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If you are attending a trade show soon, you will need a trade show display. The following list of vendors, in no particular order, can provide either a custom designed booth or sell you a pre-configured one from their inventory. Either way, you will want to draw attention to your trade show booth, and one of these companies will be able to provide a design that will have impact:

http://www.applerock.com

http://www.tradeshowdirect.com

http://www.godfreygroup.com

http://www.moddisplays.com

http://www.nomadicdisplay.com

http://www.exhibe.com

http://www.displays2go.com

http://www.abex.com

http://www.exhibitdeal.com

http://www.everythingdisplays.com

Sure, there are more trade show display vendor websites than just those listed above - go ahead and search online yourself if you can’t find what you need from any of the above companies.

More Trade Show Resources:

Coming up with unique fundraising ideas isn’t easy, but thankfully someone has compiled a great list of a full one hundred PLUS for you to get you started the next time your job is to come up with a special fundraiser!

Fundraising Ideas

The list you will find at the above link has page after page of descriptive content so you know exactly how the fundraiser should be conducted.

And don’t forget: When you do a fundraiser, you have to give our awards and recognition plaques to those that put in the most effort, both in co-ordinating the fundraiser and raising the most money or sponsors, etc.

If you want to reduce your impact on the environment and go green the next time you plan a meeting or other event, here is a great article that has 10 Easy Steps for eco-friendly meetings and includes ideas like ‘Reduce, Reuse and Recycle’, ‘Choose a Local Destination’, etc.

Read the full article here:

Green Planning

You would be surprised how easy it is to plan a meeting while taking into consideration the impact it will have on the environment. Follow the steps in the above guide and Go Green!

Part of planning a successful event is giving away promotional items to the participants. These days, you can find promotional items that are environmentally friendly, what are called Green Gifts. These eco friendly products are sure to please both your event attendees AND the environment.

Check out the full list here:

Top 25 Environmental Gift Ideas

As you can see from the above list, it isn’t just eco friendly backpacks and water bottles that can be given away as ‘green’ products - but remember: if you want your company or organization to remembered long after the event is over, be sure to give away a product with your logo imprinted on it!

The next time you plan a business event, whether a formal dinner, seminar, conference or award recognition ceremony, the following corporate invitation websites can help you find the best style of invitation to fit the occasion. These sites cater specifically to business invitations, or have a section dedicated to corporate event invitations, whereas most of the other sites online are for wedding and other social occasion invitations.

I compiled this list so you don’t have to go hunting around for corporate function invitations the next time you need invitations for your event:

www.myexpression.com

www.paperandmore.com

www.irisb.com

www.paperstyle.com

www.invitationbox.com

www.finestationery.com

www.invitationconsultants.com

www.ballisticblue.com

www.thepartystartshere.com

www.announcingit.com

There are other corporate invitation websites other than those listed here, but these seem to offer the best user experience and professional look and feel.

A new Event Planner blog was just launched that should prove to be a valuable resource for those in the event planning industry or people wanting info. on how to plan and manage their own events.

From the Press Release:

“Creative Impact Group has launched a new blog section to its website designed to offer tips, advice, and resources for anyone planning an event. The website’s blog is written by industry experts and provides a wealth of advice, tips, and resources for event and meeting planners.”

I checked out the blog and there is a wealth of information there, including:

• 93 Theme Party Event Ideas
• Team Building Activities
• Hospitality Event Tips

…and more.

Check it out.

Has the world gone mad?

Look, I’m all for not polluting the environment, reducing emissions, yada-yada-yada, but one thing that really frosts me (excuse the pun and reference to the coming ice age) is this outright fraud called ‘Carbon Offsets’ being perpetuated by the likes of Al Gore and the rest of the global warming alarmists.

This latest piece shows how event planning is now going to cost even more due to this carbon offset scam:

Global Executive Partners With BeGreen Carbon Offsets To ‘Green-Up’ Events

From the Press Release:

“BeGreen Carbon Offsets (carbon footprint through the purchase of renewable energy, forest sequestration and other project-based offsets. BeGreen’s carbon calculators follow the EPA Climate Leaders methodology, which is based on the World Resources Institute’s Greenhouse Gas Protocol (WRI GHG), a widely accepted industry standard. All purchases and sales of BeGreen’s carbon offset projects are also verified by an independent auditing firm to ensure their quality and effectiveness.”

