SMART Goals

In order to keep everyone in our class on the same page, we created SMART goals as a timeline to keep us on track during the planning process. These SMART goals have five criteria, the first being specific. Our goals need to be specific enough to allow us all to understand what is expected of us. The second is measurable, because we need to know exactly what our goals will accomplish. The third is attainable, because goals that are unattainable aren't any help to us. The fourth criteria is realistic, because we can only achieve so much with our event. The final criteria is time table, which means that the goals need to adhere to a strict timeline.

Our client actually chose my SMART goals, which I sent to all of my classmates. We then used these as a reference to know if we were on schedule or not. The SMART goals are as follows:

By February 8, I will have a budget laid out for consideration. My budget will not exceed $500 and will allocate 5% of the budget as back-up money. This budget will include the cost of food, beverages, tableware, decorations, marketing, activities, and prizes for attendees to take home. This budget will be presented in an organized manner and will consist of specific prices and pictures of what specific items I plan on getting.

By February 10, I will have a fun and interactive theme picked out. I will do research on good themes to figure out which would be a good fit for our event. It will be a theme that hasn’t been done for a Hospitality and Tourism Management Open house at Grand Valley and it will entice freshmen and undecided students to attend. I will spend at least three hours researching and coming up with a theme and another hour typing up my proposal for the theme.

By February 15, we will have a solid marketing plan ready. We will come up with creative ways to advertise our event, such as emails that catch students’ attention, fliers that can be handed out, and posters hung in high traffic areas around campus. We will begin marketing on February 16 and we will aim to attract at least 100 students. We will also have signage around campus on the day of the event so that we can attract students the day of.

By February 22, we will have a full plan of what food we will be providing for attendees. We will have a specific list of what food and beverages we will be purchasing, along with the prices of each. We will also have a list of tableware (such as plates, utensils, cups) that we will need to purchase, and the prices of each. We will make sure that the cost of food and tableware will not exceed our budget.

By March 3, we will have a location picked out and we will have all of the activities planned out. The location will be easily accessible to attendees and to those who will need to set things up. It will also be a place that has anything we may need, such as a kitchen, tables and chairs, and potentially an outdoor space. We will also plan out activities that will take place during the event. We will plan out where we will get supplies from, how much it will cost, and how long it will take to set up. We will also have a spot where we will be able to write down the emails of attendees who are interested in a HTM major or minor.