3 Lessons Learned from a Client Events Manager

Temple University’s School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management

Nicole Benner is an event planning pioneer with over a decade of hands-on experience. She’s a successful leader, a Certified Meeting Professional and a graduate student at Temple University’s School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management. Here are 3 lessons for having a successful career in event management.

1. Blaze Your Own Trail

Nicole’s career path has been anything but conventional and professionally been mostly self-taught. She learned how to pull sponsorship packages together, help organizations with brand recognition, marketing and the best ways to facilitate networking among multiple clients—all while resolute in her goals of learning as much as possible about the business. Nicole made a point of saying “A lot of growth needs to be independent and self-directed. Much of the job is project management and trying to figure out the interrelatedness of tasks. Each individual event is its own thing and it’s up to you to figure out the components that go into the event.”

2. Look for Opportunities to Learn New Skills

After looking for ways to advance her skills, Nicole found Temple University saying, “It’s one of few graduate programs that specifically focuses on event management and the hospitality space.” The Master of Science in Hospitality Management at Temple University offers a business-focused track for event management professionals.

The graduate level education is giving Nicole a holistic view of the industry in a way that on-the-job learning can’t. Nicole explained that her courses have broadened her view of hospitality and given her a strategic mindset about service as a whole.

“The service management course really got me thinking about the experience from the customer's perspective. It has allowed me to become a better consumer of my own events and think more critically about the services that are being provided in a way that has helped me circumvent some typical onsite challenges.”

3. Be Prepared to Be Flexible

Flexibility is a key to success. “People are unique. They all vary and even if you’ve accounted for 99% of your attendees’ experiences, there’s always going to be someone that has an issue with something and you will need to be able to react to that on the spot.”

Staying flexible in the quickly evolving event industry can be a challenge. With the right planning and skillset, Nicole has the confidence to adapt. “This is where an education helps. The classroom can provide you with the experience of testing ideas and plans out in a low-pressure educational setting and not on the job.”

Taking Event Management to a New Level

With the introduction of new technology and evolving audiences, event management professionals have more opportunity than ever to exceed expectations.

With that opportunity in mind, Temple University’s Master of Science in Hospitality Management was created to help event professionals gain the skills and experience needed to think creatively and analytically about ways to enhance the experience.

Discover how you can expand your skills through this program.

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