The best show doesn’t always require the biggest budget.
Planning an event involves balancing creativity and fiscal responsibility. A well-allocated budget can enhance the attendee experience while keeping costs manageable. Below are key strategies to help you get the most out of your event budget.
Understand Your Venue Contract
Venues often offer incentives such as reduced room rental rates or discounted food and beverage packages to win your business. However, failing to carefully review the contract before signing can lead to unnecessary expenses later. Key areas to scrutinize include exclusivity charges for rigging, production, printing and installation.
For example, rigging—a critical component in many events—can vary significantly in cost based on exclusivity agreements. In a non-exclusive venue, rigging may account for three to eight percent of your budget. However, in exclusive venues, rigging costs can skyrocket to 15-20 percent of the production budget.
To illustrate:
- A single half-ton chain hoist in a non-exclusive venue, $225-265 per week.
- The same hoist in an exclusive venue, $300-400 per day—often billed for the entire event duration.
At a medium-sized event, this difference could mean paying $30,000 versus $3,700 for the same rigging setup. By understanding these costs upfront, you can better evaluate the true value of your venue contract.
Compact Your Schedule
Efficient scheduling and room usage can yield significant savings.
- Rehearsals: Conduct initial read-throughs at your office or in a meeting room instead of the main stage. This reduces the hours spent on costly on-sight adjustments with a full crew. Main stage time should focus on fine-tuning the performance, not revising scripts or graphics.
- Room Usage: Maximize the utility of your General Session room by hosting breakouts, mixers or other events there. Consolidating activities into one space reduces the need for additional setups, allowing more budget for impactful elements in your primary room.
Reuse and Repurpose Fabrications
Custom fabrication adds a unique touch to events but can become a budgetary black hole if not planned wisely.
- Invest in Evergreen Fabrications: Opt for designs that can be reused across events. For instance, custom client logos or stage enhancements can be touched up or repurposed for future use, saving significant costs.
- Plan for Reuse: Work with your production partner to store and repurpose large builds, such as expo installations or stage props. This reduces the need to rent new items for subsequent events while enriching your expo or stage experience over time.
Stay Organized and Start Early with a Trusted Partner
Effective communication and organization are the foundation of a well-managed budget. Ensure alignment between your team and production partners. Remember:
- You know your organization’s culture and goals.
- Your production partner has the expertise to optimize event logistics and maximize impact.
Rather than just looking for the best deal in the moment, you should aim to cultivate relationships with vendors you can rely on year after year. Long-term partners who know your preferences and expectations can also suggest cost-effective alternatives when needed.
Additionally planning and understanding needs and budgets early can help you and your production partner in sourcing and negotiating with vendors. It is much easier to ask for a discount or for a vendor to match pricing etc., when you are several months ahead of the event.
Collaboration and mutual understanding can turn a good event into a memorable one without unnecessary overspending.
Scott Beelman, Co-Founder and SVP of Production at Katapult Events, is an out-of-work bass player who had to rely on his fallback option in the events industry once his mediocre (at best) career as a professional musician dried up. Fifteen years later he’s still looking for that last gig, but he’s learned a thing or two about producing direct sales events.
From the January/February 2025 issue of Direct Selling News magazine.
