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Sally Webb, CSEP, writes for this month's Special Event Magazine.

As the event industry continues to struggle with a shrinking economy, dramatically reduced budgets and a disappearing client base, many event professionals are seeeking new markets or attempting to expand their offerings to create revenue stream.

In a survey conducted for the 2009 ISES Eventworld conference, companies who had undertaken this challenge recently were interviewed to evaluate the success of the process- with surprising results.  Whilst most companies eventually succeeded, valuable lessons were learned along the way.

The biggest hurdle to success was in the lack of research into the financial viability of the expansion.  Far too many companies relied totally on 'gut instinct' in their evaluation of the market, which resulted in a huge underestimation of the funding needed to bring the operation to fruition.  The internal time resources became a problem for many, resulting in the neglect of the existing client base in the excitement to generate new business.

Many also failed to fully evaluate cultural difference when expanding geographically.  ''Hiring locally is a must,'' said one company that recently set up in China.  Having a native management team was the only route to success because operational procedures are so different in Asia.

Even careful planning was no guarantee of success; one respondent said, 'You do everything 100% textbook and for some unexplained reason, the outcome was an absolute disaster.'

In expanding your current offering of services, it is important to remember that your core competencies should remain your strongest selling points.  Offering services to generate revenue in other areas that are not your main business focus or area of expertise may bring short-term income, but can cause problems for both the company and the industry as a whole if the service price rather than service is the driving factor.

However, there are tangible positives to starting a business in times of economic depression.  A staggering 50% of current top Fortune 500 comapanies started in times of economic uncertainty.  There seems to be value in the statement that companies which continue to promote themselves heavily during tough economic times fare exceptionally well when markets begin to turn.

It is vital to the success of our industry to band together, share resources, form partnerships and look for cost-savings that can be gained from working together with our fellow ISES members.

My company formed a working partnership two years ago with our main production, catering and decor vendors (all ISES members) in North Carolina to share offices, resources and, most significantly, overhead, which has enabled us to be cost-effective and lean on our operational costs.

This is the time when ISES membership, support and, most importantly, friendships can be the deciding factor in the survival of your business.

By Sally Webb, CSEP

The Special Event Company