SGM Private Events

Tips for Planning a Small to Medium Business Event

Big corporations aren’t the only businesses that need to hold events. If you operate a small to medium-sized business (SMB), how can you make sure that your team building events, seminars, holiday parties, and other private events meet their full potential? Here are a few quick tips to help you meet your event goals and to provide the best live entertainment for your attendees.

• Understand the event purpose – Other than holiday parties, business events are rarely just to have a good time. Have a good understanding of your goals before you proceed with event planning.
• Choose the right venue – You need a location that will fit your team (and their family’s if they are invited as well). The purpose of the event will have a big effect on the venue. For example, if you are having a seminar, you want good lighting and acoustics. For a holiday party, you are probably looking for a venue with some kitchen space for your caterer to work in and a dancefloor for when the entertainment starts.
• Plan a menu – Is the event going to be all day long and require one or more meals? Is it a shorter event in the evening where you can just offer appetizers? If the purpose is recreation rather than all business, will there be a cocktail hour?

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5 Creative Corporate Event Ideas

If you want to step up your corporate game at the next big event, we can help. Here are a few ideas to really wow your attendees. Some of them may even forget they are at a corporate function and genuinely just have a good time.

• Have customizable food stations – Whether it be a coffee bar or a sundae bar, being able to interact with foods and beverages is a great way to make attendees happy and give them exactly what they want.
• Hold a contest – Whether it is a raffle or a scavenger hunt, get everyone involved in an activity and give out some nice prizes.
• Hire a magician – Magicians are known for being able to work a room. Add a little magic to that, and you have the recipe for some delighted attendees. Ben Silver, based out of southern California, is a perfect choice for your corporate entertainment.
• Hire an aerial DJ – Where music and acrobatics meet in the middle, you find one of the most unique live artists. Mami Chula combines captivating aerial skills and thumping bass to create an experience your guests will never forget.

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Choosing a Venue to Fit Your Entertainment

When you are planning a special event, you should choose a venue to fit your entertainment and not the other way around. Here are the reasons why:

• Acoustics – If you plan on having live music at your event, acoustics have to be a consideration when selecting a venue. For a DJ or a form of entertainment that does not involve music, the acoustics are less of a necessity.
• Ambiance – Once you select a venue, you may feel tied to choosing an entertainer who matches the ambiance. If the ambiance is more important to you, that’s fine. But remember that the entertainment will be the highlight of the evening for guests.
• Layout – If you want the DJ or band to get everyone up on the dancefloor, there needs to be a dancefloor or at least room for people to dance. If tables for the meal take up every inch of floor space, things are going to get crazy when people want to bust a move later in the evening.
• Capacity – How many people do plan on having at your event? The size of the event will determine both the type of entertainment and the size of the venue that you require.

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Event Planning Trends for 2019: Personalization

When you are planning an event in 2019, it will be more important than ever to think about your diverse audience and what they are looking for. How can you do this when it comes to entertainment? Here are some tips for creating a private or corporate event that will give the attendees what they want.

• Ask attendees what they want – Before your event, would it be possible to contact attendees and offer them options? Whether the attendees prefer a DJ a live band or something a little less conventional like a magician, you will know what the people want to see and can thus hire the right act.
• Offer ways to interact – Whether it is the ability to make a song request or the opportunity to share the event on social media with a particular hashtag, making things interactive with your guests will allow them to feel more invested in your event.
• Hire a talented entertainer – Hiring the right person is also important. For example, if you hire the wrong band for your audience, they may not know any of the songs that people want to request. So hiring a talented artist who fits your attendees is also a key to a good time.

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Event Planning Trends for 2019: Diversity

When it comes to event planning, diversity is more than just a buzzword. More than ever, the US is awakening to the importance of representation. In order to celebrate diversity in our personal lives, it is important to give proper attention to representation when it comes to special events. Here are two ways you can do this whether you are planning a private or a corporate event.

• Diverse food – There is beauty in cuisine from all around the world. At your next event, why not hire a caterer who specializes in food from a particular region. This can result in enjoying authentic ethnic cuisine rather than the Americanized version most of us are used to eating at restaurants.
• Diverse entertainment – Whether it be diverse music styles or performers, your entertainment can showcase the cultures that make this nation what it is today. For example, at SGM Events, you can book a modern funk band like The Soultones, or a Brazilian solo artist like Dusty Brough. Check out our artist list for a variety of genres of performer.

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Tips for Throwing the Ultimate Office Holiday Party

Let’s face it – a lot of people just go to the office holiday party for the booze. It’s time to shake things up and throw an office party that really rocks. Here are the must-haves for this year’s bash.

• Rent a venue – Having the office party at the office feels too close to work for anyone to really relax (that’s why they go straight for the alcohol). Renting a venue for the party can help everyone to loosen up a little.
• Use a caterer – The better the food, the better the party. A great meal is something that everyone can come together over.
• Hire the right entertainment – Now that you have everyone loosened up with a change of scenery and some good food, it’s time to really wow them. Hiring a professional DJ can liven up the party and may even get the office wallflower to have a little fun.

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Don’t Make These Mistakes When Hiring Entertainment for Corporate Events

Entertainment plays a vital role in just about any special event, and this holds true in the corporate world as well. However, corporate events require the right touch when choosing entertainment. Here are a few mistakes that event planners often make, so you can avoid them.

• Hiring entertainment simply because it is expected – Yes, you should have entertainers at your corporate event, but matching the entertainment to the objective of the occasion is important. Otherwise, even a good entertainer can end up out of place.
• Not considering who will be at the event – In the corporate world, we are usually trained not to think about things like age, gender, race, or other factors that can be divisive. However, these demographics are the exact things that can help you to choose the right type of entertainment for your team.
• Just hiring some local talent that you saw at a club or heard of through a friend – Corporate events require a professional touch, and that means hiring acts that are represented by an agency like SGM Events. You know the agency vets the acts so that you get the performance and professional courtesy your staff deserves.

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