“It’s not just the money—your reputation is on the line. That’s why I say you need to learn this skill. And once you learn it, your clients and your vendors will love you,” says May Yeo Silvers. This week, May underscores a vital skill for event professionals: mastering the logistics of setup time. She explains that success hinges on knowing how much time vendors need and ensuring that venues are booked accordingly to avoid last-minute stress, added costs, and rushed setups.
May highlights how poor planning often results in rushed setups, increased labor costs, and unnecessary tension. From missing critical details like audiovisual setups to underestimating the time needed for custom designs, such oversights can jeopardize the event. One example she shares involves an event at a New York library, where the venue was booked for just the day of the event, leaving no time for proper setup—leading to a chaotic and stressful situation for both vendors and the client.
May encourages event professionals to ask detailed questions, negotiate for adequate setup time, and compare the costs between extra labor and additional venue hours. Proper communication and planning with vendors not only save money and reduce stress but also help maintain a strong reputation. By mastering these logistics, professionals can ensure smooth, well-executed events that build trust and satisfaction with clients and vendors alike.
Quotes
• “The skill I’m talking about is the ability to understand what is required for the event to happen successfully in terms of logistics—particularly the time it takes for vendors to set up the event.” (04:25 | May Yeo Silvers)
• “Whether you are a planner, designer, or decorator, when you are tasked with booking a venue as part of your service—especially as a planner—if you are hired to book the venue for your client’s event, or if you are a designer or decorator hired to design or decorate the event, you need to have a crystal clear idea of how long it’s going to take for you, the designer or decorator, to execute the design. And if you’re a planner, you need to have a very clear idea of how long it’s going to take for your vendors, or the vendors that you or the client has hired, to execute the event.” (05:04 | May Yeo Silvers)
• “The particular skill you need to have is knowing how long it takes for the entire event to be set up. Not just your scope, but the whole event.” (24:14 | May Yeo Silvers)
• “It’s not just the money—your reputation is on the line. That’s why I say you need to learn this skill. And once you learn it, your clients and your vendors will love you. They’ll love you because you have a helicopter view of what it takes to make the event successful.” (25:44 | May Yeo Silvers)
Links
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Connect with May at: [email protected]
Website: www.mayyeosilvers.com
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