Planning an event is an enormous task to take on. There are countless elements that need to be addressed before an event can occur, including: catering, registration, speakers, sponsors, itinerary, virtual platform, bar, AV...and the list goes on and on. With so many different aspects to plan, creating an event from start to finish can be daunting. If you find yourself overwhelmed and unsure where to start or do next in your event planning process, check out BLME’s ideal event planning timeline here.

If you’re like us, right now feels a bit like Deja Vu (and, to be honest, like a bad group project where some people do the work for the entirety of the group). In the Spring, we saw vaccinations as a ticket to ‘normalcy,’ or as close to it as possible.

Although much of the nation is vaccinated, new variants and ever-changing mask mandates have event planner’s heads spinning, and clients thinking twice about large, in-person gatherings in Delta variant hotspots.

A story like mine is not unique, and not new. Hospitality industry veterans are no stranger to the hustle, and its effect on one’s personal life and mental and physical health. Workers who stay later, come earlier, and run themselves into the ground in service of the company they work for are praised, while those looking to achieve work-life balance are mocked.

After over a year of uncertainty, cancellations, pivoting, and changing, the event industry is finally on the track back to normalcy. While event producers are thrilled that we can return to live events and meetings, some audiences are hesitant to attend in-person events. As event industry professionals, it is our duty to create an environment that is welcoming and comfortable for all. For ways to do this, follow BLME’s tips for keeping event attendees informed, comfortable, and safe as the world opens back up.

We can’t believe we are saying this but after a life-altering global pandemic, things are actually returning back to normal! With the vaccine rate up and Covid infection rate down, live events and meetings are starting to make a comeback. While wearing sweatpants on Zoom for over a year had its perks, we at BLME are so excited to get dolled up for the return to live events. Want to know your “return to normal” style? Take our quiz below to find out!

We have gotten many questions about how to create a virtual experience that is similar to what you would offer at an in-person exhibitor event. Some companies even feel it is better to pull out of a virtual exhibitor event than to take part in it. However, we believe that wouldn’t be further from the truth. So, we decided to share our tips on how to host an effective and impactful virtual exhibitor booth.

This month, BLME and friends launched our first official Solopreneur’s Guide - a 7 Module crash course designed to set entrepreneurs up for success. We are so excited about this course that we wanted to give you a sneak peek of some tidbits you’ll learn from our program. Here, we offer a sneak peek at 7 things you’ll learn from the Solopreneur’s Guide.

We at BLME are so excited to see that marijuana is being legalized in more and more states. Since we always like to be ahead of the curve, BLME founder and Chief Experience Officer Beth Lawrence examined trends and happenings in the cannabis industry and came up with her top predictions for the future of the field.

We've received countless questions about The Solopreneur's Guide from so many of you, that we wanted to make sure we answered!

While virtual meetups cannot offer everything at in-person networking events can, Zoom breakout rooms can help them get pretty close. Since the onset of the pandemic, we at BLME have relied on the platform’s breakout room feature more times than we can count. Here, we are breaking down our 5 favorite ways to optimize virtual networking using Zoom breakout rooms.