Monthly Archives: February 2011

Venting: Industry Politics

February 28, 2011
(Image via Quazie)

You have probably heard the saying, “It’s not what you do, but who you know.”

I’ll go a step further and say that in the event industry, “It’s not what you do but who you pay.”

It used to be that if you were talented, that was enough. That is rapidly changing.

Today, in many cases, if a friend or someone recommends you for a job, they expect to be paid something.

I have had calls from folks who actually come right out and ask, “Preston, If I recommend you for so and so job, how much do you think you can pay me?”

To tell you the truth, I catch myself doing the numbers, and this is my thought process:

  • Well, this does not really count as paying a commission, it’s more like a present. (Yes folks I can also lie to myself.)
  • Well, if this is a $200,000 dollar job, why not? (I am also capable of being greedy.)
  • I wonder what they might be expecting, a percentage or just any amount? (In most cases, it’s a percentage.)

As tempting as these situations are, anytime I have done them, they turned out to be a disaster.

This practice is done a lot in our industry. In a lot of cases, they call it “a finder’s fee.” My question is, if you have a friend or client why would you want to make money just by giving your recommendation?

Whatever happened to doing a good deed for friends and sending them to the person you think is right for them?

Or, whatever happened to the good old days of, if we are both in the industry, you can recommend me and in turn I’ll recommend you, without money changing hands?

What is your opinion?

16 Comments

What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas?

February 25, 2011

Actually, I hope that’s not the case for us in the event business next week. I am finishing up an event in New York tomorrow, then heading out first thing Sunday morning to Las Vegas for my Monday morning speech at the Event Solutions Idea Factory.

I’d also like to thank you all again for your great suggestions about what I should talk about in my upcoming speeches.  After careful consideration, I thought an interesting topic could be “Endurance and Transformation.”

Endurance: How to survive in our industry.
Transformations: How to re-invent yourselves (also my main goal in all of my designs).

(Image via Werner Kunz)

Unfortunately I am only in Las Vegas for two days. After my talk I’m heading to Taiwan for a public exhibit we are installing, and also do a couple more speeches on my speaking tour…

If you are in the event business in any capacity you should rush to Las Vegas this coming week. In addition to the great TV host David Tutera, there is a line up of extraordinary speakers at Event Solutions.

They includ my good friend Marcy Blum, the former president of my company the brilliant Sean Low, the amazing Rebecca Grinnals among many others. I know a few of my blogger friends are going, and I look forward to meeting you all in Las Vegas.

7 Comments

Common Mistakes: My 10 All Time Worst Mistakes

February 24, 2011

I have often been asked what my worst mistakes are. Being in the industry for over 30 years, I could write a book called Preston’s Screw Ups.

However, in the hope that you do not make the same mistakes, here are my 10 all time worst mistakes going from bad to worse.

10. I think all florists can relate to this one. 10 years ago I purchased 500 hundred stems of white hydrangea, put them in water tubes, only to arrive at the event and find out they were all dead.

Lesson learned: One needs to properly cut and constantly spray to keep hydrangeas alive.

9. I had to set up an event in New York at a Fifth Ave. venue but didn’t know there was a parade that day and the area was completely blocked off. So, we arrived at the setup three hours after the wedding was supposed to start.

Lesson learned: Make sure you check for parades or any kind of blockage near your venues.

8. I promised a client she’d get 1200 peonies delivered from Holland, however when they arrived at the airport they were destroyed because of agricultural concerns (bugs were found on the flowers, so they needed to be destroyed).

Lesson learned: Some things are beyond our control.

7. Creating an over sized puddle of fabric with your tablecloths is not always a good idea. One of my client’s guest’s feet became tangled and she fell.

Lesson learned: Even if our clients like that generous look of any fabric, do not do it. It could be dangerous.

6. While installing a job, a hanging chandelier fell and injured one of my assistants.

Lesson learned: Make sure you have workman’s compensation and good insurance at all times.

Sometimes live fish don’t stay alive for long. (Image via Au tum n).

5. When I first started, I thought It was the coolest thing to use live fish in round bowls for centerpieces. However, two hours after the event began some of the fish started to die and float in the water.

Lesson learned: If you want to use live fish at any event, make sure they are in a proper fish tank. Or maybe, just don’t.

4. 12 years ago, I was a guest at one of my events, and I actually witnessed one of my tall arrangements falling on one of the guest’s heads. They needed to take her to the hospital. (I still have nightmares about this one.)

Lesson learned: Make sure all of the tall, gravity-defying centerpieces you created are properly screwed to the tables. And of course, make sure you always have great insurance.

In next week’s Common Mistakes, I’ll list the top three all time horrendous mistakes I have ever made. You are not even going to believe number one.

As I have read many times, making mistakes is one of the surest ways to become an expert. So, please share with us any of your mistakes.

22 Comments

Reminder: Words of Wisdom

February 23, 2011

(Image via Tinyfroglet)

I’d like to share a few of my favorites with you:

“Only those that risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.”
–T.S. Elliot

“Too many people miss the silver lining because they are too busy expecting the gold.”
–Maurice Setter

“Always be a little kinder than necessary.”
–Sir James M. Barrier

“Too many people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are.”
–Malcolm Forbes

“If you don’t risk anything, you risk even more.”
–Erica Jong

“You aim for what you want and if you don’t get it you don’t get it, but if you don’t aim you don’t get anything.”
–Francine Prose

“Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes.”
–Oscar Wilde

“Beauty is one of the rare things that do not lead to doubt of God.”
–Jean Anouilh

“If you compare yourself to others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.”
–Max Ehrmann

“Reflect upon your present blessings of which every man has many, not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.”
–Charles Dickens

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do, are in harmony.”
–Mahatma Gandhi

“The reward of a thing well done is to have done it.”
–Ralph Waldo Emerson

Please feel free to help inspire all of us with your own words of wisdom. Which quote resonated most with you today?

8 Comments

FAQs: How do clients perceive your brand?

February 22, 2011

I’d like to elaborate further on one of yesterday’s questions: Do clients think they can get a bargain from you or do they think you’re too expensive? First, let me set the record straight about my brand.

Yes, clients hesitate to call me because they think I am too expensive. But, no when I first started I did not sit down and say, “I am going to start a company that only deals with the high end market.”

However, there were three elements that were important to me then and still are now:

  1. Quality. I started as a florist, and only used the best quality flowers around. (I was and still am a bit of a floral snob.)
  2. Design. Even If some folks didn’t like my design, I tried to identify the folks who did.
  3. Service. This is still a big learning curve. Fist getting the job, then designing it, and most importantly delivering on expectations.

I have news for all you beginners. When I first started, I lost a lot of money by not charging properly. Again, this was mainly for three reasons:

(Image via Justin Henry).
  1. Insecurity. Because I did not know what I was doing, I did not think I was worth it. (Not to mention at the time I suffered from low self-esteem.)
  2. Integrity. (Or maybe stupidity.) I just wanted to do a great job, even if it meant giving it away.
  3. Ignorance. I had no understanding about proper pricing. (E.g. making at least a 50% margin)

So now, many years later, I ended up in the high end market after a lot of trial and error, while still trying to educate clients about what things actually cost. I have strong advice for all of you who base your business on only giving bargains, while taking away business from other folks.

You are giving the industry a bad name. Clients are beginning to think the event industry is equal to a bargain basement. Clients are taking the lowers prices and starting to think this is the norm.

It’s time we start taking ourselves and our industry seriously and start charging what we deserve, no more no less.

What is your opinion?

25 Comments