Meeting Management: Independent Planners By HunterR. Slaton

Interdependent Planners

As lone-ranger planners who have banded together, members of Independent Meeting Professionals Dallas/Ft. Worth have the best of both worlds: autonomy and camaraderie.

Aboutadecadeago,asmallgroupofindependent meeting planners in the Dallas/FortWortharea got together to do something that might seem antithet- ical to the very notion of being an independent planner: They formed a cooperative group—a “consortium,”asonememberput it—called Inde- pendent Meeting Professionals Dallas/Ft.Worth (IMP DFW). Throughout the ups anddowns of the 2000s—

“We all know how to plan,” Longley said, “but working for yourself is a different situation — howtomanageabusiness,where to put your focus, andwhere to find clients, especially the ones that are best for you.” Tohear certainIMPDFWmembers tell it, that’s

not something that the major meetings-industry associations devote a lot of attention to. “Some [associations] offer some small-business info,”

IMP DFW ON SITE: At its retreat this past summer, at Grapevine’s Gaylord Texan, IMP DFW members — includ- ing, at left (from left to right), Erin Longley, CMP; Dara Hall, CMP, CMM; Diane Smith, CMP, CMM; and Tony Cummins, CMP — discussed how to encourage meetings- industry organiza- tions to offer more educational topics for planners like themselves. Always thinking of future business (at left and on p. 50), the group also took time to tour the 1,511-room host hotel and its 400,000 square feet of meeting space.

the business-travel freefall following Sept. 11, and the ongoing tumult of the past couple of years — the group has not only survived but thrived. Its membership today stands at 15 men and women in the Dallas/FortWorth area, who meet on the fourth Thursday of every month, and also have two retreats a year, most recently at the GaylordTexan in Grapevine on July 27.

Knowledge Pool One of the primary benefits of belonging to IMP DFW, according to Erin Longley,CMP, president of XcelEvents, is the opportunity to pool knowledge about the finer points of being a business owner.

Longley said. “But usually what they do offer is what you need…whenyou are starting your busi- ness.We are looking for longer-term stuff.” That said, the group is not antagonistic to its

larger counterparts. “We would like to work closely with MPI and PCMA,” said Tony Cum- mins,CMP, planner/consultant forTHEMEET- iNG DEPARTMENT, “to develop criteria for independent meeting professionals to have educa- tional programs available for them, and actually commit some funds for that.” These programs could cover some of the samefundamental issues that wouldapply to any small-business owner, even suppliers. “It can be a crossover for several mar-

ON_THE_WEB: To learn more about Independent Meeting Professionals Dallas/Ft.Worth, visit www.impdfw.com.

48 pcma convene December 2010

INDEPENDENT STUDY: IMP DFW will present a session at PCMA 2011 Convening Leaders titled “Risky Business! Elements of Owning an Independent Planning Company.” To learn more, visit www.pcma2011.org.

ILLUSTRATION BY GREG MABLY