Expert Advice

Certification for Women-Owned Companies
05/30/13
In the corporate and events transportation industry, it’s important to offer your clients every benefit available. Until recently, however, my company, Aristocat Transportation, was not taking advantage of one major opportunity: seeking...
Social Media Best Practices: A Crash Course
03/21/13
It’s a question commonly heard at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park: “Where can we find out about future events?” The answer is easy enough-the website, Seasons magazine and now more than ever, social media. Most (if not all) organizations use...
Can You Hear Me Now?
02/13/13
When it comes to sound, an event doesn’t have to involve thousands of people and require a PA system capable of handling the band KISS (which achieved the dubious honor of world’s officially measured loudest performance by a band in July 2009). It...
Building Repeat Business- It's Personal
10/30/12
Meeting and event planners select locations for space availability, convenience, location, cost and other intangibles. These factors influence repeat business, but on their own they do not create the key ingredient for success: customer loyalty. A client...
Learn Improv to Improve
10/30/12
Most actors learn their lines and develop their characters over hundreds of hours rehearsing. But improvisers, like the professionals at Go Comedy! Improv Theater, in Ferndale, spend their nights and days perfecting the art of thinking on their feet. At...
Business on the Green: Tips for a Successful Meeting
04/26/12
Conducting business on the golf course can reap huge rewards if done correctly; on the other hand it could be career suicide if you make some basic mistakes. Having personally conducted or witnessed many meetings both on the course and in the club house...

Open Forum

Find the Right Santa for the Holidays
11/30/11
What are the holidays without "the man in red" to bring the magic of the season to your event? If you’re having a party and want to be a superhero to all of the kids—and the grownups, too—then you’ll want to arrange for Santa to make...

Suppliers Speak

Freeze Frame
11/30/11
In today's world, consumers are bombarded with thousands of branding messages every day. Planners, exhibitors and promoters need to think outside the cube when choosing a unique element for their event, and the more interactive, the ...

Running Your Business

Getting the Best ROI from Your RFP
11/30/11
In the current economy, meeting planners are pressed to find competitive pricing from vendors and suppliers to help meet budgets. Having a detailed request for proposal (RFP) ensures accurate proposals and a good start to the planner/...

Event Trends/New Ideas

Wine Trends That Bear Fruit
11/30/11
With all the focus on local food and beverage for meetings and events, serving Michigan microbrews and wines has been a natural. And options are growing. If you’ve never cared for the “woody” taste of traditional Chardonnay,...