When things get hard, it’s time to make a change— yes, even if you’ve done something the same way for as long as you can remember. While this is a tough pill to swallow for a lot of event professionals who’ve been in the industry for years, it’s important that we’re open to changes both big and small if it means more success in the long run. You may be wondering, “How do I know when it’s time to make a change?” We sat down with Luna Tolunay, Owner of Fun Planners, to determine the three biggest red flags that signal that your event business needs a refresh.

#1 Repetitive questions and mistakes from your team are piling up

If you find yourself answering the same question over and over again, or your team keeps making the same mistake, you’re in dire need of a change. It wastes everyone’s time when these issues occur, and creates a worse client experience. Wondering what change you should implement to eliminate these issues? Enter: standard operating procedures (SOPs)!

With SOPs, you create clear step-by-step instructions for all important processes of your business (read the top 5 SOPs event professionals need now). Say that your team never knows how to assemble certain items, even though you’ve explained it to them verbally multiple times. Instead, create an SOP in written or video form for how to set it up quickly and correctly, then add it to the documents section of the inventory item in Goodshuffle Pro.

You can also include it in the internal notes of the project. This way, the SOP is easily accessible to all team members, who no longer have to ask you for the instructions every time. Plus, you no longer have to spend time fixing mistakes that have been made, as these will be eliminated.

We asked Luna which SOPs and files she finds most useful for her business, and what her strategy is for keeping it easily readable and accessible. She told us, “The key is to have as much information as possible in one location.” In addition to her employee handbook, she and her team keep all files, such as load-in maps, diagrams, outside client conversations, and event confirmation emails in Goodshuffle Pro, so that everyone can easily access them from anywhere, at any time, on any device.

#2 Employees are burning out

It’s no secret that the events industry can be incredibly time-consuming and stressful. Have you checked in on the mental health of your staff recently? Create the best environment for your team so that they’re happy, healthy, and can be loyal brand ambassadors for your business. How do you mitigate burnout? Make your team members’ jobs— and lives— easier with easy-to-use software that automates their tedious work, allowing them to make fewer mistakes and save time. Smart event rental software leads to happier and stress-free employees, which reflects in the work they do.

To avoid burnout at Fun Planners, Luna monitors how many hours her team members work. Her philosophy is that, “It’s better to bring in more people than it is to overwork the people you have, because too much overtime isn’t healthy.” She also strongly believes in the power of a good attitude. When the occasional mistake is made, the leadership team doesn’t berate the employee. Instead, they talk it through and create a plan to solve it together going forward. At Fun Planners, there’s a huge focus on positive morale. Luna says, “We try to laugh a lot!”

#3 You’re spending more time on tedious tasks than creative/strategic ones

Are you chasing down clients to pay? Re-creating multiple versions of a contract after every little client request? Spending hours each week on the dreaded accounting? Automate all these processes with smart event rental software so you can focus more on the creative and strategic side of your business, which is the real value you provide, and the reason you got into the business in the first place.

After Luna realized Fun Planners had a wasted time issue, she knew it was time to find an efficient, time-saving software program. Since implementing Goodshuffle Pro, Luna says, “All clerical items have been taken off our plate. Our biggest time saver has been the QuickBooks Online integration for accounting. We used to have to re-invoice every single project into QuickBooks to invoice our customers. The integration does this for us now, and gives us back a good 10 hours per week.”

We also asked her for her best advice to other event professionals when it comes to recognizing wasted time on tedious tasks as a red flag. She told us, “If you’re spending half your day or even 20% of your day on clerical items, then that’s not benefiting you. If you’re not spending that time speaking with customers, building quotes and contracts, making staff schedules, checking in with your team, and going to event sites, you’re missing out on money. You need to find that balance. After implementing event rental software, we noticed that we had been spending half of our day on clerical things. With software, we then had so much more time that we could spend on doing more events, rather than on more office work.”

Which red flags are flying at your business?

If you’ve noticed any of these red flags at your event company, you’re in dire need of an immediate change. Don’t get left behind in the competition because of wasted time or employee burnout. Instead, automate your processes with smart event rental software to get your team on the same page, cultivate a healthy work culture, and improve your company’s time management. With more time to spend on the value-adding parts of your business, you’re sure to see your success skyrocket.

Fun Planners has been providing Florida with the finest entertainment, equipment, and services for over 15 years. They started out as a small Casino company in the 1980’s, providing only the best and highest quality equipment and staff. Over time (mostly by request from clients), they have expanded their services into many other areas.