central.
Sarah Fejfar 0:54
It may sound crazy, but I think we should think about storing our events kinda like how we store our holiday decor. Or, if like me, your storage of holiday decor is not as optimal as you'd like it to be yet, we could just pretend for the sake of this podcast that we all store our holiday decor, kind of like we're the home edit, and have that image in our heads as we go through today. So I'm good. So first, I have a little soapbox moment. And I want to share that I think too many event leaders are reinventing the wheel every time they do an event. And I think that needs to stop.
Sarah Fejfar 1:38
Because we should think about our events as if they are something that we are washing, rinsing and repeating over and over again, we're getting 1% better every single time. We are polishing and refining, not reinventing, can I get an amen on that one. Because when we reinvent every single time, it's just so taxing on us and our team and doesn't make our presenters lives any easier either. It's important to think about an event that we're hosting is something that we're going to do again, even if we don't know we're going to do it again. But let's do it in a way that we have in our heads the whole time, I'm going to do this again.
Sarah Fejfar 2:22
And so when we put that lens on it, it helps us inform our decisions, and hopefully helps us make better informed decisions where we're thinking, well, what would I do if I was doing it again? What would I do it so that it was scalable so that it was more easily repeatable, so that it felt more Wash, rinse and repeat? Yes. So with that lens on, I'll get off my soapbox, and say, I really think that event storage is kind of like holiday decor storage. And when we do it right, it just allows us to get a little bit better every single time, have it be a little bit easier. The next time haven't be a little bit more profitable the next time. So I'm going to give you six things to do after every event that I think will help you get that little bit better every single time a little bit easier, more profitable.
Sarah Fejfar 3:24
Okay, first. So important, celebrate the win. Gather your team for a meal afterwards, perhaps, but come up with some way where you celebrate the win. really integrate what you and your team just accomplished. And don't let it pass and get right on to the next thing. Like even while you're still physically at the virtual event studio or the in person events space, like take a beat and celebrate with each other. Because if we don't do that, it just doesn't feel quite as rewarding, rewarding and blissful as it could be.
Sarah Fejfar 4:11
And I just think it's so important to pause wasn't always a person who paused and celebrated wins. But now, we actually do it every night at dinner. It's one of the things when we go around the table that we say is what are you proud of today? What when do we all need to celebrate with you? And you should be doing that after your event. I know I know you're a seasoned event leader, you're or you're a seasoned CEO and this is something that's already in your practice. Then if that's the case, this is your gentle reminder to just continue. Okay. First is celebrate the win. Second is recover. It's so important to recover. I hope you've planned that time into your schedule.
Sarah Fejfar 4:54
I hope you've got several days off after the event and you're not doing anything other than perhaps getting a massage or binging on some Netflix or like taking a casual stroll on the beach, something that feels restorative to you. Maybe it's ice baths, maybe it's more meditation, maybe it's just having like the best healthiest foods time with your family, you know what it is for you. And for your body. And for your mind, you just did an incredibly taxing like marathon, and a wedding all at once, basically.
Sarah Fejfar 5:37
And so you need to allow your mind and your body to recover from that. Okay? So that's that's two is recover. Three is do not miss an opportunity to have a conversation with not only your team, but the extended team that helped you with this event, to talk about what to do differently, and what to do, again, capture that information, even if you don't do anything with it right now. Get it all the document together in one place? What would we do differently? What would we do? Again, I promise you, as impactful as the moment was, during your event, when that thing happened, it will not be as memorable to you a month from now or six months from now and you do this event again.
Sarah Fejfar 6:21
So capture that information now. And do not forget to ask the extended team that helped you. So maybe that was your A B team. Or maybe that was the banquet manager from the events place that you were at. Don't forget to ask those people, they see events all day every day. And we miss out on a huge opportunity if we don't tap into that brain trust and say, Hey, what did you see that we did, that was something that could have been done differently or, or that we should definitely do again.
Sarah Fejfar 7:01
Okay, so that's number three, do again or do differently for his store away the physical goods, again, just like holiday decor, if you have items that you're using, every time that you have an event, I don't know what they are for you. Maybe it's decor, maybe it's display things, maybe it's a special rag that you wipe the sweat off your brow, every time that you have an event, I want you to store those physical goods that are used just for your event, in a spot well labeled clean. I think you get the picture. That's, that's for physical goods, five, I want you to store away all of your digital assets.
