With planning, small-biz meetings can be creative and cost-efficient

Meetings -- those wonderful -- and not so wonderful -- business experiences where plans are made, goals set, problems solved and employees inspired. For many small- to medium-sized businesses, the task of planning the next completely creative, productive and professional meeting often falls on the shoulders of those who don't routinely plan such gatherings. It can be a daunting assignment.

Fortunately, San Antonio is a city built for business. That means that even for small businesses, there are resources available for making the most of your meetings. Here are eight quick tips.

1. Think outside the box. Break out of the paradigm of the typical meeting held on site at your offices. It's just too easy for everyone involved to step out and check e-mails, handle client issues or take several "quick" calls.

On the other hand, a unique environment can inspire fresh thinking, in addition to offering an added incentive to focus on the agenda at hand. Consider a boat, country house, boutique hotel, art gallery, bus or other quirky venue. Did you know in San Antonio, you can hold a meeting on the grounds of the Alamo or at the top of the Tower of Americas? Just doing some brainstorming? Find a place that can offer comfortable sofa seating to encourage a more casual free flow of information.

2. Never assume. Groups as small as five people can often qualify for group rates. Don't assume that planning an outrageous meeting is going to be way outside a small budget. Sure, there may be some limitations on what you can do, but having a meeting offsite is often more affordable than you'd expect, and the expense is often offset by the productivity.

Here's a tip that's especially relevant for small groups: choose a venue that is sized appropriately, where your meeting won't be a small fish in a big pond, lost behind bigger gatherings that command the lion's share of the venue team's attention.

3. Plan early. Early planning helps in negotiating better prices and gives you more choices in terms of meeting rooms and value-added items. The old adage, "You can have it fast; you can have it good; you can have it cheap. Pick two," is as true for meeting planning as it is for just about any purchase.

4. Enlist support. Oftentimes, choosing an outside venue has the added benefit of the location's meeting planning expertise, as well as their access to nuts and bolts like audio/visual equipment and chef-catered meals that fit your budget. Because many venues are in the business of renting space, they often have staff members armed with extensive databases of suppliers who can pull off the perfect meeting with their eyes closed. That saves you time and money.

5. Consider using an outside facilitator. A meeting leader from outside your company can add fresh perspective while keeping your agenda on track. An experienced facilitator can inspire your group to think about new things, consider old issues in different ways or work through specific challenges and issues.

Many meeting facilitators have an arsenal of exercises and tools that inspire creative thinking and help your group bond.

6. Don't forget to have fun. A great meeting is inspiring and energizing, and can serve to unify your team, so be sure to build some fun into the gathering.

Maybe it's a scavenger hunt, a riverboat ride or visit to a ranch; maybe it's simply a nice meal where people can get to know each other better. Again, the staff at your meeting site can offer suggestions and help make arrangements.

7. Engage technology. Technology can be a business meeting's best friend -- and we're not talking about PowerPoint presentations. Today's technology makes note-taking and speaker phones obsolete. Consider Web conferencing, electronic whiteboards, document cameras (a kind of 3-D overhead projector) and interactive smart boards -- all of which can help connect a geographically diverse group as well as engaging attendees in ways that a more traditional meeting wouldn't.

How far down the rabbit hole do you want to go? Multi-user virtual environments are coming onboard to connect people in new ways. Imagine taking your team gliding over New York City, teambuilding as you snow ski in Switzerland or introducing new employees to corporate culture and policies -- all in a virtual reality. It's your imagination on steroids -- and it's coming to your office desk soon.

8. Know thyself. Okay -- back down to the real world. Critical to any meeting planning adventure is to know your group, its motivation for meeting and its goals, whether you are the one doing all the planning or the one who has to communicate it to other professionals to get the job done. Planning a luxurious (albeit inexpensive) meeting during a time of cutbacks may only serve to increase negative feelings. Giving an award to an employee while he sits on a horse on a dude ranch may not be the image you want to project. Then, again, it might just work.

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