But a little REALITY on the subject of Carbon Offsets can be found here:

‘Another Inconvenient Truth’: BusinessWeek Busts Al Gore and Carbon Offsets

Events are expensive enough - do we really need to feel good about how we get to the event and buy into this nonsense, too?

They say there is nothing new under the sun, but entrepeneurs sure do find ways to mash up old ideas in new ways, and starting a business via crowdsourcing certainly qualifies.

Usually, when trying to launch a new business, or get a new product off the ground, the typical hunt for venture capital or institutional investors takes time, patience, perserverance and a LOT of work.

It’s refreshing to hear about a new business model termed ‘crowdsourcing’ which taps the power of social networks in a way big corporations could only dream about.

Upstarts: Launch Your Own Apparel Company for $50 - The apparel brand, which is still in the design phase, is using a creative business model, known by a variety of names like crowdsourcing, crowdfounding, and community managed, that raises small amounts of money from a large group of …

Read the above article for the full scoop, but the practical upshot of this business model is to get large quantities of people to contribute small amounts of money for input and managerial control of a new product line or business.

Crowdsourcing is also used for mass collaboration projects like Wikipedia or simply designing a new graphic or logo, but raising capital using crowdsourcing may be the ticket for a budding entrepeneur to get started using ‘other peoples money.’

Hiring a professional guest speaker is an important step in planning an event.

Most events feature guest speakers, or at least one professional guest speaker. Sometimes, the main feature of your event is the celebrity guest speaker, so finding one is usually on the event planning agenda.

The following list of event speaker directories and bureaus should provide a thorough resource the next time you are trying to locate the best person for your event. There are lots more than only the ones listed below, but you’ll have your hands full with these to get your started:

www.allamericanspeakers.com - Professional motivational speakers, sports speakers, celebrity speakers, famous keynote speakers, sports figures, best selling authors, corporate business speakers, celebrity chefs, top celebrity talent and comedians

www.totalaccessspeakers.com - Motivational Speakers, Business Speakers, Keynote Speakers, Celebrity Speakers

www.internationalspeakers.com - Internationally Acclaimed Motivational and Celebrity Speakers

www.ovationtalent.com - A fresh approach to solving a number of breakdowns in the current field of speaker management and representation.

speakerresource.com - Provides motivational speakers, celebrity speakers, and professional keynote speakers for any business, association, school or college

speakersrus.com - A Speakers Bureau that will help you find the perfect keynote speaker or entertainer for your event.

www.isbspeakers.com - International and National Professional Public Speakers Bureau for Motivational, Keynote and Christian Speakers

www.leighbureau.com - The world’s longest-established premium speakers bureau

www.speakers.ca - Canada’s leading Speakers Bureau

www.bigspeak.com - Motivational Speakers, Keynote Speakers, Consultants and Trainers.

www.playingfieldpromotions.com - A leading speakers bureau specializing in bookings of celebrity sports speakers, baseball speakers, Olympic speakers, motivational sports speakers and athlete personal appearances and endorsements.

www.nationalgeographic.com/speakers - National Geographic speakers are leaders in the worlds of science, photography, journalism, exploration and adventure.

www.insightbureau.com - Asian and global speakers, moderators, advisors on Asian and global economy, insights for business conferences, client meetings and confidential strategy and planning meetings.

www.dynamicspeakers.com - Sales motivation, keynote speakers, public speakers, personal growth, staff development, personal development, management consulting, motivational speakers, motivational, seminars, management training

premierespeakers.com - Motivational speakers, keynote speakers, or professional speaker

www.speakerservices.com - Free and fee speakers for events, conferences, seminars and banquets.

Whether the purpose is simply to entertain, or your event is geared towards motivating or inspiring your event participants, there are guest speaker bureaus available online that make locating the right talent for your event easy.

Here’s a great list of ‘Dos And Don’ts For Your Next Annual Sales Meeting‘ you are going to want to follow. These same event strategies can be applied to other types of business meetings and conferences. A great article on what to do and what not to do.