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Before you Begin....
Some things to consider when thinking about
running a Sci-Fi Convention
Okay, so you think you want to run a convention? I’ve been contacted by a lot of people over the years wanting to know how they get started running their own convention. Usually, I’ll start giving them a list of things to see how much planning they’ve done and most say something like “Whoa! I never thought about all that!” So in thinking about what I wanted to put in this section of the website, I figured this would be a good first topic!
- Do I really have the time?
Running a convention takes a lot more time then you think! You have to devote many hours every day to planning, organizing, and advertising your convention. This means you need to have the hours available in your schedule to devote to it...which may mean your job, family and relationships may suffer. Be sure you are prepared for this! Even if you have lots of people who have offered to help, it will often come down to you spending hours upon hours yourself to get things done!
- Can I handle the stress?
There is a lot of stress in running a convention. Hundreds of things can (and probably will) go wrong. If you are not good under pressure or cannot handle stress, don’t do it! The stress can cause fights with your staff, arguments with your family, poor health, sleepless nights and so much more! If you aren’t prepared for this, don’t take it on!
- Can I afford it?
Running a convention is expensive - even small shows without celebrity guests can quickly add up! I have a separate article on budgeting a convention, but in the meantime you can estimate you will need a minimum of $5,000-$20,000 up front before you ever consider running even a small show. People have gone into debt running conventions...make sure you can handle it. I suggest finding funding or a sponsor before you ever plan your first show.
- What kind of show do I really want to run?
Make sure you run a show you understand...if you don’t know anything about comic books, running a comic book convention probably isn’t the best idea! Run what you know - gamers run gaming conventions, readers run literary conventions, etc. If you want to run a multi-faceted multi-media convention, make sure you have staff who are experts in the fields you are not.
- Can I be professional?
A lot of running a convention is smoozing with people..and if you want to have guest speakers, you may be dealing with people you’ve admired for years. Running a convention is not the time to be “Mr. or Ms. Fan” - it’s the time to be professional and present yourself and your convention in it’s best light. If you get tongue-tied meeting your favorite author or celebrity, you might want to appoint someone else on your staff to act as a “Guest Coordinator”.
- Skills you will need (or need to find):
Beyond being professional, there are many skills you will either need to have, learn to do, or find people to handle. These include:
- Good communications skills (including listening, speaking and writing)
- Salesmanship and marketing
- Research skills
- Technical skills (such as typing, using email, web pages, etc.)
- Ability to work with others
- Leadership
- Transportation
- Legal Knowledge
- Negotiations
- Diplomacy
- Accounting & Financial Skills
- Patience
- Calm Demeanor & the ability to stay calm and focused in the face of stress
- Record Keeping
- Advertising
- Graphic Design
- and many, many more!
Running a convention is definitely not easy - but if you are determined to do it, come back here for more information we’ll be adding.
Other Articles in this Section:
Budgeting A Convention - Choosing a Location - More to Come
By Lori Anne Brown, Former Chairperson of TachyCon & President of TachyCon International, Inc., one of Florida’s most successful conventions from 1988 through 1999. Lori is now webmaster of www.Scificonventions.com and www.Scifispace.com and is serving as a consultant for several conventions as well as representing celebrities for personal appearances.
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