{"id":8962,"date":"2015-08-11T12:42:09","date_gmt":"2015-08-11T12:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/?p=8962"},"modified":"2015-08-11T12:42:09","modified_gmt":"2015-08-11T12:42:09","slug":"simple-tips-for-running-your-own-industry-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/simple-tips-for-running-your-own-industry-event\/","title":{"rendered":"Simple tips for running your own industry event"},"content":{"rendered":"

You\u2019ve found plenty of people to talk to online. You can navigate social media, discussion forums, and blogs like a pro, knowing exactly where to find answers, where to state your opinion, and where to just enjoy doing what you love.<\/p>\n

But do you really want to spend all your time on your computer? Wouldn\u2019t it be great to go out and meet these people face-to-face, maybe on a regular basis, and get to know other people who do the same things you do?<\/p>\n

Whether you\u2019re running a design agency, building up your hosting business, or up to your elbows in the latest programming language, getting together with like-minded people is a great way to find new potential clients, build up your knowledge, or spark creativity.<\/p>\n

And if there isn\u2019t an event near you, what better way to get it started than hosting your own?<\/p>\n

Here are a few tips for how to host your own event:<\/p>\n

Dream big, but plan small<\/h3>\n

You want to run an event. You start daydreaming, thinking about giant crowds, huge screens, standing in front of the crowd like Steve Jobs, maybe get some dry ice and lasers going, everyone\u2019s interested in what you have to say\u2026<\/p>\n

Are you sure that\u2019s how you want to kickstart your career as an event planner?<\/p>\n

Start smaller. Focus on your town. If there aren\u2019t enough like-minded people in your town, then branch out a bit further, focusing on the county or the region. Have small events with just a few people, meeting up to have conversations about your topic of choice. Find a few local people to host talks and start pulling together a core group, people you know are interested and want to help you make it better and bigger.<\/p>\n

And once you know you can run an event \u2013 no matter how small \u2013 then you can start dreaming bigger. Just don\u2019t buy the dry ice yet.<\/p>\n

\"Lighting<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t forget your wider audience<\/h3>\n

You might be focusing on a single programming language, bit of software, or people in a certain field, but don\u2019t forget about people in related fields. Branching out into wider audiences means a larger range of possibilities for speakers, as well as easy advertising.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re talking about setting up Linux servers, why not invite the local Linux User Group along? If you\u2019re focusing on mobile devices and portable computing, maybe your local maker\/hackspace has someone who would be interested? And if you\u2019re helping businesses get off the ground, there are plenty of local schemes focused on small businesses \u2013 covering everything from tax and legal issues to hosting co-working spaces.<\/p>\n

And if you\u2019re planning to meet up in pubs, think about people who might not be comfortable (or allowed) in pubs \u2013 you might be missing out on the next genius in your field, just because they\u2019re not old enough to get in<\/a>. Look for coffee shops, tea houses, meeting rooms, or even cinemas \u2013 and if people want to go to the pub afterwards to continue the conversation, they\u2019re more than welcome to.<\/p>\n

\"Coffee<\/p>\n

Make sure the tech works<\/h3>\n

The crowd\u2019s hyped up, everyone\u2019s excited about the talk, the speaker clicks to the next slide in their presentation, and\u2026<\/p>\n

Nothing.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s very little that can kill an event dead faster than tech problems. Whether it\u2019s the minutes spent before each presentation to get individual laptops to integrate with a projector or someone needing a charger at the last minute, you need to be prepared.<\/p>\n

The best conference organisers carry with them an emergency pack of everything they might need. Examples of things you could be carrying are:<\/p>\n