Event Guide: Top 5 Trendsetting Venue Ideas

Trends come and go all the time in the event industry. And, event professionals are always searching for the next best theme or design to impress their clients with. The same can be said for event venue owners! Rental spaces and locations are constantly changing to appeal to their clientele year after year.

Do you know what types of venues people are searching for this year? Well the results are in and we’ve got the answers!

Indoor and Outdoor Space

People are often willing to take on the weather, but not without a security shelter. Venues that win over the clients at a higher rate are those that offer both an indoor and outdoor space.

People are interested in switching scenes and locations within an event to provide a different visual appeal. These two spaces can help separate the activities and create a sense of multiple styles, rather than just one. Two separate (indoor/outdoor) spaces also helps to reassure your client that no matter the weather, the show will go on at your venue.

Style

Every client is different, so why does your venue remain the same? Offering a space that clients are free to decorate and add their own personal style to is important. Create areas in your venue that can be used for a variety of events and ceremonies. These style-free spaces give your clients the opportunity to create their dreams anywhere. People want a space that is unique to them.  

Technology Friendly

Technology plays an important role in our lives on a daily basis. Where does your venue stand on the technology spectrum? Provide your clients with Wi-Fi accessibility—it might be the best investment you make. Wi-Fi accessibility is the easiest way to bring attention to your business and venue space. Here’s how to do it:

Add your Wi-Fi password to your business’s social media page. A well-known music venue in Charlotte, NC provides people with Wi-Fi access by having them LIKE their business page on Facebook. Smart move! It increases the number of likes the business receives, allowing them to greatly increase their reach and client base.

So get techy and get your venue noticed!

Repurpose Buildings

Is there an old barn or warehouse located on your space? It’s perfect for a wedding, reunion, birthday party, etc. People love to blend and combine the old with the new. That’s why keeping and preserving old buildings at your venue site is such a great idea. A repurposed building provides a space big enough for people to gather, and also provides character and charm to the environment.

Fire Pits

I know this one idea might seem outlandish, but fire pits are the next big trend. Events are starting to be held later and later in the evening, and people enjoy relaxing around the fire after an eventful day. Venue owners are noticing this trend, and are providing areas for people to relax, roast marshmallows, and share stories. It creates a friendly and close environment that people want for their event. So get started on a do-it-yourself (DIY) project to add more warmth to your venue space.

It doesn’t take much to be a trendsetting venue! Let us know in the comment section below what trendsetting designs your venue offers.

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10 Tech Basics You Think Everybody Knows (But They Don't)

As a software company, we at Inspherio take great pride in making things easier, so we thought we would share these basic tech tips to help you use the web, your computer, and your smartphone more efficiently.  New York Times tech columnist: David Pogue recently presented this TEDTalk about basic tips & tricks that can help you use technology more effectively.  

1. Scrolling
Instead of using your mouse and dragging the scroll bar on the right, you can simply click the space bar to scroll down a page.  Likewise, you can click Shift + Space to scroll up.

2. Quickly Complete Forms
Use the Tab key to quickly move to the next box on an online form.  This is a great deal quicker than moving your cursor & clicking on the next box.  Also, when entering your state from a drop down list, all you need to do is click the first letter of your state repeatedly.  

3. Zoom In / Out
If you are having trouble reading small text on a screen, you can use Ctrl + to Zoom In and Ctrl - to Zoom Out. the + or - can be pushed repetitively to make the text bigger or smaller.

4. Typing on Smartphones
Pressing the space bar twice will automatically end a sentence with a period, add a space, and capitalize the first letter or the next sentence.

5. Quick Dialing
On any mobile phone you can quickly call the last number dialed by tapping the Call or Dial key.  

6.  Interrupt Voicemail
Since we all know how to leave a message after a beep, you can skip the process of listening to the instructions by pressing the carrier's interrupt key.
- Verizon: *
- AT&T, T-Mobile: #
- Sprint: 1

7. Google Tricks
- Google can also be used to Define any word by simply typing the word "Define" in front of any word.  
- If you need to track an upcoming Flight, you can search a flight number to find whether or not it is on time, what terminal it is arriving at and even the gate number.
- Google is even a currency & Unit Converter if you need to convert Dollars to Euros, tablespoons to cups, and much more.

For another fun Google trick, try Googling the phrase: "Do A Barrel Roll"

8. Text Basics
- Double-click to highlight a word
- Don't waste time clicking delete.  Just highlight something & type over it.
- Double-click & Drag to highlight one word at a time.
- Triple-click to highlight an entire paragraph.

9. Enhance Your Digital Camera Skills
To eliminate the shutter lag on your digital camera, you can half press the shutter button to pre-focus the lens before taking a photo.  This trick works for any digital point & shoot camera to calculate focus and exposure.  

10. Presentation Tips
While giving a PowerPoint presentation, you may notice your audience loosing focus.  You can attract more attention to yourself by clicking the B key to blackout the slide while you are presenting.  This does not close the presentation, it simply changes the screen to black.  To return to your presentation, you can click B again.  Similarly, the W key can be used for a whiteout effect.

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Getting Appy Doesn't Make You Happy

Photo Credit: JHaymesisvip

The amount of information that we have at our fingertips can be startling.  Thanks to our trusty smartphones, We can now find the answer to anything in just minutes, Instead of a brain we just use Google, and we've got pages of apps for everything to keep us informed & entertained.  

This progression of technology is a great thing and a lot of this new tech has the potential to transform your business for the better, however it could also leave you dazed and confused if it is not used correctly.  

Apps are a great example of this.  Many small business owners are made to think they are tech savvy because they have downloaded  pages of business related apps.  While many of these tools are useful, they can actually be a hindrance on your business by keeping your business compartmentalized into multiple programs on your smartphone.  Eventually, your business records will become quite a mess because your business data is divided into all these apps.  

Due to this App Overload, many business owners are using a different app for each business function: 
- One for Receiving Payments
- One for Invoicing  
- One for Expenses
- One for Income
- One for Trip logs
- One to Sign Forms
- One to Schedule Appointments
- One for Scanning Docs
- And The List goes On.....

By choosing to use a different app for each business function, your business will most likely experience a serious slow down due to the amount of time you spend disengaged & glued to your phone.  Not to mention the fact that your business image is now shifting from a confident professional to a texting teenager.  

What Is The Solution?

Many of the apps in the marketplace are good tools, but it would be better if all of these functions could work together in one place.  That's what Inspherio is for!  Instead of using dozens of apps and other programs to manage your business, you can just use one All-In-One program.  Inspherio offers the ability to manage your business from start to finish.  From adding a lead, to generating year-end tax reports Inspherio can do it all.  

To see for yourself, you can start your Free Trial today!

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