Guest blog written by Holly Wilson, Events student at Manchester Metropolitan University.
I recently lived a day in the life of business owner and events manager Holly Moore from Make Events. I won the opportunity to shadow Holly through a piece of my University coursework being chosen as her favourite from a selection of over 130 proposals. It was fantastic to shadow her and meet her team, as it gave me an insight in to how an event manager works day to day.
The day began with an introduction to the team in a staff weekly meeting, where everyone explained their roles within the business and discussed the events they are currently working on. In addition to this, the meeting included a weekly update in terms of sales and ways the business can progress even further.
We attended a meeting with one with her long-term clients Becky Couper, followed by one with fellow member of Manchester PA network, Melanie Sheehy. Participating in these allowed me to understand how Holly engages with her clients and tailors each meeting specific to them. Future enquiries were made at both meetings, meaning I could put together a new enquiry form. It was good to listen to what types of events the two clients wanted and which questions are appropriate to ask when taking enquiries, ranging from themes to location, number of attendees, other requirements (e.g. AV or accommodation). Holly asked me to research other types of events to pitch to her clients, tailored to the brief given to offer alternatives. This job also involved contacting venues and asking questions to present a full pitch to the client.
After the office work had been completed, we headed to Pepper Road Fitness Gym to train in a small class coached by her personal trainer, Alan Wilson. This was thoroughly enjoyable, I pushed myself to some limits I didn’t believe I could achieve and we were all very sweaty by the end! I would definitely recommend trying out one of their classes.
Holly surprised me by telling me she encourages her team to watch Master Chef; the reasons behind this is to educate them on the different ways food is cooked and presented, as well as the different services which can be offered at an event. It also shocked me how much she goes to the gym, as she gets up early and works long hours.
It was a thoroughly enjoyable day from start to finish. The team were very welcoming and friendly, yet still professional. There were nice touches in the office which I specifically picked up on, such as positive, uplifting comments about colleagues framed on each of their desks and a huge whiteboard with a photo frame around it showing who was in/away each day for the upcoming weeks.
Holly has excellent client relations and believes it is important to maintain this, which I will bear in mind when I am in a position of building a client base within a business. She is also a very positive, driven individual and has taught me some key points which I will remember in any future career of mine.
Thank you very much to Holly Moore and all the team at Make Events Ltd for your support and encouragement on the day.
Are you interested in spending time with Make Events to further your knowledge in the industry?
Email info@makeevents.co.uk to enquire!
