Podcast Summary: Special Ops with Emma Rainville

Episode: How to Run Profitable Events: Budgeting, Coordinators, and Exhibitor ROI

Aired: October 14, 2025
Host: Emma Rainville
Guest: Richard Parkin

Overview

This episode of Special Ops with Emma Rainville dives deep into the operational side of running profitable live events. Emma and her guest, event operations expert Richard Parkin, break down the often-overlooked complexities of budgeting, effective planning, selecting partners, and ensuring exhibitor and sponsor ROI. The discussion is grounded in real-world experience, actionable advice, and light-hearted banter about late-night requests for unicorns and leprechauns.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Realities of Event Operations

• Events are more complicated than they appear.

  • “The thing about events is that they are a lot bigger, a lot more complicated than they seem from the outside.” (Emma, 00:00)
  • Even with detailed planning, unexpected issues inevitably arise (lost speakers, AV mishaps, venue changes).

• Planning is a months-long process.

  • “Eight months of planning for three days.” (Richard, 02:13)

2. The Foundation: Budgeting and Planning

• Start with a realistic, detailed budget—early.

  • “I like to have two things before I start doing anything else, and that’s, I want to have a budget. I want to know how much overall we’re going to spend and how that’s going to break out into categories...” (Emma, 02:42)
  • Common mistake: Creating the budget late, after many costs are already locked in. (03:41)

• Avoid the urge to endlessly over-deliver.

  • “There’s a tendency to over-deliver... but the budgeting means you have something to point to and say, well, no, that’s not going to fix a fifth of the budget.” (Richard, 03:41)

• Expect last-minute fantasy requests.

  • Memorable moment: “Can’t we get a unicorn? But can a leprechaun be riding it and can it be out gold dust while it jumps over a rainbow?” (Emma, 04:02)

3. Event Design: Purpose and Run-of-Show

• Determine event purpose before designing the experience.

  • Is the event for pitching something, delivering on a prior sale, or community-building?
  • “What is the purpose of the event? Are we making money? Are we spending money?” (Emma, 01:12 & 05:17)

• Important: Ticket sales are rarely profit centers.

  • “It’s very difficult to make money on the front end of an event.” (Emma, 05:59; Richard, 06:01)

4. Sponsors & Exhibitor ROI

• Be selective about sponsorships.

  • Filter out sponsors whose reputations or products may reflect poorly on your brand or audience.
  • “Do you want anybody who will give you money or do you want sponsors that are going to be good for your people?" (Emma, 06:58)

• Sponsorship is a stamp of trust.

  • “When you are taking sponsors, on some level, even if you declaim it, giving them a little bit of a stamp of approval.” (Richard, 08:25)

• Sponsor ROI is critical—aim for clear, honest expectations.

  • Calculate ROI from both sides: cost of exhibiting, resources invested, and realistic expected outcomes.
  • “If I don’t think that the person I’m selling that tier to is going to get out of it... that multiple, by the way, the multiple is 2.5 for me. I got to get 2.5 back my investment.” (Emma, 09:04)
  • Negative exhibitor experiences damage reputation and future business:
    “If you lose trust with one person and they go telling 10 people, you’re going to lose trust with at least eight of them.” (Emma, 11:34)

5. Managing Last-Minute Marketing and Operational Madness

• Triage last-minute ideas based on impact and feasibility.
  • “For the stuff that comes out completely unexpected, that’s really going to be where we spend the time deliberating... which of these are going to make the biggest impact?” (Richard, 13:29)
  • Build flexible business systems to handle changes, but prioritize highest-impact elements and stay grounded in what matters for the guests.

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On event uncertainty:
  • “Even with the best possible planning in the world, there will be things that go wrong in any kind of event.” (Emma, 00:08 & 02:17)
• On sponsor selection:
  • “Do your due diligence. Don’t just think because they’re here I’m endorsing them. I just don’t know anything bad about them.” (Emma, paraphrasing Perry Belcher, 07:46)
• On managing last-minute requests:
  • “It’s a question of triage, really. Like, most important, all the way down to... very nice to have.” (Richard, 14:17)
• On exhibitor integrity:
  • “I am very honest. I’m not trying to make a dollar, I’m trying to network and I’m trying to have an empire behind me. And so in order to do that, people have to trust you.” (Emma, 11:28)

Important Timestamps

• 00:00–02:17 — Introduction to event complexity & need for error-tolerant planning
• 02:29–04:39 — Foundation for successful events: The critical role of budgeting and early planning
• 04:59–06:30 — Designing the event experience: clarity on objectives & avoiding common pitfalls
• 06:30–11:34 — Sponsors and exhibitors: why selectivity and clear expectations matter, and how to calculate real ROI
• 12:48–14:24 — Managing the chaos: triaging last-minute marketing and operational requests

Final Thoughts & Resources

The episode underscores that successful, profitable events are rooted in rigorous planning, clear objectives, ethical sponsor selection, and nimble on-the-ground operations. Both Emma and Richard stress the importance of reputation and trust as the ultimate currency in event operations.

Free resources:

• Event checklist and Coordinator Playbook: Available at specialopspodcast.com (Visionary Vault)

Commentary & engagement:

• Richard personally answers event operations questions in the podcast comments.

Notable moment:

• Emma jokes that there are “9,000 things” not covered that can be found in the downloadable checklists. (14:28)

The Takeaway

To run a profitable, impactful event:

• Plan early, budget realistically, and be vigilant about last-minute costs.
• Define the event’s purpose and align every decision—from run-of-show to sponsor curation—around it.
• Value trust over quick cash; your reputation is your greatest asset.
• Always triage requests by impact and feasibility.
• Leverage detailed checklists and experienced coordinators to catch the details you’ll inevitably miss.

For more actionable details, download the playbooks at specialopspodcast.com.