I absolutely love working with small businesses, it is very rewarding for me to assist a small business in planning their event and then watching them grow and flourish. However, one of my “challenges” with small businesses is the notion that everything can be bartered for or sponsored. And unfortunately, it is unrealistic to think that an event can be properly planned and executed without spending any money.
Let me start by saying that I am not at all against bartering services, sponsorship, or selling vendor/ad space. In fact, I have used each of these funding approaches successfully multiple times and will continue to do so in the future. However, I seek to give small businesses an understanding of how and went these tactics should be used and not abused.
Bartering: Bartering products and services is simply trading one thing for another. If you give me X I will give you Y. No money changes hands and the items or services exchanged should be considered equal. For example, if you are an attorney and wish to barter legal services for event planning the amount of service you offer to provide should be equal or greater than the cost of me planning your event. Businesses barter either because they need the product or service or to gain exposure for their business. If I lived in an apartment offering one year free lawn care service in exchange for planning your event isn’t an appealing trade.
Sponsorship: When a company sponsors an event they do so because the target market for the event is in line with their own and the anticipated return is greater than the requested investment. If these conditions don’t exist it is counterproductive for a company to sponsor an event. When approaching a business you need to be sure that the marketing exposure you are offering is valued higher than the amount you are requesting.
Selling Vendor/Ad Space: Some events are held in large enough venues’s that the host business can sell vendor tables (or booths) to related (non-competing) businesses. Larger events often have a printed program in which ad space can be sold. These funds can be used to help pay for the event or event marketing. The host business needs to be very conscious about the type and number of businesses they allow to set up at their event. If these businesses contradict your brand or there are too many it could detract from your event.
These tactics should be used to ASSIST in planning your event and not as the sole sources of funding. The host business should be prepared to at minimum pay initial deposits and a portion of the cost to host the event. Decisions regarding alternate funding sources should be made carefully and the fact that every company is in business to generate revenue should be taken into account.
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