Offering Business Enhancements through Professional Events

Hanniz Lam, Founder- Best Events, Malaysia

At time when people were losing their jobs due to economic slowdown Hanniz Lam took a courageous decision and founded Best Events in 2008. Best Events is a boutique event planning firm in Kuala Lumpur and they create extraordinary corporate events all over Malaysia. Today Best Events has become one of Kuala Lumpur’s most celebrated and sought after event company.

Hanniz Lim has vast experience in organizing events and liaising closely with the lifestyle media. After graduating she landed her first job in a French Luxury Fashion Boutique in KLCC before she was posted in Malaysia HQ as part of the Communication team later on establishing Best Events. Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, best Events has over 10 years of proven experience in local and international Events.

Here are some more insights from the journey of Hanniz Lam and Best Events shared with the team of ABT.

What led you to the path of Event Management Industry?
It found me, actually. In my job, we had to organize media launches, fashion shows, and media trips so I learnt very quickly how to organize the logistics, the people and the finer details that defined the brand I worked for. This experience helped me start my own company.

Who is your greatest Inspiration? Why?
At the moment, it would have to be the Elon Musk. He is breaking all barriers with the technology that he introduces for the greater good. Sure, he has had some failures but with failure comes great success. His dreams are so huge and I can’t help but feel awe.

How has your education prepared you for a career as an Event planner?
I studied business and loved the marketing subject the most. I don’t think education alone can prepare you for your career. I can’t remember much about what I studied, really. I learnt to fine tune my organizational and communication skills at my first job. My bosses guided me very well. They had to. They were counting on me to uphold the brand!

Being a business owner puts you in a different position. You think more about your company rather than yourself. Education doesn’t prepare you for that. Experience does. And that is why Best Events is also running its first Career Coaching workshop next month.

Tell us about Best Events, its reach & what makes it a unique event planner provider?
In 2008, after working eight years in my first job, I started to feel a little worn out. I knew I wanted more time for myself to improve my skills, spend some quality time with the family and get out of the fashion and beauty industry to discover what else is out there. The local events industry is crowded so I started to do some research about what was being done outside Malaysia to make Best Events unique.

I found out that no one else was running Murder Mystery Dinners and basically started from that which led me to organize kids’ parties, weddings and corporate events. When you’re starting out, you just have to do what makes the best income for the company and that’s why I organized all kinds of events.

We are now focusing on corporate events such as conferences and customer experience events which emphasize customer/participant engagement. We are also bringing in event technology which helps connect everyone while ensuring that the human touch is not lost. With this new technology, we hope to get a better hold of corporate clients in Asia. As companies and business owners are also now more aware that personal well being is so important, we also organize corporate wellness retreats. Here, the less technology involved the better!

What it takes to run a successful Event & how do you differentiate between Good Event and Great Event?
It usually takes months of planning to ensure an event runs smoothly. Hiccups are a norm but we are able to reduce the effect. A good event is an event where everything goes as planned. A great event is when everything goes as planned and its participants can’t stop talking about it years after it happened.

What are some of your favourite ways to enhance an Event on Budget?
Participation and engagement. You can have a huge budget with explosive performances, super door gifts or prizes but if the people who are attending aren’t involved and feel like they don’t belong, it completely defeats the purpose. You can do a lot with a small budget if you keep your expectations reasonable.

What do you view as the most difficult struggle of an Event planner?
I think the hardest part is convincing the client to believe you that price shouldn’t be the deal maker or deal breaker when it comes to engaging an event agency. It’s about how well the agency gets what you want to get out of the event that you’re planning and delivering high quality standards.

Also, when you’re in your own business, time is not fixed. You don’t go home at 6pm or 8pm. Your hours are stretched beyond the norm. Having said this, it’s not really a struggle. It’s all worth it when your clients are happy with the work you deliver.

What would you like to achieve in coming years?
As I’m splitting my time between Best Events and my business consulting agency, Making Changes PLT, I’m hoping that both businesses continue to grow. I absolutely enjoy coaching people especially when it comes to marketing so I’ll continue doing that.

I’m getting more involved in skill building projects for business owners, youth and the retrenched so I hope my businesses can continue to run without me being at the helm all the time. I’ve also always wanted to have my own chain of eco-friendly beach villas and villages for the elderly. Let’s see where my dreams bring me!The post Offering Business Enhancements through Professional Events appeared first on Top Asia Business News, Trends, Insights & Analysis.