Establishing Good Vendor Relations

Having a solid relationship with your vendors can make you more efficient as an event planner. Imagine not having to take the time to choose floral arrangements because your floral designer is always spot on in her creations. Picture a relationship with your caterer in which you can choose a menu without scheduling a tasting because his cuisine is always magnificent. Developing your vendor relations will save you stress and time, both of which you can save for planning more events.

The Vendor Cast of Characters

Your vendor list will vary depending on your field of event planning that you specialize in. When shopping for a vendor, ask your colleagues and other event planners for their recommendations. You can also ask the company for referrals from other clients in the industry. Be sure to fully vet and qualify your prospective vendor before you decide to hire them. As with event planners, vendors rely heavily on their reputations to be successful. The following vendors are staples to have within you arsenal when you begin your career and as you continue in your career.

• Caterer
• Florist (Floral Designer)
• Baker (Specialty & Custom Designs)
• Purveyors (companies selling produce, seafood, meat products, and beverages)
• Wine and beer companies
• Liquor distributors
• Labor companies (electricians, general contractors, carpenters, and painters)
• Photographers
• Videographer
• Graphic & Web Designer
• Specialty stationery designer and/or printing company

 Creating Goodwill among Your Vendors

Your goal is to develop a healthy and profitable relationship with a vendor; you have to make a conscious effort to show your appreciation. Below are some suggestions that you can use to create goodwill and cultivate your vendor relationships.

• Offer a beverage to your delivery people. Keep coffee, sodas, and bottled water on hand for company drivers. They do not always get to stop and grab something; they get thirsty to.
• Provide vendor meals. Remember your staff is not the only people working to set up an event;  but there are always several vendors who may be working to set up an event. This simple act encourages staff relationships and builds a sense of community.
• Have a volunteer day. Choose a charity and get your company, vendors, and staff involved.
• Invite vendors to events. When it is appropriate, put your vendors on the guest list of an event your company is hosting.
• Offer your services. If your wine representative is planning his wife's 50th birthday party, offer to plan it at no charge.
• Extend an invitation to company parties. Holiday staff parties are a great way to integrate vendors into your company.
• Don't forget the special touches. Event planners often receive perks such as concert tickets from clients, so remember your vendors if you cannot use the tickets yourself.

Vendors represent your business to customers in various regions nationally and internationally. Therefore, it is important and critical that you maintain a good relationship with them. More than that, a good vendor relationship will see you through in a bad situation. The goodwill the vendor has for you will translate to business growth, as the vendor will work hard to attain your business goals.

Your Career or Your Wedding

Guest Blogger Series

Your Career or Your Wedding

By Sharon Patrice of Simply Perfect Peace Events

Everyone knows that planning an event of any size can be an overwhelming task when you don't have the TIME to dedicate to it. Wedding professionals estimate that planning a wedding can take 250+ hours, therefore, life as a bride-to-be is overwhelming on steroids. From flowers to what should you give out as favors depend on your nah or yah. What am I saying? Planning a wedding can be a full time job, and if you´re already a busy professional, guess what? Your work week doubled before you put the S on the Y.E (yes). Now the question is how to balance your professional and personal life while keeping your sanity.

Organization

This is the best way to avoid headaches. Having an appointment book is essential in organizing your work and personal life. Now you can see every appointment for the day, week or month. Create a wedding checklist you can stick to and use this same method for your work day.

Now & Later

Asking your boss to hold while you speak with your florist is probably a bad idea. Instead, divide your day into time slots (as indicated in your planner) and have work slots and wedding slots. Be firm with yourself and don't let one flow over into the other; this will do nothing but slow you down and add to your frustration. Use your lunch and breaks wisely! Consider arriving early or staying late so that productivity isn't jeopardized.

All Work No Play

So the statement of "work hard, play harder" is out the door for YOU! Use that "play" time to knock off some things from your to-do-list. Those times when you'd be relaxing on the couch catching up on your DVR - addressing save the dates can done without missing a beat.

Get Some Help

Delegate, delegate, delegate. Since you're sharing this moment with someone else, divide wedding planning tasks evenly between you and your fiancé. After that, take it a step further by giving small tasks to immediate family members or bridal attendants (small – don´t turn friends into full time wedding planners, they'll resent you later). Finally - consider hiring a professional.

Enjoy the process ~Peaceful Planning

Sharon Patrice is the Owner and Lead Consultant of SimplyPerfect Peace Events. She invites your contact at info@simplyperfectpeace.com or via Twitter at DesignsByShay Facebook at Simply Perfect Peace Events. Her personal blog is DesignsByShay

Making Your Message Multicultural

Guest Blogger Series

Making Your Message Multicultural

By Suzanne Deliscar of Treasures Translations

“There are few efforts more conducive to humility than that of the translator trying to communicate an incommunicable beauty. Yet, unless we do try, something unique and never surpassed will cease to exist except in the libraries of a few inquisitive book lovers.” – Edith Hamilton (American Educator and Author; known for popularizing classical Greek and Roman literature. 1867-1963)

At some point or another, organizations, businesses and individuals may find it necessary to have documents translated from a foreign language into English, or vice versa, whether it is for an international business transaction, publication of a book in another country, or providing marketing materials to prospective clients from a foreign language group. Clients or colleagues who do not speak English well, or at all, may also require the services of an interpreter in order to effectively communicate with others. In order to make the translation/interpretation process a pleasant and beneficial process to all involved, the following advice should be followed when working with a language professional:

When Working with Translators

• It is essential that exact documents/or portions of documents to be translated are communicated to the translator. At times, there may be a significant amount of duplication within documents that do not need to be translated.
• Ascertain whether the translation requires certification, which is common for translated documents to be used for government (e.g. immigration) or court purposes, and communicate this to the translator.
• A well-equipped translator will have access to a variety of language tools in order to complete the translation work, as well as a breadth of education. If there are particular glossaries of terms from previous translation projects that should be used for the current translation in question, provide it from the outset to the translator.
• Agree on a reasonable timeline, keeping in mind that tight deadlines may make it difficult, or impossible to deliver a thorough and accurate translation.
• Communicate to the translator the purpose of the translation, i.e. who will be reading it, so that the translation can be completed accordingly. As a rule, translations follow the same format as the source document, but for informal internal purposes, for example, the translation buyer may only be concerned with the words, not with the format of the target document.

When Working with Interpreters

• Speak clearly and slowly. The interpreter needs to be able to understand what you are saying, preferably the first time, in order to accurately communicate the statements to the other party.
• Be prepared to clarify or restate words if requested. This can only help the interpretation process.
• When contracting an interpreter, indicate from the outset whether a particular dialect of a language is required. In South America, for example, where Spanish is the predominant language, there are variants between both different countries and within each nation, which could affect the way in which the non-English speaker speaks with the interpreter selected. Furthermore, the Spanish spoken in Latin American is different from Spanish spoken in Spain.

About The Author

Treasures Translations (www.treasurestranslations.ca) is headed by Suzanne Deliscar, a Canadian lawyer-linguist who decided to combine her dual interests and qualifications in law and languages to provide a unique service to fellow lawyers and business corporations.

Translation and interpreting services are provided in both French and Spanish, primarily in the subject areas of legal, business, marketing and religious translation. Other languages, including Russian, German and Mandarin Chinese, are available upon request.

Committed to the community, Treasures Translations supports charitable work abroad by assisting youth in the nation of Haiti with goods, as well as offering material and programs that will be of encouragement to them.