Time is money…We’ve all heard this at some point throughout the course of our lives.  As this old saying pertains to the Live Events world, maybe time is more of an investment?

Investing for negative returns would be a silly practice. I think the real saying and question is – How can I ensure a return (a positive return on investment/a positive return on experience)?

All projects require significant front-end work (our time) to be not only successful, but also, cost effective.

It could be a broadcast program, a corporate conference, a music festival, etc — The road to success starts long before the scheduled start time.

As you’re booking a production partner for you next event, consider the last couple of years. A couple of USnews.com articles stated that the economy in March had roughly 4 million more jobs than workers to fill them. To me, signs of this are everywhere. From the freelancer who is no longer in our field, to the local establishment with multiple help wanted signs – it is everywhere.

It’s harder now to book and guarantee labor on production than ever.  Finding your production partner and committing to them in the early stages of planning your event allows your production partner to commit to you.

It’s said that between your three options – good, fast and cheap – you can only have two.  Everyone wants a quality AV experience, so you’re left with fast and cheap.  Are you catching my drift?

The #1 way to keep cost down on a quality AV experience is to commit early and give your production partner the runway to properly help you plan your event.

Let’s keep these thoughts top of mind as our industry goes into Q3 and Q4 of 2022.

Invest time early in projects. Bring partners and personnel into the planning stages early to focus and achieve a positive return.