Sarah Fejfar 7:49
So we go deep into this in live event Academy about folder structures, because they just geek out on this kind of stuff. But just at a high level, what I need you to know and do is create a file structure for your event where you're using the same categories and the same file folder names for every single event, it makes it so much easier to find stuff the next time. And then maybe it's a digital background, maybe it's a principle for your order forms. I don't know what it is for you. But all of those digital goods that you were working so fast and furiously on in the lead up to the event, they could be everywhere, or anywhere right now they might still be with the printer or the the digital creator who made them.
Sarah Fejfar 8:43
But every virtual asset, let's get our hands on those. Let's get them stored into folders that are clearly labeled, same labels, same folder structure, every single event. Organized that stuff, you will be so thankful and save your team's so much time. If you direct them now to go gather up all that stuff. Give them the space and time that they need after the event to go capture it all. Get it organized. Save it away.
Sarah Fejfar 9:16
So that next event you don't have to pay another vendor to go recreate something I've seen this time and time again. It just It blows my mind. Let's save this stuff. Let's save yourself some money. So this event doesn't cost as much to put on the next time and also make our lives a little bit easier, right 1% better every time. And then. So that's five is virtual storage. Six is reconciling the budget.
Sarah Fejfar 9:47
High level here. I need you to Pete to be managing the budget on in some sort of digital format that allows you to compare event into over event, category by category. For me, I love an Excel spreadsheets. I really love a good spell Excel spreadsheet. I love having categories, food and beverage, transportation, virtual studio, whatever the costs are, but make a whole bunch of those categories use the same ones every single time, I will give them to you inside of live event Academy.
Sarah Fejfar 10:30
But use the same categories, make a spreadsheet, reconcile, take the time to reconcile the budget, capture all those expenses that just flew during the event at the last minute just because they had to let's let's get all of that documented. So that we can compare event over event, it really, really helps to see the numbers. So we can assess what percentage of the budget is being spent here is that is that the percent that we want to be spending there? Do we need to be spending more here to kind of alleviate some pressure and make things easier. I don't know what it is going to be for you and your team and your event.
Sarah Fejfar 11:11
But we won't know until the the numbers are there. So get detailed. And keep a budget spreadsheet by category. And, and then save that into that same digital asset storage where you saved all the other digital assets we just talked about in number five, so that it's easy to get to get to and compare for when you get to the next event. Because that next event will make it so much easier. Because you can be like, oh, yeah, that's how much we typically spend on this thing. Well, now I probably don't need to go get so many bids this time, because now I'm aware of what this thing costs us. And I can just put that plug in, because it's gonna probably cost us about the same amount this time. makes everything so much easier and faster.
Sarah Fejfar 12:07
Think Wash, rinse, repeat. Yes, I know. I'm on a soapbox and repeating myself today. But I'm passionate about helping you get your event to a place where it doesn't feel so hard. It's less effort, and it's more profit. Yes. Thanks so much for hanging out today. I appreciate you make it an outstanding rest of the week. Take care. Thank you for listening to the greenroom central podcast. If you love this episode, then please take a screenshot on your phone and post it to Instagram. And be sure to tag at Sarah Fejfar.
Sarah Fejfar 12:44
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. Now, I know that today's episode on storing your event like holiday decor is probably going to stir up some ideas and best practices that you used to fill your event the one that you're putting to bed right now. Well, I know that you've also probably welcome a few more, and I've got some for you. In fact, I've got about 100 and set it if you head over to filling events.com Right now, for free. I can help you quickly master event marketing and fill your events faster.
Sarah Fejfar 13:29
Even if you've never done it before. I've scoured the online business world and I found honored and some of my favorite strategies. working right now. They're going to help you fill your next virtual or in person event and create the event promotion plan that you need really easily from these easy to implement customizable strategies. It's free over at funding events.com This podcast is built on Kajabi I loved how easy it was to get things set up.
Sarah Fejfar 14:00
But more so I'm thrilled that my entire businesses run within one platform, from my emails to my pages to my courses, and my podcast to it's all under one roof. You love simplicity and scalability as much as I do then go to greenroom. central.com To get a free 14 day trial from Kajabi.
Sarah Fejfar 14:20
I appreciate your commitment to leveling up and learning the mindset and strategy of live events. Keep learning. Keep going. If you want more, head over to greenroom central.com For show notes and all the links from today's episode.
