Fine then... Just let it snow

OK, so it's winter and it's January. I guess we can’t go on forever without a major snowstorm.  So here we go, let’s just let it snow.  I thought I would take this time to discuss a few things that I get asked about from time to time and pass along some advice to folks that might be curious about automotive events.

Weather will always be a factor anytime you might want to consider doing events, not just automotive events.  You can’t have a car show when it’s raining cats & dogs outside.  Now lets talk about the weather (this is something you never do before an even – no matter what the weather forecast is, that’s an inside joke of ours).  Depending on your event, you have to consider the weather.  If it’s a car show, then no rain is ideal.  But at the same time for a car show, you wouldn’t want it to be 105 degrees in the parking lot.

So, how do you pick the right time of the year for an event like a car show?  You just have to cross your fingers and hope for the best.  I’m not joking.  You never know when a beautiful day with clear skies can go crazy wrong in a minute’s notice or the night before the event they forecast for 80% rain.

OK, with forecasting mother nature out of the way, what do you do next?  Think about what kind of event you want to do.  Is it a Car show, Rally, Racing, Off-Road or something else all together. I’d suggest before going too far down the get yourself a clear budget.  Now this budget doesn’t need to be want you want to spend, but what it will really cost to have the event; like event insurance, site rental, trophies, advertisement, tents, chairs, and so much more.  Don’t assume you can barrow the things you need, don’t assume you are going to have dozens of sponsors to cover the costs.  Get a realistic budget together as a starting point and keep reviewing it, because I promise you will have missed something (ask me how I know).

Now, with a realistic budget together, look at it and see if you can afford it and consider if the weather goes too crap and you have to cancel it, will you still be OK? 

The first 3 things are:

Weather

Budget

Affordable

Now, move on to why.  Why are you doing the event?  Are there enough people that will attend the event?  Because no one wants to have an event and no one shows up for it.

If you have a good reason or purpose for the event, more people will be likely to attend.  People like good causes.

With all those things checked off, now the work begins for you.

Perhaps I'll continue this thought in another blog if you guys leave me a comment below and want to learn more.