Budget is always a concern for event organizers regardless of the scale of events. But a limited budget shouldn’t be a reason for not putting up the best experience for your attendees. Limited budget should fuel your imagination and provide you with incentives to think out of the box and do something unique at your event.

1. Collaboration to the rescue

Sometimes the solution to the budget problem lies in collaboration. Are you able to find partners who are also interested in providing value to the same audience? How would they be able to contribute to your event? Perhaps they might be able to handle half of the event and contribute to getting 50% off the resources needed to pull off the event. In order for this partnership to work, you will need to do your research so that you can find potential partners whose visions align with yours.

2. Sponsorship

In the similar vein, you might consider getting sponsors on board for your event. They will usually sponsor you in cash, and this will increase the amount of budget you have in your pocket to build up your event. When working with sponsors, it is very important to ensure that their motives can be met by you as the event organizer.

Read more: 7 ways to keep your sponsors returning for your next event

3. Get extra pair of hands

Students are a great resource to tap on for getting an extra pair of hands to help out at events. They are enthusiastic and eager to learn. But to ensure their efficiency leading up to your event or at the event itself, you need to do the following:

• Know exactly why you need their help: This way you can assign them to do exact tasks without wasting time
• Prepare a brief that will guide them on what they need to do: This way they can easily catch up to speed and know their role in the event
• Conduct a huddle before the event: This will get them hyped up, give them an opportunity to clear doubts, and find out whom they should reach out if they face problems

4. Use Local hosting for guests

When you have guests flying in to join your event as speakers, you usually have to book a space for them to stay in. But instead of the usual hotel route, why not try something different? Host your guests at local homes using apps like AirBnB. These spaces are like a home away from home for your guests, and they get to have a taste of how locals live.

 5. Go paperless! Save the environment

How do you save more with less? Go paperless! The times have changed and you no longer need to print out brochures or agendas for your attendees. But you still need to keep them informed and engaged at your event. One of the ways is to use apps that will allow you to update your attendees regarding changes at the event. A free and easy system for straight-forward events would be to use the Facebook event pages to update on the wall or if you are using a ticketing platform like Peatix, you can use the internal messaging system to communicate with your attendees.

You can also consider the following apps:

Jublia: This is a networking app that will help your attendees to connect with one another

Pigeonhole: Conduct live Q&A sessions so attendees can submit their queries in, have them voted up if others in the audience wants the questions answered, and the panel moderator or speaker can address the questions. They also allow you to conduct polls within the system.

Bonus: Get thrifty!

Looking for ways to spruce up your venue without destroying your budget? Go the DIY route; Pinterest is a great source of inspiration for a lot of DIY hacks. Instead of buying your decorative materials from mainstream shops, head over to wholesale sellers or outlet malls to get the best bargains in town! Shop smart and you will have a beautiful event that didn’t break your bank.