How to Organize a Successful Workshop

I’m super pumped this week, because my friend and partner in crime Terri Trespicio and I recently hosted our first live event! It wasn’t hosted by an organization or a conference – it was hosted by us – it was our baby!

Many of you know I created an online course called Lights Camera Expert after being asked “How do I get on TV?” so many times by experts who were sick of seeing everyone else in their field snatch up the airtime.

So we took them behind the scenes of what it’s like to work at a TV show or magazine, how to get a producer or editor’s attention and continue to get asked back.  And we pushed the video course out into the world about a year ago.

What happened next is not something we expected.

Not only did people enroll…but the most high-quality, giving, warm and wonderful experts came into our circle. These people really want to make a difference in the world – it’s not just about being on TV, it’s about public service.

I’ve dedicated my career to giving people information that will change their lives so this mission is one I hold close to my heart.

All this to say – we HAD to meet these people in person. So we recently hosted a two-day workshop in NYC to get them all together in one room.

And “LCE Live” was born.  It was a two-day in person workshop in NYC with a group dinner the night before.

We spent so many hours preparing for it, so it was great to see all that hard work pay off. Our clients really enjoyed the event, connected with each other on so many levels and had some serious breakthroughs. It’s such a nice feeling to watch your help and advice having an impact on people’s lives.

Plus we launched a year-long mastermind and coaching program called “Captivate,” which many of them will be joining us in.

So how did we get to this point?

Behind every successful endeavor are a lot of lists. In this post I’m going to break down how we planned the whole weekend, so if you’re planning a big event hopefully this will give you some good advice!

The how’s, who’s, where’s and when’s

First things first, you have to think about logistics. As you put pen to paper, ideally you want to think of every scenario or potential issue.

These logistics take a bit of research. Terri and I hosted our event in a Breather room. We’ve both used Breather before, but never a room of this size. We had to make sure there were enough chairs, WIFI, a TV to hook up our presentation and enough room to spread out. It is also a good idea to book an hour in the specific room before the event to run through what the meeting would be like and see if there are any potential issue. Taking the time to do a runthrough of the place beforehand can help to prevent issues before they arise.

For me, it’s important to take each step to it’s logical conclusion. We mapped out every minute much like you would in a newscast. Made time for bathroom breaks and some down time. And most importantly food! If we’re going all day people are going to get hungry! So we needed to order lunch and utensils and snacks and beverages. Lots to think about.

Answer every question

If people are coming to your event they’re most likely going to need to travel there and find somewhere to stay. Travelling to a new place can be a daunting task, especially if you’re unfamiliar with the area. One of the ways you can make guests feel more comfortable is by preempting their concerns.

Put yourself in their shoes and come up with the plan for them. Terri and I made sure to recommend good local hotels that we knew people would want to stay at and steered them clear of the not so good ones. It’s in our best interest to make sure they enjoy every part of their trip!

So what’s the plan?

It’s sort of an oxymoron, but while we all hate movie spoilers, we love knowing what we’re getting into when it comes to a conference or event. An overly detailed schedule can seem a bit daunting, however it’s good to give a general idea of how long each session will last and what to expect.

Terri and I put our agenda together as we formulated the content of the workshop. This helped to keep a structure to the day as well as making sure we didn’t miss anything!

We also asked our attendees to fill out a survey prior to the event so we would know what they were expecting. This gave us the opportunity to personalize the weekend towards people’s goals specifically.

Follow Up

The attendees had such a great time and it was important to us to keep those good vibes going. After attending a conference you can feel an energy buzz, as everything can seem so shiny and new. But, like all goals, this energy can dwindle. Our mastermind group, “Captivate” allows us to continue to mentor and encourage these entrepreneurs on their journey to success for a full year.

Have you ever planned an huge event? How did you do it?